NEVADA eKART CHAMPION, DALLAS COLODNY
RENO, NV (July 26) – There’s a new racing champion in town from a series that’s pretty much under the radar for most sports. He’s Dallas Colodny, Nevada’s eKART champion at Need2Speed, our indoor track.
This spring the facility signed on for the first American National eKART Championship sponsored by Monster Energy, one of several tracks that are sending their champions to Chicago for a run off to determine a national champion.
For Colodny racing has been in his blood for most of his life.
Dallas Colodny stands by with his championship belt and by the kart he used to win the eKART title at Need2Speed.
“It really all started with my dad at Silver State, Champion and what ever million of names it’s had over the years,” he said. “He started in the Passenger Car Class then got a Late Model and I did a brief run in an Outlaw Kart when I was 7 then went and played team sports.”
Later his younger brother Hunter got interested and began racing Outlaw Karts when he was about 6-years-old.
“Then I wanted to try it again so I ran Outlaw Karts, then a Legends car at Champion for a little bit, also in Las Vegas. Had a pretty bad accident in a Legends car so they moved me up to an ASA Speed Truck, which was a touring series in the Southwest,” he said.
That series ran Irwindale Speedway, Orange Show Speedway, Tucson as well as a couple of road courses. He next moved to a late model with High Point Racing in Los Angeles based at Irwindale.
“2009 was my last full season, won Rookie of the Year than ran in 2010 All Star Show Down, got fifth place in that one. That in our time line was when the economy wasn’t so great so the sponsorship money kind of ran out and I had to get a real job,” he said.
And most people in this area know him through his “real job.”
Dallas Colodny at his “day job,” reporting sports with KTVN Channel 2.
Photo courtesy – Dallas Colodny.
“I’m a sports anchor reporter at Channel 2, KTVN,” he said. “I’m pretty much on any of the sports casts as I’ll be on Monday through Friday it’s a 5:30 show, 7 o’clock show, 11 o’clock show and then weekends, Saturday 5, 6:30 and 11.”
His interest in eKarting came after Need2Speed opened and offered something different than the family friendly tracks we have in this area.
“These are more ligit ones, you’ve got to brake and have some talent to be fast. When they opened one of these up here I just came to have fun as I do leagues. Then they eventually said they were going to do this American eKART Championship sponsored by Monster, which was the first one ever,” he said.
Time is the most important factor in most of the racing done at Need2Speed as that determines a person’s place no matter if they are racing against friends or in a league. In the Championship series drivers race each other and can pass for position, which determines where they actually finish.
“In most of these pro leagues due to the way these tracks are, it’s more about time,” he said. “This is one of those where you’re actually racing for position, which is what I came up doing and learning. I was just like, ‘absolutely I’m going to do this.'”
The series was eight weeks long but the last, or title round had some changes in format.
“I wound up being the champion but that last week was different,” he said. “They took the top three, like the NASCAR style play offs they basically made it a one night race off. Who ever got the best points that night was the Champion. I had a pretty good lead going into it I was like, ‘man I really don’t want to lose this,’ so I really had to drive my butt off that to get it.”
As a result his summer vacation is in Chicago where the championship run offs are held. He’ll be leaving Reno around August 10th or 11th, right about the time Hot August Nights ends.
Nevada’s eKART champion Dallas Colodny with his daughter Aaleah at Need2Speed.
“I’ll be up there for a few days, family coming and everything. They haven’t exactly told us what the schedule will be other than practices are going to be on Friday with two races on Saturday and Sunday but I don’t know what the format is,” he said. “There’s a driver’s meeting at a sports bar, that’s as much as I know at this moment.”
He’ll also have help from a family member that will probably act as a coach.
“The good news is that my brother Hunter is coming out, who obviously has a lot of racing experience too and I’ll say he’s probably better in a kart, lives up in Michigan and is going to meet me down there,” Colodny said. “I was always a very, very good racer, had a lot of talent but my brother was always just a little step ahead of me but he was my younger brother and he kind of wound up in the same situation I did. He’s always been extremely fast in a kart so I’m going to be happy he’s going to be there to help me out.”
While the family will be there to encourage him Colodny respects the situation he’ll find himself in.
“You know it’s one of those things where I have absolutely have no idea of how good any of these people are obviously the one that won the championship there would be the favorite as he knows the track. I’m pretty confident in my abilities but I’m trying to be humble about it. I could get there and be not mesh with the karts or the track or I could get there and fit it like a glove. I just don’t know,” he said. “I’m confident in my abilities but I just don’t even know what to expect at this point. I’m trying to be like, ‘let’s just have fun with it,’ you know it’s racing. I could be doing a lot worse things.”
There’s a lot of money on the line as the national champion will pocket $10,000. Colodny doesn’t know if the Toyota National Show Down he raced a late model in even paid that much as he only got $3,000 for finishing fifth.
Looking at the overall picture he said, “I’m really thrilled that Need2Speed got involved with this. I’m in the pro league 99% of the time, which is fun, it’s competitive with something that has 4 wheels and a steering wheel but I always wanted us to race each other. I’m very thankful they put this on and allowed us to have this opportunity to do this.
“I hope to be a good champion and representative of the track in Chicago in a couple of weeks. Plus I’m representing Northern Nevada; I grew up here, went to high school and college here and raced at Champion Speedway for a while. My dad is coming out and like I said I have absolutely no idea of what to expect.”
For further information on indoor karting here in Reno please check the website at, www.need2speed.com.
REPORTER’S NOTE: We hope to have how Colodny did in the National Championship run offs the Monday after the event happens.
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