December 2009 - HIGH SPEED RACING
Whenever I see coupons for something FREE, at a new place we haven’t been to yet, we get very excited. I recently came across coupons for a free 5 minute race at Speed Alley Racing in Westmont. Five minutes didn’t sound like a lot of free time, so I was a bit concerned that this might be a pricey outing with six children in tow. Much to my surprise, this was a very affordable, very fun, new adventure for our crew. With the coupon, each child got a slot car and a five minute race. I paid $14 for four kids to each get a total of 20 minutes to race (so only $3.50/child). The two 3 year olds were content with their 5 minutes and playing with the remotes.
The atmosphere is interesting as you kind of feel like you are in someone’s unfinished basement, but the staff is informative, helpful, courteous and especially nice. The room is filled with super sized race tracks for slot cars. There are many different tracks and different slot cars to choose from. Each track is color coded to a remote and matched to your color on the tv screens above to count your laps and keep track of your time. This sport is simple enough for three year olds and competitive enough for teenagers and adults. We learned very quickly that slot car racing is indeed a sport and can be competitive. We learned that it takes more to race your car than pulling the trigger on your remote, as hard as you can, to make your car go as fast as it can. Without skill and personal talent to corner the curves, you can wipe out very quickly. At times, the 3 year olds seem to do better than the older children because they didn’t pull the trigger so hard.
Speed Alley Racing is located at 201 W. Ogden, Westmont, IL 60559 (630-493-4100). It is located inside Suburbanite Bowling Alley. Website is www.speedalleyracing.com. Hours are 11am-9pm, Monday-Saturday, Sunday 12-6pm. Car rental is $2/car, track rental starts at $2 for 5 minutes up to $17 for 60 minutes on the weekends.
