299 replies to this topic

[Tex]

I "played" on one in Houston around 1965-1966; I wasn't racing yet.

A few years later the owners moved to another site and I got to race on it there. A couple named "Davidson" owned it. It was located in a largish strip center called "Windsor Plaza" near where the 610-loop and The Galleria is/was located.

[backintheslot]

So, this is the Playland track?

[John Stezelecki]

Mark,

Not aware of the Pismo Beach Sovereign. Do you remember the raceway name?

[Dominator]

Peter,

When do you think the assembly will begin? I'm going to be working about one-two days a week for the next couple of weeks (to start) just fifteen minutes away from your shop. By the end of October I will be in Framingham five days a week.

Please let me know if I can help in any way.

[Phil Irvin]

So, this is the Playland track?

I believe so. I saw it just that once in S.F. I didn't drive there, but do remember how big it all was and the Purple 'Mile'... in Odessa. I saw the purple sides and said something about the color and where I had been. Then Doc said it was the one from there by way of Houston. This is well over 40 years ago...

OLPHRT
PHIL I.

[Tex]

Then Doc said it was the one from there by way of Houston.

If that's true, then it could well be the one I raced on.

[John Stezelecki]

I'm going to Ashland Friday morning to see this bad boy track in person. To see this Purple even though it's unassembled will be pretty exciting.

Knowing its origin, were it's been and how it's survived is simply amazing. I'm sure that Peter Lentros will be soon telling you "The Rest Of The Story".

[Mark Wampler]

Not aware of the Pismo Beach Sovereign. Do you remember the raceway name?

There never was a sign out front other than 'Raceway'. Larry Shepard might know the actual business name.

[NJ Racer]

You guys on the West Coast ever hear of Google?

Here you go...

[68Caddy]

I've been reading this thread for a couple of days and I sure would like to make a trip out there and put a car on the track when it's done.



Love to hear the whole story about this track and where it was stored. It's history for me because I have seen the purple on the net but never in real life. I remember first time I stepped into BP and saw the King track that they had, my eyes where a bit large at that time and sadly it's not that big any more for me.

Nesta

[Mark Wampler]

Yes, Google works

"Pismo Raceways". Here's some Google pastes. I know Greg Lozaga, from the Pismo days.

Ural Foresee (Pismo Beach Businessman, City Councilman and original owner of Pismo Raceways).

Greg Lozaga (Manager of Pismo Raceways in the '60s. Member of American Model Raceways Racing Congress, and Honorary Team Member of Team Champion).

[John Stezelecki]

Great photos of the track.

Note the huge plexiglass wall at the end of the bank. This was really needed on that bank to contain a deslotted car.

[68Caddy]

Yes, but how did they marshal the track with that plexiglass in front of them?

Nesta

[John Stezelecki]

That's were you placed the tallest marshal with very long arms!

[Phil Irvin]

You guys on the West Coast ever hear of Google

WOW... that's it... Add about 30+ people and ten waiting racers at the counter... Now ya know why it overwhelmed me. Felt like I was going into a skating rink.

OLPHRT
PHIL I.

[Mike Resnick]

I was twelve my dad came home from NYC with a Batmobile. We went to Modelville where they were having a Thursday night race. I ran it and he ran my Manta Ray. We ran all eight segments and my last segment was on black. What a ride on the Sovereign!!!

[John Stezelecki]

It was amazing to see this bad boy in person. The large bank sections are lying on the floor upright. They are awesome. When standing next to the sections, the bank looks steeper than it actually is. What surprised me was how banked the fingers were. In the photos that I've seen of the track, the fingers didn't look so banked, but looking at the straighatways going in and coming out of the finger turns, you can really see that they are banked. Under the control panel is the date of installation of the track at its original location.

