Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Checkered flags waving at Stockholm Karting Center



Stockholm Karting Center is off to the races in its first
full season.

The kart track is located just east of Cokato on Highway
12 in Stockholm Township.

Jaime Laughlin of Chanhassen, John Miller of Edina, and
Craig Mandery of Spicer are the owners of the karting facility.

In 1985, 20 guys wanted to start racing. Kenny Venberg,
the kart track’s race director and announcer, started the Northland Region
Karting Association (NRKA).

The problem was we didn’t have a home to race. Cantebury
and Raceway Parks would allow us to race in their parking lot,” Laughlin
said.

In 1991, Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) allowed the
NRKA to build a kart track in the infield of the race track.

“BIR got sold and we felt vulnerable. We needed our
own facilities,” Laughlin said.

It took the group awhile to find a home for the kart track.
They found land in Glencoe, but it wasn’t zoned for their purpose.

Next was Buffalo. The group found land by the airport,
but the residents of Buffalo were against the idea. They were afraid of
a possible noise problem.

Wayne Murphy of Edina Realty contacted the group and they
obtained the land east of Cokato.

“We are very happy with the way it turned out. The
Cokato area has been great. They have been very supportive,” Laughlin
said.

The karting facility cost about $1.1 million to construct.

“We have used almost all local contractors. We also
urge the racers to support the local communities,” Laughlin said.

Races are every weekend starting around 11 a.m. One weekend
features a six-tenths of a mile road race. The next weekend is one-fifth
of a mile oval track race.

There are 14 different classes broken down by motor, and
then age and weight.

“There are many different styles of karts to race.
Briggs and Straton engines are the most common. They are basically a 5-horsepower
tiller motor. They have restrictor plates on the engine to reduce the speeds
for kids,” Laughlin said.

The electric start motor kart is popular with most of the
dads. This kart does not take much maintenance. “This is great for
the father because he is fixing on the kid’s kart.

Another kart is the Shifter kart. It has a dirt bike motor
in it.

The last type of kart is for the younger kids. The motor
is like a weed whip motor.

“It is great for the little kids. They don’t really
race. The kids think they do. At the award’s ceremony, they all get a first
place trophy,” Laughlin said.

The track has about 200 racers for the road course race.
About 80 of those racers are kids and close to half of the kids are girls.

“It’s great! A lot of the time the girls whip the
boys,” Laughlin laughed.

Racers come from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and
Canada. “We have one family that comes down every other weekend from
Thunder Bay,” Laughlin said.

Dan Roe, one of the racers, has been racing with his dad
since 1981.

“It is a cheap, competitive sport compared to other
racing. It’s very family-oriented. My dad and I get to spend a lot of time
together doing something we both enjoy,” Roe said.

You can get started racing for around $2,000. “It’s
like anything else. Yeah, sure you could spend $10,000, but it is the cheapest
form of racing, Laughlin said.

The biggest misnomer of kart racing is that it is not real
racing. Laughlin disagrees.

“It is very competitive. Most people think it is like
going to Valleyfair to race karts. They are totally wrong,” Laughlin
said.

Safety is number one priority out on the track. “Karts
can go fast, but most of the bumping goes on around the curves. Drivers
are going about 10 mph on the curves,” Laughlin said.

“Over the years, I remember six broken bones. Not
very many,” Laughlin said.

Right now the oval track racing is not as popular. Most
of those racers prefer dirt tracks. There are only two tracks ­ here
and in Eau Claire, Wis. ­ that have asphalt.

“Dirt racers and asphalt racers are like NASCAR and
Indy racing. Basically the same, but different attitudes. Dirt guys have
bumper stickers that say dirt is for racing, asphalt is for getting there.
We are confident that we will win them over,” Laughlin said.

Future plans are to build a park or ballfield area for
the kids. They also want to add more sheds for garages and pit areas.

If you are interested in racing, it costs $30 per race
day and $10 for an insurance pass. The race season runs from May to early
October.

If you are interested in watching competitive racing, it
is free to the public.

More information is also available at the center’s web
site at www.stockholmkartingcenter.com

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