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It will never change. Just like some so-called National Retro Championship will never work or mean anything, win or not.
 
The reason that is, is because everyone doesn't race under one banner. Next, nobody gets titles like "The Best" cause they win a race or a series. You can call it whatever you want, doesn't make a difference. Over time is what earns those titles, and not because you win this or that, it comes from those you race against and race with.
 
Nobody nowadays will ever support a true national series, and I mean one that encompasses both coasts as well as the north, the south, and the midwest. It's too expensive and would literally turn into the last man standing to make every race. Let whomever run whatever they want to satisfy their desire to call whomever the best. In the end, there will always be another race, scheduled somewhere else, using some other format, raced on some different track, using some other rules. There are those that will never be satisfied no matter what.
 
Traveling to Retro races all these years I've seen no one run them all, or win them all, or have enough time and money to even get to them all. Hello, hear what I just said, get to them ALL. It wasn't that long ago that you didn't have any kind of organized racing to argue about. Nobody races for money, nobody is reimbursed for money spent, nobody has a contract, nobody CARES.
 
Just because you win a race, does that make you the best? If Horky loses the next five Worlds won't change the minds of 99% of scale racers out there he is the man. Same goes for Paul G, Beuf, Ron Hershman, Duran Trigillo, Greg Gilbert, Paul Pfeiffer, the late Jon Laster, Howie Ursaner, Sandy Gross, Jan Limpach, the list is endless. In the end you are judged by your peers, win, lose, or draw.
 
I have a side in this bullchit, and that is the side to see us all racing together again. I'll tell ya, you can knock the guys in Cali, but when it comes down to it, they don't keep score, they don't have the choice of tracks the rest of us have, or motors or tires or bodies but they sure have a lot of fun.
 
There is no winner in this deal, and it will all go away soon enough. It grew to this point for one reason, we all got along. Until we find a way back to that, it will stall and die. Manufacturers will lose, raceways will lose, and racers will lose. It wasn't broke, but it's broke now.
 
So to the powers that be, FIX IT.

There is no doubt that Retro has become a kit-based form of racing. It is what it is. The variations of frames that have come from said kits is just astonishing.

You will never please everyone 100% of the time. Having scratchbuilders talk smack on kit frames is all good. Without that, racing in any form never pushes forward. Pride or ego, whichever you prefer, keep things fresh and keep those engineering minds searching endlessly for the better mousetrap.

In reality we are talking about a guide hole, a piece to hold a front axle, a bracket to hold a rear axle, and something to pin the body too. That's it. However you come up with those things it's all good.

Nobody invented any of this stuff. Guys just arrange them differently. If a kit helps a guy do that quicker and cheaper so be it. Racing is close and that's the key. They all look the same on the line from the top. Retro is such a photocopy hobby anyway. People see a chassis win on Sunday and Monday morning there are 100 copies. And that is from scratch or a kit.

Just realize the big picture, in that there are 100 guys who care enough to spend the time to copy it. That's why it's popular and why you always have plenty of marshals in Retro. LOL.

Route 93 Raceways is going to the sky to advertise!!!

 

A turd is a turd, but it may not be at another venue. The problem with most of you guys is that you think that because of your advanced knowledge and years of experience that you put in what you think is your best motor, that it will be. And if someone is god forbid faster than you, that guy is doin something he shouldn't be. 2 years ago at Retropalooza Port Jeff CanAm, I was practicing and changing motors. I had, believe me, cycled thru some of my best engines from past races, some with multiple wins. I had a engine which was one of the first I'd bought 5 years ago, never ran anywhere. Refurbed it twice over the years, still a turd and never put a race on it. But that day, that track, that power it was a missile. Dominated the race. Fast Ones seal, still had an oilite bearing in the can. Do not confuse the fact that a motor is a turd cause it isn't fast at a specific racetrack. Matching the motor to the conditions is. That's why most of us have lots of engines. These motors are great out of the bag. They are great after getting refurbed. Are they all great at every track, no. So when most of you guys whining on here about guys blue printing motors, how do you explain someone like myself, who has never blueprinted a PD but still wins races? Obviously due to the amount of races I've run I'm sure I've ran against a few blueprinted engines in my time by now. Result has been the same. As with most BS on this blog, the majority of guys should start listening more to what guys who travel alot, race alot, and win alot are saying. But you won't, and the same thing will come up again and again and the same hard headed guys who never seem to walk thru the doors of any racetrack will dictate to the rest of us what a bunch of idiots we all are. Sorry, but if you are gonna talk the talk you better walk the walk. Funny how most who do, never seem to post much on these subjects. Maybe that would be a better topic to waste time on.

