K1 Speed

Really cool. Manager honored discount for both me & my son, plus our turn to rides came up pretty quickly. Went on a Friday night

Went on a Saturday night, waited almost two hours for our race. The karts are relatively small and did not suit a taller person like myself in terms of legroom. It was difficult to maneuver brake and gas as an result. I enjoyed myself because I was in great company, but I probably won’t go karting here again.
This place lacks true direction. When you walk in, you aren’t really sure which way to go, and turns out their employees will walk past you, or stand behind the counter and see that you are confused and say nothing at all.

We came on a Saturday night, and ended up having to wait over an hour to race. There was a birthday party going on. The wait wasn’t bad, but the cost is another issue.
They force you to buy a new license to race here annually, which is quite frankly a ripoff. They also force you to make an account with them on the computers next to the register, before you pay for the day.
We debated leaving K1 when we realized how expensive it would be (~$ 30). But we ended up staying because we made such a long drive over here.
They will call your name over the speaker when it’s your turn. They then give you a quick training session with the ~15 other racers. The training session was brief and mainly went over the different flags that signal the drivers if they are being aggressive, too slow, etc. Then you put on your head sock and helmet and start the race.
The karts really go pretty fast. You get 14 laps. And there a couple of turns that can be tough if you are an inexperienced.
This place appeals to the video gamer in all of us. As a female who did not grow up playing racing video games, I was slow. Your names in ranking order will show up on the screen behind the track as you race. I thought I was going fast, but I ended up in second to last place. I also was shown the flag reserved for slow racers (it signals you to let other people pass) more often than I care to admit.
It was still pretty fun trying to beat my friends. I want to return to redeem myself, but I don’t think I am willing to scarf over another $ 30 for it.

Looking for a place top let your inner child roam free? K1 Speed is just that place. Of course, you can also take your actual children there for a fun time too. This Go Kart venue offers a race track where groups of thrill seekers can race each other. I visited this location during the week and it was still pretty busy so I imagine it can get really crowded on the weekends. The price per race is pretty high but the fun of racing makes it worth it. Purchasing race packages can give you a break in price. While waiting for your race to start, there are game tables and tvs to keep you entertained. Once your group is called, the staff walks new racers through the process and the flags they need to pay attention to. These are not bumper cars and so intentionally crashing into others is not tolerated and can get you ejected. The staff was also very helpful in ensuring that everyone is properly fitted in their protective gear and securely strapped into their cars. The track was fun and exciting. The only downside is that depending on how many people are waiting to race, you can get grouped with people of different racing levels and can therefore get stuck behind a new, overly cautious driver. At the end of each race, you can pick up a print out of how you placed in the race. Let’s just say I won’t be quitting my day job to take up racing. All in all, a fun experience.

My kids hated this place. Equipment sucked. I had such high hopes the kids would like this, that I bought a groupon that included everything & 4 races. They would not even do a second race, because they disliked it so much. I talked to the front desk, they shrugged their shoulders & blew us off!
Oh well. We will not return. So sad!

I have a lot of fun here. If you take a little time and get to know the track staff and management they’ll always take care of you. Know what you’re getting into before you come; just like any popular business there is often a wait due to crowds. Crowds mean people want to go there because they enjoy it, and if people like it there’s probably something going right. The place is worth the wait, even if you often discover you’re not as fast as you thought you were at the end. Have a good time and remember it’s not bumper cars, some of the track regulars know exactly how to handle overly aggressive newcomers.

Had a good time here. I travel for work and have been to a lot of these aces throughout the country and this one is as good as any. Younger kids with average service, but it’s not like you need much from them. I will definitely come back to this location.

I walked in this place one weekend afternoon to see if a group of friends and I would be able to have a nice and fun go-​kart experience. Instead, what we ended up experiencing is a group of high school girls at the front desk chatting away with each other. We patiently stood there (it wasn’t busy) and watched these girls carry on a conversation with themselves. They didn’t have a care in the world. It wasn’t until the manager had to come and tell them «Hey, we have customers here,» did they finally get back to work.
We asked how much it would cost to go-​kart and discovered that you have to buy a membership before you can even go-​kart once. So what was an effort to have an affordable, fun weekend afternoon ended up being us walking out the door and going shopping instead. Bottom line: this place blows.

If you guys ever wanna go kart racing in Houston. Dont go to k1 speed by 290. Everyone there is gruuumpy. We said it felt like we didn’t get all the laps we paid for. one of the ladies in the staff rolled her eyes until they were white and told us to talk to the manager because that was none of her business… he said we did get all the laps and we said wow it felt like we didn’t, it went by really fast and all he could said was «whatever» and walked away. if you bump into walls they get extremely aggravated and yell at you. Money totally wasted. NO SENSE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. This should be a fun place! But everyone there looks lile they hate their job…

I love go karting. I think you should try it.

If I could have given it less stars I would have! Yes it’s expensive ($ 75 for five races) but that is NOT the reason for one star. From the time we entered and went to counter to pay till I asked for a refund the staff was HORRIBLE, RUDE, DELINQUENT, an all around rotten group of young employees. I did ask to speak to the Manager 4 times and he did finally come to speak to me. The manager was pleasant and apologized but the damage was done. You know it’s a rotten experience when your twelve year old son wants to leave.
Tracks: The tracks are not safe and during my sons time on track there was no staff to warn young drivers when an accident had occurred (but there was during the adult track time). An accident occurred and since the young drivers could not see and had not been given a caution flag, it created a four cart pile up with one child leaving his cart BLEEDING!!!
Find another track, this is not worth the price but more important it’s not worth the experience.

