Summit Point Kart Till you Puke (KTP) Review...

Short version:

berkeleying AWESOME!, low cost $120 + $40 1 year membership for 10+ hours of kart time on weekend days (5+ hrs seat time given run groups, attendance, etc.) arrive & drive, fast karts, challenging track, great wheel-to-wheel, you get a t-shirt included in your price...

http://www.summitpointkart.com/index.php

Long version:

I just got back from a trip up to my buddies near DC for a weekend party and while we were there we decided to go over to Summit Point and run their "Kart Till you Puke." Basically it's an all-day-a-thon (we did Sunday 12am-9pm) arrive and drive which happened to coincided with their racing league. My buddies and I have all karted alot at Andretti in Atlanta which are 9HP Honda karts where the track is tight (indoor) and only reaches 35MPH tops. Some in our group have run at SP before in the karts as well. We've all AutoX'd and track-day'd.

We arrived at 1pm and ran a couple 11 min runs. However since it was a quiet day, with only 5 league racers running, 1 non-leaguer and then 5 of us in our group (3 of which had run the course many times) after checking our times they let us all play in the league since we were doing the KTP and were all experienced karters anyway to help up the grid and make it more fun. They have Sodikart RX7s with a top speed of 55mph, which are used by those arriving-driving, and to qualifiy for the league races, but then the league races run RX250s with a top speed of around 80MPH (none of these are shifter karts). Otherwise you have to run a certain time on the RX7s and pay another $40 to run the RX250s (outside the league).

We ran a time trial, then 3 jockey races in the RX7s switching karts and position to gain the best overall times as the top 6 of us 10 got to run the league on the RX250s without paying the upgrade. The best part was those top 6 could continue to run the RX250s after the 3 league races were run without paying the upgrade fee for the rest of the day, plus the overall RX250 winner of the combined 3 races won a free RX250 KTP ($200). Yeah, it was pretty cool. I managed to qual 5th out of the top 6 for the RX250s and managed to hold there throughout the 3 RX250 races, but me and #6 who were complete noobs to something so fast and powerful as the RX250s had a sweet battle going the entire time. The other 4 guys were experienced racers and we couldn't match them but my times were steadily improving by the end.

In the end, the event cost me $160, I got a t-shirt, ran 7 races on the RX7s and 3 races on the RX250s, that's 111 minutes of racing for $160, and we bailed at 6pm (there was 3 more hours of racing) as we were physically exhausted and sore. Had we kept racing we were confident we could have run 5-6 more times given how few people were left but our bodies weren't in shape to handle that level of abuse.

$/fun/time invested/effort meter is pegged into the red on this one guys, I am seriously impressed by the karting at Summit Point and it's a good thing I don't live closer...

I did it near the end of last year. I did 24 races before it started to get cold so I left. Lots of fun. Had many laps <1 sec. off FTD. Races with the 3 other fast guys that were there that day were far more fun than those where I finished a mile ahead of some kids or someone who had never raced before.

I want to do it again, but its hard to get my racing buddies to commit to a day.

Ive done indoor karting a number of times before, and did 1 session at SPK a few years ago during hyperfest.

SPK was waaaay more fun.

The RX7 karts are fun, I cant imagine a kart that goes 30mph faster!

In lieu of autocross, I was really considering getting more into the indoor karting thats 15 minutes from my house but the location just closed in august (american indoor karting, fredericksburg)

I've been to Allsports (Sterling) like a gagillion times. I rarely go anymore. Track is too tight, passing someone is damn near impossible in a 20 lap race unless your pace is significantly faster than theirs. Northern VA has enough traffic jams... I don't need them go karting. I wouldn't mind trying one of the BMW club events where they run an alternate configuration though.

I did American Indoor once. That was enough. Track was sticky and fast... but one corner of the track is cement or something and will bounce the kart so berkeleying hard you'd think you were suddenly strapped to a mechanical bull. I asked the staff there about it, and "slow down" was the advice. Tried many different approaches, and slowing down was the only thing that worked. Bouncing was faster though. Screw that.

SPK = way more fun than both of these. I have considered running a league there instead of WDCR Autox next year.

VIR is pretty awesome too. The elevation change of the track is much greater than Summit.

ProDarwin wrote: I did 24 races before it started to get cold so I left.

Good God man! That's almost 4.5 hours of seat time in one day! How did your body hold up to the abuse?

ProDarwin wrote: SPK = way more fun than both of these. I have considered running a league there instead of WDCR Autox next year.

That's why I said it's good I don't live nearby. For the same total time investment on a Sunday as AutoX, and for a bit more dollars you go from minutes of seat time to hours of seat time wheel to wheel, plus you don't have to deal with your car, tech inspections, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love me some AutoX, but hot damn SPK is alot of motorsport for the $

I'm a regular at On Track Karting in CT. They used to have an all you can drive night during the week for $75. I think we got 18 races in (8 minutes each) from 5-11 since it was always on a slow night. I haven't been to SPK, but I'd like to get down there next spring/summer when I'm in DC.

How well did the seats fit you? A problem at OTK is that the seats are all extra big, so a small guy like me tends to move around and it kills my ribs. A ribsaver works wonders. How sore is your neck?

Raze wrote: Good God man! That's almost 4.5 hours of seat time in one day! How did your body hold up to the abuse? That's why I said it's good I don't live nearby. For the same total time investment on a Sunday as AutoX, and for a bit more dollars you go from minutes of seat time to hours of seat time wheel to wheel, plus you don't have to deal with your car, tech inspections, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love me some AutoX, but hot damn SPK is alot of motorsport for the $

1) I was getting a bit sore. The seats are definitely sized for someone larger. If I were to do it again, I'd bring some padding to bridge the gap. Sliding side to side in the seat was taking its toll on my ribs. Basically see Brotus7's post.

2) Downside is that KTP is not a race event, it's more like a trackday. Occasionally there are one or two other good people there, but I'd need to sign up for something more competition oriented (i.e. league) to replace my autox desires. Leagues are still a damn good bang for the buck.

Brotus7 wrote: I'm a regular at On Track Karting in CT. They used to have an all you can drive night during the week for $75. I think we got 18 races in (8 minutes each) from 5-11 since it was always on a slow night. I haven't been to SPK, but I'd like to get down there next spring/summer when I'm in DC. How well did the seats fit you? A problem at OTK is that the seats are all extra big, so a small guy like me tends to move around and it kills my ribs. A ribsaver works wonders. How sore is your neck?

The RX7 seats were for larger/taller folk, one of my buddies is 6'4" and 260lbs and fit comfortably and I jumped in one at full pedal and seat extension and had to reach out to the wheel, the RX250 seats were much tighter, at 5'10 210lbs I fit with minimal lateral movement but felt slightly cramped on the wheel at full pedal and seat extension.

My neck is great, about the only part that doesn't hurt, I have slight soreness on my hips and ribs, but mostly in my chest and arms as the RX250 higher speeds required more force to turn in (heavier than the RX7s) so the actual corner speeds between the two are comprable but nothing similar in the straights...

ProDarwin wrote: 2) Downside is that KTP is not a race event, it's more like a trackday. Occasionally there are one or two other good people there, but I'd need to sign up for something more competition oriented (i.e. league) to replace my autox desires. Leagues are still a damn good bang for the buck.

I agree, but my buddies (4 of them) and I were all within 1 second of each other so we had a blast as we were our own grid. I did meet some of the guys who were regulars and they were competition oriented that's why I said it was just coincidence we ran on the same day as the league which I would highly recommend.