This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on September 9th, 2024, and is the final episode for Season 4. This Finale has hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing long time So-Cal karter Scott Gordinier: from a driver in his younger years, to a formidable presence on the business side, Scott perhaps found the most success as a top-level tuner. Add to that his experience as a race official, and you have a well rounded individual in the industry with...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 55
This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on September 9th, 2024, and is the final episode for Season 4. This Finale has hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing long time So-Cal karter Scott Gordinier: from a driver in his younger years, to a formidable presence on the business side, Scott perhaps found the most success as a top-level tuner. Add to that his experience as a race official, and you have a well rounded individual in the industry with...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 55
Recorded on July 20th, episode 54 for the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview Jonathon Sugianto. "Sugi's" story starts as a young kid introduced to racing by flipping through the channels, finding NASCAR, and what would become his favorite driver and hero, Jeff Gordon. But before finding success on track, he would first win his greatest battle... Cancer. Listen to his story from a child overcoming Leukemia, getting into karts at Jim Ha...
Aug 20, 2024•1 hr 43 min•Season 4Ep. 54
Recorded on June 24th, the 53rd edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview Chris Giumarra. Chris has been in the sport of karting his entire life; from a "track kid" at their family owned track in Cuddebackville, New York, to a factory Trackmagic driver, to now a fitness and lifestyle coach for racing drivers, he's done it all. Listen in to over 30 years of experience in the sport, talking karting, fitness, and even pizza! Join...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Season 4Ep. 53
Recorded on June 24th, the 53rd edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview Chris Giumarra. Chris has been in the sport of karting his entire life; from a "track kid" at their family owned track in Cuddebackville, New York, to a factory Trackmagic driver, to now a fitness and lifestyle coach for racing drivers, he's done it all. Listen in to over 30 years of experience in the sport, talking karting, fitness, and even pizza! Join...
Jul 16, 2024•57 min•Season 4Ep. 53
Episode 52 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel circle back with long-time friend KC Cook in their first ever 'REVISITED' show. KC's first time sitting down with the FCP was all the way back in March of 2020 for episode #1, and he's back to tell us what he's been up to since. But this is more than just catching up; They of course talk a lot about karting -and even cars- but also about Cook's newest venture: The Boost Foundation. Listen as he...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 52
Episode 52 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel circle back with long-time friend KC Cook in their first ever 'REVISITED' show. KC's first time sitting down with the FCP was all the way back in March of 2020 for episode #1, and he's back to tell us what he's been up to since. But this is more than just catching up; They of course talk a lot about karting -and even cars- but also about Cook's newest venture: The Boost Foundation. Listen as he...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Season 4Ep. 52
The debut of Season 4 of the The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Episode 51 get a late start, first being recorded in March of 2023, as hosts Derek Esquibel and Mike Smith have seen many changes in their personal lives - including a change in their recording location. Almost a throwback; this episode is "On Location" at the Challenge of the Americas in Phoenix, Arizona last year, where guest Chase Jones explains where it all began. A young karting talent and eventual karting tea...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 51
The debut of Season 4 of the The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Episode 51 get a late start, first being recorded in March of 2023, as hosts Derek Esquibel and Mike Smith have seen many changes in their personal lives - including a change in their recording location. Almost a throwback; this episode is "On Location" at the Challenge of the Americas in Phoenix, Arizona last year, where guest Chase Jones explains where it all began. A young karting talent and eventual karting tea...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 4Ep. 51
The Full Caster Podcast Returns! Recorded on March 18th 2024, lots has changed for hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel since the last time the FCP was live, with new homes and new jobs - and now a new place to record! We are so excited for what is in store for Season 4 of the Full Caster Podcast - a Karting Conversation, and we can't wait to get things started! Join us for a special "Intro Episode", and the Preview for Season 4 of the Full Caster Podcast!
Apr 16, 2024•43 min
Recorded on December 29th, 2022 as part of the "CalSpeed Last Laps" podcast, Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel sit down with CalSpeed Karting's founder Rob Niles to have a look back on near-20 years it has been in business. Beginning with its origins starting in 2003, and chronicling its rise to be the home of the largest arrive and drive program in the world, and the hub of competition karting in Southern California, this is CalSpeed Karting's story... Join us for Part 1 of the 'CalSpeed Last Laps'...
