8 Friday, October 21, 2022 brooklintowncrier.com Richard (Pop) Clark and his wife Betty leased 35 acres of land on Hwy 12 just north of Taunton Road in 1962 to build Family Kartways. The single dirt track quickly became one of Durham's most popular tourist attractions, then evolved into two miles of asphalt. By 1974, it was the largest kart racing club in Canada. Two Canadian race heroes, Scott Goodyear and Paul Tracey, began their racing careers there. Goodyear, a former driver who ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series in 1987, went on to win the Michigan 500 in both 1992 and 1994. He was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2002. Tracey, the youngest ever Canadian Formula Ford champion, won the 1986 final Can Am race at Mosport. He competed in both the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar series and was Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. Many expansions In 1968, Pop bought the property and, for 27 years, Family Kartways went through nine expansions, becoming the world's largest two-track go-kart amusement park. The main building, constructed in 1977, housed a games arcade and concession stand with his family of 8 living upstairs. Later they moved to a house south of the track. In the early 80s, an 18-hole mini golf course, batting cages and a water slide were added to the property. Pop employed about 100 students for the summer season, many of whom said he was a great person to work for. Bill Chilton, a friend of Pop's son Tom, was one. He remembers the summer he took part in a racing video production that was to be run in a Motion Simulator Ride located in local malls. He said the drivers would race around the track. But in the end it was the camera operator who always won. Jim Demings, who worked for Pop, recalls when the family opened a manufacturing facility in Ajax in 1979 to build their own karts. Family Kartways hosted many group races on the north track built in 1980. That same year the International Kart Federation Grand Nationals was held on this track as was the Goodyear Media Challenge Cup, a fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy. New owners When Pop retired in 1990, Mike Sorichetti, who for six years was employed by the Clarks as a jack of all trades, bought the business with his six siblings. His family's aim was to continue the tradition of racing but also to turn Family Kartways into a first class amusement park. A large midway of rides was added to the existing attractions and a variety of kids' shows were held on weekends. While in operation, over 7 million people entered through the Family Kartways gates. Sadly, in 1997, National Trust initiated proceedings to foreclose on the park's mortgage. Gates were padlocked and the property sat vacant with most of its assets sold. On Labour Day weekend in 1999, arsonists torched the main building. In 2002, Liza Homes purchased the property and development of the area began. Two hundred homes now sit on land that once housed the popular local attraction. Pop passed away on January 10, 2018 and Betty on March 21, 2021. The couple are resting at Groveside cemetery. Family Kartways By Jennifer Hudgins