A conversation with former road racer RJ Valentine of Hingham, MA revealed that he does not plan to reopen his X1 indoors on Wood Rd. in Braintree and X1 Outdoors on Rt. 18 in East Bridgewater. Both race venues were very successful until the Pandemic hit motor racing hard. In the case of the two local X1 go-kart tracks it was a death blow!
The two indoor tracks were designed to resemble European circuits. On the right side of the venue was the city circuit and on the left side resembled a country road course. During the winter the two circuits were sometimes connected for monthly Enduros for various teams in the racing leagues.
The 6,000-foot X1 Outdoors located on 49 acres in East Bridgewater was specifically built for the more powerful shifter karts. Competitors on that track had to wear special vests over their racing garb to help them resist the powerful G’s when entering the that north side turn.
One of the high banked turns on the south side is used rarely. It was similar the one on the Monza, Italy road course which hasn’t been used since the Indy Cars and Formula 1 cars raced together back in the late 1950’s. When Valentine built the East Bridgewater track, he called it the Daytona turn due to its very steep banking
Valentine quipped, ” You know there was no way that I would have been able to open each track up. We supplied the racing suits, helmets and the like. The karts would have to be wiped down and sanitized every time the driver changed. There were restrictions on how many competitors and spectators we could allow into Braintree.
Even though the kart events were held outside on East Bridgewater track, there were similar restrictions. I gave it a lot of thought and decided that it just wasn’t worth it. ”
Going further in the conversation RJ talked about turning the building on Wood Rd. into either warehousing, Life Sciences or the highest and best use.
Another problem is that many within the various racing crowd felt that it was too expensive to train in Braintree during the winter just to keep in shape for the oval, road racing and drag racing in the spring, summer and fall.
Somehow, we think that if some investment group came into the picture and would consider picking up pieces and try to make a go of it, Valentine might consider it. RJ also was dealer for go karts, engines and racing fuel that also will end. Also, he developed a form of track fencing shaped by large block similar to the big Legos. The last time we checked RJ owned more than a dozen separate corporate companies.
