Adler Ahead of Curve Behind the Wheel
Paige Adler honed her driving skills long before she was licensed to drive.
Adler, a 17-year-old Laguna Niguel resident, first grabbed a steering wheel at age 7, spinning circles with her father and older sister at Adams Kart Track in Riverside.
Her racing abilities grew sharp enough that at 15 she earned a scholarship from Ford Motor Co. to attend the Lyn St. James Driver Development Program at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The same year, she won the International Karting Federation Region 7 championship.
This summer, Adler became only the second female to win a Superkarts USA event by taking first at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond. It was only her fifth time racing a shifter kart, a much more complicated and powerful machine than a regular go-kart, as it features a six-speed sequential gearbox and disc brakes.
This weekend, Adler will be at the MOMO Grand Prix at the Irvine Spectrum, just a few miles from her home. “There’s never been an event this big for go-kart racing in Southern California,” Adler said. “There will be a lot of people in the racing industry there to impress. You want to look your best, even if you’re not doing your best.”
Adler will be piloting a 125cc shifter kart that can reach speeds of 115 mph. She’s the only female entered in the 125 pro class, which will feature the division’s top drivers from around the country, and it’s one of the few kart races offering prize money.
“She’s a pretty accomplished driver,” said her manager, Ted Morris. “She has a very good chance of doing well. She should place in the top 10.”
Adler envisions herself racing professionally in the future, but she’s realistic enough not to look too far ahead.
“It’s nice to think about, but you have to take it one step at a time,” she said. “I realize that racing could end any time, so I think it’s easier to just set short-term goals.”
Although Adler’s weekends are dedicated to racing, she still finds time for a part-time job at a juice shop in Aliso Viejo. She also plays soccer for an AYSO team and goes out with friends whenever she can.
“I can’t live my life in a little shell of racing,” Adler said. “I have friends and I like to go to high school parties and see movies. Some of my friends try to understand the sport, which is really cool.”
Adler attends Futures High School in Mission Viejo, an independent-study school that enables her to make up time lost because of travel. But she plans to enroll at Mission Viejo High in the spring and graduate from there.
Adler’s other schooling included Danny McKeever’s Fast Lane Driving School at Willow Springs, the Skip Barber Dodge Driving School at Laguna Seca, and a one-week driving school scholarship at Irwindale Raceway.
“Karting is definitely a ladder,” Adler said. “Look at all the Indy drivers who got started in karting. Turn on the TV and you’ll see someone who was karting 10 years ago.”
MOMO GRAND PRIX
The three-day event begins at 8 a.m. today with a controlled practice on the half-mile track for the first of 14 divisions, which will include more the 200 drivers. A second practice session will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Qualifying will be Saturday from 7:35 a.m. to noon, followed by a celebrity race at 1. The celebrity race will feature CART’s Robby Gordon of Orange, IRL’s Roberto Guerrero of San Juan Capistrano and actors Alfonso Ribiero, Grant Show and Sean Patrick Flannery.
Following the celebrity race, a 15-lap heat will take place for all divisions except Kids, who will be limited to eight laps.
A second round of heat races is scheduled from 7:35 a.m. to noon Sunday, followed by the 25-lap main events from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The event is considered a “ladder system” for driver development by CART. The list of current CART racers who began their careers in karting includes points leader Juan Montoya, Dario Franchitti, Paul Tracy, Max Papis and Richie Hearn.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for children under 12 for today’s racing, $13 and $10 on Saturday and Sunday.
LAND SPEED
The electric-powered “White Lightning,” owned by Edward Dempsey of Huntington Beach, set a national speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last week.
The vehicle, piloted by Pat Rummerfield of Belleville, Ill., made a two-way pass in 239.533 mph. The mark would have easily surpassed the world record of 215.289 mph, but the sport’s governing body, Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, wasn’t present. The vehicle also reached a one-way speed of 249.6 mph, which would have broken Rummerfield’s world record of 237.18 mph.
“We were up for going faster, but the salt was rough,” Dempsey said. “It wasn’t as smooth as in some years.”
Dempsey and Rummerfield will return to Bonneville in October, when the world records will be on the line at the FIA World Finals.
