OSLO, Minn. -- "OK, let's crank them up," yells Lawrence Veralrud. "Who wants to be flag man?"
Then, helmet on and neck brace in place, Veralrud steps into a red go-cart with the yellow number 38 painted on the side. Knees tucked up in front of him, Veralrud starts the go-cart and slowly drives out to the track, and then puts the pedal to the metal.
The roar of Veralrud's go-cart becomes indistinguishable from the other six go-carts racing around the one-fifth mile track as a flag man counts their laps. On this week-night evening Veralud will finish his five laps first and emerge from the go-cart the winner.
Rite of summer, fall
The go-cart races at Veralrud's farm near Oslo are a ritual that is oft-repeated during the summer and fall. Veralrud built the track three years ago after purchasing go-carts for himself and his family.
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Go-cart racing is a fun form of entertainment, he said as he watched his grandchildren racing their go-carts around the track.
"We're trying to keep it as safe as possible. Nobody can go out without a neck brace and a helmet."
The 69-year-old semi-retired farmer didn't have a go-cart as a kid, but thought it would be fun to get a few when he quit farming full-time.
Later-in-life hobby
"I was too busy when I was farming everything," Veralrud said. But after he bought the go-carts, he decided he would build a track, hauling loads of dirt and clay to build up the corner of the farm field where it's located.
"I spent many hours," he said. Still, Veralrud wasn't satisfied with the way his go-carts raced on the track.
"It wasn't quite the way I liked it," he said, so he made the track larger and banked up the corners some more. He also installed several floodlights so he can race at night.
"Now, I've got it pretty much the way I want it."
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Veralrud's go-cart racing doesn't end with the snowfall. When he goes to Arizona for the winter his go-carts go with him. He won the state go-carting championship there two years ago.
The track on his farm has attracted not only family and friends from the Oslo area, but also go-cart enthusiasts from Grand Forks, Veralrud said.
"It's something for us to get together. We'll have races and barbecue afterward."
Reach Bailey at (701) 787-6753; (800) 477-6572, ext. 753; or send e-mail to abailey@gfherald.com .
