Crossroads Go Kart Track, one of the oldest continually operational go-kart tracks in the U.S., shut down last month. Opened in the late 1950s in Bartlesville, Okla., according to the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, owner Richard Wimer – who’s owned the business for 25 years – had been planning the closure since before the pandemic.
Wimer told the newspaper that he fell in love with the track when the former owner, a family friend, invited him for a cookout and race during the off-season. He bought the business a year later. Now in their 60s, he and wife Kathy wanted to retire. They actually planned to close last year but felt a responsibility to the community to give people more notice, so the track stayed open.
“I try to be very involved with my customers,” he said. “They know me, I know them. I know their kids, I know grandma and grandpa. Everyone comes down.”
Wimer added that he received several offers from people interested in buying the business, but never considered it because he didn’t want to see it mismanaged – especially after years of putting in 80-hour workweeks during the season. And he’s selling the go-karts and other equipment so he’s not tempted to reopen. Best of luck to the Wimers in their next chapter!
