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Photo by Andy Atkinson Race car driver Ken Scales slides a go-kart through a turn at Medford's new Slick Kart Track. Track makes go-kart fun Slick Kart Track in west Medford attracts young and old By BILL KETTLER Speed freaks can find what they're looking for at an old warehouse in west Medford. John and Terri Whitlock have transformed the old Mayflower storage building at 1029 Narregan St. into a go-kart speedway. The smooth concrete surface allows drivers to slide through the curves just the way a race car drifts around a dirt oval. The Medford couple's new Slick Kart Track has attracted a crowd of wannabe racers as well as some of the guys who spend their summer weekends sliding around real racetracks. "There's a lot less mud in your face here," said sprint-car racer Ken Scales after a few laps in one of the little 5-horsepower go-karts. "It's fun because everybody can do it, and you don't need to spend $20,000-plus on a car." "It's a good way to blow an hour for lunch," said his noontime racing partner, Ted Zahnow of Jacksonville. Terri Whitlock said the karts can reach speeds of more than 20 miles an hour on the 150-foot-by-80-foot oval, but the track has been designed to avoid accidents and injuries. The cars' wide stance and low profile make them spin out rather than roll over if a driver loses control. Shock-absorbing bumpers line the track and infield to protect the drivers from encounters with immovable objects. But the track's slick surface means anyone with a heavy foot can get a little out of control. When the rear wheels start to skid, drivers correct the skid by steering in the same direction the rear wheels are skidding. It's the same principle of defensive driving that ordinary motorists use to recover from a skid on ice or snow. Race-car drivers use the same technique to power through a turn at speed on dirt tracks. Drifting through the turns on the go-kart track adds a little excitement to what would otherwise be a flat little concrete oval, said sprint-car driver Mike Linder of Sams Valley. "With the track being slick," he said, "it gives you a feeling of going faster than you are." That sense of speed draws non-racing types to the karts, too. Two trucking brokers, John Case and Mark Pedersen, spent most of a recent lunch hour chasing each other through the turns. "It's a major stress reliever when you're pounding the phones all day," said Pedersen, of Medford. "There's a bit of an art to it to know when to turn so you don't spin out," said Case, of Ashland. The Whitlocks sell four minutes of racing time for $3.50. A $10 bill buys three four-minute tickets. Case said it took him "about two tickets" to figure out the art of controlled skidding. "Once you understand you're using the momentum of the car, it's a lot easier," he said. "By your third ticket, you're not even using your brake." Whitlock said the track draws a predominantly male crowd, but some women like speed, too. "The karts are a lot faster than I thought they'd be," said Shawna Parrish, the only woman at the track on a recent afternoon. "You're in this little car and you feel like you're in the Indy 500," said Parrish, a student at Southern Oregon University. Parrish said most women aren't attracted to racing because "they're not as aggressive as the guys. We're more careful drivers." Parrish has visited the track enough to learn how to slide under control. While she slid up the learning curve, she wedged her body against the kart tight enough to raise a few welts. "I slid so hard I had bruises all over," she said, raising a pant leg to show off a bruised ankle. "It's worth it, though." Parrish said the track will give people under 21 something to do and someplace to go. There are arcade games and pool tables for those who don't have the urge or the cash to drive. The under-21 set will find plenty of competition from grown-up boys, said Peggy Stainbrook, whose son works at the track. "I came by here yesterday and watched them," she said. "Every man in there was smilin' from ear to ear." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA