Racecar driving is one of the few sports that can be practiced in miniature, unlike miniature discus throwing, which just results in a yard full of shattered Sade CDs. Suit up for facsimile speed with today’s Groupon: for $75, your child gets a kids half-day go-kart camp (a $150 total value) at Summit Point Kart. All kids classes run from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m.; choose from the following dates:
• Wednesday, June 15
• Thursday, June 16
• Wednesday, June 22
• Wednesday, June 29
• Wednesday, July 6
• Friday, July 8
• Wednesday, July 13
• Friday, July 15
• Wednesday, July 20
• Friday, July 22
• Wednesday, July 27
• Wednesday, August 3
• Friday, August 5
• Wednesday, August 10
• Wednesday, August 17
• Friday, August 19
• Wednesday, August 24
• Friday, August 26
Summit Point Kart's kid kart camp teaches young racers safety and skills, and awards graduates with the youth license required for racing in the SPK Kid Karting League, Allsport Kid League events, and SPK Kid Arrive and Drive. The kart lesson straps racers under 16 years of age into four-wheel classrooms to absorb know-how on kart control, track safety, and racing tips firsthand. Mini-motorists spin around the sweeping track inside youth karts boasting fully adjustable bucket seats, pedals, and steering wheels designed to fit most kids. The four-hour course aims to create a good foundation for future kart-racing endeavors and miniature grocery trips.
While Summit Point will provide a helmet, neck collar, and chest protector, parents are required to garb their children in either a racing suit or a jacket, pants, and gloves. After signing youth waivers and dropping off pint-sized pistoneers at the 7:30 a.m. registration, parents are welcome to stay and watch or leave and monitor the child's progress with telepathy. Parents of children under 48 inches tall or six years of age must call ahead to schedule a kart fitting for their child, and may be required to order a custom foam seat ($60), which is not included in the value of today's Groupon.
Summit Point Kart
Sitting behind the wheel of a 32 Sodi RX7 kart has a way of making you feel like a professional stunt driver. Maybe it's zipping up your driver’s suit or snapping on your helmet. Either way, at Summit Point Kart, all participants get the look they want and the safety orientation they need to cut turns like Andretti when they take on that piece of half-mile track known as the Washington Circuit.
Overhead, lights blaze down on the track’s 22 turns, so karters can race well into the evening or on that day after summer solstice when the sun is too partied out to get out of bed. Racers who get hooked can get themselves a yearly membership card, which discounts the price of racing credits. Little ones enamored with the track can enlist in a four-hour kart school that builds confidence behind the wheel.