Teen Challenge GP Series: The Go Kart Racing League That Helps Teens Get Into Racing

Many professional drivers have begun their careers by racing go karts during their childhood and teen years. But for years, the only way to see if a teenager is good at racing was to do it the hard way. This meant buying/maintaining an expensive go kart, purchasing costly racing gear like helmets, suits, gloves, and boots, knowing how to set up a kart, paying track fees, buying wear/tear items like tires constantly, finding a way to transport everything to the track, the list goes on. And what if the teen’s no good? Suddenly, the parent is left with thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment that they no longer need. That’s quite an expensive risk to take.

Play it smart instead. Our Teen Challenge GP go kart racing league is the best way to get into racing as a teenager.

Teen Challenge GP is an accessible and affordable monthly racing series that occurs the first Tuesday of every month every year at every K1 Speed location*.

There’s no need to buy a ton of expensive equipment. We’ll provide everything your teen needs to hit the track and show us what they’ve got. You’ve just got to supply the teen.

There’s no obligation, either. Try enrolling your teen in a Teen Challenge GP event and see how it goes! If they don’t enjoy it or do well, you don’t have to keep going. If they enjoyed it but need some improvement, come back next month!

If your teen sticks out an entire 12-month season, you’ll be surprised by their progress. Each month, your teen will be able to compare their racing results, including lap times, with their prior results. This will allow them to gauge their performance and see how they’ve improved. Of course, some Arrive & Drive racing in-between rounds is always recommended, because practice makes perfect.

The Teen Challenge GP Race Format

Each Teen Challenge GP event provides two thrilling race sessions for your teen: a qualifying race and a final race for position.

The qualifying race pits your teen against the clock to produce their best lap time possible. Racers are then ranked by their fastest lap times and will start the following race from that position. So, if your teen sets the third fastest time, they will start the final race in third position.

The final race is a race for position, so they’ll be competing against one another directly, not the clock. They have to make clean passes and keep people behind them if they wish to do well.

In December, the final Teen Challenge GP event of the year expands this race format to include a practice session in the beginning. This is just for the teen to warm up, set some baseline laps, and get ready for the qualifying session that follows.

Every racer scores points depending on where they’ve finished the final race of the event. An additional point is awarded to the race who scores pole position – the fastest lap in qualifying. The top three racers with the most points at the end of the year receives cool prizes and awesome trophies.

How Can My Teen Enroll in the Next Teen CGP Event?

Enrolling in the Teen Challenge GP go kart racing league is easy! Simply call up your location or visit in person and our cashier will be happy to add your teen’s name to the list.

So, what are you waiting for? Enter your teen in our next Teen CGP event and start their competitive racing career today!

What if a Teen Turns 18 During the Year?

If a teen turns 18 years old after racing in the current Challenge GP season, they can still continue to compete in the Teen Challenge GP for the remainder of the year if they’ve already earned points in the current Teen Challenge GP season. They will then qualify as a teen for the State, U.S. and World Championship events and compete in the teen category. However, the next year they will need to compete in Challenge GP as an adult.

If they have not raced in Challenge GP that season before they turned 18, they will need to compete as an adult.

For example: It’s 2025. A 17-year-old racer competes in the February and March Teen Challenge GP events. In April, they turn 18. They can still continue to compete in the Teen Challenge GP season for the remainder of the year and will race in the Teen State, U.S. and World Championships in 2026. However, if they want to compete in Challenge GP in 2026 to qualify for the 2027 State/U.S./World Championship events, they will need to compete as an adult.

Or: A 17-year-old race turns 18 in April, but they have not raced in any of the previous events from January-March. They will need to compete as an adult in April.