Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

(A gallery of photos follows the story below. Photos submitted by Alfred Charity.)

By Alfred Charity
Contributing Writer

The 2024 season has come to an end and Sherod Charity has won three more championships.  Two with the Hampton Roads Kart Club (TAG and lo206 Senior) and one at the Southampton Motor Speedway (lo206 Senior) which brings his total number of championships to seven.  His season began in December or 2023 at the Daytona International Speedway where he placed 4th, 5th and 6th in his three races on the 3.6 mile road course, racing a course and in a rented kart from Coach Mike. The rented kart was a Kart Republic with a KA100 engine, Sherod reached speeds of 93 miles per hour in the draft.  We ended up buying the kart and adding to the fleet to race large road courses only.  

His indoor season started in January 2024 at the K1 Speed in Richmond, Virginia.  Because he won the regular season championship and finished 2nd in the K1 Speed Virginia Championship, he earned the right to race at the K1 Circuit in Winchester, California in June of 2024.  Through six races at K1 Speed in Richmond, Virginia, Sherod was comfortably in the lead.  We booked a flight at the end of June and headed to the K1 Circuit.  We landed in San Diego and went to several indoor K1 tracks in the surrounding area to prepare for the race which was to be held on an outdoor 1.1 mile track. Teenagers from all over the United States earned the right to race for the U. S. Championship and the top three would race for the K1 World Championship later in the day.  Sherod was 9th fastest in his practice round, had brake failure and crashed in his qualifying heat. He was given another kart and allowed to qualify in the last session.  Out of 47 teenagers, Sherod qualified 15th and made the A Main race.  He had a good race going, passing multiple racers working his way up to 7th place when the checkered flag dropped.  He was assessed a penalty and dropped down to 21st place.  After talking with the race director who misidentified Sherod and showing him video proof of the mistake his marshal made, no action was taken and the results stood.  Sherod made the decision not to continue to race at K1 Speed anymore and focus on his outdoor racing.  

The Hampton Roads Kart Club is a first rate kart club that Sherod has raced with for the past three years.  They race at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Virginia.  It is his home track and he has won many races there over the years and was the defending TAG champion.  It is a long season starting at the beginning of April and ending at the end of October.  Sherod had multiple wins in both classes this year in (TAG/lo206 Senior) while missing only one race date. The sprint track is short but demanding of your full attention while the roval allows for more speed and drafting.  There is a level of trust the racers have with each other when racing at 60 mph inches apart while Sherod has damaged some equipment on his kart during this past season but nothing major.  The staff and volunteers at the HRKC are wonderful and willing to help any member or those interested in karting in the Hampton Roads area.  The members of HRKC are like family and help those in need at the track and beyond.  They have multiple classes and members start as young as 5 years old.  We would like to thank Bill Mullis and his staff for providing a wonderful and safe track to race at.  

This year Sherod raced at several tracks that were 2.0 miles or more in length.  Daytona, Summit Point, NCCAR, and Roebling Road Raceway.  These races were held by organizations such as the World Karting Association, Woodbridge Kart Club, American Kart Road Racing Alliance and the Southern Kart Club.  Each organization has been welcoming and is consistent when it comes to safety and the rules/regulations of the sport.  Sherod raced his Kart Republic KA100 sponsored by Kurtz Kuzt at each event and his Formula K X30 at one event.  He competed as a junior in his KA 100 and a senior with his X30.  He did not win any races but consistently placed within the top 5 at each event.  At those events you tend to run against  factory racing teams with deep pockets and resources. These racers have their own mechanic, several engines and chassis to choose from.  You can join these teams but it could cost between $1500 to $4000 for the weekend to race.  Sherod does well with used karts and his two stroke engines are prepared by Tim and Jody Linthicum of Muddy Cross Racing.  Sherod finished 2nd in the World Karting Association KA 100cc TAG Junior points standings.  Sherod and the champion, Derrick Wargo, battled hard, clean and fair this past season while pushing each other around each track.  He really enjoys the speed of the larger tracks and has reached speeds of 97.5 mph at Summit Point this year.  We plan on racing all of the tracks previously stated and a few new ones this year.  Rockingham Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and hopefully Pittsburgh International Race Complex if we are financially able to do it.  

