Marcus Rodriguez and his father, Nolan, are part of a racing tradition covering three generations.
By Tom Mueller
If you ask 8-year-old Marcus Rodriguez what he likes most about racing karts at speeds up to 60 mph around a track in northwest Katy, you get an unexpected response. “I like driving in the rain,” he says. “It’s fun.”
Kart racing in the rain? Well, this isn’t your average go-kart track and these aren’t your average go karts. These are high-performance machines running race fuel and specialty tires that can cost $200 for a set of four. The track – one of the premier kart racing facilities in South Texas – is located in Katy, just west of Houston.
I found the track almost by accident – I was out on a Sunday motorcycle ride and just happened upon this traffic jam in the country. As I got closer, I saw what looked like a NASCAR event – lots of trailers and giant motor homes surrounded by pop-up canopies over the top of tool boxes, air compressors, lawn chairs, karts on stands, and lots of people in full-body racing suits. It was a tailgating extravaganza that had drawn drivers from as far north as Dallas.
And it is all about racing karts.
Paul Jones, a 26-year resident of Katy, is president of Gulf Coast Karting Inc, the club that owns the racing facility. But Jones, 58, isn’t just the president, he’s also a racer. Jones got his son into the sport about nine years ago, and then just took over when his son went off to college.
Paul Jones and his race kart.
“I made sure he had good equipment so I would inherit it,” he jokes, but it’s a sentiment I hear repeated across the fairway as I speak with racers and their families. The sport has a lot of legacy racers – fathers who have handed down their passion for kart racing to their children and grandchildren.
Marcus Rodriguez races in one of those families – he’s a third generation racer. His grandfather still participates in the events, fielding a team of four karts. His father, Nolan, raced for 20 years and recently introduced Marcus to the sport. His mom, Krischen, works the registration desk and concession stand on race days. The family lives in Hockley and regularly participates in the race events – 16 per year are held at the Katy track.
“It’s never a 5-year-old going to a dad and saying I want to race. It’s the dad – 100 percent of the time,” says Chuck Beare, from Northwest Houston, who works as the family mechanic to keep his son Chucky’s kart race ready. “The dad usually has some history with racing somewhere along the line – it could be stock cars, it could be motorcycle racing… the dad just wants to get back out there and do something – and he’s doing it with his family. Everybody is out here with their family. “
The Beare family – Chuck, Chucky, and Griselda.
Griselda Beare, Chucky’s mom, said she worries some about the racing, but the club is strong on safety and the family atmosphere is great.
“We like doing things together as a family, and this is something he’s been dreaming about for a long time. If you’re going to race, you should do it in a safe way, so why not do it here. This is a great place to be because the kids are together all the time, and there’s great people around here,” she says.
Watching the karts zip around the track, you can see what a total adrenaline rush it is to be out there racing – taking those tight turns, accelerating through the straights, and racing wheel to wheel with other drivers; even drivers who are many years away from getting a Texas drivers license.
As mentioned, though, it’s not all kids out there. Another adult racer, Patrick Roth, 38, of Richmond, developed a passion for racing while in college, then as an engineer with Ford working in their high performance vehicle division. Later, he raced cars in road racing style events, but the potential repair expenses of racing regular cars put him off.
Karting was the answer.
“This is where karting came in and I only wish I had done it sooner,” he said. He compares the kart’s acceleration to that of a Ferrari, helped by the six speed manual transmission he runs bolted up to a 125 cc two-stroke motorcycle engine. His kart weighs in at around 230 pounds, generates about 38 horsepower, and can hit speeds near 80 mph in the straights. “The acceleration is amazing,” he says.
Patrick Roth with his “shifter” kart getting ready to race.
The other karts run with centrifugal clutches, where no shifting is required. These have purpose built race engines that can run 17,000 rpms and can hit speeds of up to about 60 mph in the straights. That is a separate class from the “shifters” like Roth drives, so the younger drivers race against similar karts in similar age brackets.“When we go through our high speed corners our karts generate up to 3G’s of lateral force, more than three times the best cars on the road,” adds Jones. “That is actually more fun than the strait line acceleration.”
