When most people hear someone talking about race karts, they envision the go-cart someone in the old neighborhood had as a kid. The lawn mower engine maybe got you going 20 miles per hour.  Well, that’s not quite what we’re talking about.  Kart racing is true high speed racing.  The fastest karts approach 130 mph, and the racing is very competitive.   Equally amazing is the cost to get involved.

Down in Tucson, there is a program at the Musselman Honda Circuit Racetrack (www.mhcircuit.com) for people who need hand controls.  The program is new and still evolving but they have some nice karts and the organizers have programs designed to get people with disabilities into the driver’s seat without taking too much dough out of your wallet.

Charlie Quiroz is the president of the Southern Arizona Kart Club.   He and Bryan Barten, UoA coach for quad rugby and tennis, got together and have managed to get some competitive karts donated to the program, and they have adapted the brakes and accelerator to hand controls.

Accessing Arizona caught up with Charlie, Bryan and a few other people with various disabilities at the track last week.  After receiving a few safety rules and driving tips, everyone grabbed a helmet and got to have some fun.  Karts aren’t exactly easy to transfer into, so they’ve created a slick transfer bench that gets you over the wheel and chassis and allows the transfer to happen easier.

Kart tracks are flat and have many turns.  Race karts have a snug -fitting  contoured seat which works great for people lacking upper body balance.  One of the three  karts  is a CRG model with a Honda GX200, 4-cycle engine. The  kart tops out at about 45 mph. Charlie created a clever throttle trigger for the right hand, and a hydraulic  hand  brake is adapted to the left side of the steering wheel.

The program needs more sponsors to expand.  Anyone interested can reach Charlie at charlie@mhcircuit.com.

Adaptive Kart Racing in Tucson is a post from: Wheelchair Arizona eMag Accessing Arizona.

Patricia 'Pogo' Overmeyer is a die hard Arizona race fan. The attorney from Tucson attends NASCAR twice a year in Phoenix, and PIR named an access path in her honor. © 2010 Loren Worthington.

Got wheelchair access?  You better believe it.  PIR (www.phoenixraceway.com) has an entire parking lots for people with disabilities. The track has named their grandstands after famed racers. The Bobby Allison grandstands reaches six floors high.  The 5th floor includes some great seats for wheelchair access.  They are in the shade and they offer the only place a wheelchair can see the entire track.  Check out their excellent seating chart.

You can get front row seating in the AJ Foyt seating area.  These are the best seats to view the scoreboards and huge television that is located in the infield. At the east of the track, the Richard Petty grandstands include a separate section just for folks needing access. The seats look down the back straightway and the 4th corner which features some of the tightest action (ie wrecks).  If it were hot out, this section would be might hot as their is no shade and you are looking due west.  For the October event, these are great seats as the sun is welcome.

The Richard Petty Grandstands at the 4th corner offers great front row wheelchair access. © 2010 Loren Worthington.

If there is any way to beg, steal or borrow some pit passes, then you are really getting the best access. PIR has a tunnel that allows anyone with pit passes to walk to the infield. Even better, the promoters have numerous golf carts that can zoom people with disabilities around the property, and the ride is free.  This is a huge benefit as PIR is very big.

NASCAR gets it. The sport caters to the fans and it’s pretty easy to get near all the drivers and VIPs.  With the right passes you can roll around the pits and get close enough to see, smeel, and hear the action. Visitors are simply expected to give the teams enough space to do their jobs.  Its pretty amazing that you can be brushing up against millions of dollars worth of equipment and be within the workings of a sport that requires so much attention to safety, yet also be so accommodating to all guests, and even more so if you happen to roll around. Even if NASCAR isn’t in your blood, it’s fun to observe.

‘Bootie’ Barker (in wheelchair) is the crew chief for the #16 Geico Toyota driven by Max Papis (right).

One item worth mentioning is the bathrooms.  They are everywhere but when the place fills up, the lines begin to grow.  NASCAR fans definitely love beer, and as the race goes on, the lines to use the grandstand bathrooms are quite a stretch.  So plan accordingly!

At PIR, NASCAR weekend features three races.  Friday’s truck series is not too well attended, and Saturday’s Nationwide series is nominally better.  All that changes on Sunday when the big guns aive for the Sprint Cup Series.  The place is packed.  And that goes double for the wheelchair sections.

Wheelchair Access at Phoenix International Raceway – NASCAR is a post from: Wheelchair Arizona eMag Accessing Arizona.

This entry marks the first “Sport Venue” entry for Accessing Arizona. The purpose is to provide insight into finding accessible seating before you buy the ticket. I hate buying tickets without knowing what view I’m going to get, and or if there is better seats available if I had only known more. So we’re going to try to visit the various locations around Arizona and get the inside skinny.

Firebird Raceway is located in Chandler, on the Gila Indian Reservation, just south of Phoenix. The property has both a drag racing track and a water sports lake. It is the lake where we’ll get started. This weekend is the IHBA Top Fuel Boat Drags. It is the first time I’ve ever visited the lake. We’ll add info about the asphalt drag strip the next time an event comes to town.

[Click on the photos for comments]

The first bonus we PwD’s get when going to a lake event is VIP parking. Basically you park right beside the lake. This is a significantly shorter walk compared to the general parking area which requires you to traverse a catwalk over another race course.

The lake is probably a 1/2 mile long and 1/8th mile wide. Interestingly, the lake has a salt content higher than the ocean. This is because a boat is more buoyant in salty water, and buoyancy means less drag and more speed.

Down the west side of the lake is the grandstands which aren’t accessible. Instead, wheelchair folks get to sit in the two media areas which are right against the lake. The view is very good, and aside from the camera people who share the area, it is unobstructed. You can not get any closer and still stay dry. The only problem with this seating is a lack of shade that is available in the grand stands. So if it is summer, perhaps an umbrella would come in handy. Your friends and family can bring folding chairs that will be far better than the grand stands as well. The bathrooms are right behind the grandstands and the entire area is flat and accessible. As a sitting photographer, the fence obstructs my lens. I understand the need for it, so I had to sneak down to the end of the lake to get my photos.

Firebird Lake gets good marks. The access is nothing elaborate, but you wont be disappointed, and the racing is very entertaining. I also get the feeling that manangement and employees have a can-do attitude and can find real-time solutions to any access needs that might come up.

Incidentally, for anyone into boat racing, we witnessed one helluva crash during my visit. The boat lost control and basically just decentigrated in a split second. Check out Mark Rebilas’ web blog for photo account here.

Firebird Raceway is a post from: Wheelchair Arizona eMag Accessing Arizona.