In California, at the beginning of 1957, a small group of fans began to handicraft build the “cart” in their garages and cellars, following the interest aroused by the first kart built the year before by Art Ingels. To this group belonged Duffy Livingstone, Roy Desbrow and Bill Rowles, the future founders of Go Kart Manufactoring in Azusa, and other karters of the first hour, as, for example, Don Boberick and Spencer Murray, a journalist of Hot Rod Magazine. In fact many of these fans came just from the Hot Rod world, the old tuned cars, that in 50’s had a great success in the United States. And perhaps just Hot Rod Magazine was the first review all over the world, that published, at the end of 50’s, a wide coverage about the new trend burst in California.

In 1957 there were no kart tracks. Therefore, during weekends, karters went in search of a parking or an isolated area, where to give free play to their passion. Often the arrival of the Police interrupted the fun and karters were invited, in many cases also with bad manners, to get off. The fans, then, went again in search of an other parking area, the Police arrived and the history repeated itself.

In spring of 1957, finally, was found an area where karts could be “borne”: the  Rose Bowl parking area in Pasadena. Rose Bowl was the great stadium, where the  UCLA football team of Los Angeles played. When there were no games, the big parking area was a desert and became the karters reign. A lot of races and obstacle runs were organized and many onlookers stopped to see karts running  and ask for information. Some of them bought a kart and began, in their turn, to attend the Rose Bowl parking area, that became the reference point of all fans. So that, for American karters, “We meet at Rose Bowl” became a sort of password.