Corona, California
September 29, 2008

See the orginally posted article at monsterarmy.com

Used to be go-karts were a lawn mower engine-run contraption forged from scrap metal by somebody’s dad who had a welder. Piloted renegade-like at dusk in school and church parking lots or, worse yet, blitzed though neighborhoods and sending kids scrambling off their BMX bikes, go-karting would inevitably lead to some irate mom to calling the cops.

Primitive in design by today’s standards, about the biggest revelation back then was when somebody figured out the eight-horse motor would run better if you pulled the governor off it. Brakes? Converse high tops put to the pavement Flintstones style.

Then everything kind of changed when some guy showed up with, not one, but TWO McCullough chain saw engines (aka “Mac 9s") on a go-kart. Blew everyone away. As lore would have it, the dude ran it underneath a parked car and, well, it’s said now that the whistling spectar apparition resembling a human head shows up at the exact spot on eve of the “incident” year after year.

Somewhere between then and now the “go” was clipped from kart and now it’s just called “karting.” And if you think that go-kart with the Mac 9s on it was fast, your socks would roll up and down if you got the chance to drive one of these fully tricked out Monster Energy/FX Racing/Makita Trackmagic karts not only capable of speeds upwards of 120 mph, but able to stick to a corner at speeds nearly that fast.

One of the guys that’s put the Trackmagic Monster Energy/FX Racing/Makita team karts to test this summer – better than anyone else – is current 2008 ProKart Challenge Racing Series S3 Heavy class champion, Philip Conte.

Conte fits the classic ‘gearhead’ bill. Born into a family of car enthusiasts, Conte cut his racing teeth at young age in CanAm, SuperVee, IMSA GTP and vintage car racing. Running his first go-kart in 1974, Conte was earmarked to continue the family’s racing heritage. But instead of the super high dollar world of car racing, he chose a route that Monster Army members can relate to a bit better.

“I really started my racing career on jet skis,” said Conte. “That and motorcycles. From there I did get into some drag racing and ovals, to sports cars and open wheel racing, but after my daughter was born (1993) I decided to go kart racing.”

Conte, who won the California State Jet Ski championship in 1992, was quick to adapt to the world of kart racing and began racking up wins right out of the gate. Juggling family responsibilities with a successful career in manufacturing high voltage electrical switchgear, Conte eventually aligned himself with the FX Racing program – Monster Energy’s partner in karting – a couple years ago and eventually won this year’s ProKart Challenge S3 Heavy class, Monster Energy/FX Racing/Makita and Conte’s second championship in three years.

“It was a good season. We had stiff competition at every round and the team got strong as we progressed – grabbing the points lead mid-season,” said Conte, who moved from the G1 class to S3 Heavy a couple races into the ’07 season. “I’m the driver, yeah, but the entire Monster Energy/FX Racing/Makita crew really deserves the nod.”

Conte says that, in karting, the ProKart title is only one component of the team’s season. And now that goal is met the Monster Energy/FX Racing/Makita team can focus on what amounts to karting’s Daytona 500 – the upcoming (Nov.) SKUSA SuperNationals at the Rio in Vegas.

“The SuperNationals is karting’s biggest event of the year,” said FX Racing’s founder Frank Bain. “There’ll be at least five thousand people there from the karting industry alone, and another three to four thousand spectators. We race in the lot of The Rio Hotel and it’s just an incredible event to see. We’ll have Phillip dialed and, with the help of the experience he gained racing and winning the ProKart Challenge this summer, trust he’ll be able to contend for the SuperNationals title.”

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it karts, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, wake, mini bikes, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, Monster’s fruit juice hybrid dubbed “M-80,” the party-friendly MIXXD and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream drink line supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Philip Conte digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterarmy.com and www.monsterenergy.com

FX Racing USA, LLC is a professional motorsports and marketing organization with headquarters in San Diego, CA offering programs ranging from auto and kart racing to corporate team building and training. The kart racing efforts are supported by Monster Energy, Makita, K&N, Bell Racing, Trackmagic Racing Karts and Swedetech Racing Engines. For more information, visit www.fxracingusa.com.