In order to focus in on his own karts, a decision was made to reduce the amount of races Sherod did with Endurance Karting.  Over the past 4 years, Sherod has many hours of seat time in karts through Endurance Karting and it helped him excel with his own karts.  Racing at tracks from Connecticut to Florida has allowed Sherod to meet racers with more experience and learn from them His previous two years, he was a member of the past two Rookie Championships for Endurance Karting.  Endurance Karting allows drivers of with different levels of experience to race in a 6, 7, of 8 hour event as part of a team or solo. Sherod did two events with Endurance Karting this year, both in Virginia.   

Sherod will have a new used kart to compete with in the 2025 season.  We were able to secure a Margay Ignite K3 and it will be fitted with a Howard Stewart prepped lo206 engine.  We are repurposing his championship winning kart to become his sprint race kart fitted with a Muddy Cross Racing prepped KA100 engine. With him having the Margay, he can enter into the Margay Ignite Series racing events anywhere they are held.  Next year for the smaller sprint tracks, Sherod will focus on racing the Margay, gone are the days of racing in two different classes at every short track event unless the races are spaced out. Sherod will race in two different associations with his Margay and attempt to add to his 6 championships. He will continue to race at Langley Speedway with the Hampton Roads Kart Club and at Virginia International Raceway with the newly formed Grassroots Karting League. He will travel and do some one off racing weekends with his Margay also. I will also seek some professional coaching for Sherod so that he can become a better racer and possibly move up to cars in the future. 

Sherod competed at Daytona Kartweek 2024 hosted by the World Karting Association held at the Daytona International Speedway.  He took the same kart back with a different engine and moved up to the KA 100 senior class.  Sherod got a good day of practice so we settled on a gearing combination that would be good in the infield and on the high banks.  On day one of the race the weather didn’t cooperate, we took a gamble and did not enter the first two races.  We lost out on the first race because they did race before the storms came through and shut everything down.  When we came in for the second day of racing, they announced that they would complete the day one races and all of day two races.  Sherod entered three races.  The first race was a little sketchy, it was still drizzling and the track was damp. He finished 14th out of 54 and 6th in class.  The second race had 63 karts on track and Sherod finished 13th overall and 9th in class.  The third race there were 61 karts on track, Sherod finished 17th and 5th in class.  Not a bad day for Buddy Tubbs Racing and #slimreaper15.  He knew it was going to be harder this year to podium at this race but he enjoys the competition while earning the respect and trust of his fellow racers. The next race will be at Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah, Georgia in March.   

None of this would be possible without sponsors, family and friends.  We would like to thank my family, Herman Charity, Tamara Charity-Brown, Celeste Charity, Judy Ham, and Bud Ham for their financial support last season.  Thanks to the Buddy Tubbs Racing sponsors, Kurtz Kutz, The Baker’s Home, Sporty Cutz, Endurance Karting, and the Franklin Sportsman’s Association.  A special thanks goes to Tim and Jody Linthicum of Muddy Cross Racing for all the support and encouragement over the years, Desmond Blount, Luis Herra, Ronnie and Chase Shumate, Pascual Torres, Drive Your Line KartSport family, Jim McMurray, Desmond Blount, Howard Stewart, Jim and Matthew Frago, and Jordan Fooks.  We definitely appreciate all of the support.  If you are looking to follow Sherod, he can be found on Facebook: Buddy Tubbs Racing, Instagram: buddytubbsracing15 or on TikTok: Buddy Tubbs Racing.  If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for Buddy Tubbs Racing, I can be reached at buddytubbsracing@gmail.com , alfred.charity@gmail.com or 757.303.6765.