19 replies to this topic

[Dave_12]

When looking at wing car chassis what does OMB mean?

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[PCH Parts Express]

One Motor Box (Boxstock)

[MG Brown]

One - Only one motor per race. No motor changes. Poof and you're done.

 

Motor - That thing that you solder on the rear of the chassis.

Box - is a misnomer for what would be better called Group 12 / X12. I don't understand why the USRA continues to call this the "Boxstock" class instead of Group 12.

[jimht]

I don't understand why the USRA continues to call this the 'Boxstock' class instead of Group 12.

 

Newspeak...  

[Dave_12]

Thanks everyone  for the clarification . 

In Australia, we call Group 12 Wing cars, Group 12 Wing Cars , and if you blow a motor, you are allowed to change it. 

[MG Brown]

In Australia, we call Group 12 Wing cars, and if you blow a motor, you are allowed to change it. 

 

Back in the ancient days, you were allowed to change motors in USRA Box Stock also.

The powers that be decided that practice was making what was intended as a entry level class too expensive, thus the birth of OMB.

[Dave_12]

MG Brown -  here Group F is the beginners class.  

 

The competition in Group 12 is very tough. Plus these days very few people know how to build a motor. 

[MG Brown]

When I last raced wing regularly, Spec-15 was the entry level class. At that time there was only one chassis allowed with no modification, handout motors, and spec tires.

 

OMB and Group-F seem to almost be redundant in USRA rules events.

 

I feel that it would be really great if USRA would pick 2 between Hillbilly Box (HBB), OMB, and Group F and drop the other class.

[Bill Seitz]

Then there's HBB - HillBilly Boxstock.

 

My understanding is that some folks in Tennessee (?) came up with a higher performance G12 that got this moniker. It used to be that 'Boxstock' was an off-the-shelf production motor, though that's not the case anymore and never really was. Group F is the lowest cost class, but judging by the competitors racing in it, not exactly a beginner/novice class.

 

Seems like it's simply for those that don't want to build race motors.

 

We speak of USRA as if it's some hierarchy that controls slot car racing. It's actually a bunch of slot racers that bring individual ideas about what to race to an annual meeting and vote on what classes and rules they want to run.

 

Disputes between racers on the rules have led to other break-away organizations like NASRA that created a slightly different rule set and classes that ran for a while.

 

There was even a separate NASRA Nats for a few years.

[Dave_12]

Bill, if I talk about building motors at my local track, they look at me as if I am some sort of nut job.

Not even the shop /  track owner knows how to build a motor. I am the only one that can build motors.

[jimht]

There was a time decades ago when International 15 was a popular class at my raceway.

 

I was doing most of the work on the cars, customized C-cans, scratchbuilt wire chassis, winging bodies... and didn't realize the effect until I noticed that in one main event, I had built the complete cars for 7 out of 8 racers.

 

Effectively, the one guy that built his own stuff was competing against me 7 times over.

 

It's not that I was unhappy with it and the money it generated; it's just that it is an indicator of how many people want to race vs how many want to experience the "joy" of building anything, especially motors.

 

Motors are repetitive grunt work, as is building chassis or winging bodies.

 

Those of you that have a view of how much fun the "hobby" is because it affords you the opportunity to build are and always have been a small minority.

 

This is exemplified by the many times I have swapped a rebuild-able motor to a new one for a customer that had no interest in rebuilding or even keeping the old motor. 

 

BUT, there's been an illusion that reality is otherwise because, really, all we mostly have had participating for a long time now are people like us "builders," while the masses long ago moved on to other leisure pursuits because they were never interested in anything but racing and got bored because their focus was so narrow.   

[Bill from NH]

I've considered building chassis, motors, & cars half the fun of slot racing involvement. The other 50% is the actual competitive racing. I never got very interested in collecting. I've always known I'm in the minority,

[old & gray]

I used to race Group 12 / Box stock Wing Cars (Mid to late 1990's)

 

I think one of the things that drove me away was going to a race that I spent two weeks building for and watching the show at the table next to me. A pro racer sets up his box next to me and gets out the light, iron, power supply, etc.

 

A kid walks over to him hands over cash; the pro gives him a car and two motor boxes. He tells the kid "The motor in the car is for practice, the other two are for qualifying and the race. Bring them back to me when you want me to change the motor."

 

Kid walks off, then this scene repeats with three more kids. After the race the cars and motors all come back and go into the pro's box.

 

I guess I was old-fashioned. If you can't even solder a motor in a wing car, how do you call yourself a racer, or are you just a driver?

[Bill from NH]

Bob, for the next race you should have dressed as a kid & gotten in line.    What CT track was this, one now closed?

[Weedracer]

I was in a Semi Pro main at a long ago Nats with a bunch of racers that were pretty sharp.

The winner was a teenager who was incapable of doing anything except pulling the trigger. He was surrounded by a group of pros doing everything for him. Apparently hed spent lots of money for both goods and services.

He still had to drive and win with seven rabid dogs chasing him, so I'm not taking that away from him, but the other seven guys worked hard on their equipment, had little sleep, and the stress of competing with more on the line than money.

He was a flash in the pan though and was gone in a year or so.

[Archie King]

I don't understand why the USRA continues to call this the "Boxstock" class instead of Group 12

 

We haven't called it BoxStock Since the USRA voted it out in 2015.

 

OMB or HBB

[Archie King]

Back in the ancient days, you were allowed to change motors in USRA Box Stock also.

The powers that be decided that practice was making what was intended as a entry level class too expensive, thus the birth of OMB.

 

Not exactly true. In 2014 The USRA adopted the Group F class in lieu of the beginners class of hand-out 12 motors with a registered chassis. That was called Spec 15 or Spec 12
 
In 2015, the USRA officials allowed the class of USRA BOX STOCK (72 g car) to be voted out in an attempt to hurt wing car racing. They also dropped INT 15 and Cobalt 12. But the racers stepped up and brought C12 Back.
 
In 2016 Tracy Brown developed the class Hillbilly Box. Which has grown tremendously since then. But we needed a stepping stone from sealed motor racing (i.e.: group F) and a builders class HBB. So, OMB was formed and adpoted into the USRA as well as the Tenneesee HBB class.
 
Archie

[Archie King]

Then there's HBB - HillBilly Boxstock.

 

My understanding is that some folks in Tennessee (?) came up with a higher performance G12 that got this moniker. It used to be that 'Boxstock' was an off-the-shelf production motor, though that's not the case anymore and never really was. Group F is the lowest cost class, but judging by the competitors racing in it, not exactly a beginner/novice class.

 

Seems like it's simply for those that don't want to build race motors.

 

We speak of USRA as if it's some hierarchy that controls slot car racing. It's actually a bunch of slot racers that bring individual ideas about what to race to an annual meeting and vote on what classes and rules they want to run.

 

Disputes between racers on the rules have led to other break-away organizations like NASRA that created a slightly different rule set and classes that ran for a while.

 

There was even a separate NASRA Nats for a few years.

 

There was WAY more to this than most people know, Just know now, the USRA past issues have been resolved completely 

[MG Brown]

We haven't called it BoxStock Since the USRA voted it out in 2015.
 
OMB or HBB

 
The "B" still stands for "Box" or "Boxstock" yes?

I'd suggest OM12 and HB12.

[Archie King]

The "B" still stands for "Box" or "Boxstock" yes?

I'd suggest OM12 and HB12.

 
Make it a proposal. Then email it to me and when you bring your OM12 car to the tech table and buy your tech card after you have paid your membership dues, we shall vote on it...
 
You need the Nats info or ???