At 14 or 15, Joey Andrews arrived at CalSpeed Karting unsure whether he had entered the right race. The people at sign-in questioned whether he had selected the correct event. Andrews could only tell them he was there to figure it out. A few years later, he was one of the 2024 Mazda Spec MX-5 Shootout winners. His route to Spec MX-5 was unusually quick, but each step was practical: find a kart, listen to experienced racers, get proper coaching, earn a race license, and move into Spec Miata.
Less than four years separated that first CalSpeed event from his first Spec Miata race start. Andrews did not come from a family racing operation, and there was no prepared kart waiting in the garage. He and his parents first had to find a way into the sport. Once they did, they kept looking for the next useful step.
Less than four years separated that first CalSpeed event from his first Spec Miata race start.
Four years of searching before the first outdoor race
Andrews was 11 years old when he asked his father where he could drive. He was too young for the road, but Top Gear had already sparked his interest in cars and speed. His best friend Derek introduced him to the show in fifth grade, and the white-suited Stig inspired the nickname "The Stiglette." Indoor karting gave Andrews a place to drive. Photographs of outdoor tracks showed him that a more serious form of competition existed beyond the indoor venue.
Finding it proved harder than driving it. In 2016 and 2017, searches for outdoor youth karting produced little useful guidance. Andrews looked for information on becoming a race car driver and instead found advertisements about becoming an Uber driver. His family struggled to determine where he could enter a legitimate race.
So Andrews changed his approach. He attended car shows and asked people directly about outdoor karting until, in 2019, someone directed him to CalSpeed Karting on the California Speedway property in Fontana. CalSpeed's competitive rental-kart format removed the first major equipment hurdle. He could register, arrive, and drive without buying, transporting, or preparing a kart. That was enough to get him into his first race.
The route to Spec MX-5 took shape through people
The welcome at CalSpeed mattered because Andrews knew almost nothing about how the operation worked. Other competitors recognized a first-timer and offered answers and advice instead of leaving him to make preventable mistakes. Those paddock conversations helped him identify the right competition, the equipment he needed, and the people who could teach him what came next.
The welcome at CalSpeed mattered because Andrews knew almost nothing about how the operation worked.
After about two years in rental karts, Andrews met karting coach Casey Cook. Cook gave him a direct assessment: if he wanted to take racing seriously, he needed his own go-kart. At the end of 2021, they made a plan for the 2022 season. Andrews bought a kart and raced around Southern California, using the year as an intensive learning period rather than simply accumulating starts.
Cook also raced Spec Miata, which gave Andrews a direct connection between karting and car racing. Cook helped him obtain his race license, introduced him to a Spec Miata team, and arranged his first Spec Miata test. Andrews later became one of the 2024 Mazda Spec MX-5 Shootout winners and completed his rookie year in Spec MX-5 with the Mazda Motorsports Factory Club Racing Team. His parents, who attend almost every event, remained involved throughout.
Why arrive-and-drive karting still matters
Andrews now understands the cost problem from both sides. More testing gives a driver greater track knowledge and more opportunities to correct technique. More spending can also produce a faster vehicle. When those advantages compound, parity becomes difficult to maintain. Talent still matters, but a driver has little chance to display it while losing time to unequal equipment or arriving with a fraction of another competitor's testing.
When those advantages compound, parity becomes difficult to maintain.
His work coaching and officiating with FAT Karting League follows the same route that brought him into racing. The organization uses an arrive-and-drive structure designed to reduce costs and control parity. Andrews describes it as a collaboration between Rob Smedley, Felipe Massa's Formula One race engineer, and Ferdy Porsche.
FAT Karting League also runs a Formula 4 shootout that offers a route toward Formula One, and its world championship event was stated to be at Willow Springs in California. It provides the structured entry Andrews could not find when he searched in 2016 and 2017. His own target remains sports cars: advance through a professional spec series, then GT4 and GT3, before an eventual attempt to win Le Mans. The exact steps may change, but his method is set: use accessible equipment, learn from experienced people, test with purpose, and prepare for the next available seat.
The exact steps may change, but his method is set: use accessible equipment, learn from experienced people, test with purpose, and prepare for the next available seat.
