Raceway finds way to thrive
BRODHEAD - The Sugar River Raceway has been a fixture in Brodhead for 56 years.
The go-kart race track was the brain child of the late Don Fairman. Fairman had the track built in 1959. The one-half-mile asphalt track still hosts its signature point-series go-kart races where NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, a Roscoe, Ill., native, got her start.
Fairman manufactured Blackhawk go-karts for 35 years in Brodhead.
"The track has always made a livelihood for us," said Marshall Fairman, co-owner of the Sugar River Speedway with his mother, Shirley Fairman. "A lot of tracks were always a hobby. There was no grand plan to keep it in business for 50 years. It just worked out."
The raceway offers a rent-a-go-kart-to-race program for community members who want to test their skills behind the wheel. The raceway and go-karts can also be reserved for bachelor parties and group events.
"That (the rent-to-race) program has really kept us going," Fairman said. "You can get gasoline in your blood. A lot of people will get the bug and end up in the sport. If you like motorsports it's one of the cheapest motorsports to get involved in."
BRODHEAD - Shawn Welte didn't know if he would get a chance to relive the rush of racing vintage go-karts.
Welte's world came to a crashing halt when doctors confirmed he had a rare form of a brain tumor - acoustic neuroma, which started as a slow-growing tumor in his inner ear that reached his brain and led to dizziness and difficulty hearing. He had surgery on his benign brain tumor in February. Welte, 40, of Onalaska, trades in his computer that he uses for engineering for an antique go-kart many weekends in the summer with his father, Steve Welte, who has been involved with racing go-karts for 50 years. Shawn is just five months removed from surgery on his brain tumor, but he's back to racing in the eighth annual Brodhead Historics vintage go-kart event today and Saturday at the Sugar River Raceway.
Racing vintage go-karts has helped Steve and Shawn deal with the uncertainty and stress of overcoming a brain tumor.
"He had a hole in his head big enough you could have put a glass of water in it," said Steve, who is from Richland Center. "He's an adrenaline race junkie for go-karts. To be able to come back to race is unreal. To be back on the track and to have won an event is major. It just shows a will and a desire."
Marshall Fairman, co-owner of the Sugar River Speedway with his mother Shirley Fairman, hosts the Brodhead Historics vintage go-kart event as a tribute to the Baby Boomers that grew up with vintage karts wanting to rekindle their passion for racing and as a history lesson for modern karters. Fairman said vintage go-karts are those karts built from 1958 to 1985.
The raceway will host two vintage go-kart races at noon today, a static vintage go-kart show, wine-and-cheese tasting and a steak fry. The final vintage go-kart races are slated for Saturday.
"We look forward to this every year," Fairman said. "The guys who did it (go-kart race) in their childhood have the wherewithal to find the equipment and enjoy racing. They have been fueling the resurgence of the vintage go-karting and we joined in."
The vintage go-karts were built with a steel-tubing chassis frame. The vintage karts use rear-engines and, at times, multiple rear-engines, which makes them different from today's modern go-karts.
"Driving the vintage go-karts is a crunch to get in them," Fairman said. "It took a lot of muscles and body strength to make the kart work."
With a half-century of racing experience, Steve Welte described what it was like trying to drive and maneuver a vintage go-kart with really hard tires to prevent from flipping over.
"I always tell everyone it's like trying to drive a squirrel," he said. "You never know where a squirrel is headed. The hobby for me is the adrenaline rush. They are exciting to drive. I had no idea this would be a lifetime thing."
In the late 1950s, Fairman said the go-karts were one-wheel drive.
"All of the engines were American-built," Fairman said. "Many of the engines are now imported from Italy."
There were no crash or safety bars on the vintage karts. Fairman said many karts used drum breaks.
Modern go-karts today have engines on the side and the engines are built by more foreign manufacturers.
Fairman said the modern go-karts have a better weight distribution, more leg room and are more comfortable to drive. Improvements in the go-karting industry have allowed engines and cars in endurance go-karting to reach speeds more than 100 mph on race tracks like Daytona Speedway.
George Sellon, Monticello, is in his second go-around racing go-karts. He raced go-karts for three years in the mid 1960s. He started racing modern go-karts in 2001 and started racing vintage karts in 2004.
"It's my second time around," Sellon said. "It's low pressure."
Sellon attends about five vintage go-kart shows a year. He gets enjoyment out of restoring vintage go-karts.
"It's a community," Sellon said. "It's just a hobby."
Finding vintage kart parts in an unmolested state is a challenge, Sellon said.
John LaRue, Delavan, likes the scavenger hunt aspect of restoring vintage go-karts by scouring the country for parts. He uses ebay, Craigslist and vintage go-kart websites to find parts. He also trades and sells parts with other drivers at vintage go-kart events.
