Indoor Kart Track ideas

In reply to loosecannon :

I just mention that since it's easier for me to grab a snack and keep racing (or buying more laps), instead of racing until my stomach hurts and then leaving. 

loosecannon said:

kazoospec said:

The biggest issue for me is price point.  We have a pretty nice track that's a city over from me.  They hit you at $18 for about a 7 or 8 minute session.  I've gone once or twice.  I've driven past it without stopping over a dozen times.  $10 for the same session and I stop every time I'm nearby.  So long as their carts are always running, I guess they can charge whatever they want.  To me, $18 for less than 10 minutes of time is past the "pain point".  

We are the cheapest kart track within 700 miles. 3 races (30 laps) for $41.00 (Canadian) in our faster karts, $65 for 2 hour all-u-can-race pass (guaranteed 15 races) and buying races in bulk gets you $6 per race. Our prices can't be beat, which is probably why none of the big chain kart tracks are interested in Winnipeg

First idea is get a bar to go along with it. 

Second is to copy whatever the chains that aren’t there do. Probably a bar. 

Advertise.  I use to do r/c racing, I had to find the one track in town, they did no advertising at all, and eventually closed.  

So they really brought in nobody that didn't already want to be there, was just friends telling friends until friends ran out of friends.

Is advertising on the radio too expensive?  Billboards?  Ads on back of Buses? 

How big of a space do you have to work with?  I doubt it’s big enough for this, but you could recreate real tracks in miniature and hold races at the same time (e.g. Daytona, Laguna Seca, Spa etc.)

Locally we have access to both gas and electric karts at sites that are both owned by small groups and large chains.  They are indoor and outdoor sites.  They all have a hook to get you started, it's the reality that as long as you are having fun you keep going back.  But once you take a bite of the apple and you realize you are only human, then it's harder to go back.

I am older and heaver than the kids that I seem to run with.  They can't move me with a tap into a corner.  Bless them, they do try.  In the event they earn the pass and yes they do, they are lighter and can drive away.  On those occasions when the inverse might happen and a youngster finds them self on the outside of a pass I am making into a bend in the track, they do not lift willingly. Or, at least in a timely manor.  This might be why the flags they wave at the drivers have different colors, right?

Your partner might be right, not adding that really good Canadian Beer to the mix is a prudent idea.

I would reach out to group and family centered events.  They are more likely to be daytime events with people that need to stay hydrated with stuff that has a nominal profit margin but will not impairer their judgment. 

From the larger events you will find willing participants that will be asking for the "fast kart" and will return to run late into the night.  When the hook is set, just right.  

Having raced at the local indoor kart tracks against guys who have been drinking, I'd vouch for the fact that it's a bad idea.  Ever gotten the Red Mist during a race?  Now imagine the damage to karts and racers that can come when you throw alcohol into the mix along with inexperienced drivers who don't want to be passed.  I wouldn't want to be held liable for that.

How about a driving school to teach people how to go faster?  It would make for great practice/tune ups for DE students, and wannabe racers who know nothing.  And I second the drift sessions, had a local drift oval and it was a blast.

Any way to make it more interesting for spectators too? I'm thinking of someone who might be driving by, or "in the area" who would like to stop in for a few quick laps, but their partner resists because they don't want to stand around being bored while their partner is on track. Maybe some way for spectators to try and pick winners and get points or prizes or free laps if they're right? Not necessarily betting where money is involved, but kind of the same idea.

PMRacing said:

When I was planning my never-to-come-to-fruition track, I had the crazy idea of putting paintball guns on the front of the karts and targets on the back. Hit a target and it slows the kart in front down. 

You could do something similar with laser tag stuff and have no mess or damage. Maybe coordinate it somehow with some governor on the engine to temporarily slow the cart that's been shot?

What is your Facebook presence like?  There is a new RC car shop near me that posts a ton on FB.  It seems to get the store a fair amount of business, which surprised me as I didn't really think a store like that could survive in the internet age.  He puts on a monthly car show as well during the warm months to help promote the store.  

