The West Coast Kart Club (WCKC), one of the racing clubs in the Lower Mainland, has seen a growth in memberships.

Aaron Thomas, president of the WCKC has said that their track, the Greg Moore Raceway located in Chilliwack, has seen a “significant uptick in membership” over the last few years.

“I think we approached 160 members, both individual and team members for the club,” says Thomas. “We had a double header event earlier in this year that had over 150 entries with 308 class entries for the weekend. So it was pretty significant for us, whereas, in 2018, 2019, we were lucky to get anywhere close to 60 or 50 entries for a weekend.”

Changes have been made to the paddock to accommodate the growth. Members no longer can park inside the paddock to make room for the tents and trailers needed for the drivers and their teams, among other amenities, such as washrooms where there were previously only porta potties.

The increased membership has given more funds to the non-profit WCKC to add new and additional safety features to ensure driver and family safety at their events.

“We've actually made some significant safety modifications to the track. We've replaced all of the tire barriers with plastic barriers,” Thomas details. “It's significantly safer. There's not as much weight on the drivers, it's cheaper on the karts which is great.”

“This year, we also added electronic flagging which has been great for safety as well. One of the things to make sure that we are attractive to families and the new generation for the club's future is making sure we have a safe venue.”

Thomas adds that the club was able to purchase an ambulance for the paddock and any major emergencies.

The WCKC’s final race weekend comes around the corner on Sept. 24.

Listen to the full interview with Aaron Thomas, president of the WCKC here: