Vroom! Sophomore Cameron Taylor slams his foot down on the pedal and his cart flies down the track. Whipping around the first turn, he almost loses his grip on the wheel as a drip of sweat rolls off his hand. His heart is pounding. Everything is a colorful blur; the wind is biting at his face. Taylor accelerates through the last turn, the back of the go-kart fishtailing, almost out of control. Off in the distance, he can see his dad staring intently at him, stopwatch in hand. With all his might, he urges the go-kart on, guiding it with his foot. Taylor zooms past the finish line, and his dad flings his arms high in the air. "Wahoo!!" screams Taylor. He had just gone around the track in 38 seconds, beating his old record for the 7/8 mile run.

Go-karting is Taylor’s passion; it is always an exhilarating adventure for him. He works hard to juggle it with his many other extracurricular activities. Along with playing Varsity soccer and tennis, he is very comedic and outgoing. Taylor includes his wide circle of friends by taking them go-karting. "I almost always have friends with me," Taylor said. "It’s just like hanging out – we just go go-karting." Taylor chooses between off-road and on-road go-karting, both of which bring a thrill to him.

Taylor’s interest in go-karting began when he received a go-kart for his 8th birthday. Why? "My dad has a ‘need for speed’," Taylor said. "He gave me an off-road go-kart, which I was able to use on my own right away." For an eight year old, that sounds a little dangerous, but that doesn’t seem to intimidate Taylor, who says he has never had an injury due to go-karting.

One of his most memorable moments was when he was off-roading at his friend’s ranch. "My axle broke, which makes it so you can’t steer," Taylor recalled. "I went out of control and smashed into a chicken coop. I sandwiched this chicken and killed it!"

Peter Lenke said, "Taylor pushes the limits, but at the same time he’s a good teacher," Lenke is one of many friends to have gone go-karting with Taylor.

Taylor says it takes most of his friends two or three times to pick up the sport. He just lets them learn on their own, sometimes giving them tips along the way. "It’s a lot of fun, I even have names for all of my friends out there," Taylor said. "Like Nick, he’s the mud-man, because he crashed into a mud puddle the first day."

Last year, Taylor and his family bought two on-road go-karts. He takes his on-road go-kart to a track in Modesto. Only being an inch off the ground, the kart is able to go much faster than the off-road. The off-road can reach 89 mph versus the on-road’s mere 35 mph. "The on-road is more exhilarating," Taylor said. "It’s much faster."

Go-karting is an activity everyone should try, according to Taylor. Although he doesn’t compete in races due to lack of time, he is serious about the sport. "I am always trying to beat my previous record," Taylor said. "I think now I’m at about 38 seconds for one go around the track."

Even with his busy schedule, Taylor would never think about giving it up. "It would be the last thing to quit," Taylor said. "It’s a huge part of me. I get the biggest thrill out of doing it – more than any other sport." Go-karting brings out Taylor’s adventurous side, and he is able to push away the stress in life. "When you are go-karting, you are only concentrating on the road – it’s a feeling of freedom, like you can conquer anything."