The New Hampshire Dad Kart Racing League: Racing for enjoyable

The woods behind a home in New Ipswich are alive with the sound of buzzing engines, with two go-karts exiting the bushes on a curve, kicking up mud, as Tyler Michaud and Drew Boucher make their strikes.

Michaud and Boucher make up a subject of two for what they name the New Hampshire Dad Kart Racing League. The “League” is an informal month-to-month meet-up the place they go head-to-head for bragging rights and custody of the coveted “Chicken Trophy,” a Target-bought tchotchke they commerce forwards and backwards relying on the latest victory on the monitor.

As for who at present holds the Chicken Trophy?

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Michaud stated, tellingly.

“That would be me,” Boucher tacked on, with a smile.

Boucher stated the 2 of them grew up loving velocity and motors, spending time on go-karts and grime bikes. They grew up in the identical circle of pals and bonded over grime bikes. Michaud stated just a few years in the past, he was watching some go-karting movies on YouTube and have become intrigued.

Despite his spouse having had a brand new child, Michaud stated he purchased his first go-kart within the fall of 2023.

“I had a kid in August, and I think in September is when I decided, ‘I guess this is a good time to purchase a go-kart,’” Michaud joked.

And in fact, Boucher added, as soon as he noticed just a few movies of Michaud driving his kart, he needed one in every of his personal. They every purchased their racers from Facebook Marketplace, Michaud’s in forest inexperienced and Boucher’s in vivid yellow.

Once the 2 pals every had their very own go-kart, the pure subsequent step was to see who was sooner. The League–thus far with Michaud and Boucher as its solely members–was born. They printed up T-shirts for them and their household, who act as cheering squad on race days, picked up the Chicken Trophy as a prize (principally, they stated, only for the ridiculousness of it) and Michaud had a monitor constructed round his new house in New Ipswich.

Race days, which occur about as soon as a month, however not normally on a hard and fast schedule, have turn into full household affairs, with the morning spent grooming the monitor, eradicating leaves and rocks, doing a little observe laps, normally having to pause to repair one thing that broke, a barbecue lunch, after which the afternoon spent racing for official occasions.

“The grind of Monday to Friday gets old,” Michaud stated. “This is something the whole family can do together. The kids love it, the wives love it. We hang out, have some barbecue, and it’s a nice way to get your mind off the day-to-day and have some fun.”

The pair says they race in virtually all situations, so long as the monitor is drivable. Their first race this 12 months was in January, they usually stated snow and dirt simply make the expertise extra enjoyable.

They began with a shorter monitor and have since expanded it to a barely longer one, which takes a few minute and 20 seconds per lap, “pedal to the floor, and you don’t let up,” as Michaud places it.

Boucher holds the lengthy monitor document with a time of two minutes and 20.48 seconds for 2 laps.

Boucher and Michaud stated they’re open to new members becoming a member of their league and encourage anybody who’s to contact them to be taught extra concerning the sport. They run a Facebook web page, NH Dad Kart Racing League, the place they repeatedly submit about their race occasions, in addition to go-karts which are on the market within the area.

Ashley Saari will be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.