Original Author: Lao Mo, PB Motorsports | July 8, 2022
Working in the Bay Area for a long time leads to all kinds of problems — like getting fat. Back in the day, I had the kind of metabolism where I'd lose weight no matter what I ate. But ever since moving to the Bay Area, my weight has skyrocketed. In just seven short years, I shot up from my college graduation weight of 62 kg to 72 kg. And that's the number after my morning bathroom trip and taking my clothes off — simply shocking.
Then I remembered last year's karting race — "The Ultimate Budget Team: Too Fast to Crash at the Calspeed 12Hr Karting Enduro." During that 12-hour race, I dropped 4 kg. Although most of it was water weight, the intense competition consumed a fair amount of fat, and about one or two kilograms of that weight never came back. However you look at it, that's a pretty good deal.
01 Prairie City Karting — The "Boss Driver" Experience
It so happened that Afang from our team was renting out several professional 206 karts at Prairie City's All Star Karting. I decided to book an "arrive & drive" session with him. After all, people get lazy during the holidays, and I wasn't particularly keen on fixing the kart while trying to drive it.
At 9 AM on Saturday, our group set off for Prairie City with our gear. Although it looks far on the map, it was actually a rare opportunity for friends to gather. The two-hour drive gave us some peaceful time to catch up, joke around, and brag — making full use of the weekend morning.
This experience was vastly different from racing in the past. Spending money to be a "boss driver" means enjoying a completely hands-off experience — especially with a mechanic like Afang handling everything: prepping the kart, refueling, maintenance, repairs, pointing out racing lines, and analyzing telemetry data. The "boss driver" doesn't need to worry about a thing. It's a godsend! It happened to be an open track day, meaning we could run as much as we wanted all day long with no session divisions. As long as you have the stamina, you can keep your foot on the gas and have a blast. Doesn't that mean I should work the mechanic to death? I've got to at least get my money's worth in fuel.
Many friends ask where to find fun karting during the holidays, and Prairie City is a great answer. Compared to K1's electric karts, the 206 karts at Prairie City offer a completely different level of experience. The most obvious flaw of electric karts is that they offer absolutely no challenge. The entertainment value is a 10 out of 10, but for "boss drivers" with higher aspirations, electric karts feel like child's play. Not only are they slow, but the track layout never changes, and they don't reflect the skill gap between drivers.
The 206 karts at Prairie City are a different story. The venue is a large outdoor track where one lap takes nearly a full minute. A single lap features 10 to 12 corners, nearly 4 meters of elevation change, thrilling downhill blind corners, and a massive straightaway where you can push the 206 engine to its RPM limit.
Most importantly, the 206 kart is the cradle of professional racing drivers. Compared to K1's top speed of 45 mph — which struggles to hit even 30 mph indoors — a 206 kart tops 60 mph. Coupled with an extremely lightweight chassis and racing tires, cornering forces easily reach 2.3 g. For comparison, a family car barely manages 0.8 g under maximum braking. The thrill of a 206 kart is several orders of magnitude beyond an entertainment kart. Historically, entertainment karts don't produce racing drivers — but the karts at Prairie City have cultivated former Red Bull F1 driver Scott Speed, Ford factory driver Joey Hand, and many other highly successful professionals.
Of course, when driving karts, pushing the limits inevitably means flying off the track. "Mowing the lawn" is a time-honored karting tradition — if you haven't cut some grass, you don't even dare to brag afterward. But the more grass you mow, the faster the kart breaks down. That's exactly when the perks of being a "boss driver" shine through:
- "Did I fly off because my skills are lacking? Definitely because the car isn't tuned right!"
- "Am I slower than the guy in front? You gave me a setup that isn't extreme enough!"
- "The car is tuned so poorly it can't even launch off the curbs — how am I supposed to drive?"
- "Is the horsepower lacking? Why am I slower than the guy ahead on the straight?"
- "Is the mechanic any good? How can I drive a car with this much understeer?"
- "The brakes feel weak — mechanic, give it a tune!"
Whether I drive fast or not is a separate matter — since I paid to be a "boss driver," I can afford to act tough. If I'm not fast, it must be the car's fault. How could it possibly be the driver's?
I have to hand it to Afang's mechanical skills — he really passes the test, fixing a scraped floorpan in under 20 minutes without much delay to the bosses' track time. Our group drove at the Prairie City kart track until it closed at 6 PM, successfully wrapping up a delightful day of the "boss driver" experience.
02 Did I Actually Lose Weight?
Getting back to the point: this fat guy's original goal was to use karting to lose weight. However, I got inexplicably starving at noon and ordered a large pizza and soda. So when I stepped on the scale back home, I had no expectations — I'd be grateful if the number wasn't significantly higher than it was in the morning.
The result? I actually still lost one kilogram! It was a completely unexpected, joyous result. I checked the heart rate monitor on my Apple Watch and discovered that karting is truly a fantastic choice for fat loss:
- My ideal fat-burning heart rate should be between 130 and 140 beats per minute. According to my Apple Watch, my heart rate fell perfectly into this zone while driving the kart.
- Compared to other fat-burning exercises, karting is obviously much more fun.
- Exercises where you can sit down and lose weight are rare.
- It has zero body-shape requirements. A heavier guy might not be able to run because of his knees — but he can sure drive a kart.
- It exercises the neck, shoulders, back, and core — the exact muscle groups office workers neglect the most.
In summary, aside from the moments I have to argue with the mechanic when I'm not driving fast, the rest of the time is a highly enjoyable weight-loss experience.
03 Equipping the Best Fat-Loss Gear
Of course, an activity this special is perfectly suited for photos — especially when you have a good-looking set of gear.
Given that the rental gear at the kart track always carries a certain "original scent," I still recommend that anyone wanting to try the experience buy their own set. Buying an entry-level set all together can even get you a massive discount.
- For details and inquiries: Contact us
- Karting booking: Book a session