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr 36 min
Recorded on December 29th, 2022 as part of the "CalSpeed Last Laps" podcast, Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel sit down with CalSpeed Karting's founder Rob Niles to have a look back on near-20 years it has been in business. Beginning with its origins starting in 2003, and chronicling its rise to be the home of the largest arrive and drive program in the world, and the hub of competition karting in Southern California, this is CalSpeed Karting's story... Join us for Part 2 of the 'CalSpeed Last Laps'...
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr 2 min
Recorded during CalSpeed's send-off event on December 18th, 2022; Mike Smith, Derek Esquibel and several guests share their stories about CalSpeed from the past near-20 years it has been in business... Join us for Part 4 of the 'CalSpeed Last Laps' on the Full Caster Podcast! 00:00 - Intro 00:20 - Mike Smith & Joe Ponce 13:28 - Mike Smith & Dave Allen 26:11 - Mike Smith, Derek Esquibel, and T.A. La 1:01:31 - Mike Smith with the Niles ladies: Sylvia, Cali, and Lily......
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr 33 min
Recorded during CalSpeed's send-off event on December 18th, 2022; Mike Smith, Derek Esquibel and several guests share their stories about CalSpeed from the past near-20 years it has been in business... Join us for Part 3 of the 'CalSpeed Last Laps' on the Full Caster Podcast! 00:00 - Intro 00:21 - Mike Smith & Sean Buur 11:02 - Mike Smith & Steve Donald 27:28 - Mike Smith, with Steve Donald, and the "Senior Moments" team: Gerry Florez, Hugh Robertson, and David Carlisle 52:39 - Rob Niles...
Jan 17, 2023•1 hr 6 min
The 50th installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, this is actually the Season Finale for Season 3 of the FCP, getting done on October 4th, 2022. Logan Calvin joins hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel for this episode, and they not only talk about Logan's tenure as the dominant force in sport karting at CalSpeed, but also his rise from indoor karting and into competition karting. Flat out the name that all other drivers measure against in sport karting, Logan Calvin has pr...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 50
The 50th installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, this is actually the Season Finale for Season 3 of the FCP, getting done on October 4th, 2022. Logan Calvin joins hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel for this episode, and they not only talk about Logan's tenure as the dominant force in sport karting at CalSpeed, but also his rise from indoor karting and into competition karting. Flat out the name that all other drivers measure against in sport karting, Logan Calvin has pr...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 50
This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on August 22nd 2022, with hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing the owner and principal of Forward Direction Motorsports, Greg Welch! many these days know Greg from his FDM team and race shop based out of Colorado, but he has been a part of karting ever since he was a little kid. We chat about his driving career rising through the ranks of Shifter karts, his time working for the family biz at Shockwave ...
Sep 20, 2022•1 hr 40 min•Season 3Ep. 49
This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on August 22nd 2022, with hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing the owner and principal of Forward Direction Motorsports, Greg Welch! many these days know Greg from his FDM team and race shop based out of Colorado, but he has been a part of karting ever since he was a little kid. We chat about his driving career rising through the ranks of Shifter karts, his time working for the family biz at Shockwave ...
Sep 20, 2022•50 min•Season 3Ep. 49
Recorded on August 1st, episode 48 for the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview long time sport karter, Sean Fite. With roots in Sprint Cars watching his dad race as a kid in the late 80's to 90's, Sean actually didn't get his first chance behind a racing car until he did Sprint Car racing schools in his early 20's. Eventually finding indoor karting, and finally outdoor karting with CalSpeed Karting, Fite went from a late start at about...
Aug 16, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Season 3Ep. 48
This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on July 16th 2022, with hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing someone who is perhaps mostly seen these days behind a camera, Sean Buur. For episode 47 of the FCP we chat with Sean not only about his current duties as photographer and media lead for the Challenge of the Americas and all the sport karting events at CalSpeed, but also his origins in karting and the founding of one of the most popular karti...