From my crib in Jersey, like I see it.
 
This blog is a great source of information regarding all forms of scale racing. It has connected us from around the world to share and discuss  almost every aspect of our hobby-sport. We should count ourselves fortunate we have such a forum.
 
That being said, I also find it damn entertaining. All the bickering and squabbling sounds like an Italian holiday dinner LMAO. 
 
There is something to be learned from everything, even the squabbling. So on the interpersonal relationship, human front I have learned that:
 
Some bloggers just don't like other people or organizations, and no matter how right they might be, they will argue against whatever that person/group says. Sound familiar, right?
 
Some just want to be heard, start trouble, are jealous, or are just plain miserable. 
 
NOBODY LIKES THE BOSS
 
An old friend of mine told me this when I became a supervisor.
 
Like it or not, this is Greg's sandbox, like it or not, his rules, his say. Disagree? Don't go away mad, just go away.
 
Retro East, both IRRAs, SCRRA, etc., all have people that run it. In the end if you are unhappy with the rules or you dislike the people running them voice your opinion, and if still unhappy don't go away mad, just go away. Don't try and ruin it for the rest. Nothing is perfect guys...
 
What I've found as a boss is those that support you will tell you one-on-one but usually not in a group. 
The ones that disagree usually do it in a group setting and some will go behind your back. They like the attention and it makes them feel relevant. Understanding their motivation in what and when they say things is as important as the content of their words. 
 
What's it all mean? Well, for starters admit there are people you just never will like or agree with. We all know it, so just stop it. Be relevant or be quiet... there comes a point when enough is enough.
 
There are many of you that are having a hard time in health, finances, or life in general. Lets remember what's really important and have fun racing.
 
Regards,
 
JJ

The problem, like with so many other things in this world, is social media. Facebook, Internet, it's all the same. Things get out of control in cyberspace, people say things a lot of times out of context. I see it in business everyday, emails and texts instead of picking up the phone or setting a meeting. A Ping pong match of 20 emails that could have all been avoided with one phone call.

 

While I can't comment really on Ron, I have never hid behind the fact that I as well as others want everyone racing together. That's not to say I disagree with multiple organizations because I do not. I have had conversations with Ron on the PHONE and on social media. Maybe he is lying to me, I don't think so, but he wants the same. There is no reason why organizations can't get along as long as they sit down and come up with a solution for working together. Honestly, the majority of racers, myself included, would and do race in both.

 

Dividing Retro is just so silly. Believing the BS that goes on social media creates its own roadblocks which both sides seem to listen to. Airing dirty laundry never helps any situation. Each one exploits each other's rules like some presidential campaign to really what end? Ron is a very prideful person as are the BoD. It does not surprise me with what is said over social media that neither wanna move off their mountains. For the sake of argument, if I were Ron I would have felt I was not welcome to sponsor or race either.

 

But on the other hand, reading social media and the non-constructive comments of the minions I can see why no one would have asked him. Either way, I personally have found in both business and life to get back to the basics. Look both in the eye, get back to shaking hands and using today's technology as a tool and not as something to hide behind. I think the time is passed for who said what and who thinks they are right and who thinks who is wrong. Some people just wanna watch the world burn. It's very easy to see who those people are watching social media.

 

Are we really that different that no common ground can be had? I think not. I see both sides and I understand very clearly how we got to this point. In the end it's about I was right and you are wrong meanwhile racers are left in the middle just really wanting to race together. We have all been friends for a long time and know the slot car landscape.

 

History tends to repeat itself. Retro is a chance to change that.

To our Oscar..
 
To my friend Oscar:

"A Retro racer; all wheels turning
An endless race; the motor spinning 
A friend to share the quiet times
A handshake and  a new friend of mine
Say it loud and lets all cheer
We are all a part of the big everything
The future, present, and the past
Move on Retro Man.
You're free at last."

