500cc Open Outlaw Karts (2003- 2005)
After looking into a few different types of racing, I opted for Winged Outlaw karts. I adapted almost overnight to karts, and had great success during the 2003 125cc indoor series in Chico Ca. After receiving rookie of the year and driver of the year honors. I talked my dad into a test ride in a 500cc kart I lined up to drive. He debated it for a bit, then gave in. The test went so well we bought a 500cc kart for the 2004 outdoor season, on the biggest fastest track in California. I obtained promoter review and approval to skip the 125cc and Intermediate divisions for my age group. My plan was to run the fastest 500cc class for a year or 2. I wasn't interested in racing kids my age, I wanted to race and learn from the best in the sport. There was alot of skepticism about this decision, but I silenced the critics the first time out, with fast time, a heat race win, and a solid third place in the main. At age 13 I found myself running against adults and earning their respect was going to be rough. I think being my own mechanic, tuning my own chassis, and my driving style helped earn their respect almost immediately. Being able to talk to them at their level sure helped. I learned more that summer running in the elite class than I could have running 3 years in the intermediate classes. I could have built up alot of "stats" in the lower divisions, but "stats" don't teach you to "race". Going into 2005 I was determined to make a mark as one of the premier drivers. I started the season with a number of solid runs and found myself leading the points chase at mid season. The biggest win of my career came during the National event in July where I was fast time, won my heat race from 10th starting spot, and lead every lap of the main event. Being crowned National Champion was great, but I was really learning alot about racing. Due to my dads illness, I was forced to venture out and obtain some additional sponsorship. I also got a summer job to help support my racing. I hooked up with Karl Pavlik Jr. and Gary Morgan to help me with my car. Running without my dad for the first time was different. Running on a budget and paying your own bills sure makes you appreciate what you have. In hind sight last summer was probably the best thing that happened to me. I was forced to run my own program, and it's alot different than just jumping in a car and racing. There is so much more involved. I'm going to run a few selected races in 2006 in these karts, but my focus is going to be getting getting into a midget, and pursuing my career at the next level. I'd like to end up in Indiana or North Carolina, but will continue to pursue racing interests regardless of where I live.
This Photo was taken at the Knoxville Nationals. Steve and Kyle Harris madethis trip possible for me. Steve helped me get back there to race, and Kyle helped me with my kart. We were really, really fast and had a great chance to win the deal. We started 16th in the final day main, and had worked our way up to 3rd or 4th. With about 10 laps to go we blew an engine, and that ended it for us. Disappointed, and I felt bad because of all the help Steve Harris gave us in making the trip possible. We met Steve and Kyle in Quarter Midgets and raced with them for 3 or 4 years. Those were some of my best racing memories. Thank you again to Steve and Kyle Harris.
500cc Open Outlaw Karts National Champion (2005)
Carrying sponsorship from national USAC midget racer Johnny Rodriguez, 14 year old Justin Grant has quickly taken the adult karting world by storm. Grant added to his resume with a clean 
sweep of the open 500cc action during the 2005 Outlaw Kart Nationals. Grant posted quick time in both rounds of qualifying with a track record of 8.461. Heat races were split into fully inverted 10 car heats, and Grant showed qualifying was no fluke as he charged through the field from his 10 th starting spot to take the win. Starting fourth in the four car trophy dash, Grant once again proved he was the driver to beat at the Nationals. His rim riding pass for second brought the crowd to their feet, and his last lap turn four pass for the victory left the crowd standing and applauding the young racer from Rancho Murieta California. Grant earned the pole for Sunday's finale with a perfect score of three hundred points. Sunday's A-Main lined up according to total points from the weekend action, and Grant turned his pole position start into a 30 lap feature win. Keith Bloom started third an ran second ahead of Beau Perkins, Brett Miller and David Wilson. Grant was the only driver to post a lap under 9.4 in the A-Main as he posted lap times in the 9.3's with a best of 9.32. The Open Class drew 65+ karts and 410 sprint car star Sean Becker put on a show when he arrived on Sunday after racing his sprint car both Friday and Saturday nights.
