Every week racers test their racing skills with other kids big and small on super charged engines that range in speed from 50 to 120 miles per hour.  Speeding down the straight-aways and chicane, leaning to the left and right in the corkscrew and sweepers with hands tightly gripping the wheel. The sensation of speed!

Racing for the Maui Go Karters Association started in the early 1980's when club president, Enos Kailiehu saw an ad in the paper for a go kart for sale.  He bought an old type go-kart with a "McCulloch" engine and a racing kart frame from Oahu.  All it took to spark interest on Maui was a few trips to the Puunene drag strip.  People saw them putting around and started inquiring about how to get a go-kart.  That's when all hell broke loose!  People started finding go-karts, piecing them together and even building them from scratch.

Within six months, there were a dozen or so go-karters on Maui.  Enos later met Doc costa who use to race go-karts in Oahu.  He suggested doing something on Maui and together, they put on an exhibition race behind Maui Mall and a dozen racers came from Oahu.  The Maui Go Karters started racing every month at the drag strip in 1983, with a membership of 30 members.  They continued to race at the drag strip for several years, until on day they were hit with the news that the drag strip could not be used any more. Karting came to a grinding halt.

"Everyone put their go-karts up in their garages and it stayed there," said Enos.  Determined not to let this interest die, Enos approached the County and worked with them to find a specific area for go-karting.  It was a long journey but he finally had success in finding a new place to race.

It took Enos and a few of the other racers years of manually cutting keawe trees and patching holes in the World War II airfield tarmac to make the new home of the Puunene Go-Kart track raceable.  Club members used their various trades and skills, hand dug pole holes, installed electrical lighting, wiring and outlets, constructed the pit area, tower and concession facility, painted, and put up roofing to shade their spectators.  Sponsorships and  donations helped the karters attain various equipment to make this a revolutionary track.

"It's every kid's dream to me, having a go kart." says Enos.  "A lot of times, parents say it's too expensive.  But kids with go-karts stay out of trouble and hang around kids with the same interest."  He says that go-karts can also provide a great mechanical education as go-kart owners learn how to work on the machine, tune the chassis in certain corners, move the tires in or out to get enough traction, and learn all the new innovations that are forever changing in today's hi-tech world.

The biggest thrill for him is seeing the look of satisfaction on the faces of the drivers as they come off the track regardless if they win or lose.  Thank you Enos for your hard work and dedication to the Maui Go Karters Association and keeping it a safe, affordable and enjoyable family sport.

Track Rentals:

Since we are a club racing facility we unfortunately do not have rentals available. But, we do encourage fans, and potential racers, to check out our facility. In the future we may have a "club kart" available for test rides.

Memberships:

For Maui Go Karters Association membership information, please contact Enos Kailiehu at (808) 242-1688,
or E-mail Tim Hultquist at timvfr@hawaii.rr.com

Track Information:

International Kart Federation (IKF) sanctioned half-mile sprint course with two long straight-aways and eight turns. The premiere karting track in the State of Hawaii, fully paved infield and runoff areas. MGKA used IKF guidelines for kart safety and maintenance as well as track construction. Safety is a priority for all drivers!

Aerial view of the track (click photo to enlarge)	Diagram outline of the track (click photo to enlarge)