91-year-old races go-karts

Careening around a racetrack lined with tires and a flimsy-looking wall seems like an extreme hobby for someone who was born less than 10 years after the Ford Model T came into production.

But James R. Cox, a 91-year-old Spokane resident, has been a staple at the FastKart Indoor Speedway, 1224 E. Front Ave., nearly every day for the past six years. There, he takes on anyone and everyone who wants to race.

Around the track, Cox is known as “Grandpa” even though he is of no relation to anyone there.

“About 70 percent of the customers know him,” Jennifer Miller, a FastKart employee, said. “Some people come in and say, ‘Is Grandpa here?’ “

With glasses, a hearing aid and the required hairnet peeking from under his racing helmet, Cox doesn’t look like much of a threat. But get into a race with him, and he is a formidable opponent.

The Kansas stock-car champion of 1950 and 1951 wins “most of the time,” he says with a smile.

Cox also enjoys such pastimes as bridge and poker, but racing is by far his favorite, he says. “It’s something to do, and I enjoy racing,” he said.

Though Cox is one of the best in the go-kart business now, he had never raced a go-kart until visiting the FastKart Speedway about six years ago. He had seen commercials for the racing center and decided to go in and watch.

Finally, he “decided to get into a race with five or six men … and came in right in the middle.”

For a go-kart-racing newbie, finishing in the middle of the pack in the first race is pretty impressive.

Cox’s racing prowess almost certainly comes from his roots in stock-car racing. While living in Wichita, Kan., in the ‘50s, Cox was one of the best of the racing crowd.

In 1951, he says, he even bested Bill Mears, father of Indianapolis 500 drivers Roger and Rick Mears and grandfather of current NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Casey Mears.

Cox still keeps an album of photos of himself with various cars and other drivers from his days of stock-car racing. He also has a plaque commemorating his first-place finish in the Kansas stock-car races in ‘51.

Cox moved to Spokane about 26 years ago to be closer to his daughter and her family.

According to Cox, becoming a skilled go-kart driver takes time.

“You have to be smart,” he said. Racing requires more than just pedal-to-the-metal driving; good tactics are needed to make the most of the course and the go-kart.

Not only is Cox a racing enthusiast, but he also is being paid as a private contractor by FastKart.

“Mostly, he does engine-repair work,” said Miller. “He spends five to six hours (here) every day.”

This deal is beneficial for him as prices at FastKart aren’t exactly cheap. Ten minutes of racing sets most customers back $18, with 15 minutes for $23 and 40 laps for $29.

Because of his business arrangement, Cox is able to race whenever he wants, which usually is only about once a day.

“He will mostly go out and race if he feels there is some competition,” Miller said. He likes to “show himself off” to the competitive, experienced racers.

Though Cox seems to immensely enjoy defeating the younger guys, he isn’t obsessed with winning.

He just likes to race.