24 replies to this topic

[Jason Holmes]

Racers,
 
2024 USRA Wing Nats schedule
Sept 18-22, 2024
 
Closed Monday, Sept 16, open Tuesday, Sept 17, 12 PM-8 PM.
 
Wednesday, Sept 18: open 8 AM-9 PM
      Grp F tech 10 AM, OMB tech 1.5 hours after end of last Grp F heat
 
Thursday, Sept 19: open 8 AM-9 PM
      HBB tech 10 AM, C12 tech 1.5 hours after end of last HBB heat
 
Friday, Sept 20: open 8 AM-9 PM
      27L tech 10:30 AM
 
Saturday, Sept 21: open 8 AM-9 PM
      TMO tech 10:30 AM
 
Sunday, Sept 22: open 8 AM
       G7 tech 11 AM. Raceway will close 1 hour after the end of G7 race.
 
Hope to see you there!

Webcast on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/piranhaspeedway
 

Piranha Speedway & Hobbies

8542 Norwalk Blvd.

Whittier, CA 90606
(562) 463-9260

[Archie King]

Posted.

Good afternoon, racers. As many of you know, the 2025 worlds race is going to be in the world Famous PJ Slot Car Raceway & Hobby. If you have never been to a worlds, you are missing out. It is an awesome time with people you don’t normally get to race with. It’s a whole new experience in slot car racing.

With that said, Rich and I have been talking with many 27 Lite racers. And we have made an emergency executive decision concerning the rules for the chassis modification. And after having some great discussions about who does what to their chassis, we are going to allow the wording to read

“Modifications allowed”

 

to the chassis rules.

Hopefully this gives you enough time to do whatever it is you want to do. Personally, I like to soften the motor box and the center rail and that’s pretty much it. They are pretty thin and flexible already.

Hope to see all you guys at the Nats at Piranha Speedway & Hobbies. It’s going to be a great Nats!!! And Rich said first round Sunday dinner was on him!!! (jk)

Archie King

[Don Weaver]

Where can I find the USRA Nats results?

[MG Brown]

Did you mean for this year or historical results from past years?

 

9/18 (today) is the first day of the 2024 event. Qualifying for Group F just concluded.

[Don Weaver]

Results for this year's Nats.

[Cheater]

There's one racer who is posting some of the results of today's Nats races on Facebook, but that's it. I've been saving some screenshoots, but if the USRA isn't interested in posting the Nats results here, why should I do it for them?

 

[bbr]

Would be nice for some reporting... Where's their PR guy? 

 

Was at track Sunday, a couple of racers from Australia were getting ready.

[MG Brown]

Congratulations to Roger Schmitt, who is the One Motor Box 2024 National Champion with 632.23 laps. There were 29 total entries.

 

[Don Weaver]

29 entries for the second race and a couple racers from Australia there! 

 

Maybe it's going to be a big one this year...

[Weedracer]

Joe Chevy?

Good to see so many names from the old days on the board.

[Cheater]

Where can I find the USRA Nats results?

For decades, the USRA has shown virtually zero interest in publicizing the results of their Nats races anywhere, especially the Wing Car Nats.

 

I contacted the current president of the USRA after this post was made to publicize the 2024 Wing Car Nats at Piranha to inform him that if the full results from the Wing Nats were not posted to Slotblog, it would be the end of the promotion of the USRA at Slotbog. My position is that if Slotblog has a level of viewership such that the USRA desires to utilize this forum to promote their races and other activities, then they should also report the results of their races here to people who clearly are interested in those results. If the USRA is unwilling to do that, then the organization can make Facebook its main channel of communication, or not.

 

If the results of the 2024 Wing Car Nats are not fully reported at Slotblog in the next week or so, all publicity of USRA rules, races, and other activties will permanently end here at Slotblog.

[Larry Labounty]

Sad to hear, Slotblog has been my go-to place for latest information!! 

[MG Brown]

It's a true and unfortunate shame that it has come to this.

 

After all, isn't the event host's first priority to run the event in a smooth and glitch-free manner?

The days of volunteer help working to provide "almost live" major event coverage are behind us, and (sad to say) webcasting just doesn't seem to fill the need to get information to the public in a timely manner as was hoped.

[Cheater]

After all, isn't the event host's first priority to run the event in a smooth and glitch-free manner?

The event host was not a party to this discussion, although it's nice when the host takes on the responsibility to fully report the results at their race.

 

MG, my belief is that a sanctioning body in any competitive sport has a responsibility to its membership to recognize and publicize the accomplishments of their members who excel in the sport, especially at events characterized or labeled as 'National' in nature. To do anything less, in my opinion, is an insult to those competitors/members and the amount of time, effort, and money they expend to participate and succeed at such events.