LaRue just sold a 1960 Fox Go-Boy vintage go-kart. He races in 20 to 30 events per year in modern sprint go-karts, modern enduro karts and dirt oval racing tracks in addition to vintage racing.
"There is a lot of camaraderie," LaRue said. "I try to go to a race every weekend in the summer."
LaRue passed on a chance to enter an enduro race this week on a 21⁄2-mile track where he can go up to speeds of 100 mph, because he wanted to be in Brodhead.
"I came here because it's grassroots," LaRue said. "This is where it all started. I like to see guys I used to race with."
Welte's world came to a crashing halt when doctors confirmed he had a rare form of a brain tumor - acoustic neuroma, which started as a slow-growing tumor in his inner ear that reached his brain and led to dizziness and difficulty hearing. He had surgery on his benign brain tumor in February. Welte, 40, of Onalaska, trades in his computer that he uses for engineering for an antique go-kart many weekends in the summer with his father, Steve Welte, who has been involved with racing go-karts for 50 years. Shawn is just five months removed from surgery on his brain tumor, but he's back to racing in the eighth annual Brodhead Historics vintage go-kart event today and Saturday at the Sugar River Raceway.
Racing vintage go-karts has helped Steve and Shawn deal with the uncertainty and stress of overcoming a brain tumor.
"He had a hole in his head big enough you could have put a glass of water in it," said Steve, who is from Richland Center. "He's an adrenaline race junkie for go-karts. To be able to come back to race is unreal. To be back on the track and to have won an event is major. It just shows a will and a desire."
Marshall Fairman, co-owner of the Sugar River Speedway with his mother Shirley Fairman, hosts the Brodhead Historics vintage go-kart event as a tribute to the Baby Boomers that grew up with vintage karts wanting to rekindle their passion for racing and as a history lesson for modern karters. Fairman said vintage go-karts are those karts built from 1958 to 1985.
The raceway will host two vintage go-kart races at noon today, a static vintage go-kart show, wine-and-cheese tasting and a steak fry. The final vintage go-kart races are slated for Saturday.
"We look forward to this every year," Fairman said. "The guys who did it (go-kart race) in their childhood have the wherewithal to find the equipment and enjoy racing. They have been fueling the resurgence of the vintage go-karting and we joined in."
The vintage go-karts were built with a steel-tubing chassis frame. The vintage karts use rear-engines and, at times, multiple rear-engines, which makes them different from today's modern go-karts.
"Driving the vintage go-karts is a crunch to get in them," Fairman said. "It took a lot of muscles and body strength to make the kart work."
With a half-century of racing experience, Steve Welte described what it was like trying to drive and maneuver a vintage go-kart with really hard tires to prevent from flipping over.
"I always tell everyone it's like trying to drive a squirrel," he said. "You never know where a squirrel is headed. The hobby for me is the adrenaline rush. They are exciting to drive. I had no idea this would be a lifetime thing."
In the late 1950s, Fairman said the go-karts were one-wheel drive.
"All of the engines were American-built," Fairman said. "Many of the engines are now imported from Italy."
There were no crash or safety bars on the vintage karts. Fairman said many karts used drum breaks.
Modern go-karts today have engines on the side and the engines are built by more foreign manufacturers.
Fairman said the modern go-karts have a better weight distribution, more leg room and are more comfortable to drive. Improvements in the go-karting industry have allowed engines and cars in endurance go-karting to reach speeds more than 100 mph on race tracks like Daytona Speedway.
George Sellon, Monticello, is in his second go-around racing go-karts. He raced go-karts for three years in the mid 1960s. He started racing modern go-karts in 2001 and started racing vintage karts in 2004.
"It's my second time around," Sellon said. "It's low pressure."
Sellon attends about five vintage go-kart shows a year. He gets enjoyment out of restoring vintage go-karts.
"It's a community," Sellon said. "It's just a hobby."
Finding vintage kart parts in an unmolested state is a challenge, Sellon said.
John LaRue, Delavan, likes the scavenger hunt aspect of restoring vintage go-karts by scouring the country for parts. He uses ebay, Craigslist and vintage go-kart websites to find parts. He also trades and sells parts with other drivers at vintage go-kart events.
LaRue just sold a 1960 Fox Go-Boy vintage go-kart. He races in 20 to 30 events per year in modern sprint go-karts, modern enduro karts and dirt oval racing tracks in addition to vintage racing.
"There is a lot of camaraderie," LaRue said. "I try to go to a race every weekend in the summer."
LaRue passed on a chance to enter an enduro race this week on a 21⁄2-mile track where he can go up to speeds of 100 mph, because he wanted to be in Brodhead.
"I came here because it's grassroots," LaRue said. "This is where it all started. I like to see guys I used to race with."
