Racing along at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour, wearing neck braces and helmets, go-kart enthusiasts whiz by at On Track Karting in Wallingford.
In a climate-controlled observation room, onlookers sit in cozy leather couches and at tables, checking out the racers’ clocked times displayed on one of three large, flat screens.
These are go-karts on speed, traveling along a serpentine-shaped track that winds through a 60,000-square-foot building located in a commercial district on Old Colony Road.
One thing for sure, this isn’t your grandfather’s go kart. Nor is it the typical amusement park experience geared just for kids. The business, launched about three years ago, was created to appeal to adults by offering a unique, high-speed and challenging racing experience, said Martin Tyrrel, one of the Tyrrel family members running the enterprise.
The goal is to offer drivers who get behind the wheel a taste of the thrill and competition of a motor sport, which costs $25 for an eight-minute session.
Although adults were lining up for the chance to compete with their buddies on the day I visited the indoor track, numerous youngsters were there as well. Children must be at least eight years old to get behind the wheel of a junior go kart equipped with a 4 horse-power engine, which travels up to 25 miles per hour.
For adults, the larger go karts are powered with 9 horse power engines and can go up to speeds of 40 miles per hour.
On Track Karting is the brainchild of Chris Tyrrel, a former race car driver. With the financial help of a Small Business Administration loan and an investment from his parents, Barbara and Biff Tyrrel, the business was launched after brother Martin found a vacant retail store in Wallingford.
Investments and improvements were made incrementally, Tyrrel said. “We did not over invest” when initially launching the enterprise, he said, spending less than $1 million to get started.
As customer counts grew, so did their investments. While the Tyrrels recognized that youth gatherings and birthday parties — about six per week — would provide additional revenue opportunities, the number of business groups booking time at the track was an unexpected bonus. Many arrived after attending off-site meetings elsewhere.
The Tyrrels realized that if they had executive meeting rooms available with food service, they could attract more business groups.
In November, they invested $50,000 to build two, executive conference rooms equipped with white boards and WiFi access, and added a kitchen to provide on-site food service. During the past 10 months, their corporate business has grown by 400 percent, Tyrrel said. In 2008, they averaged one corporate event per month; today, they average more than one corporate event per week. In September, they will host seven.
“It has probably paid for itself within one year,” he said.
Diane Weaver Dunne is the Hartford Business Journal managing editor.
