World's largest indoor kart track to open in CT???!??

[Cerberus]

aaand online reservations are open.
http://storefront.naskartracing.com/#/ShowProducts
you end up needing to register with the site, but the benefit is that it will record your lap times and that information will be accessible online for bragging.. err.. future reference purposes

I have a reservation for 12 noon tomorrow (Jan 1) in a lightspeed heat

[Cerberus]

*crossposted from the rides and events thread for visibility.*

So, all in all it was a good time.
Being that this was opening day and they didn't even have their POS software 4 days earlier when I went to the soft opening, they are still learning how it all works and sorting out bugs. They had one I.T. guy who was obviously running ragged to try to solve a bunch of little issues.

I had to go through the waiver line (very quick) which everyone will have to, but its done on computers, so its quick and easy.
Then I went through the POS line, The line was probably 45 minutes, but once people are more familiar with the systems and more people pre-register and pre-pay online, I expect that will get a lot faster.

Cost is $20/heat +tax and heats run about 6-8 minutes.
Point of interest, they put up SOLD OUT signs on the doors at various times when the flow to was crushing them, so i strongly recommend you go online to set up a membership, and pre-pay your heats. (pre-paid customers were still being allowed in while the sold out signs were up)
Then on to the track(s). In normal daily configuration there are two tracks which i will call left and right. On certains nights when the moon is right, they open up the track as a single track 1/2 mile long, which would have to be a lot of fun. The left track is the one I rode on for two heats at the soft opening and two two heats also on sunday. I also did one heat on the right track which is a totally different animal, also fun but with some very tight technical parts like a double hairpin. The air temp inside was neither too cool nor too hot.

The carts are battery powered (electric motor through a differential, with reverse), and are pretty torquey and can spin up the inside tire in hard turn with hard acceleration. They are all controlled by a hand held unit held by the track marshal who regulates either all carts on one track to one of 4 power levels or shut down (so kids and adults all use the same cart in different heats with very different experiences), or individual carts (for bad behavior). the seat and pedals are electrically movable for comfort I don't miss the sound of the engine at all. all you really hear is your own breathing in the helmet and the gear whine, and a lot of tire screeching.

Unfortunately, the timing system was still not working, so that was disappointing, but in the end, its just about having fun so no biggie.
There is a large walkway / balcony that is about 20 feet up (on the trampoline park floor level) and is between both tracks so it overlooks both. it is a great vantage point to watch other people race.
There is a full bar with about 20 seats and a quick food service with very limited food right now, but at a reasonable price.

Parking area is not large enough, and unless you are lucky you may end up having to park on dirt. Again, no biggie but a real issue for some people.
You can bring your own helmet and GoPro cameras seem to be allowed (contrary to the original information we had on our previous visit)

I will add that i spoke to one guy in line who was a league member at OnTrack karting, and post session, he was not impressed with the speed of the cart. Being battery powered, his may have not been fully charged, or his cart could have been set at level 3 instead of 4 (light speed, aka level 4 is the fast setting)

If i were the GM (who i spoke with yesterday) i would set up a protocol where the chargers are always connected to a cart. as soon as they are unplugged from one cart, they need to be plugged into the one on the other side of the charger rail to ensure full charge, better battery life (long term) and better rider experience.. but i'm a weirdo about some things.

if anyone has questions, ask away

[adouglas]

Do you know if the 1/2 mile track will open on a regular schedule? Was looking around trying to figure that out and can't find any indication of when that happens.

[Cerberus]

Do you know if the 1/2 mile track will open on a regular schedule? Was looking around trying to figure that out and can't find any indication of when that happens.

one source i saw indicated it would be on mondays and tuesdays only, but that was a news article and I have seen no info on the site or from the management directly