A racetrack business that was driven by brothers who loved zipping around in go karts is marking a half-century of operations.

The family-owned business, north of downtown Riverside in Belltown near Rubidoux, was known for about 46 years as the Adams Kart Track. It has become the Adams Motorsports Park under Troy Adams, 41, a son of Tim Adams, one of nine siblings who opened the track in January 1960.

"It started out as a fun thing, and it just kept growing," said Tim Adams.

Troy Adams was 10 when he started helping at the family business. He remembers flipping burgers at the concession stand, emptying trash cans and doing paperwork.

Paul Alvarez/Special to the Business Press

Nine Adams siblings launched their business in 1960. Family members shown are, from left, Tim Adams, Eunice Lisberg, Jerry Adams, Troy Adams, Helen Armstrong and Thelma King.

"It's like if you own Magic Mountain, you don't get to enjoy the rides," he said. "You work."

He worked at the business while he was attending college. After graduating, he opened a racing school on site, started a kart racing program for children, built a pro shop and managed the business. From 1998 to 2004, he also raced professionally.

In October 2006, Troy Adams became the owner and rebranded the business as Adams Motorsports Park. He works about 70 hours a week. His sister, Timel Sebastian, is the manager and his brother, Steven, is chief mechanic. Troy said he's still running a "family community business."

Since Troy took over, the business has been evolving. Kart, which is open to the public, remains a mainstay, but other racing activities have sprouted. In 2007, supermoto was added and stars, including Jeff Ward, Brandon Currie, and Nicky, Roger and Tommy Hayden have used the track for training. In late 2008, drifting, or driving rear-wheeled race cars sideways, was introduced.

Other activities include racing pocket bikes, remote-controlled cars and trophy karts, or souped-up go karts. Time attack, or driving front-wheeled race cars for speed and accuracy, is also offered. Race instruction is also an integral part of the business

Paul Alvarez/Special to the Business Press

Steve Clark, a nephew of the Adams family, takes to the track at Adams Motorsports Park.

Drifting, held every Thursday night, has become a major event, said Ahmad Youngsblood, director of sales and marketing. On average, about 500 spectators gather weekly, he said. Tickets cost $3 a person.

The business earns most of its revenues from karting activities, drifting and time attack. It gets about 1,000 visitors a week.

Dirt track origins

The family's story of how the track was created starts in 1959. Tim and his brother Jerry enjoyed racing cars and bought a kart as a Christmas present for their nephews.

They test drove the kart and ruined it before their nephews could go for a spin. Tim, who was 20 then, and his older brothers Jerry and Chuck decided to buy three more karts. They drove them so furiously around their circular driveway that their mother ordered them to move down to the fields below. Their dad constructed a dirt track and they raced daily.

One day, the brothers went to watch kart racing in South Gate and mentioned their track back home. The brothers had a good laugh because it was just a dirt track, Tim said. But the drivers took them seriously and arranged a visit. The Adams family quickly built a quarter-mile asphalt track in two weeks. Word about the race spread and in January 1960, the Adams track opened.

Because the track gained so much interest, the family decided to make it a business. At first, they charged people $2.50 to race, to pay for the asphalt. Over time, they improved the track and business grew. The track, as it looks today, was finished in the late 1960s.

Eight Adams siblings - five brothers and three sisters - helped operate the business on weekends, while working full-time in fields such as engineering and education. It was easy to keep the business going because of one motivation, Tim said.

"The beauty of our business is that although you have problems, we're family at the same time," he said. "We all wanted to (financially) support our mother and father."

A 50th-anniversary banquet was held Jan. 28 at the Riverside Marriott Hotel. A vintage kart race was held on Jan. 30.

Becoming a business

The racetrack has made adjustments to stay in business. But for the first 30 years, the family wasn't focused on profits, said Eunice Lisberg, Tim Adams' sister.

The siblings worked for free in the 1960s and '70s and gave whatever money was left over to their parents.

The track earned enough to cover the insurance, taxes and bills but family members had to dig into their own pockets to pay for the resurfacing of the track, she said.

In the early '80s, a racing club called Tri-C Karters started racing at Adams. The club paid for insurance and track rental fees. Profits from the races were given to the business.

"Basically, the karters wanted us here," Lisberg said. "They knew that the only way to keep it going required them to pitch in." The Tri-C group dwindled and a few years later, the So-Cal Karters formed. They paid insurance and rental fees as well but also split the profits between the club and Adams, Lisberg said.

Today, clubs pay rental fees and provide their own people to work the races.

For the past two decades, Troy convinced his relatives to make more adjustments, such as raising the price of food in the concession stands and opening a racing school, Lisberg said.

"Troy moved us to the next level," she said. "He wanted to make it a business."

Drifting revenue

The economy has affected his business, which is a form of entertainment, Troy said. The plus side is families are seeking low-cost entertainment options for the entire family, he said, and karting is a family activity. Revenue grew last year thanks to drifting fans and an increase in the number of young kart drivers, he said.

Troy said he hopes to continue seizing new opportunities and form more partnerships.

"You have to be creative in developing new programs," he said. "You create new opportunities with what you have and we have the heart to say yes to new ideas....The biggest thing in business is not being afraid to try new things."