K1 Speed Bringing Indoor Racing to North Charleston

North Charleston is about to get a fresh spark of adrenaline — the kind powered not by gasoline, but by quiet, fast, all-electric karts.

K1 Speed, the national indoor go-kart franchise with more than 100 locations worldwide, is rolling into the Lowcountry with a new track planned for Uptown at Centre Pointe, right beside Topgolf. According to the Post & Courier, the California-based company founded in 2003 is setting its sights on 5070 International Blvd., continuing the entertainment boom in that corridor.

This won’t be your nostalgic, slow-poke go-kart loop. K1’s electric karts can hit 45 miles per hour, a speed designed to feel thrilling yet accessible for drivers across ages and skill levels.

One of K1’s core ideas: make racing a sport everyone can tap into.

The new North Charleston location will include both adult and junior karts, giving families, friend groups, and birthday parties a shared lane. And the brand’s signature “Arrive & Drive” format — highlighted in the Post & Courier — lets guests drop in without reservations to battle for the day’s best lap time.

After each heat, racers get a breakdown of their performance: lap times, rankings, and personal stats printed out and logged online. That digital leaderboard becomes a running scoreboard for weekly or monthly bragging rights.

From casual competitors to the quietly ambitious, there’s room for every driving personality.

K1 isn’t stopping at drop-in laps.

The company plans to offer classes for developing drivers, themed “drift nights,” and league racing with a pathway to compete nationally. It’s a system built to draw in the curious — and keep the competitive coming back.

A company spokesman, Tom Abbott, told the Post & Courier the expansion will “provide an accessible entry into the world of racing for the greater Charleston community.” It’s part sport, part entertainment, part clubhouse.

And that clubhouse energy is literal. The North Charleston venue will include arcade games, billiards, and a food-and-beverage area overlooking the track — a perch for celebrating victories, reliving near-misses, or simply cheering on the speed demons in your group.

Festival Centre and the surrounding Centre Pointe district have been steadily transforming into a recreational hub. With Topgolf, dining, retail, and now K1 Speed, the area is becoming a go-to destination for indoor fun — especially on those too-hot, too-rainy, too-anything Lowcountry days.

Charleston already had a taste of the brand through its Myrtle Beach location. Now, bringing the experience closer to home feels like the natural next lap.

No opening date has been announced yet, but the wheels are in motion. And for anyone who’s ever wondered just how fast they really are, a new proving ground is coming soon.

This is a summary of an article published in the Post & Courier. Click here if you’d like to read that article.