Are you affiliated with any local car clubs?  My SCCA region used to run kart races at the local indoor track, although it seems they are migrating to iRacing lately.

I'm not sure about combining alcohol and any sort of motorized activity.  That just seems to open up a whole host of liability concerns.

loosecannon said:

californiamilleghia said:

Figure 8 racing ?

How many hours are you open now ?

and is the idea to add hours ?

You can't be serious about figure 8 racing. 

Yes it was a joke , we had Ascot raceway here and for years they had figure 8 races , demolition derby etc along with stock cars , midgets , AMA   and more.....

Now is a massive insurance company auction lot.....

Ian F said:

I'm not sure about combining alcohol and any sort of motorized activity.  That just seems to open up a whole host of liability concerns.

Yeah, I'm absolutely positive the insurance company would not be kosher with that.

Motorcycle and bicycle racing, bring your own bike. It helps several local tracks here.

A few of you think we would serve alcohol then let people race. That's not how it works. You can do all your racing then enjoy a cold beverage AFTER your racing. Once you have alcohol, you cannot go back to race.  We have close connections with the local Sports car club and karting association but those are just small drops of water in our pond. Any paintball/laser tag thing is not going to work because our karts are simply too fast to have any distractions, and no, they can't just be turned down.  Our motto is "It's not like racing, it is racing" and the track/karts are set up in such a way that skilled drivers get better lap times than unskilled drivers, and weight is not really a factor. Also, the karts are all driven twice a week by a kart tester and are adjusted to drive an identical lap time. We have a ProSkill points system and the better your results, the more points you earn and once you reach 1800 points, you get to drive our ProKarts, which are even faster than our regular karts. ProKarts and RaceKarts do not race at the same time and their lap times are recorded separately. 

Viable ideas: Absolutely get involved with the local car scene. Car clubs, car shows, racing events, speed shops... Everybody who goes should know who you are. The food truck also seems like a good idea.

Just throwing it out there: I have seen some entertaining videos of sprint karts on indoor tracks. You could make some fun material for social media as well as give a local karting outfit a chance to promote itself.

food/alcohol is high profit.  You're right to want to look there first.  Do you have kiddie karts and kiddie races?  I could never find a place that would let my 5-8 year old drive.

I give you a lot of credit, I am a coward to want to open my own indoor kart track, but do dream about it. What kind of feedback have you received from customers? Have you done any Analytics on potential customers?  Do you think "it's not like racing, it is racing" may scare away the average person? Would it be worthwhile for you to buy into a franchise like K1 for name recognition? Do you think you are in the right location?

Have you considered going electric with your karts? I have taken my wife 2 different kart tracks one gas and one electric. They were both date nights, it was obvious that she preferred the electric because she had no interest in smelling like exhaust and didn't like sniffing the fumes. I was at a local kart track in indy visiting, the wait was 60 minutes to get on track, they had a restaurant so I could sit and eat while I waited.I would have otherwise probably left. Another location I attended was in Buffalo that was attached to the Mall, I saw a lot of people walk-in because they just happen to be at the mall.

The ones near me have added axe throwing.  Doesn't take up that much floor space, and adds a different type of group activity that gets people in the door.

In reply to loosecannon :

That makes sense.  A mtn bike park I ride at in NH has a small cafe and a bar. I almost always get a beer and a burrito after I'm done riding for the day. I wouldn't be surprised if those represent a higher revenue stream than the actual biking facility. NH also has some fairly unrestrictive liquor license regulations - you can get beer or wine just about anywhere.  In PA, alcohol licenses are like gold, which is why we have quite a few BOYB resturants. 

loosecannon said:

You can do all your racing then enjoy a cold beverage AFTER your racing. Once you have alcohol, you cannot go back to race.  

How do you police it would be my main question. Does everyone have a bracelet to be able to race, once you sit down at the bar you have to give up your bracelet? Something like that I guess?

white_fly said:

Viable ideas: Absolutely get involved with the local car scene. Car clubs, car shows, racing events, speed shops... Everybody who goes should know who you are. The food truck also seems like a good idea.

