Who needs a license to go fast?

Austin Hewitt of Sheffield shows off the go-kart that he recently finished overhauling. Hewitt, a racing enthusiast, enjoys learning how to work on racing vehicles and racing his go-kart at local tracks. (BCR photo/Heather Holland)

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SHEFFIELD — Even though he’s not old enough to get his driver’s license yet, a Bureau County teen has found a way to work with his love of racing, thanks to go-karts.

Racing enthusiast Austin Hewitt, 14, of Sheffield recently finished revamping a go-kart, with help from Richie Bell of Bell Transmission in Sheffield.

Hewitt, who received the go-kart from Bell two years ago, decided to redo the whole kart in order to learn more about how to fix and maintain racing vehicles. Hewitt and Bell, who races late model cars, spent about a month earlier this year working on the go-kart in Bell’s garage. They replaced the back end of the kart, installed a new seat, tires and rims, and did a new paint job. The kart was ready in time for the Sheffield Homecoming parade, and Hewitt drove the go-kart in the parade.

Hewitt said he’s always been interested in racing and working on vehicles. His dream is to have his own traveling racing team.

“I’ve liked it (racing) pretty much my whole life,” he said. “I like to learn how to work on the cars, and eventually I could get my own racing team out there and race. I could help the pit crew sometimes, so I’d know what I was doing.”

The first time Hewitt ever got on a go-kart was at age nine. He began racing at age 13. He said anyone can race go-karts, regardless of age, as long as they are ready to do so.

When he was younger, Hewitt and his brother rode their go-karts on a small gravel track near a warehouse owned by their father. Now, Hewitt races his revamped kart at a dirt oval track in rural Wyanet. His six-and-a-half horsepower go-kart can run up to 40 mph. If some changes were made, the go-kart could run up to 55 mph, Hewitt said.

Even though the major overhaul of the go-kart is complete, Hewitt said he still works on it when repairs are needed.

“I still work on it when it breaks down,” Hewitt said. “I do stuff to the motor and I maintain it. If something breaks that I don’t know, I can figure it out. It’s fun to learn about it.”

While Hewitt said he is a NASCAR fan, he likes dirt track racing better. Once he’s old enough to get his driver’s license, he wants to do dirt track racing, he said.

Overall, racing vehicles is just a great experience for Hewitt.

“I like everything about racing. I like the loudness of the cars and how fast they go,” Hewitt said.

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