Karting in New York State 

That's right! Hop in a racing kart, and you have an inexpensive way to do real racing, with people who are just as crazy as you!

Getting started is easy! Just pick a track from the map, or the list on the left.

Visit the track, watch the action, talk to the drivers and pit crews, get a feeling for the kinds of people involved, prices, safety, and so forth.

Karting is great for spectators, because you can be close to the action. Most tracks will inexpensively sell you a pit pass, so you enter the actual pits.

Many tracks have an "arrive and drive" program, where you can rent time in a fully prepared racing kart. This is one of the best ways to find out if karting is really for you.

Broadly speaking, there are three kinds of tracks available for kart racing. Dirt ovals (brown dots on the map) are the most widely available. There are also paved ovals (blue dots), which often appear in conjunction with stock car tracks. In oval racing, you of course only turn one direction. And then, there are paved road courses, where you turn both left and right, as you would when driving on a regular road. These are denoted by red dots in the map.

Which form of track is best for you? It's a personal choice. It's certainly possible to have a blast racing on any type of surface. Check out the tracks that are close to you. And remember, it's the people in racing who make the most difference, not the track or the equipment. If you find the right group to race with, you'll have fun.

No matter where you live in New York State, you're close to an excellent racing facility. Check out one near you!

We do not use the terms "go-kart" or "yard kart" (or go-cart and yard cart) here because within the sport of kart racing, "go-kart" or "yard kart" implies a vehicle that is not specifically made for racing. A true racing kart is built for one purpose: going as fast as possible on a purpose-built race track.

Information about microds and quarter midgets

I maintain this website because, along with my entire family, I enjoy racing, and I'd like to introduce others to the sport. I accept no commercial support nor advertising for this site.

This site is devoted to karting only. Mostly, that means I list tracks that are sanctioned by, or adhere closely to the rules of, the World Karting Association (WKA) or International Kart Federation (IKF). I also am interested in promoting karting, so I am flexible in how I interpret "karting". If I feel that an activity will lead to people getting involved in karting, I may list it.

There is no perfect order in which to list the various tracks. To avoid playing favorites, I simply randomize the order for each visitor. So if you see your track at the top of the list one day, you'll be someplace else the next time you visit. Equal opportunity! Having said that, you can get the list is alphabetical order by track name or by city.

This site is accurate only to the extent that a great many helpful people feed information to me about changes in the racing scene. If you know of tracks that are not listed here, please let me know! And please report any inaccuracies. Thanks!

I'm sorry, I don't have information about these tracks beyond what you see here. If you need more information, please don't ask me; I probably don't know. Click on the dot on the map, or on the name of the track, to go visit the track's website.

- Dana Cartwright