To answer the marshaling question on the big bank requires that you look at several photos taken at Playland from way up high. There have been two prominent photos that have been seen by many racers. One photo is when the natural-colored chairs were around the track and the other is when they installed stools around the track. The photo with the stools best shows the opening of slot around the inside of the bank infield. The car would fall down the bank into the slot then onto a shelf under the track. Also the Life Magazine photo taken in black and white of the track will barely catch the slot in the photo. Most shots taken at head height will not show the slot around the infield.

[Lenjet]

Some of the rest of the story...

Most of this with more pictures and timelines will appear in a special website linked to Modelville Hobby but for now here is some more info:

First of all, the Sovereign in Ashland did indeed come from Odessa, TX, and is the one that “Doc” Gibbs took such good care of over the last 30 years. The track actually arrived with the other four tracks (red, orange, black, and yellow) around 1971. He was offered them in 1972 and he declined. In 1980 he was basically given the tracks.

He sold the orange and the yellow and set up the black and the red.

These tracks were the ones owned by the Davidson’s in Houston for a real short time and the Sovereign was set up for an even less time ,as they had to move. They were a “Franchised Member Of The American Model Car Racing Congress”. This is basically where AMCRC set you up with everything.

Attached is a rare post card from “Bellaire Family Hobby Center and Model Car Raceway”. You can see the Sovereign and the other tracks; the black is not shown in the picture.

The Sovereign is the Sovereign from Playland-At-The-Beach. Now what makes this more special is not only Playland’s fame and but the history that the building that housed the track went through. This is too extensive to post here.

The real story is that this was the first, the prototype, and the original and made especially for Playland. It was so popular it was added to their line for sale in September of 1965. All of the pictures on the web and in the color sales photos and magazine ads are from Playland.

I never expected this to be the case with this track and John Ford and I were just trying to discover where it came from.

Key to this was information from many sources including the museum in San Francisco called Playland-Not-At-The-Beach which has a vast history. It still was not enough of a convincer so I dug deeper.

There was a newspaper magazine called Model Car Racing News, fondly called MCRN, so more came to light. Again see the attached photos. Garry Dew published this monthly and it came out the first of every month for sixteen issues. In the May issue you see where the “Worlds Largest Raceway” is being built and references to a partial shipment of tracks. They also say that they plan to open the end of May. They did indeed open the first of July just in time for the fireworks.

The September issue gives some great history of “Topsys” and shows them fully open and operational. These photos were taken in August of 1965.

I took the picture from the bottom of the control panel last week, date of install... June 21, 1965.

The Playland Sovereign has finally seen the light of day and thanks to Doc Gibbs and the great people at Grand Prix Raceway the track was protected for all these years.

[John Stezelecki]

Peter,

It's kinda interesting how they did things back then. When they sold or transferred the contents of a raceway from one location to another location, they took everything with them. As you can see in the photos of the Playland location and the Houston location, the same orange rust-colored carpet appears to be used.

[redbackspyder]

This track was a blast to drive, and my parents had taken my brother and I to race on it at Playland. I can remember having to re-gear all my cars, as we raced on a blue King at Don's Raceway in Downey, and this track was sooo much bigger.

Playland was the ultimate slot car raceway, and I will never forget the original acrylic-handled hand controls that they were selling, made of psychedelic-colored acrylic with brass thumb levers and exposed resistor. Oh, to have Playland back...

[Gus Kelley]

Hey Mill!

Were those controllers possibly made by "Mura"???

I also ran on that track a few times but not in any competitive fashion. I really don't remember what cars I had with me but they may have been F cars with Pittmans.

Gus in Sacto

[Big Durl]

Once this track is up and running, I can easily see it becoming a mecca for slot car boomers from around the country. I know I'll certainly make every effort I can to make the trip.

Some kind of national Retro race is almost a foregone conclusion at this point.

Amazing.

Durl

[Dominator]

Wow, what a history lesson! To think that this track will be right in my back yard!

[Tex]

OMIGOD! That's IT! I was THERE!

[Tex]

And to think that I raced on that very donut back in July in Odessa... 45 years later!