 

jj

OK, I admit my original post was a sarcastic jab at all the "over the top" hype being spewed out about this or that race, series, or program. Doesn't matter where or who it is coming from it is a little much sometimes. Comparing ANY slot car race to the Sprint Cup All Star race... come on!! A part of me regrets starting this thread and lowering myself to the level of some who post nothing but sarcasm.

Several things drew me to Retro and have convinced me it is the best type of slot racing I have EVER been a part of. The period of 1:1 racing we focus on was some of the most exciting in racing history. When men where men and all that. Then, of course, it allows many of us to relive our younger years. Who doesn't enjoy that? But, the thing I enjoyed most about Retro was it was friendly competition. Old friends gathering together to enjoy a bit of the past. Competing, of course, but it was much more than just winning. It was more having fun doing something we always loved to do.

Being a competitive sport it was natural for some to be very serious about winning. Nothing wrong with that at all. Everyone wants to be on top. But, the fact that winning seems to be overshadowing having fun is troubling. Everything is a superlative now. The BIGGEST race, the FASTEST track, the MOST entries, the MOST prizes, the GOURMET food (wait...I thought we were slot racing?), THIS power, THAT power, BIGGEST in history, FIRST ever this or that, National Champ this, World Champ that... on and on. If this keeps up we will have a Monday Retro Champion, a Tuesday Retro Champion, etc., etc.

I host a race known as the R4. Soon it will be the seventh anniversary race. Sure, it has had the most entries of any other Retro event. But most importantly we have had great competition and a lot of fun. I firmly believe that the number of entries doesn't matter as long as those two qualities are present. So for those who want to keep score, keep counting heads, I will continue looking for smiling faces and laughter.

What started as a disagreement on a few issues has escalated into a senseless civil war. Many of you would be surprised to know which opinion I agreed with. But that no longer matters. Someone posted in this thread about how it is wrong to attack those trying to promote Retro. I guess someone needs to explain to me how you "promote" something by trying to destroy the existing system, thereby splitting the existing racers, and replacing it with an almost mirror image of the original including down to the same name. THAT was where I disagreed. All that has been accomplished is a rupture in Retro races with all groups getting less than they should be getting in entries.

Wouldn't it make more sense to try to find a way to co-exist, if not cooperate? Continuing the game of "one-upmanship" could lead to something as ridiculous as my original post. And I'm hoping the scheduling of these new races on or just before existing Premier races was just a coincidence and not a deliberate act. Such childishness would only hurt the host raceways and, most importantly, the racers who would be forced to choose or stretch their budgets to include both.

Come to the R4/7 and have a good time with good friends. And maybe make some new ones. You won't be crowned the National Champion in anything, you won't be served a steak dinner, and you won't win one of Jupiter's moons. But, we will do all we can to make sure you have a great time and fair and fun competition.

If we don't stop the creep towards "win at all cost" then I think we will all lose.

In spite of a few different opinions by some, the vast majority of Retro racers just want to race, have fun, and be somewhat competitive. Those that want to build can, and those that can't or don't want to build have a whole lot of options in kits or buying RTR. 

 

Retro racing is enjoying large turn-outs all over the country, Japan, and the UK. 

 

While I do enjoy the bantering, most racers really dont give two sh*ts about this stuff.

 

WE JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN!!!

 

Regards,

 

JJ

Thanks to Mike Isles for organizing and putting on this event yet again. He loves this hobby and has sacrificed both his time, and more importantly his money in trying to bring us the premier slot race in the East.

Thanks to Frank and Mark for taking the reigns of managing SpeedZone and helping make the Brawl run smooth.

Brandon was outstanding in the directors chair and deserves a huge thanks from every racer in attendance. He is a great kid, willing to help with anything.

It was great to have Cap and Brad back to the Brawl along with Tom Hansen, Mike Kravitz, and of course Howie.

John Miller was in the house again, along with the Conn and New York contingent led by the Clinton's and Preston Meyer.

The Brantley family was back and strong.

I got a new friend in Jason Holmes and getting to race with Duran again after all these years was just awesome. I was so happy to get a podium shot with him this weekend. He is the real deal, and did an outstanding job. I told Ryan to watch him and learn, cause that's the racer you wanna be like. Smooth, calculating, and respectful on and off the track.