Jul 19, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Season 3Ep. 47
This installment of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, was recorded on July 16th 2022, with hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interviewing someone who is perhaps mostly seen these days behind a camera, Sean Buur. For episode 47 of the FCP we chat with Sean not only about his current duties as photographer and media lead for the Challenge of the Americas and all the sport karting events at CalSpeed, but also his origins in karting and the founding of one of the most popular karti...
Jul 19, 2022•1 hr 44 min•Season 3Ep. 47
Recorded on May 27th, the 46th edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview The Thibodeaux's of Tri-C Karters, Nathan and Trisha. As two of the three principals of the Tri-C Karters club, this dynamic duo -along with Eric Nelson- are responsible for putting on the events of the Tri-C club at CalSpeed Karting, but also have a local winter series, as well as summer night series that run at Adams Motorsports Park. Get to know both o...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 3Ep. 46
Recorded on May 27th, the 46th edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview The Thibodeaux's of Tri-C Karters, Nathan and Trisha. As two of the three principals of the Tri-C Karters club, this dynamic duo -along with Eric Nelson- are responsible for putting on the events of the Tri-C club at CalSpeed Karting, but also have a local winter series, as well as summer night series that run at Adams Motorsports Park. Get to know both o...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 3Ep. 46
Episode 45 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel catch up with their buddy and longtime Sports Car racer, Stevan McAleer. Hailing from Scotland, Stevan takes us through his journey as young karter, where his start came from bouncing back from an incident to find an even bigger fire and passion for driving. Making the move to the States after earning a drive at Skip Barber, he progressed through the MX5 Cup and now races in the GT4 class in IM...
May 17, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Episode 45 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel catch up with their buddy and longtime Sports Car racer, Stevan McAleer. Hailing from Scotland, Stevan takes us through his journey as young karter, where his start came from bouncing back from an incident to find an even bigger fire and passion for driving. Making the move to the States after earning a drive at Skip Barber, he progressed through the MX5 Cup and now races in the GT4 class in IM...
May 17, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 45
Episode 44 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel catch up current ARCA West Series driver and top-flight senior karter, Jake Drew. Starting in kid karts in the the early 2000's, Jake worked his way up from there to not only become one of the best Senior-level karters in the USA, but also has made the move into cars via the ARCA West series and Sunrise Racing. Join us as we chat with him about everything from winning IKF Duffys, to the the cha...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 3Ep. 44
Episode 44 of The Full Caster Podcast: A Karting Conversation sees Hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel catch up current ARCA West Series driver and top-flight senior karter, Jake Drew. Starting in kid karts in the the early 2000's, Jake worked his way up from there to not only become one of the best Senior-level karters in the USA, but also has made the move into cars via the ARCA West series and Sunrise Racing. Join us as we chat with him about everything from winning IKF Duffys, to the the cha...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 27 min•Season 3Ep. 44
Recorded on January 12th, 2022, Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel host their first ever "Roundtable" discussion, bringing on former Full Caster Podcast guests Matt Johnson, Jesus Vasquez, and Race Liberante. Covering all sorts of karting topics and from multiple different views in the industry, we chat off season prep, views on rules and officiating, driver etiquette, the pitfalls of getting into karting, and even brainstormed possible solutions like how licensing could work. Whether new to the spor...
Mar 29, 2022•2 hr 36 min
Recorded on March 7th, the 43rd edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview Ty Matta. Growing up in the Philippines, Ty was introduced to karting at an early age via his uncle who raced F2, but actually didn't start racing himself until his late teens after moving to America - and on two wheels! When he did finally make the transition to karts, he would run side by side and learn much from Jesus Vasquez, and shares many stories ...
Mar 15, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 43
Recorded on March 7th, the 43rd edition of the Full Caster Podcast - A Karting Conversation, sees hosts Mike Smith and Derek Esquibel interview Ty Matta. Growing up in the Philippines, Ty was introduced to karting at an early age via his uncle who raced F2, but actually didn't start racing himself until his late teens after moving to America - and on two wheels! When he did finally make the transition to karts, he would run side by side and learn much from Jesus Vasquez, and shares many stories ...
Mar 15, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 3Ep. 43
