Article by Emily Meyer.
In this fast-paced modern world, the everyday responsibilities and demands of life can sometimes get in the way of what’s truly important: family. However, becoming involved in kart racing has allowed Brham Trim to embrace an opportunity to bring his whole family closer together than ever before.
In the spring of 2019, Brham and his son, Travers, now 18, visited the Strathmore Motorsports Park, where the Calgary Kart Racing Club (CKRC) was holding a ‘Try-a-Kart event’- an informal and engaging opportunity for people of all ages to try the sport of kart racing. While Brham was already committed to the idea of kart racing, he was uncertain at first whether his son would feel the same way.
“I already knew I loved it. My hope was that he [Travers] would love racing as much as I do,” said Brham, as it would give the father-son duo an exciting, high-quality experience to bond over.
It wasn’t a difficult sell. After a day in the kart whipping around corners and flying down the straights, Travers was convinced that his father was onto something with his love of karting.
Travers’ enthusiasm for karting reinforced Brham’s decision to get his family involved in the sport. Therefore, Brham contacted Overdrive Motorsports, the company that supplies most of the karts for CKRC members, and a few days later, he was the owner of a brand-new racing kart.
From that point onwards, the family’s passion for karting began to pick up momentum as Brham’s youngest son, Rory, now 10, showed interest in racing karts and it appeared that the sport of kart racing would become a family affair.
CKRC boasts an inclusive club atmosphere for people of all ages, so after Rory expressed an interest in following in the footsteps of his father and older brother, Bhram was taken with the idea to take their new family hobby a step further.
“I got the idea in my head. I was like, you know, this would be awesome if my brothers got involved,” said Brham.
Racing was already in the Trim family blood. Brham and his brothers had been racing since they were mere boys. They raced anything they could: dirt bikes, quads, go-karts, razors, and BMX bikes, enamoured by the intoxicating thrill of the adrenaline rush and a desire to compete. Therefore, after Brham confirmed the love his two sons had for the sport, he devised a plan to get the entire family involved. This project started with Brham purchasing a massive trailer so they’d have no excuse not to make it to the track.
Brham’s brother Lane was the first to get involved. At a family baptism, Brham shared the idea with Lane’s wife, Stacy. He knew if he could convince her to let Lane participate in karting, he could begin to build on his two-person racing team.
The whole family already owned dirt bikes, but it was an extensive undertaking to get them out or a ride because the loading and unloading of the bikes and post-ride clean-up put a damper on the fun. Brham knew a weekend at the kart track wouldn’t be like that. The trailer made it easy to store the equipment and at the end of the weekend, they could leave everything there, go home and put their feet up. Most importantly, it was a chance for the family to get to see each other more.
The final decision to involve the extended family in karting came one fateful Saturday afternoon when Brham stopped by Lane’s house with a handful of racing suits. Lane and his children tried them on for size and once they were able to visualize themselves as racers, there was no turning back.
However, after Lane’s family was fitted out with karts, the job still wasn’t done. The Trim family is the type of family who invests their time and energy entirely into any undertaking and they weren’t finished building their team just yet…
“Even though it’s an individual sport, there are a lot of team-related things. CKRC is a family venue,” said Brham, noting that whether it’s parents, grandparents, children, or cousins and friends, CKRC is a racing club for everyone.
Karting also does not exclude based on ability which sets it apart from other family-oriented sports out there. “You don’t have to be strong. You don’t have to be any specific size. It’s for everybody. Anybody can do it,” said Brham.
Accordingly, an invitation was sent out to the rest of the Trim family in the Calgary area to enjoy a race weekend at the track. The goal – to grow the Trim racing team -again. The expansion plan proved to be a success as by the end of the weekend, brother Kale was ready to join and solidified his commitment by placing an order for a kart the very next day.
In essence, ‘Team Trim Racing’ is the perfect example of what the CKRC represents. This family team took a passion for speed and competition and used it to strengthen their relationships with each other and to also build new ones with other racers. In fact, one of the attributes that Brham most appreciates about the Calgary Kart Club is the tight-knit sense of community.
“Everyone is willing to help everyone else,” said Brham, recalling his first pole position last year. Having never started from ‘pole position’, he asked a few people at the track for tips and tricks. “They were more than happy to tell their secrets on how to get a good start. It’s great that there is that atmosphere.”
For Team Trim, there is a certain joy and camaraderie that results from competition amongst cousins, brothers, sons and fathers, but it’s about much more than that.
“My oldest is a teenager. That father and teenager relationship, you know, I think everybody has struggles there, but go-karting really brought us together,” said Lane, alluding to the fact that Karting has brought him closer to his children through a common passion and opportunity to work together.
“CKRC has made it so we can all come together as a family. I’ve spent more time with my brothers in the last year than I have in the last ten. To see our kids get together and have fun and build those relationships, I think that’s the most important part of it all,” noted Brham, concurring with his brother Lane’s sentiments.
In the off-season, Team Trim diversified their team even more and demonstrated the inclusivity of kart racing when the three brothers brought their daughters, Pacey, 12, Maryn, 9, Brooke, 12, and Preslee, 9, to the track to experience the thrill of the track..
“They were talking about that day forever,” said Lane. “It was at that point we decided we needed to get them involved for next year.”
As the Trim family has demonstrated, karting is a sport the whole family can get involved in; however, it doesn’t come without expense. However, a little ingenuity and planning can make this sport affordable.
“We jumped in headfirst. We decided that we were going to get the entire family involved. Then we came up with a plan of how we would fund it,” said Lane.
Recognizing the costs associated with the continued growth of Team Trim, the family decided to find sponsors. After putting together a sponsorship package, the children created a website and managed two separate Instagram pages: one specifically for the girls involved in the team and the other representing everyone.
As a result, Team Trim will head into the 2021 season backed by the Gentleman Pros, EMCO, Shane Homes, Industrial Graphics, EVS neck braces, and Foss National Leasing. The karts are decked out in sponsor logos, and red t-shirts representing Team Trim will fill the stands.
“This is something special. If you can’t make it to every race, who cares. It’s still the memories you’re making. That’s stuff you’re going to draw on when things get rough,” said Lane.
What started as a father and son looking for a hobby back in the spring of 2019 has blossomed
into a family racing team of 13 members spanning from juniors under 10, to masters in their 40s.
Keep an eye on the track this season for the fathers, sons, and daughters of Team Trim Racing…they may just inspire your family to form a team of your own one day!