Just throwing it out there: I have seen some entertaining videos of sprint karts on indoor tracks. You could make some fun material for social media as well as give a local karting outfit a chance to promote itself.

And as a car guy, this would be easy. Show up to all the local car events. Hand out business cards with a discount. At these events, find the "majority" of car makes. Join that face book page or instagram. Start offering cars and coffee meets in your parking lot, with that discount if they present the card, or a password.

If I'm standing in a parking lot full of cars, and there is a way to get my racing jollies ten feet from me for $20, I will cave in. 

Fit some LED driving lights to the karts, turn off the lights and do some "night time" racing. 

You could even simulate an overnight endurance race with light, dark then light again for the finish. 

AxeHealey said:

Fit some LED driving lights to the karts, turn off the lights and do some "night time" racing. 

You could even simulate an overnight endurance race with light, dark then light again for the finish. 

We did Glow Karting for years, it was cool but didn't add to the bottom line and had a whole mess of problems 

_ said:

white_fly said:

Viable ideas: Absolutely get involved with the local car scene. Car clubs, car shows, racing events, speed shops... Everybody who goes should know who you are. The food truck also seems like a good idea.

Just throwing it out there: I have seen some entertaining videos of sprint karts on indoor tracks. You could make some fun material for social media as well as give a local karting outfit a chance to promote itself.

And as a car guy, this would be easy. Show up to all the local car events. Hand out business cards with a discount. At these events, find the "majority" of car makes. Join that face book page or instagram. Start offering cars and coffee meets in your parking lot, with that discount if they present the card, or a password.

If I'm standing in a parking lot full of cars, and there is a way to get my racing jollies ten feet from me for $20, I will cave in. 

There are two big car shows every Sunday, one is old guys with muscle cars and the other are younger with the tuner cars. We go to both shows with our Speedworld wrapped car and the Pink Panther race car and we hand out brochures and free passes. We had a special deal for car clubs which included pizza and a private room but it wasn't very successful 

Could you setup a temporary circuit at one of these car shows?  I know its a big ask to haul all of the Karts, etc. out, but I've seen it done at some of the local pro races (there's also usually an autocross group running as well).

Setup the course with cones like autocross and invite folks over to try their hand, at the very least it could help distract some of the younger folks who tend to get a little antsy at those events and the older folks can claim bragging rights.

The Axe throwing is an interesting one, a local place used to have dart boards, pool tables and a few arcade machines which helped keep people there longer and potentially run more laps.

Also, how big is your parking lot?  Could you hold an autocross or car show event there?  Maybe a cars/coffee style event and have a coffee cart/trailer available?  You shouldn't need a regulation kitchen to run a basic coffee cart and sell donuts/bagles, etc.

World of Speed here in Wilsonville has a small coffee section inside and hosts the weekly Cars & Coffee event every Saturday, many folks stay after the event to check out the museum and/or some of the special events they hold.  Every week a different theme is used for the "special" parking area up front; First Responders, Specific Marques, Race cars, etc.

There's also Mini Maker Faires and similar.  Are there any Maker spaces or groups in your area? 

How about R/C Racers?  Maybe hold some open sessions for some of the folks who might want to dust off their old pan cars and have some fun.

A local outdoor track has Drift events which gets quite a lot of interest, while you likely can't do that at your location, you could hold indoor drift Kart events with all the judging and nonsense that goes along with Drifting.  Put some PVC tube on the rear tires, lock the axle (if it isn't already) and see who can actually maintain some slip angle.

Could you work with local schools to build robots or alternative modes of transportation to see who can be faster/successful around the course?

I know at one of the local Mini Maker Faires someone made their own hovercraft out of some plywood, foam pool noodle, a plastic seat and a battery powered leaf blower.  My 3-year old daughter loved it and so did the older kids, something like that with two blowers could allow a different type of competition (like the Mario Kart, etc.) and they would be relatively cheap to build and you could be more inclusive for younger kids or kids with different abilities.

Any local children's hospitals that might want to help sick kids take their minds off of what ails them?

Not many of these ideas will directly aide your bottom line in the near term, but perhaps via word of mouth and positive publicity you could get some interest.

Just some thoughts.