Lake Oswego 10-year old takes home first place in national racing competition - Portland Tribune

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In a pink helmet and orange go-kart, 10-year-old Jackson Gibson soars around a blacktop track with the Las Vegas strip serving as a picturesque background.
On Sunday, Nov. 20, Jackson, a fourth grader at Forest Hills Elementary School, competed in the Las Vegas SKUSA SuperNationals — the United States’ largest go-kart racing competition. Gibson not only raced but took home first place in his age group of 7- to 10-year-olds.
The competition is one of the most popular racing events hosted in the United States and features everyone from novice beginners to veteran drivers. Jackson was part of the first group of racers in the "Microswift" category.

Jackson raced against 47 other children from countries like England, Brazil, Australia, Poland and Mexico. Racer Rocco Simone, who hails from Canada, took an early lead and had a sizable advantage among his other competitors until Jackson was able to move his way up the track during lap 14 with the help of other competitors.

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Jackson was able to emerge from the pack that had swallowed Rocco. Jackson and Rocco swapped the top spots a few times before the Lake Oswego resident emerged victorious in the final lap. This was his first win in a SKUSA competition.
From "day one," Jackson has always been a bit obsessed with cars and racing. His father, Mark, started him in go-kart racing as a way for Jackson to find an outlet for his interests. Mark and Jackson's mother, Hillary, grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana — home to the Indianapolis 500 racing competition.
"We grew up in a culture of being fans of motor racing," Mark said.
Mark serves as a "dad mechanic" for his son, and he said it has been a great bonding experience.
"It's really fun. We get to share all those moments together and learn together as a team … in terms of father-son bonding, I can't imagine a better activity," said Mark.
Jackson is a member of the Rolison Performance Group, a Wilsonville racing company. Before the Las Vegas competition, he worked repeatedly with his coaches on his final two laps and learned strategies for how to drive more aggressively and block other racers.

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Jackson competes in around a dozen races each year. In 2022 he traveled to Florida, North Carolina, New Orleans, Wisconsin, Indiana and Nevada, among other locations. Next year, Jackson will return to Las Vegas to compete in the national competition once again. He said he is looking forward to moving up an age bracket and racing along the barrier again — despite the giant, handmade walls scaring his mother.
Jackson hopes that more people his age start go-kart racing, especially since a lot of kids may not realize that racing opportunities are right in their back yards.
Just don't expect him to take it easy on the newcomers. According to Jackson, nothing beats seeing his competition in the rearview mirror.
"My favorite part is passing people," he said.