Thanks to Greg Wells and Jay Guard for making the trip up and experience the Fall Brawl atmosphere.

Thanks to Noose for his never-ending commitment to Retro.

Personally I wanna thank my good friend Ed Sohl. It was Ed that kept me pumped about racing slots when I wanted to step away. He and Sano Dave are my heroes. Great men who do all their talkin with the controller.

Thanks to Greg Van Peenen for his endless work building cars so I can run up front.

To R-Geo, Rick Davis, Steve L, Fast Ones, Pro Slot, and Parma for all their products and help this weekend.

Mostly I need to thank my wife Sharon and my son Ryan. All the late nights and time away dedicated to this hobby especially on big race weekends is their time, too.

Thanks again everyone for coming and supporting SpeedZone.

I visited the new location are here are some pics:
 
The King track:
 

 
Overall view:
 

 
The Hillclimb:
 

 
The quad-oval:
 

 
Parts counter:
 

 
The place is gorgeous and very well lit, it will be a pleasure to race there!
 
Cheers

Noose is the heart and soul of Retro East. I would have never thought we would be entering the 7th season back when we started. It's all because of Noose and his dedication. The retro east racers are a strong bunch that all get along. We are all friends, and always willing to help one another. It's one of the reasons I have stayed racing so long. The raceway owners are all great people as well, along with some of the absolute best racetracks anywhere in the country. We are spoiled for sure.

Retro East regulars are familiar with Nicole "Blondie" Walters from Slot Racing Revival. She has really gotten the slot racing bug, venturing out to OCR and Port Jeff this year after our home track SRR closed. She had mentioned that she would like to learn how to build a car from scratch, so I volunteered to walk her through building a chassis kit. 

Thanks to Joe "Noose" Neumeister, who donated a JK X25R kit (plus a bunch of other parts!) to the cause, last night we sat down and got to work.

The first thing was the basics of soldering. After some pointers and a trial on some scrap, we were ready to get to it.
 
Her first solder joints; bracket, axle, tube, and rear brass section:


 
Moving on through the build:







As you can see, by the time the front axle was going in, she could actually smile!  :-)
 
The finished product:


 
The happy builder:


 
The next step is showing her how to build it into a complete car. We have six weeks until the finale at SpeedZone, where hopefully she will debut her new ride.

The IRRA™ has completed its testing and concludes that:

1) Kelly Retro tires are not detrimental to the track or other racers.
2) While cost is a concern, this is a choice left up to the racer as to whether they wish to buy them.
3) Availability is not something we can control or dictate.
4) Speed rubber, as stated in the rules, has been and will continue to be that which contains silicone which has been found to be detrimental and the tests used to test for it will continue as they can be done at tech.
5) The IRRA™ BoD will implement periodic unannounced testing of tires at least once per year to ensure the various tires used are still in compliance. The same will be done with motors to ensure no changes have been made that were not announced.

(Posted for the IRRA™ BoD by Greg Wells)

Gugu Bernardino of Red Fox has produced tooling for manufacturing of a new crown gear for Retro racing.

I have completed the testing on these new gears and I am very pleased with the final product. They will be produced in a black polymer in three sizes - 27t, 28t, and 29t in 48 pitch using a 3/32" hub. They run very true, are light, and mesh very nicely.

Now that testing is completed, Red Fox will begin producing them to get them out to distributors soon. I do not know what the retail cost will be. The product is very good and I'm sure all the racers who try them will be very pleased.

Thanks to Gugu and Red Fox Racing Products for investing their time and money in such a way to benefit Retro and its racers. Look for them very soon.

     I finally got around to this project in the last few weeks.  Managed to find all the appropriate parts in my collection and this is the result.

 

     The motor is a Tyco 12v sidewinder with a Pitman 196-B armature installed.  This was a common swap for a short time in SoCal when I raced there a hundred years ago.  (OK-a little exaggeration there.)  The brush plate and brushes are DC65A units and go into place quite easily.  I'm not sure of the make of the motor mount--could be Kemtron?  Anyone who knows for sure please correct me. 

