When race group 4 takes the track Tuesday afternoon at Daytona KartWeek’s Road Race Championships, it will feature the largest laydown enduro field in likely over 30 years.

Once upon a time, classes like Yamaha Lite, Medium and Heavy would draw anywhere from 50- to 100-plus entries at Daytona KartWeek. The sprint-enduro versions of the Yamaha and Piston Port classes would typically draw similar numbers. This was back in the 1980s and the early 90s.

In more recent years, a 20- to 30-kart field is considered large at Daytona and any road race national or club event.

But not this year.

Thanks to John Brown and others, this year’s Yamaha Senior Final 1 division will see 60 laydown enduros fill the grid on Daytona’s pit road at the 2020 version of Daytona KartWeek.

The 50-Kart Challenge, announced in November on Facebook and WKA’s Pit Board, was a promotion put in place to entice as many active (and maybe even some inactive) laydown racers to refresh their Yamaha KT100s, bolt them on their chassis with a WKA-approved fixed pipe, and take part in a class that resembles the heyday of road race karting.

The program gained momentum through Thanksgiving time and into December, and the result Tuesday will be a very welcome sight for anyone who follows and appreciates enduro-style kart racing.

We caught up with John Brown in the DIS garage area Monday after practice day to talk about the 50-Kart Challenge for Yamaha Senior, how the idea came about and what he expects for the race after a day of practice on the DIS high banks.

Listen to John Brown:

Here’s the entry list for tomorrow’s 50-Kart Challenge for Yamaha Senior Final 1, which will pay $500 to win plus a host of contingency prizes.

Driver… Chassis

Joe Dempsey… CKI
Dusty Dean… Margay
Tim Linthicum… N/A
Keith Freber… Margay
Jeff Estes… Emmick
Brad Zoeller… CKI
Jason Lorang… RWC
Rusty Benson… Hatcher
Chad Dokken… N/A
Lyle Trudell… CKI
Rex Pierce… Coyote
Patrick Olsen… Coyote
Colin Jedrzejek… CKI
Ron Seller… Coyote
Rick Queen… Hatcher
Adam Trumbley… RWC
David Lee... CKI
Brian Ellis… Coyote
Matt Michel… N/A
Scott Stauffer… CKI
John Brown… Hatcher
Jamey Brown… Hatcher
Jeffrey Bierman… Hatcher
Rick Fulks… CKI
Sean O’Shea… RWC
John Ellsworth… Margay
Lindsay Walkup-FoxL… CKI
Charles Fox… CKI
Mark McNaught… CKI
Nate Grindell… Nate/Richie
Bryan Norman… Hatcher
Randy Fulks… CKI
Austin Henry… RWC
Chris Pence… Hatcher
Roy Shephers… Emmick
Matthew Gibson… Emmick
Gregory Boston… N/A
Robby Harper… Jaguar
Tim Koscher… N/A
Josh Rohlk… Hatcher
Jeff McClellan… Emmick
Tom Johnson… RWC
Michael Marr… CKI
Justin Greene… Coyote
Patricia Hechler… RWC
David Hechler… Emmick
Joe Payne… Elite
Brandon Schenkel… CKI/Anderson
Walt Stearly… N/A
Mike Radowski… N/A
Mike Hamilton… Emmick
Austin Queen… RWC
Glen Cherry… Emmick
Joe Cassidy… RWC
Jean Brown… N/A
Steve Pasteiner… N/A
Scott Cherry… N/A
John Larue… N/A
Johnny West… N/A
Santiago Ruiz de Gopegui… N/A