A new immersive experience for racing enthusiasts has arrived in Johnson County.
World of Racing, a facility offering virtual racing track simulators, opened its first Johnson County location recently.
World of Racing is at 4760 W. 135th St.
- The facility opened last month in a space at the Parkway Plaza shopping center in Leawood.
- Clothing store MBM Clothiers previously occupied that space.
- World of Racing is open from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday; from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
World of Racing offers a ‘immersive’ gaming experience
The facility features 12 race simulators in which racers can choose their car and their virtual track.
Racers have roughly 150 to 200 different race tracks to choose from, as well as roughly 300 to 400 different types of cars.
Each race experience lasts for 55 minutes.
While they aren’t racing, the facility also has a pool table and leather couches for people to enjoy, including during watch parties for international Formula 1 races.
“It’s not like playing a video game, it’s way more immersive than that,” said franchise owner Todd Dieffenbach. “We simulate the race car and the racing experience as close as we possibly can without getting in an actual race car. It’s a lot safer than getting in a real race car, and a lot less expensive.”
This marks the first World of Racing facility in JoCo
A lifelong Johnson Countian himself, Dieffenbach became interested in World of Racing after attending a Formula 1 race in Las Vegas and using a racing simulator similar to the ones found at World of Racing.
“I just fell in love with (simulated) racing,” he said. “I just thought it was a blast, and I kept getting back in line.”
When he found out about World of Racing in California, he said he knew he wanted to bring the concept back to Johnson County.
He said that his ultimate goal was to give local race enthusiasts a place to race as well as a place to build a sense of camaraderie.
“I wanted to try to build a racing community of people that enjoy talking about racing,” he said. “We’ve had people come in here that just talk for an hour. (It’s for) like-minded people wanting to kind of have a place to hang.”
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