| Here in northern Westchester County, on two tracks | | | | different 14-corner tracks writhe, rise and fall with |
| inside a former warehouse, a racing operation called | | | | joyous abandon. |
| Grand Prix New York is giving drivers — even | | | | Your race begins with a slow, single-file pace lap. This |
| meek ones — a chance to slash and burn their | | | | lets you get your bearings and nurture a cold |
| way forward like Nascar's unshaven Tony Stewart in | | | | resentment toward the kart just ahead. |
| a bad mood. The more cars you pass, the louder the | | | | Then the green flag drops — and the villain ahead |
| cheers. Grand Prix New York provides a full-service | | | | try to pull away. |
| go-kart experience. | | | | What you do in the next few minutes (which last |
| Grand Prix New York is proud to offer two perfectly | | | | either moments or a lifetime, depending on who is |
| manicured tracks that are 24 feet wide and over a | | | | passing whom) is between you and the gods. You |
| quarter of a mile in length each. A visiting reporter | | | | have no speed limit, no yield signs, no turn signals and |
| was supplied with a driving suit, safety neck support, | | | | no rearview mirror. (In racing, what is behind doesn't |
| racing helmet and freshly laundered head sock. Next, | | | | exist.) And short of jabbing at the driver ahead with |
| he was guided to a fast Sodi go-kart, capable of | | | | a sharpened broomstick, you are encouraged to do |
| being driven straight into the club's record books. To | | | | just about anything to get past him. |
| provide a level playing field, each Sodi's 6.5-hp Honda | | | | If you do misbehave and start bashing other karts, |
| motor is identical to the others and will propel you to | | | | the track operators can electronically reduce your |
| a heady 40 miles an hour. In a go-kart, streaking | | | | engine's power until order is restored. |
| along just inches off the track, that is speedy | | | | If your pace carries you past all adversaries without |
| enough to make you wonder whether you really | | | | malfeasance, you're the winner. |
| want to go much faster. G.P.N.Y.'s two slightly | | | | |