| The Burris National
Speedway Series is proud to announce the appointment of Mark Watkins as
its National Technical Director. With the growth of the BNSS we have found
it increasingly necessary to have someone who is qualified to overlook
the technical end of our program and to be available to answer the many
questions that will arise in the future. Marks has a no nonsense personality
and embraces the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid!)philosophy which fits right
in with the BNSS’ own approach to doing business. The following is a brief
summary of Marks Karting career and accomplishments and will give you a
good idea of his varied background and skills.
Watkins (as he likes to be called) was introduced to karting in 1990 by family friend Troy Adams, who along with the rest of his family owned the Adams Kart Track in Riverside California. Watkins wanted to go racing and he wanted his wife Kathy (known to friends as Tiger)to be involved. He reasoned “The best way to keep the wife involved in the sport is to make her the driver”. They went out and bought a kart, a Kali chassis with a KT100 sportsman engine, in 1991. Needless to say, they were hooked, and from that day to the present, he has been her crew chief and engine builder. Watkins has built competitive engines in both 2 cycle (Yamaha KT100's, Yamaha YZ80's Honda CR80's) and 4 cycle (Briggs Stockers, Tecumseh and Honda OHV’s and Tecumseh Stars) and has a working knowledge of their various aspects. He recently built his own inertia dynamometer with full data acquisition for his shifter engines as well as the new breed of F200 OHV’s coming on the market. He feels this will better prepare him to understand the coming age of OHV karting. Watkins has also received training from the late Tony Miglizzi of L&T Clutches in clutch development and maintenance. His shop, Tiger Racing Technologies, boasts a full complement of racing development tools, including the above mentioned dyno, a flow bench, mill, lathe, TIG and gas welders and porting equipment. Watkins and his wife Tiger have participated in 2 cycle and 4 cycle sprint racing, as well as pavement speedway, dirt speedway and road racing and has earned numerous awards for his mechanical skills. Watkins resides in Redlands California and is a high school teacher, specializing in computer science and computer graphics when not out in the shop or at the race track! The BNSS welcomes Mark aboard and look forward to his contributions to our series and Karting in general.
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