Sugar River Raceway

What a fun way to spend an afternoon. These carts are FAST. I took my boyfriend for his birthday. I didn’t last the entire duration because it was starting to get really sore. I could hardly move for days after because of how much it worked my muscles from hugging the corners. I would love to come back again.

My department scheduled a work outing team building event here. We had about a dozen drivers and went on a Wednesday. After arriving to this very rural location, I’d suggest hooking up your cell phone to their WIFI. I really didn’t get any phone or data capability otherwise.
Once you get your balaclava, sign a waiver, and gear up with a jacket, gloves, and helmet, you get a short safety meeting and track discussion. Then they load you into the carts and send you out for a warmup.
The carts are fast in the top end, but don’t necessarily have a lot of acceleration. So, you’re going to need to take efficient lines through the corners, learn trail braking techniques, and be fortunate that someone doesn’t tap your back end through a corner or you will spin out.
The course is phenomenal. Huge g-​forces can be attained through the final sweeping corner. Lots of complex braking and steering is needed, and finding the apex of each corner is vital. A couple times I had to lock up my brakes in order to avoid t-​boning someone that had wiped out in a corner.
Weight is key to wining. I did find a cart that seemed to be 3−4% faster than the others and managed to get around the course while sitting in pole position in about 43.8 seconds. The fastest guy managed a 42. something, but he did weigh 60# less than me. I did notice that the fastest people in our group were the smallest people. It is just a reality… if you’re bigger, you’ll need to find different ways to approach the physics of the course in order to find ways to pass.
This event was exhausting! We did 25 or so laps, and my forearms were worn out. No power steering and trying to hold 1.5 g’s in the corners wears you out.
All said an done, this was more fun than any autocross event I’ve ever done in a car and makes me want to buy a cart for attending autocross events.
Do this! Do this NOW!