Recap: 2026 U.S. & World E-Karting Championships

K1 Speed’s Junior U.S. and World E-Karting Championships took place this past weekend, bringing K1’s best under 4’10’’ racers together to duke it out for podium honors and a $14,000 junior-division prize pool.

It was the first time the junior championships were held at K1 Circuit — the same site as the teen and adult renditions — assembling all of K1’s best talent in one place. A unique track design was created specially for this event, ensuring no home-track advantages among the field of aspiring racers.

With representatives from 28 states, the hopefuls were divided into eight qualifying groups (A-H). Competition was fierce among the groups, and once each had run their two rounds of qualifying, we were left with the final grid lineups. The 10 racers with the fastest single-lap times after two rounds of qualifying would move on to the A-Main U.S. Final. A top-three finish in the A-Main would send them into the Junior World E-Karting Championship. The remaining races (B-Main to H-Main) would determine the finishing order for the U.S. Championship.

K1 Speed Nashville’s own, James Spann, took the lead over 2024 World Champion Race Palumbo and maintained his advantage until the checkered flag. With all four wheels over the finish line, Spann claimed the title of 2026 K1 Speed Junior U.S E-Karting Champion. For his victory, Spann also earned a Segway GoKart Pro 2.

Palumbo, the Thousand Oaks native, crossed the line in second, followed by Mount Kisco’s Callan Poltrack in third. Starting from eighth on the grid, Poltrack made up an incredible five spots to gain his podium spot. The three would go on to represent the United States in the World E-Karting competition.

The top three American racers were joined by Canada’s best in Arnav Bhegade and Jordan Chan. Bhegade looked to defend his podium from 2025, having recorded a third-place finish in last year’s edition. The Canadian drivers were given their own practice sessions, so they had equal track time as the U.S. racers before the two rounds of qualifying.

With five racers on the grid, sizable gaps in between karts helped keep qualifying running smoothly. The intense focus on the faces of these young racers was evident through their visors as they vied for pole position in the final. After both rounds of qualifying, the starting grid for the 2026 Junior World E-Karting Championship had been decided.

Meanwhile, a total of 86 teenagers from 29 U.S. states and five countries arrived at K1 Circuit for the 2026 United States & World E-Karting Championships. 

The drivers were to race K1 Circuit’s E-Pro Kart, the track’s rental kart, on the 1.1-mile Pro Track layout with both “D” chicanes — the same circuit used for last year’s event. 

The U.S. & World E-Karting Championship qualifying format remained the same from last year as well: two 8-minute qualifying sessions and one final 10-lap race for position. The best single lap time from either qualifying session determined how they’d line up on the grid. 

All 76 United States racers sought to be one of the 25 fastest racers who would join the A-Main race, since the top three finishers from this field would then qualify for the teen division of the K1 Speed World E-Karting Championship held immediately after.

Additionally, 10 of the best drivers from K1 Speed’s international locations in Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, and France would enjoy three practice sessions during the U.S. E-Karting Championship event to make up for the track time the American drivers would enjoy. 

At the end of the day, K1 Speed crowned a new Teen U.S. and World E-Karting Champion in a historic championship event that awarded $20,000 worth of prizes. 

Here are the final qualifying results from the 2026 U.S. E-Karting Championship in the teen division:

At the wave of the green flag, Alek Dininski from Las Vegas got a perfect start to ensure no driver went alongside him through the opening complex of corners. Christopher Youtsey stuck to the back of Dininski, and Patrick Bernatowicz made up a place at the start to slot in behind Dininski. After the first lap, the leading trio already had a near two-second gap to the rest of the field. 

At the halfway point, leader Dininski had gained a 3.5-second lead over Youtsey, and a charging CJ Arabia made the move on Bernatowicz to take over the crucial third position, the last spot that’d qualify a driver for the World Championship. 

On Lap 7, Arabia got Youtsey and began his quest to eliminate the 4.4-second lead that Dininski was enjoying. But it was not to be — Dininski would maintain the gap to Arabia until the end, giving him the win, and becoming our 2026 K1 Speed United States E-Karting Champion and taking home a Segway GoKart Pro 2! CJ Arabia would have to be content with finishing second and stamping his ticket to the World E-Karting Championship event. And Christopher Youtsey would see his dreams vanish before his eyes as, on the final lap, he’d drop to fifth position, allowing Patrick Bernatowicz to take the final podium position and the last entry in the World E-Karting Championship.

Immediately after the Teen U.S. E-Karting Championship’s A-Main Race, the Teen World E-Karting Championship commenced. The three American drivers who finished on the podium of our U.S. E-Karting Championship joined our international drivers for the K1 Speed World E-Karting Championship in the teen division to determine who would become our new World E-Karting Champion and the winner of the $10,000 prize.

