My name is Todd Godwin.  I began racing oval karts since 1992 while studying mechanical engineering at North Carolina State University.  After graduating from school I began to try to figure out ways to apply my engineering background to karting.  At first it was figuring out where weight would transfer and then creating setups to yield what I thought at that time was the optimum dynamic weights on the kart.  Over the years I learned that many of my initial notions were incorrect.  I learned that I needed to understand how tires made grip much better since all there is in chassis design and tuning is getting the tires to work as efficiently as possible.  I began studying tires and chassis design in any chassis and tire book I could find.  Over the years I began to see patterns developing between what  I was learning and what I was reading.

In time I began working with karters all over the country through several of the popular karting websites.  This really opened my eyes as I had mostly worked with the hard biting dirt tracks of the southeast.  I learned how to apply the physics to slick tracks, wet tracks, little tracks, big tracks, pavement and coke syrup.  Over  the years I've worked with quite a few karters from local ones running small tracks to some of the best in the sport.

Every day I continue to learn.  Every time one question is answered ten more pop up in its place.  This is the fascinating thing about karting - there's always so much to learn.  This manual contains much of the foundational information which I used in working with karters all over the country.  Many of the questions which perplexed me for years are answered here.

Enjoy

Todd Godwin