My son was bullied and injured on the racetrack by a much older and aggressive child. The employees warn the kids that there is no bumping and if there’s any bad play you will get removed from the race. My son was hit twice on purpose by this other kid on 2 different races. The 4^th time he hit him, he hurt my son’s shoulder. The other child was not removed from the race but my son left because he was hurt. When I talked to the manager, he said, «There is nothing I can do. Unfortunately, it’s a part of racing.» A pit employee brought my son an ice pack. The manager is a worthless human being. I told him he should have pulled him from the race, like they warned the kids. He told me he couldn’t do it. He likes to give the kids opportunities to correct their own behavior. How many times does a child have to exhibit the same violent behavior before he gets pulled out? 4 times to my child and I don’t know how many times to the other children.
On the way out, this same manager was reprimanding some kids for bringing in outside drinks. Apparently that’s a rule he can enforce.
The concept of this place is nice but the management is mediocre, at best

Employees AND manager are so rude! We received a coupon online and had no idea it was only valid Monday through Thursday the manager was so rude about it instead of simply saying it wasn’t valid for today. I mean we are PAYING to use your facility why is it so difficult to put a smile on your face??? We were planning on racing regardless and didn’t make a big deal about the coupon not being valid so why the need to be rude? Without customers like us that come at least twice a month your business will not be opened anymore!!! We will definitely be looking into a different indoor racing facility next time!

WAY TOO EXPENSIVE! I had my sons bday party here. Not worth it. Staff was not helpful. They burnt the pizzas 3 times in a row! No joke. Staff seems to be young to handle duties and responsibilities. My kids party was a disaster and a waste of my money and time. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. I honestly think they need to lower their prices, and get a more caring staff.

We paid and then were told there was a 55 minute wait. They should have said this before, but we still waited. Then that time came and we went up and they said a birthday party came in late and it would be another 45 minutes. No one came to tell us this or anything. We are still waiting to go 2 hours after we checked in… paid $ 50 for two kids to do a five minute race. I will never come here again.

We’ve tried to enjoy this place twice. Atrocious customer service. Won’t be back.

I had a ton of competitive, friendly fun with a buddy of mine here and will be back. These karts are electric — I’ve tried karts powered by natural gas before and they seemed to have a better reaction time. By and large though, the karts still hit 45mph so they were still extermely entertaining.
My only request is that they do a better job of alerting drivers whenever they should let the driver behind them pass or staggering the racers. I felt like I was stuck behind a driver for a few laps, which took away from the experience a little bit.

Had a blast here with my family when we went to celebrate my Dad’s birthday. It was around Christmas so we had to wait quite a bit but it’s fun to watch too.
The karts really get going; fun for me but terrifying for my little neice. (They run separate races for kiddos, but its only a height requirement — so in this case there was a mini 13 year old out there going nuts). Easy to get the hang of; only wish I could have done more races. After a race you get a piece of paper with your ranking, best time, etc. Again, fun if you are competitive, otherwise, if you are a little kid this could make you feel terrible, so in that case, pass on it.
Tips:
Get there when they open.
If you are new you must go to the computers and register BEFORE you go to the register to book/​pay (there is no signage to this effect)
Try and book a couple races close together (and if you want to be on the track together, ask)
Get a bunch of people to go (see below)
Get the package of 3 to save money (if you don’t use them all you can come back, but note they are not transferable.
I am all over Alex N. suggestion because once I got the hang of it I started to get hung up on people who weren’t doing so well. Sometimes a bump or jam is inevitable, but it would help if there were less people on the track or they segmented it out a bit. My brother said ideally you get enough people to go then you can book track time so there isn’t anyone else out there.

I like this place, and enjoy the upkeep on the track and the karts…
But BEG THEM TO PLEASE IMPLEMENT a class of racers.
Something like:
Over xx lap: Group C novice.
xx to xx lap: Group B intermediate
Under xx lap: Group A advanced.
Or just a qualifying session to see if you run fast enough to be in the advanced sessions…
By doing this, you can actually TRY to cut a clean lap. It’s the most frustrating thing when you are trying to get a fast clean lap in, and some road block is taking a Sunday drive in the middle of the track. When I go, I hate wasting my money if I can’t get a clean session in. Leave the novice and «doing it for fun» people in one group, and the people who actually are trying to be competitive in another group.

These aren’t the putt-​putting lawn mower karts you get at those outdoor mini-​golf parks. So prices will be signicantly higher and there are stricters rules. Plus I get to wear a cool helmet. Which is exactly what I was looking for as it gives you a taste of track racing.
As a tip, first register at the computers BEHIND the attendant before waiting in line to pay/​ask questions. Because the staff will tell you to do that first and then return in line. I came by myself so I got into a kart after 20 mins.
Even though the karts are electric they definitely are quick (although one kart I had had terrible acceleration). As a warning there are drivers who are aggresive in getting that fastest lap time. So be prepared to be shoved out of their way. Plus the attendants will flag you to yield to them. I may be guilty of this since I know my way around a track if you get my drift haha.
Compared to Track 21 which is the only other indoor go kart track I know of in Houston, K1 has a newer, cleaner layout (also they have the AC running!). The only real cons are the wait times. I’ve tried to come as a group before and the 2 hr wait deterred us.