Like many others growing up in the 60s, I was fascinated by cars and auto racing. Living in a suburb of N.Y. City, I made the trek to Bridgehampton and Lime Rock to watch Trans-Am, Can-Am and SCCA races. After moving to Cincinnati for work, I made it a point to watch these same Series at the Mid-Ohio race course.
Now retired and a club track owner, Trans-Am and Can-Am (including endurance cars of the 60s) are favorites in miniature. Some of our member’s creations sport liveries of historic Trans-Am and Can-Am rides while others are content to build their own “fantasy” liveries. In order to make racing in miniature accessible to the widest audience possible, nearly all of our classes feature True Scale, production H-Bracket chassis and sealed motors. (For those who possess only OSCAR based rides, I allow these to compete with True Scale cars)
Race Summary
Eight slot-heads showed up to race True Scale Trans-Am and Can-Am/Endurance cars (Gran Sport Class) at Electron Raceway. Track conditions were good for both classes of cars.
- In the Trans-Am race it was Rich, Bob and Mark for first through third respectively. The race was quite competitive with five racers vying for podium spots.
- In the Can-Am/Gran Sport race it was Bob, Rich and Joe for first through third respectively. Again, racing was very competitive with six racers vying for podium spots
At Electron Raceway, we have been racing what I would call “Historic Trans-Am” cars since mid-2014. Historic Trans-Am cars feature 1/25 scale 66-72 pony cars of the era. That being said, most racers have migrated to the 67-69 Camaro or 68 Firebird model bodies because they are the lowest and lightest of the available choices.
Trans-Am is quite a competitive class and, over time, the guys have dialed in their rides. Looking at the historical data, the following observations are in order:
- Rich, Bob, Joe and Ron have been the only competitors to post 90 or more laps in a given race. As a result, they should be fighting for the podium spots
- In his last race, Scott, driving his 68 Firebird, turned a personal best of 88 laps with a fast lap time in line with the leaders. A bit higher consistency could yield a podium finish
- In the last contest (Slammers) with his “common chassis” Mark was very competitive posting a personal best to finish third with nearly 90 laps. Apparently he has dialed in the chassis and could certainly challenge others for a podium spot
- In the prior Trans-Am race Lowell turned a personal best of 86.3 laps. His fast lap time was in line with the leaders so, with a bit higher consistency could challenge for a podium spot
Trans-Am Current Race
Details of the race are presented in bullet point form below.
- From the outset, it was clear that Bob and Rich would be two of the competitors vying for the top spot. Both averaged nearly 23 laps/heat through the first two heats.
- In the meantime, Ron, Lowell and Joe averaged in the 20-21 laps/heat range through the first two heats, making it difficult to challenge the top two.
- Yet Mark, another challenger, was yet to turn a wheel in the contest. As mentioned above, Mark seems to have dialed in his “common chassis” and would likely be a threat in the current race, and that he was. He entered the race in Heat #3 an posted over 22 laps, putting him in the “driver’s seat” for a podium finish or even a shot at knocking off Bob or Rich.
- Rich was first in the barn with 90.9 laps but not the clear favorite. Bob had yet to run his last two heats. In the end, Bob made a great effort but fell short of overtaking Rich by a single section.
- Mark rounded out the podium with a personal best performance of 87.4 laps.
- Joe and Ron had a battle royal for fourth place but Joe prevailed by only a foot or two
- Lowell was only one of two competitors to turn a fast lap under five seconds but too many incidents kept him from challenging for a podium spot
Editor’s Note: The front end of Ron’s Camaro was tweaked in a wreck, negatively impacting his lap total; otherwise he would have been in the hunt for a podium finish.
At Electron Raceway, I have combined the Can-Am class with Endurance machines of the 60s and 70s (Class is formally called Gran Sport) including the Porsche 917, GT40, Corvette Grand Sport and others. The Can-Am and Gran Sport cars have similar wheelbase and width. Maybe the biggest difference is that the Can-Am cars are open cockpit and the Gran Sport cars are closed. Competitors can select either True Scale spec or OSCAR spec rides. The True Scale cars feature production H-Bracket chassis. ProSlot 16D sealed motors are utilized and mounted in an angle-winder or sidewinder configuration. The OSCAR based cars feature in-line; scratch-build, hinged chassis coupled with 16D or Hawk/Falcon/Cheetah motors.
Observations:
- Bob’s Lotus will be hard to beat and should challenge for the class record in terms of total laps. In the last contest, Bob posted 95.3 laps, only 2 sections shy of the class record (held by Rich’s True Scale GT40 MK IV). He would have broken that record had he not stopped for a track call that had not yet cut the power.
- In the last contest Rich’s Gulf GT40 MK I posted 94.3 laps. Subsequent to that race, Rich moved the guide flag farther forward which improved handling and therefore lap times. It will be interesting to see if the GT40 can challenge Bob’s OSCAR based Lotus
- Depending on his choice of rides, Mark could be in the mix for a podium spot. In his only appearance with his OSCAR based Lotus, he finished third posting a lap total of 89.7 which, by the way would have been good enough to edge out Ron for third place in the last contest.
- The balance of the field is tightly bunched with any of four drivers challenging for the bottom step of the podium
Can-Am/Gran Sport Current Race
The grid was populated by six OSCAR based rides (Lotus, Lola and a Cooper) and two True Scale based GT40s piloted by Rich and Ron.
Editor’s Note: Since the last contest, Bob swapped a Falcon 7 power for a new Cheetah 4. The Falcon, although very quick is a bit difficult to handle when mated with a Can-Am chassis. The Cheetah 4 power plant is much easier to drive. I believe that others will follow Bob’s lead on their OSCAR based Can-Am rides for more consistent results.
Current race results are shown below in bullet point form.
- Only three competitors were able to run sub five second lap times – Rich, Bob and Ron
- Although Rich’s GT40 was the quickest car on the grid, a poor performance on the red lane with no less than three offs put him out of contention for the top spot.
- Bob took full advantage, running a very consistent race (95.98%) for the win, while Rich was second (about two laps behind).
- The battle for the bottom step of the podium was joined by no less than four drivers (Joe, Mark, Lowell and Ron).
- Mark was the first of that group in the barn finishing with 88.3 laps
- Going into the final heat, Joe had posted 67.1 laps; Ron posted 65.8 laps and Lowell posted 64.7. Realistically speaking, only Joe and Ron had a shot at knocking off Mark for the bottom step of the podium.
- In the end, Joe finished third with 88.9 laps; Mark was fourth with 88.3 laps, Lowell was fifth with 87.3 laps and Ron was sixth with 86.5 laps