How much can you spend?
As with many sporting activities today, different families spend differing amounts on their karts and equipment.
“You can spend as much as you want,” says Nolan Rodriguez, looking down the fairway at the giant motor homes with generators, crank-out patio decks, air conditioning, and BBQ grills. Nolan runs his operation from a small trailer and pop up canopy. “Some of these guys take it really serious,” he says.
Roth agreed. “With this, it’s not cheap, but there are certainly entry level karts and classes that allow people to get in at a much lower cost, with lower maintenance. It was all about cost for me,” he says.
The fairway where racers relax and get the karts ready to run.
Safety precautions
Safety protections built into the sport are obvious as you walk through the fairway and then watch the carts zipping around the track. The track itself was purpose-built for kart racing 40 years ago. It was designed with safety in mind, with lots of open space around the turns to allow for spinouts. The karts sport full bumper protection on the front and sides. The racers all wear head to toe abrasion suits, neck braces, and helmets. The club recommends additional safety gear, including chest protectors and boots that cover the ankle. It’s rare to see a major incident, but EMS is on site for all races just in case. Safety rules are reviewed with all drivers and support crew during the driver briefing before each event.“For the most part, you might get a bump and a spin, but the karts are pretty stable. It’s rare for you to get anything to flip,” Jones says.
How does a racer drive on the road?
I wondered what happens to kids who’ve grown up racing karts when they eventually get that Texas driver’s license and hit the normal roads. Might that be a problem?
Nolan Rodriguez: “I think racing karts at an early age gave me an advantage and the respect of driving a vehicle. It taught me how to use the brake in situations, how to make quick and fast maneuvers in a split second and it also let me know that crashing a vehicle is not something that I want to do. It also helped me make good judgment calls when on the road around crazy drivers.” Crazy drivers? In Houston?
Jones: “My son’s driving habits were actually better – for several reasons. First, he was experienced at how a vehicle reacts at the edge of control, so there is no big surprise if he encounters an emergency situation. Second, he was actually more controlled and less “racy” on the street as he got it out of the way on the track – a phenomenon I also experience.”
As the day’s racing winds down, and each driver and pit crew consider the ups and downs of the day, one thing is clear – especially for the family teams: they accomplished it together.
The Facility
Gulf Coast Kartway is a 0.7 mile paved road racing course with a 780-foot main straight and a variety of left-hand and right-hand corners that are designed to provide a challenging, competitive and fun racing experience for the drivers. It is located at 29726 Stockdick Road, just east of FM 2855. There is a concession stand for all events, with hot dogs, barbeque, snacks and drinks. Coolers are allowed.
An aerial view shows the challenging layout of the Katy kart racing track.
Coming events
Next kart racing event in Katy is Sept. 28. Details here: http://www.racekarts.com/event/1/52bmcdoapr3tts4obebufkl7ikIn early October, the Katy track will host the Texas Pro Kart Challenge, which is expected to attract drivers from across the state. Details of this event can be found here: http://www.racekarts.com/event/2/11mvv6ruo42nml7fjtej6dkk3c
If you go
Parking is the major challenge around major events, but the race club has organized extra parking on nearby property and there should be plenty of room. Cost is $5 per person at GCKI events. That covers insurance cost for being on the site. Take a cooler and lawn chairs if you don’t want to sit in the aluminum grandstand. And bring your checkbook – you may end up wanting to buy a pre-owned kart and start your own racing tradition.
Map to the site: http://www.racekarts.com/directions-to-gulf-coast-karters-katy-tx.html
How about a kart racing app?
These days there seems to be an app for everything, and racing is no exception. Race Monitor is the preferred app for tracking race statistics and driver performance in real time during races.
very well written and very factual, you captured a lot of why we are involved in the sport, see you got a shot of our karts in the article we must have been at the drivers meeting, thanks for the exposure!
very well written and very factual, you captured a lot of why we are involved in the sport, see you got a shot of our karts in the article we must have been at the drivers meeting, thanks for the exposure!
Great article about our GCKI track! Thanks!!