The Indoor Indy -- Speed Seekers Put The Pedal To The Metal At Indoor Kart Racetracks
They say that racing electrifies every sense. Having raced, I can't deny it. The bellow of the engine drowns out any thought, the smell of gasoline assaults you, and your world is reduced to the next 20 feet of track.
OK, so I'm only going 25 mph. I'm in Mukilteo, not Daytona. And my little speed racer is nothing more than a set of wheels, a seat and a weenie five-horsepower engine. It sounds more like a lawn mower than a Ferrari. If I put my feet down, I could almost pedal the kart along with my legs like Fred Flintstone.
Don't bother telling that to the aspiring Mario Andrettis whizzing around Traxx indoor kart raceway. These aren't the Go Karts of your childhood, the 5-mph Tinkertoys you tooted around after a game of miniature golf at the family fun center. Indoor karting is the next generation of amateur racing: precision-timed, adrenaline-pumped competition.
So what captivates drivers the most?
"They go fast," says 17-year-old Wade Edelbrook, who races twice a month at Traxx.
Indoor kart racing has only recently made inroads here, with about a dozen locations in the U.S. In Europe, the sport has been around for years; Germany alone boasts an estimated 300 indoor raceways. Locally, kart drivers also are speeding in Fife, where Grand Prix Raceway opened in November 1997. Traxx opened last December and Crazy Redhead Raceway will debut early next month in Redmond.
The local raceways are modeled after the European tracks. They are especially popular with corporate planners, who often bring their employees for socializing. Traxx has hosted groups from Microsoft, Boeing, Chem-Dry and Les Schwab. The rest of the time, it's just people looking for an E-ticket ride. On weekends, the wait for a heat can last up to two hours.
In an indoor raceway, eight karts race in eight-minute heats on a 1/5-mile track. On the straightaways, karts can reach speeds of up to 35 mph. Each race is timed down to the hundredth of a second, and drivers are ranked daily.
It's like golf, said Rick Wanzer, owner of Traxx. With the lap times stored permanently in the raceway's computer, drivers are constantly training to beat each other's score and their own past records.
Racing retirees
On the evening I went, drivers ranged from a retired paramedic to teenage guys. There was also a group of amateur race-car drivers from the Rainier Autosports Club. Before you're allowed to race, you have to sign a waiver, which warns of "catastrophic injury, paralysis and even death." I signed, figuring it couldn't be any more dangerous than skiing.
Solemnly, I told the woman behind the counter I had picked Xena as my race name.
Housed in a former machine-shop warehouse, the track had been built to resemble a real raceway, complete with sponsor banners from motor-oil and beer companies. There were big tires all over the place. The workers even wave checkered flags at the cars. I donned a head sock - a glamorous name for shower cap - and then a helmet and climbed into the kart.
I had hoped for a red kart and pictured myself disappearing into the body of my car, my helmet, heavily stamped with Pennzoil decals, blending into the red paint job as my crew strapped me in. But the karts aren't quite as sleek. My kart looked more like a flattened bumper car.
A half a lap into the race, I confirmed that "danger" is not my middle name. I climbed to 25 mph, which may feel excruciatingly slow behind the wheel of my Infiniti in a residential zone. But in a kart without a windshield, it felt like warp speed. Maintaining control of the kart required an iron grip on the steering wheel. My brain was having problems coordinating the brake and gas pedals with both feet instead of one.
Wall hugger
Wade's words of advice, which now sounded like a football play, rumbled in my head: "Go out wide, cut in hard." I had no idea what he was talking about. The point is to aggressively whip past other drivers at the first sign of weakness. Drivers were getting so excited they whooped and hollered around each lap. I ended up putting along the right side of the track, hoping no one would rear-end my kart and send me into a pile of tires.
The final times put the Warrior Princess dead last with an average lap time of 30.10 seconds. I ranked 100th out of 260 that day.
The group from Rainier Autosports Club was pleased, though. Compared to the $1,000 they will spend car racing, karting for $15 a race was a cheap thrill. Carl Hillman, a 30-year-old member from Seattle, said, "It's really good competition. It's gives you a taste of racing." They chirped as they scanned their times, and went straight back to the counter to sign up for another race.
I headed out the exit, and got back into my car. Listening to the quiet hum of the engine, I floored it out of the parking lot.
--------- If you go ---------
Wear comfortable clothes you don't mind bathing in gasoline fumes. If you have long hair, make sure you securely tuck it into your head sock before driving. To avoid the crowds, show up early. The busiest hours are Friday evenings and all weekend.
Traxx Indoor Raceway. $15 for an eight-minute heat. Children younger than 10 can't race; children between the ages of 10 and 13 must take a driving course to qualify and can drive only during family heats, held Monday to Thursday at 6:15 p.m. and several times on Saturday and Sunday. Family heats cost $12. Drivers younger than 18 must have a waiver signed by parent or legal guardian. Open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday to Saturday. 425-493-TRAX (8729).
From Interstate 5 at the intersection with Interstate 405, take Exit 182 to Highway 525 north toward Mukilteo. Make a right on Highway 99 and a left to get back on Highway 525. Make a left onto Chennault Beach Road. Traxx will be on your immediate right. 4239 Chennault Beach Road, Mukilteo.
Grand Prix Raceway. $20 for a 15-minute heat. Open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Members receive a discount. Memberships cost $5. Drivers must be at least 5 feet tall. Anyone younger than 18 must be accompanied by a legal guardian or parent. 253-922-7722.
From Interstate 5, take Exit 137 in Fife and turn left onto 54th Avenue East. Make a right onto 20th Street East. Turn left onto Frank Albert Road East. The raceway will be on your left two blocks down. 2105 Frank Albert Road E., Fife. Crazy Redhead Raceway will open next month with an electric kart raceway. 2207 N.E. Bellevue-Redmond Road, Redmond. 425-462-7299. Web site: www.crazyredhead.com.
Karttrak Indoor Raceway will open next week. 1735 Cedardale Road, Bldg. E-300, Mount Vernon. 888-272-1700.