Racing go karts not just for amusement parks anymore

(August 24, 2011) GAINESVILLE, Fla. (PRNewswire) — There's more to racing go karts than a short spurt around an arcade track every now and then. It's gaining speed as one of the most up and coming sports for children, teenagers and even adults.

More than 80,000 people between the ages of 22 and 35 are actively involved in the karting industry, according to the industry publication National Kart News, and there are no signs of it slowing.

When once you could rev up your kart in the backyard, 100,000-square foot indoor facilities have spawned just for indoor racing tracks.

If anything, the popularity of this sport has been catapulted from the number of professional drivers who got their start in karting. Nearly 90 percent of all professional drivers got their start in karting, including Jamie McMurray, six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winner. Both him and fellow NASCAR driver A. J. Allmendinger, who also got his start in karting, competed in the U.S. Rotax Max Karting Grand Nationals in July at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.

"For me, it's just all about fun," said McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 in 2010. "I have a little shop that I go into, I lock the door, I turn the radio on, and I can work on my go-karts and just kind of relax and get away from everything."

Besides from prepping you for a future career in professional racing, racing go karts provides an outlet that both adults and kids can enjoy.