When Paul Blackhurst wasn’t concentrating on the family potato chip business, he did everything in his power to keep his children healthy and happy.

Looking back to his youth there was one nagging lament. He had always wanted to race. Then, an opportunity to rekindle a dream by proxy fell into his lap. A friend had a go-kart for sale and he instantly thought it would be a great Christmas present for his 5-year-old son. Jake Blackhurst had no idea what his father had in store. As he recalled it, “One day my dad just showed up with a go-kart.”