Solo Town ain’t no backwater outpost – even if the Sept. 3-6, 2024, Tire Rack SCCA® Solo® National Championships is themed “Wild Wild West.” This winner-take-all event has had electricity – specifically, electric vehicles – for years now. Still, a little surprise piqued the interest of onlookers on Tuesday and Wednesday when Wichita Region’s Chad Stoughton rolled onto the courses in a battery-powered sled running in Kart Modified Electric.
Coming in at about 450 pounds with driver, the CRG kart chassis fitted with a 25 kW Blue Shock Race powerplant imported from Latvia has 44 hp and produces 90 lb-ft torque – it also whooshed around cones in near silence. The only sounds emitted were the squeal of tires on Lincoln Airpark’s concrete and the slight whine of the electric motor.
Stoughton’s machine was in a class by itself – quite literally. The KME-class runs were considered an exhibition during the Solo Nationals. The demonstration was also significant in that it encompassed two “firsts.” It was the first time that both Stoughton and an electric kart ran at Solo Nats.
The story behind this demonstration starts simple enough. Kids in Stoughton’s residential neighborhood were out having fun on electric scooters and bikes, which Stoughton thought looked like carefree fun. But being a car guy, he wanted a kart to putter about in.
The hitch came in the form of gas engines used on most karts, as they are a noise nuisance rarely appreciated by neighbors. After some research, Stoughton found a ready-to-go electric kart available in California that only required batteries and some electrical harness work.
While fun, that first kart was a little too fast for neighborhood use. That meant another outlet was needed to keep playing. Stoughton participated in an SCCA Autocross many years ago, and reached out in 2017 to Wichita Region to see if he could bring his electric creation to one of their events.
After a series of communications with the Region’s event organizers and safety steward, Stoughton was cleared to bring his kart and play. But after events in 2017, 2018, and 2019, it was decided the electric kart could no longer take part in SCCA events due to battery safety concerns.
Stoughton understood the decision, and didn’t cause a fuss. He also didn’t give up on the idea of an electric kart. Knowing that homemade battery systems were the sticking point, he found a company overseas producing safety tested, CE certified, bolt-on powerplants that fit nearly any kart chassis.
Armed with this knowledge, Stoughton initiated a new conversation in early 2022 with SCCA’s Solo Department in Topeka, KS. A back-n-forth communications stream developed once again that lasted a few months. After that, the power-package out of Latvia was cleared for use at Regional autocrosses.
Unbeknownst to Stoughton, a hidden hurdle awaited. Turns out, importing electric kart systems from Latvia isn’t so easy. There are language barriers, system tweaks, packaging matters, and other disconnects to overcome. In the end, Stoughton figured out everything and put the new-found knowhow to use as sole U.S. importer and distributor of turnkey Blue Shock Race systems and karts through Shockt, the company he created.
Since 2022, Stoughton has been charging around autocrosses with his electric kart and expanded his fun further, exploring wheel-to-wheel kart competition outside of SCCA. No surprise, he has learned a ton about the power system along the way.
His first go at electric karting, with a grassroots battery system he cobbled together, experienced difficulties like any exploratory endeavor. The turnkey system used at Solo Nats is a whole lot more rewarding. Additionally, the battery pack in use at Solo Nats is a low-energy unit with substantially decreased volatility matching what one would expect from a shifter kart engine failure.
“My homemade system never ran absolutely great,” Stoughton admitted. “When I bolted the Blue Shock Race system to my kart … it all worked like it was supposed to. It was perfect, it was great … and I had no issues.
“It is a much different drive for a couple different reasons,” Stoughton continued. “First, you get to always keep both hands on the steering wheel and can focus on apexes and all your points because there is no focus on changing gears. The other thing is without a two-stroke engine running so close to your head, you can hear other important noises. You hear the brake rotors wobble … you hear whenever you lock a tire up and can tell which one it was … you hear sounds so much different.
“You can tell when you’re on a tire’s contact patch or hear the tire’s sidewall rolling over a little by the sound,” Stoughton added. “There are so many different things to hear and feel. You can even hear yourself breathing inside the helmet.”
Completely charged, Stoughton’s electric kart gallops full tilt for about 12 minutes, more than enough to carry him through Solo Nats coursework without the need to recharge. When depleted, the battery pack can be recharged to 100% in about an hour via standard 120v outlets. Plus, the battery system is reliable for a few years before refreshing. Last but not least, Stoughton’s whip can deploy reverse functionality on demand, which is pretty sweet for those who know.
By his own admission, Stoughton is no eco-warrior. The auto shop owner has no problem with gas engines, but he trundled down a path of exploration that has led to hoofin’ an electric kart at his first Solo Nats. If his efforts result is noise abatement opportunities for motorsport sites in populated areas moving forward, that’s certainly a boon for everyone.
“There’s a newness to this, and I totally understand that,” Stoughton said in conclusion. “Everybody involved in this entire process have all been very, very cooperative. We are progressing, we are doing it the right way, and we are doing it at a level where everyone is comfortable.”
Follow the Herd Online
There are plenty of ways to keep track of everything going on at the Sept. 3-6, 2024, Solo Nats. Online at sololive.scca.com is where you’ll find live timing/scoring, as well as audio coverage during each day. Also monitor the Tire Rack SCCA National Solo and SCCA Official Facebook pages on social media for updates and photos. And don’t forget to check back to SCCA.com for additional stories and updates from one of the biggest events SCCA conducts each year.
If you’re thirstin’ for even more coverage, check out the Solo Nationals Morning Show, a daily video broadcast archived at the SCCA Official Facebook page. Then there’s journalist Brian Bielanski who will be chatting with participants around the paddock to uncover Solo Nats slice-of-life stories for special Inside the SCCA segments posting to The Racing Network YouTube page.
Incidentally, if that YouTube channel gets 1,100 subscribers by Sept. 25, Bielanski will give away an entry to the 2025 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships.
Photo: Chad Stoughton climbs into his Kart Modified Electric-class entry for exhibition runs during the 2024 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships.
Photo by Philip Royle
