 Recently Tom Godfrey, Editor of Indoor Kart Report and Founder of the IKRL was asked Ten Questions for a new web site Feature on Pole Positions web site. Below are questions and answers :
P2R: How did you get involved in indoor karting?
TG: I had already been in the Family Entertainment Center (FEC) business for over 20 years when I was approached to help develop F1 Race Factory in Phoenix, AZ. It did not take me long to fall in love with the indoor karting business, I was already a race fan, loved the Entertainment business and in this situation there was a lot more control over one of the toughest things to deal with in the FEC business, the weather.
P2R: What is Indoor Kart Report?
TG: Indoor Kart Report.Com is a web site that I started that is dedicated to information and news for the indoor karting business, we deal with all aspects of the indoor karting business, right now we have an article on the site about Kart Industry Council's trip to China as it applies to them researching Lithium batteries for indoor karting use. Generally speaking, we break the business down into two categories, Facility and Racing news, we rank the top 350 indoor karters in the country, have a Forum for discussion and hope soon to provide a B2B section for track owners.
P2R: Is it true that you are opening up your own karting center and where will it be located?
TG: Yes! We have been working on a multi-use facility in Nashville, TN which will have our indoor kart track and two sheets of ice hockey to meet market demand in that area for more available ice time to keep up with league practice. I am looking forward to the track being open in early 2011, it's taken a little while with the development of the land and building, but I am very excited that the time to race karts in TN is arriving soon!
P2R: How many tracks have you visited in the United States and what are some of the unique qualities that set the tracks apart from one another?
TG: I have been to over 30 tracks out of the nearly 80+ that are out there, I find that every track is unique based upon the demographic that it serves and the track owners vision for a marketing plan. Some tracks are smaller and based solely on the racing aspect of indoor karts, while others that have a larger, broader demographic and serve a large corporate clientele with meeting and conference rooms. Based upon needs within their communities some tracks also have various other attractions for their customers to enjoy while visiting, the one thread that I see among all of our major successful tracks is attention to providing the highest quality "racing experience" and with all great businesses, attention to providing great customer service.
P2R: Tell us about some of the accomplishment that your son Truman Godfrey has earned during his career as a champion kart racer?
TG: One of the personal surprises to me after my son as a teenager had been working for me at Family Entertainment Centers was the way he took to the racing side of karting. He had never been involved in kart racing and shortly after being introduced to the indoor world he really got interested in competing, over the past seven years of competition he has won the U.S. Indoor National Championship and finished second three other times. Truman has been named the IKRL "Indoor Driver of the Year" twice and has been ranked as high as sixth in the World. He has branched out into running road races and Drifting competitions, but we still get excited at the National Indoor races. One of the really cool things that he likes is all the celebrity races we get to attend, he has raced with racing stars Kurt and Kyle Bush, Wayne Taylor of the Sun Trust Daytona Prototypes, Indy 500 Champion Buddy Rice, Motorcycle Stars like Mike Metzger and Jeremy McGrath, plus people from other entertainment aspects like the rock group, Five Finger Death Punch.
P2R: What do you like most about indoor karting?
TG: Well the easy answer is the great fun that you can have with family and friends at the local indoor kart track. With activities for the adults and most tracks having Junior karts, a real fun and exciting family together time can be made of a trip to the track. For me from a business stand point, I enjoy the people I have met in the business and as always I enjoy the everyday interaction with our customers and hearing how much fun they have had with their personal race experience.
P2R: How do you compare gas versus electric karts for use at indoor kart tracks?
TG: Well, other than the exception of long endurance races their is not much of a comparison from a indoor business stand point. As I had previously said , we supply a "racing experience" for the general public, the general public who doesn't want to invest in purchasing a kart, a trailer, a mechanic or being their own mechanic, with the time restrictions placed upon race fans with their busy lives today we provide a place were the average racing fan can get into the action quick, have a great time, then get on with the rest of the things they have to accomplish that day. One of the things I really like about the electric karts is their flexibility of facility design, you don't have the throw up a glass wall between your customers and the racing action, customers can sit track side, be comfortable and enjoy the racing action and actually be able to discuss the action without having to yell at each other or be bothered by gas fumes. The cleanliness of electric tracks is one of the first things customers notice, the openness and the lack of fumes and oils makes for an appealing facility to both male and female consumers. Our customers love racing as much as any, what they don't care for is getting greasy or dirty, that's not part of the "Racing Experience", that's a dry cleaning bill.
P2R: Do you think that electric technology represents the future of indoor karting?
TG: I really do! I am a Board Member of the Kart Industry Council, with represents all forms of performance karting, both indoor and outdoor, gas and electric. Our group is sending a Delegation to China to look at their latest advances in Lithium batteries with a particular interest in their use for the indoor karting business, we have a major U.S. manufacturer of Lithium batteries doing a prototype right now for indoor kart use. Due to the preciseness of the controls on the electric kart it lends itself to many future advances.
P2R: What makes indoor karting so fun for amateur and professional racers?
TG: As I mentioned before there are a lot of interested motor sports fans out who would love to go racing, they may be held back by time, money or skill level. We provide a place that they can "get their race on". Indoor kart racing is a fun, safe activity for almost all age groups. It's a "get a group from the office" after work kind of activity that will bring out the race Driver in almost everybody, for a lot of amateur racers it's probably as close as they will get to NASCAR, but at 1.5 inches off the track and going 45 MPH it's a rush that's hard to get enough of. If they find they have the skill set, indoor karting offers some of the best competition in racing, as I mentioned my son has ran races with Jeff Gordon, the Busch brothers, Boris Said and a lot of other great Drivers, indoor karting best Drivers can hang with anybody in this form of specialized racing.
P2R: Tell us about your involvement with racing on a national and world level?
TG: Along with my involvement with the Kart Industry Council, I am on the Committee that sets up the Indoor Kart World Championship ( IKWC), the IKWC rotates between the U.S., Europe and South America. We just came off a very successful 2010 Championship in Phoenix, AZ. We will be announcing shortly where the 2011 IKWC will be in Europe. I am on the Committee that formed the U.S. Indoor Kart Championship and Chairman of the Indoor Kart Racing League (IKRL) which has sponsored three $5000.00 races this year. These groups and publishing the IndoorKartReport.Com keeps me pretty well up to date on all things in indoor karting racing.
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