Not all tracks meet go-kart standards

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - An Indianapolis teenager was moved to a rehabilitation facility on Monday. She's been in the hospital for more than three weeks following a serious accident on a go-kart.

An I-Team 8 investigation revealed the track where she was racing did not comply with industry standards for public karting facilities. I-Team 8 took its investigation a step further, taking hidden cameras inside other facilities to show patrons what to expect.

On July 8, an evening at Whiteland Raceway's go-kart track ended in tragedy . 19-year old Shelbi Crouch's long hair got caught in the go-kart’s rotating rear axle "ripping the scalp from her head,” officials said at the time.

Industry standards for concession or recreational go-karts established in 2000 state that all rotating or heated parts should be covered.

While I-Team 8’s undercover cameras at Whiteland Raceway found exposed rear axles, the owner insisted he's not in the concession karting business.

"This is racing. This racing. This is not recreational," Swails told I-team 8.

But the exposed axles aren't all our undercover teams found. I-Team 8 saw cracked seats patched with duct tape. And our crews drove on a track littered with cracks and potholes — another possible violation of standards set by the industry.

Before hitting the track, I-Team 8’s teams were provided with a thin nylon jacket, a neck brace and a helmet. And at this track touted as the oldest in America — most helmets looked as though they'd seen better days. I-Team 8's Deanna Dewberry asked Whiteland Raceway owner Mike Swails whether he was aware that most of his helmets had broken or missing visors. Leaders in the karting industry recommend helmets with visors to minimize the risk of eye injury from pebbles or debris as riders speed around the track inches from the pavement.

"Uh, I, I, I'll have to check those," said Swails, taking a deep breath.

Still, he insists that he abides by kart racing standards mandated by his insurer. He said he was insured by a company provided to members of the National Karting Alliance. When I-Team 8 asked Swails whether he remained a member of the alliance following Crouch's accident, Swails responded, "Uh, we can't talk about those kind of things."

So I-Team 8 took questions to the president of the National Karting Alliance, Joe Janowski. He confirmed that the alliance had dissolved Swails’ membership. Asked why, Janowski replied, "They were not following two of our safety rules."

He confirmed that after Crouch's accident, the alliance investigated. It claims Whiteland Raceway consistently failed to provide skid-resistant jackets and failed to make sure that drivers' hair was secured.

"Our safety rules in our rule book are not negotiable," said Janowski.

ONLINE EXTRA | Read the NKA rule book.

And he says those rules should not be negotiable for the casual karter. According to the NKA, skid-resistant jackets should be used at any outdoor track as well as a full face safety tested helmet, a neck brace, and skid-resistant gloves. The leaders of New Castle Raceway — members of NKA — demonstrated the gear riders should wear by allowing I-Team 8's Deanna Dewberry to dress in their gear. Her hair was secured and hidden completely from view beneath a head sock, jacket, neck brace and helmet.

I-Team 8’s undercover karters checked other karting facilities. At Post Road Recreation Center, the riders are given full face helmets and neck braces, but no protective jackets.

While each of Post Road's fastest karts are equipped with a lap belt, the rear axle is clearly exposed, a violation of industry standards for concession karts. After brief instructions, they're off.

I-Team 8’s third stop was Fast Times Indoor Karting. Although all the facilities had age requirements, FastTimes was the only one that actually checked identification. And that's not all.

Our undercover crews had to watch a safety video that provided instruction on everything from the rules of the road to the gear.

"We require every driver to wear a helmet, a balaclava, a neck brace and a driving suit," the video instructed.

After careful directions were given on how to secure hair beneath the racing hood, attendants checked shoulder harnesses and lap belts on all karts — each of which had a covering for all rotating parts.

Clearly, there are dramatic differences in safety options offered at these three facilities I-Team 8 secretly videotaped. Of the three, only FastTimes appears to meet industry safety standards for concession karts.

But here's the big question. Should tracks that primarily host racing events comply with concession kart standards when they, too, allow the public to ride for a fee?

"We're reviewing that, and I'm reaching out to the tracks in our system. I'm also reaching out to other organizations similar to mine,” said Janowski, of the NKA.

It's important to note, of the 300 tracks that are members of the NKA, 10 also allow recreational karters to ride for a fee. One