Rad Rays Karts zooms into Idaho Falls
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IDAHO FALLS — A new indoor race track for go-carts is opening in Idaho Falls at 3891 American Way, Suite C., right off the Yellowstone Highway.
Rad Rays Karts will have its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m., although they have already “soft opened” to test their operations and train their new employees.
The track features an ’80s era theme. The owner, Kyle Ray, says the name fits for a few different reasons.
“I’ve always kind of joked that I wanted to name one of my kids Conrad Ray and nickname him, “Rad Ray,” but my wife hated that idea,” Ray explained. “The name goes along with our aesthetic, which is kind of retro wave or synthwave feel with the 80s flare to it.”
Ray works at INL as a nuclear engineer. He was born in Mesa, Arizona, and studied mechanical engineering at BYU-Idaho from 2011 to 2016. After graduating, he found work at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Seattle, where he worked for five years before he and his wife realized they missed eastern Idaho. They moved back to the area in 2021.
Owning and operating a go-cart track has been a dream for Ray since his youth. He even developed a fun fictional character, Rad Ray, who he plays in short promotional videos on Facebook and Instagram.
“As a kid I always really enjoyed racing go karts, and when we moved here I was bummed that the closest tracks are in Salt Lake or Boise,” Ray said. “I tried going to Boise a couple times [to race], and it’s just a headache. We’d rather have one here at home, so I decided to build it myself.”
After some market research Ray decided to start at smaller scale than previous tracks in the city.
“I bought a couple of these carts for my kids, just to play around,” he said. “Last year, I had the idea of painting the track on my basement floor and my kids loved it. All of the neighborhood kids love it, too. It got me thinking and I realized this could work.”
After running numbers through a spreadsheet and exploring affordable insurance options, Ray decided to move forward with renting a location, designing a track, and assembling a fleet of carts.
He settled on an electric model that runs off rechargeable batteries and is designed for “drifting,” a driving style that involves manually raising the tires with a handy lever to “float around corners” and optimize speed.
The unique design means the carts don’t require brakes and can be driven with techniques and maneuvers that permit participants to whip around the curves and turns of the track.
“They’re not bumper carts,” Ray explained. “Like I said, the padding on the cards is to protect the carts, but we have a strict rule of not putting your feet down. We’ll teach you how to drive the carts, and show you some really cool maneuvers you can do once you get the hang of how it handles.”
Ray also says the layout of the track will change from month to month to provide returning racers with new experiences. The borders of the track are assembled using removable and weighted plastic buffering, designed for safety and helpful for absorbing any potential impact.
Ray hopes both parents and their children will enjoy the carts.
“Even parents usually end up out on the track for quite a long time. I’ve had moms come in and try things out, and they start out saying, ‘I’ll just let the kids ride. Eventually, they try it and fall in love with the experience,” Ray said.
Patrons can buy a day pass of 5 rides for $45, or a punch pass of 10 rides for $80 that can be used over multiple visits. Otherwise, the first race is $12, the second is $10, and the third is $8.
After Nov. 15, “Rad Rays” will be open Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
You can see “Rad Ray’s” adventures and learn more about upcoming announcements on Facebook, Instagram, and RadRaysKarts.com