The USRA can operate as it wishes, but in the future it will not be permitted to take (the eyeballs that Slotblog provides when their races are publicized here) without also giving back (the full results of that race).

(I need to point out that the OP in this thread, Jason Holmes, is not a USRA official and was simply trying to do what the USRA itself should be doing. I contacted the USRA president to explain that unless full results from this year's Wing Nats were going to be posted here at Slotblog, Jason's post was going to be deleted.)

[Mark Mattei]

Congratulations to Roger Schmitt, who is the One Motor Box 2024 National Champion with 632.23 laps. There were 29 total entries.
 
2024 OMB Results.jpg

 

Congratulations, Roger, a lot of other racers had faster cars than yours, but you won by a large margin. Well done.

[kuni123456]

I will try to get the race sheets for all of the 2024 USRA Nats Division 1 race results. I know that I finished fourth in 2MO and second in G7 behind Rich Curnutte.

[Phil Hackett]

It's sad: My shop is only 10 miles from Piranha and I only heard about the race from a customer in the midwest (as a "oh, did you hear about...?"). This is not a criticism of Rich Curnutte, Jason Holmes, or any of the locals; they have enough going on.

 

It's that this is the biggest USRA event of the year with racers coming from around the world and there is no publicity for it! Not even a flyer posted to the internet! (and, no, not everyone is on Facebook... so that doesn't count).

 

It used to be that the USRA would at least solicit prizes from various manufacturers for race entries. That at least  would bring some awareness to the event for the industry.

 

It's just a sad situation that doesn't have to be.

[Archie King]

Anyone of you guys care to volunteer to be the official results poster??? This requires you to be there for the full Nats week and full pictures and results posting... 

 

There has been a flyer on Facebook for a few months prior to this race. As well as Jason posted this thread here on June 12. So, if you didn't know about the Nationals race, that is your problem.

 

There is also a live feed during each race.

 

For the record, I am waiting on the tech sheets to post all the results and tech parts. Also trying to get the website back up and up-to-date... been more difficult than I thought.  

[jimht]

The easiest reasonable way for the USRA or any raceway to let everyone know about and promote a race is to provide the distributors (and manufacturers involved) with flyers that can be sent out with every order several months in advance.

 

Social media and streaming enable results postings during and after the event and that falls on the hosting Raceway.

 

The grunt work of racer and car pictures during the event has always been done by volunteers and that isn't likely to change.

[team burrito]

If USRA or the host isn't posting the results or even announcing the race, it's a giant disservice to slot car racers around the world. They shouldn't have to rely on volunteers to do their job. They need to assign somebody to cover the race at any major event – anything less is unacceptable.

[bbr]

Even bad press is better than no press.

[Cheater]

There has been a flyer on Facebook for a few months prior to this race. As well as Jason posted this thread here on June 12. So, if you didn't know about the Nationals race, that is your problem.

The race was publicized only twice on the USRA Facebook page – once on July 18 and once on Sept 4. (I can't determine when it was added to the Facebook event calendar.)

 

Seems like Jason's July 12 post here at Slotblog occurred prior to the USRA posting the event on its own Facebook page!

Let's be blunt about it: this has been the culture of the USRA for decades. Just mention the guy who won G7 and pretty much ignore everyone else. 

 

If all a sanctioning body does year after year is to celebrate a racer or two and never bothers to promote any of the other racers or, more importantly, the activity itself, well, we can see where that ends up, can't we?

[old & gray]

If all a sanctioning body does year after year is to celebrate a racer or two and never bothers to promote any of the other racers or, more importantly, the activity itself, well, we can see where that ends up, can't we?

 
When I went to the Nationals, the USRA was right there collecting a membership fee to enter. 
The race was reported and the results were published by OWH.

[Cheater]

When I went to the Nationals, the USRA was right there collecting a membership fee to enter. 
The race was reported and the results were published by OWH.

Without knowing what year(s) you are referring to, Bob, it's hard to be sure, but it's almost certain those results were not being reported by the USRA, but by someone else out of the goodness their heart.

My memory is arriving at Electric City Raceway in Anderson, SC, for the 2002 (?) Scale Nats and being told immediately I was wanted on the phone. It was Paul Kassens asking me if I would report on the event for OWH because he could not afford to attend.

[old & gray]

Spud Nats, Boise, ID. I believe it was 1999 and seem to remember Paul was there. 
 

... results were not being reported by the USRA, but by someone else out of the goodness their heart.

 
My point exactly... 25 years and no change.