Sean won both the D Main and C Main on Sunday, transferred to the A Main with a 4th in the B Main and had climbed from 16th to 8th in the finale before a trip into the fence left him with no steering. This ended Sean's run, and the expected showdown between Sean Becker and Justin Grant. Becker used the high side to his advantage as most cars were on the bottom for the main. Grant was on the bottom and steadily pulling away from the field on each green flag run. Had the two got to battle it out, it was surely going to be a classic finish. The Outlaw Kart “Ace” (Sean Becker) against the “New Kid" in town (Justin Grant). Promoter Bob Carrel and his crew put on one heck of a show despite the 100+ degree days. The track was in great condition all weekend, and the addition of special events and invitational races did nothing but add to the excitement of the weekend. Just another example of the effort put out by the promoters to make this a very special National Championship event. Brett Miller won a special dash from the pole after timing in 8th quick. Justin Grant ran second after making another impressive run through the 8 kart field only to run out of laps. John Bunch ran third and Aaron Colburn was fourth. David Wilson won a special 16 car invitational event on Friday night leading from start to finish. Grant skipped this race, as he worked out a sticky throttle problem.
500cc Outlaw Kart Nationals Summary:
Fast Time - Justin Grant 8.146 (TR)
Trophy Dash: Justin Grant, Kyle Larson, Brent Hamilton, Keith Bloom.
QUARTER MIDGETS (1997-2002)
I started my racing career at age 6 in 1997 after finally convincing my parents to buy me a race car. The
y knew it was my passion, but were ve
ry reluctant to strap me in a race car. My dad and I built my first Quarter Midget, and we headed for the track. Racing seemed to come natural, and although I remember very little about that first year, it was the beginning of a career that I hope to pursue long into the future. After winning almost every race as a Novice my dad bought me another car and we ran two cars in 1997. The success kept coming and in 1997 I won two California Championships and Rookie of the year honors. I spent very little time in the intermediate divisions and by the end of 1999, at the age of 8, I was racing teenagers in Quarter Midgets top two divisions. We raced as much as we could and traveled as often as possible. We made the most out of what we had, and I always seemed to get a little more out of the car. Racing on a limited budget forced us to spend more time dealing with chassis which enabled me to learn alot about setups, and shock setting. I learned to revalve shocks, and did alot of experimenting with air pressures and chassis settings.
My parents were not those over-bearing parents who were pushing their kids to race. In fact my parents had never even been in a race car. My dad always let me do the car set-ups, and it really helped build my confidence. I knew what changes to make and ho
w the car would react. As I was learning these setups there were times when the car really was terrible, but my dad just kept letting me make these mistakes, and we kept learning together. We built a tire machine to grind old rubber off tires, and I would walk the pit area gathering up tires that other teams discarded. We'd clean 'em up and race 'em. I won a ton of races and set alot of track records on old used tires. I know it used to really annoy some teams that bolted on new rubber every time the car hit the track. I learned to race fast and still take care of my equipment. I only bent one axle in my 6 year Quarter Midget career. Saving my equipment did not mean I was not competitive, as I compiled numerous track records, A-main wins, and championships between 1997 and 2003. At age 12 in 2003, I decided to move on and pursue my dreams. I wanted to get into as many different types of cars as possible. Staying in one class just to build stats was not my goal. I left Quarter Midgets having won over 250 combined races and championships at Local, Regional, State & National levels.
This one was really WILD! It happened at the Baylands leg of the California Monza series. We had decided not to run for points and that played alot into the decision that got us in this deal. We were starting up front so decided not to give up track position to fix the car after the warm-up period. There were 10 of the fastest LTAA drivers around, and I led the first 25 laps. The car started to get really wild about 10 laps before this and I was just playing with fire, it was bound to happen. Dad and I decided for the first time in my career "Checker or Wrecker", so I stayed out and drove the thing on two wheels for about 10 laps. The thing biked wildly, and I thought it had come back down enough and put the juice to it again, and WHOA BABY!, she took off. I remember thinking about Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder. "A this one's gonna hurt". Usually QM flips are simple tip overs or one good flip and it was over. This thing seemed to just keep going. I remember seeing the track while just floating, then one hit and I was looking at the sky. The car finally came to a rest. From where I sat, the car looked fine. I heard a big ruckus behind me, and come to find out, Danny Stone had jumped out on the track when he saw my cage exposed to traffic, and got hit by one of the cars behind me. He broke his leg and it really was a bummer, because he was a good friend of ours. I climbed out and went to check on Danny, who was in alot of pain. He told me he was fine, go fix the car. We only needed a shock retainer, and one radius rod. We got things lined up to fix it as soon as the medical red was lifted, and actually got back out in plenty of time. Oh Yeah, I took a turn out of the left front, and put one in the right rear, and raised the panard bar. When the green came out, the car was great. I came from last to third in 8 laps. Hind sight, we'd have been fine to take the lumps and should have fixed it in warm-up and gone to the back. The car really was fast, fast enough to win from the back that's for sure.