Nestled near the Polecat Bench on the far west end of Lane 5, the Park County Kart Club has settled into its GK Raceway home.

The club itself has been going since 2007, when Bill Rentschler gathered some people together to race karts.

“We had been playing around with it some prior to that,” Rentschler’s daughter Jane Faulkner said. “But then we proceeded by having an open house at the Fairgrounds and the following year we began actual racing at the Fairgrounds.”

The racing continued and the club membership grew, but over time, the maintenance and cost of holding the races began to get prohibitive.

“Our club never charged admission and our entry fees were low because we only wanted to bring in enough money to pay for maintenance and awards,” Faulkner said. “We usually only brought in about $200 each race.”

A local farmer with room in his field allowed the club to relocate to the Emblem Raceway for a time.

“But he decided he’d rather use the space for soybeans, rather than having a bunch of karts racing around,” Bill Rentschler said.

At this point, Rentschler decided to create a new home for the club and build a track on his own property.

“The name GK comes from GK Construction in Lovell, because the owner, Bill Grandalen, and several of the employees were members of the club,” Faulkner said. “They donated the use and time of equipment to get the track built.

“Now, here we are, with a beautiful track that is maintained better and races that are running smoothly,” she added. “Our focus is on the club benefits such as awards, especially for the kids, safety and encouragement and growth in driving.”

It was certainly a fervent group that took to the track this weekend, with racers ranging in age from 6 to 73.

Results from this weekend’s action follow, with the next set of races at the GK Raceway slated for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 6 and 7.

Pee Wee

Novice

Youth

Spec

Women

Men

Stock A

Stock B

Mix A

Mix B