Last weekend, a handful of us from the office went up to Grand Prix New York to meet with the fine people at Shell Car Care Products and turn a few laps on some go-karts; or at least we thought. Snuggled up in New York State, Grand Prix New York is a haven for corporations, schools, and speed junkies to let lose at one of, if not the best go-karting facilities I have been to.

     The people at Shell Car Care Products were nice enough to show off their line of car care products from Rain-X to BlackMagic tire/wheels products. I have used Rain-X on all my vehicles for some time now and absolutely will not use any other. Cruising at 65mph in rain, I can turn the windshield wipers off, and actually see better. Also, I came home and used their Black Magic Titanium Matte Tire Finish on my daily driver, and still have great looking tires to this day. On my way out, I made sure to collect as many goodies as I could. I was like a kid in a candy store. I didn't know what to expect while driving up to the go-kart facility, but figured it would be the same as the rest. Twelve banged up karts that went a blistering 13 mph, with one or two of them being absolute rocket ships and the rest limping around the track no matter who is at the wheel. Boy was I wrong about that. GPNY offers two road courses, conference rooms, a restaurant, a full bar, an arcade, and a display of exotics throughout the building. The brand new facility is the top of the line in every way shape of form, even for people who are looking for three-wide competition.
         We began the day with a drivers meeting to go over the different flags and format for the day. We were to complete four qualifying sessions followed by a 15-lap main with a standing start based on qualifying times. After putting on our full fire suits, neck collars, and helmets, we were brought out to the track for our first qualifying session. It was an absolute blast for me as I got a taste of some serious déjà vu from my karting days. 6.5 horse Honda engines provided plenty of power for negotiating the quarter mile track complete with elevation changes, a 40-mph front stretch, and technical section proving to separate the men from the boys.
         I was truly impressed at the experience after the first session but was blown away when I was handed a technical print out providing information including individual lap times, top speed, rankings, etc. Every piece of information one would want for improving lap times and making fun of slower friends. But after seeing that I wasn’t on top of the sheet, I was no longer there for fun; it was all business. Over the next three qualifying runs, I tried every trick I knew to make the kart fly and what do you know, fastest in the forth session, and starting 2nd in the main.
          The main began with a standing start at an idle mandated by “the man” due to electronically controlled gas release not allowing you to depress the gas and brake at the same time. Good thing I made friend with the started who filled me in on the secret of “foot-braking” with your right on the carb-mounted throttle. As the flag dropped, I “somehow” got a nice jump and was on top of the leader. For three laps, I couldn’t find a hole and decided it was time to make one. Coming into the first corner of lap 4, I let him know I was there with a stiff rub and knew I had him nervous. We dueled it out for the next 12 laps but I was not the best man on the track that day. When it was all said and done, I took home silver, which as good as getting last in the racing world and vowed to come back to over and over again to run some laps.
          All in all, a great time was had by all. Grand Prix New York is the one and only place to go for some go-karting fun in the New York tri-state area. Visit their site at www.GPNY.com and check it out for your self.