Mom of Kart-Racing Team Tells All

Nov 13 2009 by Sara Lacey

My friend Faith Cody is a mom with three kids, and she runs a Pampered Chef business. She does all the usual mom stuff (household management, homework duty, etc.), but her life includes another job, racing mama. That’s not just in the carpool sense of the word; she’s mom to three karting racers on the Fear the Turtle Racing Team.

Faith’s husband, Eric, got their kids – Coleton, 12; Mitchell, 10; and Alison, 8 – started in kart racing. In the beginning it was just a way to get out of the house and have some fun, but an obsession was quickly born. One of the great things about karting for the Cody family is it’s something all of their kids participate in, Faith said. I can’t think of one thing my kids like enough to do together besides bicker, so I was impressed and curious.

When the kids first got started, it was all about learning the rules of racing, Faith said. She was nervous about the karts’ speeds: Smaller kids’ karts go up to 35 mph while bigger kids’ hit 70 mph. However, Faith’s concerns were assuaged by the fact that so much of karting at young ages is about following the rules.

Coleton, Mitchell and Ali learned how to take a line, when and how to pass, and when it’s legal to push or bump the car in front of you. In addition to driving rules, the kids learn about track safety. For example, there’s no getting out of the kart until an adult race official tells you it’s safe to do so. Kids can be disqualified in a heartbeat if they break the rules, which is a swift, efficient tool for driving home the rules.

Another benefit of karting is her kids root each other on and help each other learn. Her kids pass along advice to each other and bond over their shared sport. Most of the time in kart racing, families helps other families, and there’s lots of encouragement and support, Faith said. “It’s neat to see the kids root for each other and learn from each other,” she said.

Faith usually doesn’t drive a kart, but she did suit up for the first time recently and drove in a race for moms. The race taught her the importance of practice and track familiarity as well as how little improvements here and there add up to a better race time. It also helped her understand what her kids are going through both physically and mentally on the track.

Faith was happy with her race results, she qualified in ninth place and finished in sixth—even though other moms had done track research and got coaching (which was against the rules). It’s a hard lesson at any age that sometimes playing by the rules doesn’t pay off.

The Codys spent most summer weekends on the road heading to races throughout the region. They had a ball and really enjoyed their family time, Faith said. And, of course, the victories were sweet.

As the kids grow older the sport becomes more competitive. But Faith is enjoying this time in their lives where the reward is going out and having a good time together. As words like “agent” and “sponsorship” seep into our conversation, Faith confides that it’s a bit overwhelming, but they’re learning as they go. Faith’s hope is that her kids will want to continue racing for years to come and that they’ll continue to do it together.

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