 

     Wheels are Mille Miglia--front tires are NOS and the rear doughnuts are cut from JK rubber.  The frame was built entirely by eyeballing; not even an infamous Adjust-O-Jig was used.  Hey--that's how we did it!  The car also has a wick.  For those of you who are saying "What the h--l is that?" a wick was a piece of felt stuffed inside a piece of tubing that was mounted to the chassis in such a way that the felt would make constant contact with the commutator.  The wick was then soaked with com cleaner and away you went--with a wet com that was constantly being cleaned!  You might also notice that the exhaust pipes serve as the rear body mounts.

 

     The body of course is a McLaren Mk 1 from Lancer and is out of my old collection.  I brush-painted this baby in 1965 and resurrected it to run again on this chassis.  The interior and rear tires are the  the only modern parts on the car.

 

     Had a lot of fun building the thing and it might just be the last one for awhile as I'm probably going R/C racing.  I'll let the pictures say the rest.

 

                               ---------------Regards------------Jack

The Parma Checkpoint Cup King track Can-Am race today saw Mr. Bruce on top again when the dust had settled on the A Main!  

Top qualifier Bryan Warmack and Gary Donahoe pulled out an early lead but Matt relentlessly kept the pressure on to eventually pull out a three-lap win over Bryan, with Gary running a well-deserved third.  

Congrats again, Matt!!
 
F1 tomorrow...

Depends... I am a VERY happily married man, been for 36-1/2 years now to a pearl. But one has to be selective, then caring, then compromising, then pragmatic, then, thankful! 

I am.

I wish good luck to Roger. It is never good to hear lives being destroyed by divorce, regardless of other considerations.

 

I hope that he will recover and we should all wish him the best, as well as to his now-ex.

I re-visited Christmas Day of 1963 in a way yesterday.
 
Fifty years ago, my parents gave my brother and me a VIP 1/32 slot racing set. My brother lost interest quite soon, but as you all know, it was harder for me to let go! Over the years, the VIP set grew with the addition of track and more cars, and then all of my existing track pieces were incorporated into a permanent circuit my father helped me build.
 
Over the last year or so, I have been slowly piecing together the bits needed to re-create that first track, and yesterday, on the 50th anniversary of my first slot car experience, I managed this:
 

 

 
I hooked this all up to a modern adjustable power supply, wired in a Cox thumb controller first then went even further back with this one:
 

 
The cars had been checked out and upgraded a little with some welcome parts from Don Seigel in Paris (thanks, Don!), and surprisingly, they run very well. The old tires were dried out and hard, even resisting a copious application of Zip Grip, to the extent that the cars would not climb the rise over the bridge unless taken slowly with no wheel spin. However, in my eBay trolling I had managed to find a set of 4 "Super Grip" tires still in their original sealed 50-year old packet, and they work perfectly - still as soft and supple as the day they were packaged.
 
I found one or two little enhancements to the basic circuit too, a chicane set, and a wonderful machanical lap counter, still new in its box, that works almost flawlessy:
 

 

 
Hooking up the chicane stretched the track to a dizzying 6 feet long by 2 feet wide!
 

 
When compared with some of the other offerings of the time the VIP track and cars represented exceptional quality, albeit at a price. The track sections were all nickel-plated steel, which meant that the center segment of the track was the common for both lanes, and therefore the cars had to have different polarities to run in the same direction. This was easily accomplished by some neat little plug-in connectors on the lead wires. Of course if you wanted to swap the direction of travel, all you needed to do was to swap the cars to the other lane. The guides and steering systems worked better than most others of the time, although the earlier VIP pick-up system was not too successful - just two wires poked through two holes in the frame and frayed out at the ends! These cars at least had a better system, with a full blade guide and replaceable "braids":
 

 
I did not think about it at the time, but checked yesterday. With a steel track and the open frame motors, there is a slight but detectable magnetic downforce. I doubt that VIP thought about that at the time, but it's there and it works a little.
 
So, I hope you find this interesting. My thanks to Don Seigel for providing the guides and braids and to others around the world who have answered my calls for parts.
 
I don't look like the young kid any more, but yesterday I remembered that Christmas Day 50 years ago!
 

Santa was really good to me this year.   Finally got some good scratchbuilding tools!

Micromark band saw, chop saw, disc sander, and a Harbor Freight drill press. All four permanently mounted. Made a pair of new .032" pans for one of my IRRA™ F1 cars. Man, what a pleasure to have good tools!!