After two qualifying sessions, we took the best single lap time from either session for each driver to determine the starting grid. Here’s how they lined up.

On Sunday, it was time for the adults to take to the track for their championship event. A total of 79 drivers from 29 states and five countries arrived at K1 Circuit to race on the same track layout as our teen drivers. 

The adult event also used the same qualifying and race format as our teen events: two 8-minute qualifying sessions followed by a 10-lap final race for position. 

All 69 United States racers completed lap times in their attempt to break into the A-Main 25-kart grid which would determine the three drivers that’d move on to the world championship event. 

Additionally, 10 of the best drivers from K1 Speed’s international locations in Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, and — for the first time — Italy, enjoyed the same three practice sessions during the U.S. event as the teens and juniors experienced. 

At the end of the day, two previous champions added another title to their tally in the U.S. E-Karting Championship and World E-Karting Championship in an event that awarded almost $50,000 worth of prizes to our World E-Karting Championship podium finishers. 

Here are the final qualifying results from the 2026 U.S. E-Karting Championship in the teen division:

Defending U.S. E-Karting Champion Giovanni Perez-D’Amico got a strong launch from the front row, immediately going side-by-side with Birmingham’s Teddy Oates into Rocky Moran Corner. Oates edged ahead through D1, and Columbus’s Christopher Turner capitalized as well, slotting into the lead with Oates second and Perez-D’Amico shuffled back to third by Turn 4. Close behind, defending World Champion Garrett Manes wasted no time moving into the top four, signaling early that he’d be in the podium fight.

The opening lap was chaotic, with multiple incidents throughout the field, but by the line, it was Turner leading from Oates, with 2024 World Champion Liam Mahon up to third and Manes fourth. Oates ran wide at the end of Turn 11 on Lap 2, opening the door for both Mahon and Manes to slip through into second and third. At the start of Lap 3, Mahon carried strong momentum out of Rocky Moran and made a clean move on Turner to take over the lead.

Further back, Columbus’s Jessica Buck — the only woman in the field — was putting together an incredible drive. Climbing from 24th, she set some of the fastest laps of the race and reached fourth, looking poised to make history with a podium finish. But on Lap 4, contact from behind sent her into a spin and into the path of another kart. Despite the setback, she impressively recovered to finish sixth.

By Lap 5, Perez-D’Amico began clawing his way back into contention, passing Oates for fourth and setting his sights on the podium, just a couple seconds ahead. On Lap 7, Turner retook second from Manes, and their battle allowed Perez-D’Amico to close rapidly, forming a tense three-way fight for the final two podium spots while Mahon enjoyed a small cushion out front.

The intensity peaked on the penultimate lap. Perez-D’Amico pressured Manes heavily and made a decisive move at Turn 8 to grab third. He then lunged for second on Turner at the final corner, but the move compromised both drivers’ exits. That opened the door for Manes, who went three-wide down the main straight and pulled off a stunning double pass to reclaim second at the start of the final lap.

Up front, Mahon remained composed and unchallenged, going on to secure his second K1 Speed U.S. E-Karting Championship title (only the second driver to ever do so), with Manes locking in back-to-back runner-up finishes.

The fight for third, however, went right down to the wire. Turner and Perez-D’Amico battled side-by-side into Rocky Moran Corner on the final lap, with Perez-D’Amico briefly getting ahead on corner exit. Turner responded immediately through the first D-section and regained the position. Heading into the final corner, Perez-D’Amico made one last attempt on the inside, but Turner held firm around the outside to secure third, capping off one of the most action-packed and dramatic championship races in K1 Speed history.

When the Adult U.S. E-Karting Championship A-Main race finished, we started the Adult World E-Karting Championship event. The three American drivers that transferred from the U.S. E-Karting Championships joined our international competitors to see who would become our 2026 K1 Speed World E-Karting Champion and take home the $25,000 prize.

The 13 best racers from K1 Speed locations around the world hit the track for two qualifying sessions to see who would sit in pole position for the final event.

Here’s how they finished qualifying: 

If you think you have what it takes to join these elite racers, make sure you enter our Challenge GP leagues as often as possible! Drivers who finish in the top three positions in the final standings of their local championship will move on to the State Championship. Should you finish on the podium in the State Championship, you’ll punch a ticket to the 2027 K1 Speed U.S. & World E-Karting Championship event! And that’s not all — one teen and one adult from the U.S. Championship will be selected by Porsche Motorsport North America and K1 Speed for waived entry fees in either the Porsche Sprint Challenge North America by Yokohama or Porsche Sprint Challenge USA West by Yokohama. Learn more now and join the grid!