Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation

The Full Caster Podcast Returns! Recorded on March 18th 2024, lots has changed for hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel since the last time the FCP was live, with new homes and new jobs - and now a new  place to record! We are so excited for what is in store for Season 4 of the Full Caster Podcast - a Karting Conversation, and we can't wait to get things started!Join us for a special "Intro Episode", and the Preview for Season 4 of the Full Caster Podcast!

Recorded on December 29th, 2022 as part of the "CalSpeed Last Laps" podcast, Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel sit down with CalSpeed Karting's founder Rob Niles to have a look back on near-20 years it has been in business. Beginning with its origins starting in 2003, and chronicling its rise to be the home of the largest arrive and drive program in the world, and the hub of competition karting in Southern California, this is CalSpeed Karting's story...Join us for Part 1 of the 'CalSpeed Last Laps' on the Full Caster Podcast!

Recorded on December 29th, 2022 as part of the "CalSpeed Last Laps" podcast, Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel sit down with CalSpeed Karting's founder Rob Niles to have a look back on near-20 years it has been in business. Beginning with its origins starting in 2003, and chronicling its rise to be the home of the largest arrive and drive program in the world, and the hub of competition karting in Southern California, this is CalSpeed Karting's story...Join us for Part 2 of the 'CalSpeed Last Laps' on the Full Caster Podcast!

Recorded during CalSpeed's send-off event on December 18th, 2022; Mike Smith, Derek Esquibel and several guests share their stories about CalSpeed from the past near-20 years it has been in business...Join us for Part 3 of the 'CalSpeed Last Laps' on the Full Caster Podcast!00:00 - Intro00:21 - Mike Smith & Sean Buur11:02 - Mike Smith & Steve Donald27:28 - Mike Smith, with Steve Donald, and the "Senior Moments" team: Gerry Florez, Hugh Robertson, and David Carlisle52:39 - Rob Niles, with Steve Donald, and the "Senior Moments" team.

Recorded during CalSpeed's send-off event on December 18th, 2022; Mike Smith, Derek Esquibel and several guests share their stories about CalSpeed from the past near-20 years it has been in business...Join us for Part 4 of the 'CalSpeed Last Laps' on the Full Caster Podcast!00:00 - Intro00:20 - Mike Smith & Joe Ponce13:28 - Mike Smith & Dave Allen26:11 - Mike Smith, Derek Esquibel, and T.A. La1:01:31 - Mike Smith with the Niles ladies: Sylvia, Cali, and Lily...

The 50th installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, this is actually the Season Finale for Season 3 of the FCP, getting done on October 4th, 2022. Logan Calvin joins hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel for this episode, and they not only talk about Logan's tenure as the dominant force in sport karting at CalSpeed, but also his rise from indoor karting and into competition  karting. Flat out the name that all other drivers measure against in sport karting, Logan Calvin has proved to not only be a talent in arrive and drive, but a shoe behind the wheel of a competition kart as well.Join us for Episode 50 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 1 with Logan Calvin!

The 50th installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, this is actually the Season Finale for Season 3 of the FCP, getting done on October 4th, 2022. Logan Calvin joins hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel for this episode, and they not only talk about Logan's tenure as the dominant force in sport karting at CalSpeed, but also his rise from indoor karting and into competition  karting. Flat out the name that all other drivers measure against in sport karting, Logan Calvin has proved to not only be a talent in arrive and drive, but a shoe behind the wheel of a competition kart as well.Join us for Episode 50 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 2 with Logan Calvin!

This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on August 22nd 2022, with hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing the owner and principal of Forward Direction Motorsports, Greg Welch! many these days know Greg from his FDM team and race shop based out of Colorado, but he has been a part of karting ever since he was a little kid. We chat about his driving career rising through the ranks of Shifter karts, his time working for the family biz at Shockwave karting, and then his transition to owning his own kart shop and team.Join us for Episode 49 of Full Caster Podcast, Part 1 with Greg Welch!

This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on August 22nd 2022, with hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing the owner and principal of Forward Direction Motorsports, Greg Welch! many these days know Greg from his FDM team and race shop based out of Colorado, but he has been a part of karting ever since he was a little kid. We chat about his driving career rising through the ranks of Shifter karts, his time working for the family biz at Shockwave karting, and then his transition to owning his own kart shop and team.Join us for Episode 49 of Full Caster Podcast, Part 2 with Greg Welch!

Recorded on August 1st, episode 48 for the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview long time sport karter, Sean Fite.  With roots in Sprint Cars watching his dad race as a kid in the late 80's to 90's, Sean actually didn't get his first chance behind a racing car until he did Sprint Car racing schools in his early 20's. Eventually finding indoor karting, and finally outdoor karting with CalSpeed Karting, Fite went from a late start at about 30 years of age, to one of the most successful sport karters at the Fontana, CA facility - including being the only one to win all three of the championships on offer there...Join us for Episode48 of the Full Caster Podcast with Sean Fite!

This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on July 16th 2022, with hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing someone who is perhaps mostly seen these days behind a camera, Sean Buur.  For episode 47 of the FCP we chat with Sean not only about his current duties as photographer and media lead for the Challenge of the Americas and all the sport karting events at CalSpeed, but also his origins in karting and the founding of one of the most popular karting magazines over the past 30 years, Go Racing magazine. But did you know that Sean used to drive? With more stories than we could possibly fit into a regular episode, listen in for a very entertaining edition of the FCP.Join us for Episode 47 of Full Caster Podcast, Part 2 with Sean Buur!

