Liz Biro

liz.biro@indystar.com

Ex-IndyCar driver and team owner Sarah Fisher has opened an indoor karting track in downtown Speedway.

Of course, it’s fast.

Real fast.

There are body-vibrating straight-ways, shoulder-torqueing hairpins and a chicane that could shift a kidney.

“Sébastien Bourdais was here yesterday. He ran a 31.8 (seconds),” Fisher said as casually as anyone else would mention a BFF popping in for coffee. Speedway Indoor Karting —SIK for short — is also a restaurant. 1911 Grill is named for the year of the Indianapolis 500’s first running. Find both places in a huge, new building at 1067 Main St.

SIK hosts the knuckle-whitening, two-level road course plus a steep oval track known as the “mini superspeedway.” Designs are based on real challenges pro racers encounter at various speedways. Both options supply pros, drivers in training and novices, like me, a lot of fun (Watch your back Bourdais! I’m only 10 seconds behind your time. hahaha).

Diners can watch kart races from 1911’s second-floor tables picture windows or step on a catwalk over the tracks. Televisions broadcast racing and other sports in bars and dining rooms on both floors of the restaurant. Black leatherette seats and grey walls give the sense hanging around garages. Sepia photos conjure Indianapolis Motor Speedway history. The place seats 300 people and includes a covered patio.

Next Mass Ave? Speedway loads up on food + drink

Fisher runs SIK and 1911 Grill with her husband, Andy O’Gara. When she raced, he was her crew chief. The couple owned IndyCar teams, too. O’Gara is not just Fisher’s partner in racing. His parents run O'Gara's Irish pub in Beech Grove. The O’Gara family has been in the pub and restaurant business since the 1930s.

Food at 1911 is easy, but the menu is expanding. Soft pretzel sticks sport a malty, dark crust alongside mild beer cheese dip ($8.99). Burgers are a custom blend of Black Angus brisket, chuck and short rib ($8.99 to $9.99). Smoked barbecue pork chops are an option ($14.99). Tender, medium-rare tenderloin lands on a salad with blue cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and Bermuda onion ($11.99). Chunky green olive tapenade crowns two crostini alongside the salad. Steaks, salmon, pizza and pasta are other choices ($10.99 to $19.99).

Crab cakes, fried calamari, hand-cut filet and more sandwiches, appetizers and pasta dishes should arrive in June, chef Todd Howard said. He previously worked at Kona Jack’s in Carmel.

“I just wanted to make it simple but not your typical, adjacent-to-a-go-kart-track food service,” Fisher said. “I wanted to make it a place where if you wanted to race a kart you could, but if you didn’t you could still have lunch and be in restaurant environment.”

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Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter @lizbiro, Instagram @lizbiro, Facebook and Pinterest. Call her at (317) 444-6264.