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IT belongs in the Smithsonian Institution, but the old relic instead sits in the middle of Ruth Ingels' living room at her Leisure World home, making occasional side trips to the kitchen whenever it's time to vacuum.
It is believed to be the first go-kart ever built, before the little car powered by a West Bend lawn mower engine was even known as a go-kart. It was the brainchild of Art Ingels, Ruth's husband, in 1956.
"He passed away many, many years ago, and I keep that as a souvenir," said Ruth, 92, who was widowed in 1981. "I couldn't part with it."
In the 50 years since its invention, the go-kart has gotten a lot of mileage. There are more than 1 million competitive kart racers worldwide, and thousands, maybe millions, more do it for kicks and grins. Weekend thrill-seekers, wannabe racers and future champions - - all use karts to feed their need for speed.
And go-kart culture, like drag, off-road and motocross racing, has been shaped by Southern Californians.
Ingels built his legacy at a shop on Echo Park Avenue. The first race took place in the Rose Bowl parking lot. The first manufacturer, who did business via mail order, was born out of a Monrovia muffler shop. The oldest manufacturer still does business in Azusa. The Adams Kart Track in Riverside, still in operation, opened in 1960.
About one-eighth of the 125,000 competitive racers in the U.S. are on the West Coast. Four karting facilities have opened in the last six years in the Southland, and more are likely as karting becomes an alternative to the date night movie or the business golf meeting.
"Everybody drives," said Darrell Sitarz, president of the Wheaton, Ill.-based Kart Marketing Group. "Not everybody plays golf."
If karting isn't the new golf, it's off to a good start as a means of corporate bonding and team-building. Local track owners say about 25% of their business comes from corporate clientele.
From Oxnard to Beaumont, hot-lap times at karting facilities play no favorites. The kid can beat the parent, the wife can beat the husband, the employee can beat the boss. Indoors or outdoors, gas- powered or electric, hobby or training ground, road course or oval, all...