This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on July 16th 2022, with hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing someone who is perhaps mostly seen these days behind a camera, Sean Buur.  For episode 47 of the FCP we chat with Sean not only about his current duties as photographer and media lead for the Challenge of the Americas and all the sport karting events at CalSpeed, but also his origins in karting and the founding of one of the most popular karting magazines over the past 30 years, Go Racing magazine. But did you know that Sean used to drive? With more stories than we could possibly fit into a regular episode, listen in for a very entertaining edition of the FCP.Join us for Episode 47 of Full Caster Podcast, Part 1 with Sean Buur!

Recorded on May 27th, the 46th edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview The Thibodeaux's of Tri-C Karters, Nathan and Trisha. As two of the three principals of the Tri-C Karters club,  this dynamic duo -along with Eric Nelson- are responsible for putting on the events of the Tri-C club at CalSpeed Karting, but also have a local winter series, as well as summer night series that run at Adams Motorsports Park.  Get to know both of them in the latest installment of the FCP, with roots back to the famed Moran Raceway, and more!Join us for Episode 46 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 2 with Nathan & Trisha Thibodeaux!

Recorded on May 27th, the 46th edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview The Thibodeaux's of Tri-C Karters, Nathan and Trisha. As two of the three principals of the Tri-C Karters club,  this dynamic duo -along with Eric Nelson- are responsible for putting on the events of the Tri-C club at CalSpeed Karting, but also have a local winter series, as well as summer night series that run at Adams Motorsports Park.  Get to know both of them in the latest installment of the FCP, with roots back to the famed Moran Raceway, and more!Join us for Episode 46 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 1 with Nathan & Trisha Thibodeaux!

Episode 45 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel catch up with their buddy and longtime Sports Car racer, Stevan McAleer. Hailing from Scotland, Stevan takes us through his journey as young karter, where his start came from bouncing back from an incident to find an even bigger fire and passion for driving. Making the move to the States after earning a drive at Skip Barber, he progressed through the MX5 Cup and now races in the GT4 class in IMSA. Also a Team owner in the MX5 category with McCumbee/McAleer Racing and having his own karting team -McAleer Racing- he is involved in karts and cars as a driver, coach, and team owner.Join us for Episode 45 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 1 with Stevan McAleer!

Episode 45 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel catch up with their buddy and longtime Sports Car racer, Stevan McAleer. Hailing from Scotland, Stevan takes us through his journey as young karter, where his start came from bouncing back from an incident to find an even bigger fire and passion for driving. Making the move to the States after earning a drive at Skip Barber, he progressed through the MX5 Cup and now races in the GT4 class in IMSA. Also a Team owner in the MX5 category with McCumbee/McAleer Racing and having his own karting team -McAleer Racing- he is involved in karts and cars as a driver, coach, and team owner.Join us for Episode 45 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 2 with Stevan McAleer!

Episode 44 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel catch up current ARCA West Series driver and top-flight senior karter, Jake Drew. Starting in kid karts in the the early 2000's, Jake worked his way up from there to not only become one of the best Senior-level karters in the USA, but also has made the move into cars via the ARCA West series and Sunrise Racing. Join us as we chat with him about everything from winning IKF Duffys, to the the challenges of swapping a kart for a stock car!Join us for Episode 44 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 2 with Jake Drew!

Episode 44 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel catch up current ARCA West Series driver and top-flight senior karter, Jake Drew. Starting in kid karts in the the early 2000's, Jake worked his way up from there to not only become one of the best Senior-level karters in the USA, but also has made the move into cars via the ARCA West series and Sunrise Racing. Join us as we chat with him about everything from winning IKF Duffys, to the the challenges of swapping a kart for a stock car!Join us for Episode 44 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 1 with Jake Drew!

Recorded on January 12th, 2022, Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel host their first ever "Roundtable" discussion, bringing on former Full Caster Podcast guests Matt Johnson, Jesus Vasquez, and Race Liberante. Covering all sorts of karting topics and from multiple different views in the industry, we chat off season prep, views on rules and officiating, driver etiquette, the pitfalls of getting into karting, and even brainstormed possible solutions like how licensing could work. Whether new to the sport, or a passionate long-time racer, this episode has a little of everything...Join us for 'Roundtable One' of the Full Caster Podcast!00:00 - Intro00:15 - Going from one season to another09:10 -  Choosing what to do for the year37:40 - Driver etiquette and penalties47:58 - Knowing who you’re racing1:18:10 - Who should be allowed to run what and where1:35:24 - Class structure on the national scene 1:58:00 - Figuring out your own program2:12:56 - Fighting, how to handle the scenario

Recorded on March 7th, the 43rd edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview Ty Matta. Growing up in the Philippines, Ty was introduced to karting at an early age via his uncle who raced F2, but actually didn't start racing himself until his late teens after moving to America - and on two wheels! When he did finally make the transition to karts, he would run side by side and learn much from Jesus Vasquez, and shares many stories along the way; from championships in Yamaha, to the 'King Taco' events at Auto Club Speedway, and even the SuperNats, Ty Matta has seen it all in the past 20+ years in karting...Join us for Episode 43 of the Full Caster Podcast, Part 2 with Ty Matta!