Go Cart Racing in St. Pete

My neighbor and sometimes fishing buddy, Jim, was taking the boys to race go carts to celebrate his son's birthday and we decided to tag along. I had no idea there was a go cart track for kids in the area so I was eager to check it out as I used to have a ball on them as a kid, and my shorties hadn't been.

Sure enough, a quick trip to the north side along U.S. 19 and we were at Tampa Bay Grand Prix Racing, 4710 34th St. N.. As it rained the whole way there we were pretty sure the kids weren't going to get a shot on the track so I didn't bring the camera. When we got there the rain was just letting up but they already had a crew on the track getting rid of the water so we decided to hang out and see if they'd get a chance.

In about an hour the track was dry and the kids were donning the racing gear. The kids were treated very well, were given outstanding instruction and the whole thing seemed to be run from electronic remotes. The carts were all electric so that when there was a mishap, yes there were a few, they could shut or slow down individual carts so as to ensure everyone's safety.

As you can imagine from the picture, the kids enjoyment of donning the official gear and climbing in behind the wheel overcame their fear of never having driven anything before.

I apologize for the quality of the images, or lack thereof, but they were all taken from a camera phone. Next time we'll bring the digital camera, rain or shine, and yes.... there will be a next time.

The kids were seperated into two groups for "qualifying heats", they climbed into their cars and with one last word of caution and instruction... off they went. The first couple of laps were pretty slow but as their confidence picked up, so did the speed and it was pretty cool to see some actual racing being done by the end of the qualifying heats.

At the end of each heat, which consisted of 6 laps, each child was given a results sheet which calculated their order of finish, average, lap time, fastest lap time, etc. They were all loving it, bragging about how cool it was to be driving and how they were going to squash each other in the finals as they watched the second qualifying heat.

For the "Finals" the track owner/operators devided the kids according to their times, placing the fastest kids in one final and the slower ones in the other. This is when the serious racing began as the bigger kids didn't have to worry about getting around the smaller, and the shorties weren't worried about the bigger kids and could get down to the business of racing. Seperating the kids according to spead and giving them two seperate finals was a perfect solution, particlularly as the odler kids had been there before.

They put the shorties out first for the 14 lap finals, giving the bigger kids an opportunity to talk their smack, and amazingly enough they finished the race without a single mishap. Elora led from about the second lap on with Connor and Skyler battling for second and third respectively.

The big kids really battled though. Paul, dominated from the onset and the other three really went at it. Birthday boy Josh was able to hold off his older brother Will until there were about two laps to go. You could see the sigh of relief in Wills demeanor after overtaking Josh as he would have had to live wih that one for awhile. Didn't even bother him that Paul won but we doubt it would have been as pleasant if he'd have finished second to his younger brother.

In the end, everyone had a blast and it was the topic of discussion for the rest of the day. Who was the best, how someone was blocking them from passing, why they wiped out in the corner and how it wasn't their fault, etc. but mostly... when they were going to be able to go back again.

The track owner/operators made sure that each of the kids received a medal or trophy for their efforts and when we left they all felt like winners. We would like to thank the people of Tampa Bay Grand Prix Racing for their professional service and their pleasant and personal demeanor with all of the kids during preracing, racing and taking the time to make sure that none left empty handed.

If you're looking for a quick adventure in Central St. Pete we heartily recommend Tampa Bay Grand Prix just over the hump, across from Kanes Furniture on 34th St. N. You can reach them for pricing and information at (727) 527-8464 or visit their web site at www.TampaBayGP.com.

They have bigger cars for adults/young adults and reglular racing with prizes at different times for different levels of experience. We're definitely going again, and I think that Dad just might have to get in the mix as well.

Thanks again, Tampa Bay Grand Prix for a great family afternoon!