Invaders karts made their debut at the 1973 IKF Grand Nationals in Quincy, IL and took home 3 Grand National Championships (Duffy’s) and many 2nd place finishes. 

 All Invaders karts have been built by the Nelson Family, under Gary Nelson’s leadership and later his son, Jeff Nelson. Invader karts went on to win numerous IKF and WKA Sprint, Road Race, Speedway national championships in the U.S. as well as the 1974 Hong Kong International World Championship with Howard Combee driving. Jeff Nelson became 1 of 4 drivers to ever win Grand National Championships in all three divisions, sprint, road race, & speedway. All of these were driving Invader chassis. 

All G.W. Nelson (Nelson Manufacturing) Invaders are constructed by hand from 4130 chromoly aircraft quality tubing and originally the majority of all components were manufactured in house by CNC machinery. 

After tremendous success the Invader brand started to take hold throughout the country. In the early 1990’s Kyle Adkins opened an Invader dealership out of Port Washington, Ohio and became one of Invader’s largest influences on the east coast. Shortly after in 1999 Kyle Adkins and his crew were able to win the WKA Manufactures Cup for the Invader Chassis winning 21 races, more than any other kart make that year.

During this time period Jeff’s son, Cole Nelson, began his racing career in 1996. Just one short year into his career Cole Nelson won his first two National Championships under his Dad’s wing and the Invader Kart. As the years progressed Cole became the number one factory driver for Invader, testing, developing, and racing across the country. The Invader brand continued to expand and dominate winning national championships year after year. With the combination of the three generations of Nelsons and decades of karting, manufacturing, and engineering experience the Invader chassis proved to be second to none. Small adjustments were made annually to better the chassis and develop the chassis into what it is today. By the age of 16 Cole Nelson won 9 Nationals Championships, multiple Skusa Pro tour events, and many regional championships. From 1999-2005 Invader took home over 15 national championships in 100cc 2-cycle classes. 

At the end of 2006 Invader had to close the doors to the manufacturing side of the business due to the economic down turn. While Cole continued his involvement in motorsports he enjoyed a two year stint in formula cars then began to  mentor young drivers and provide driving lessons under Cole Nelson Racing. After a few years of coaching Cole decided to re-open the manufacturing side of Invader Karts and began building the Invader chassis once again in 2013 out of Reno, Nevada.

As if the brand never took a break, Invader claimed the Sr. 4 Cycle Regional championship in 2013 on a brand new 2013 Invader 4-Cycle Pro. As Cole has continued to grow the brand to what it once was and beyond Invader chassis’ have experienced a tremendous amount of success.    

Cole Nelson has now been refining the chassis and putting top of the line parts on the kart. Many of the older kart that were made by Nelson Manufacturing are still being used today and is a testament to the long life and the performance of these great chassis. Invader will continue to be a big part of karting and continue to provide winning chassis to the sport of karting.