18 replies to this topic

[One_Track_Mind]

First and foremost I must give a huge Thank You to the entire McMaster family and all the people involved in making this 2011 R4 the best ever.

Without a doubt, I had lots of FUN, made some new friends, and re-kindled old friendships, as a lot of these guys I only get to see once a year right here at the home of Tom Thumb Hobbies.

Having never qualified for a slot car race until this weekend, had me just a little nervous. Then, to only find out, I got that one good lap in for the Can-Am and was going to run with the BIG dogs!
Well, that was just too much for me to take-in. They soon kicked this pup back under the porch. , simply drove too defensively to try to not come off and stay out of the way.

It was an experience of a lifetime for me. Wouldn't have changed anything for the time I got to race with the best in the country.

Like they always say, "There's always next year!"

[Neuspeed]

hey Mike thats awesome! what an experience.

[John Streisguth]

Brian:
I second your thoughts on this weekend's events. Nicely run and it was great to meet a lot of people that you see here on the blog or read about on race reports from other Retro series. There were a lot of people I never got much of a chance to talk to, hopefully next year! A tiring weekend but so much fun, I can't wait until next year.

[JerseyJohn]

How do you explain an awesome weekend of fun, love, great racing and friendship ? I will try.
No greater hosts than Sonny-Mack,Cindy, sweetie Jessica and the crew, thank you for being you. Cindy, thanks for dumpster diving for my glasses that Al Rudie had in his car case.

Ohio state Police for letting me drive thru without indecent.


Noose for always checking my stuff and Johnny VW for volunteering to be my pit boss. You made it so much better for me.
Wes, who was fixing whoever broke during racing. You were a big help to many , thank you Bro!!!
My Speedzone bros, always fun to be with you and share the day. MATT you owned the house Sunday...Congrats


To all my old TT friends it was so great to see you all. I miss you guys already. Johnny Miller, Steve D, and Gary. It was great sharing the pit area with you .


To my road partner Dave. You drove great and awesome. Kept it fun, educated me and shared the time. Thanks Killer




To New Jersey, Thanks for missing me.........
Till next year, peace, love and good health....JJ

PS if I could only get Swiss,s voice out of my head

[The Number of]

Big Thanks to the whole TT crew, Cindy,Jessica,Mike Mc,Kyle,Mike C for being gracious and great hosts. Special thanks for the busiest man on deck Eric Balicki,the event would have been rough without your tireless help. Also to Gina who again marshalled much of the practice session where the main practice was to see how many times you could deslot! Thanks to Rande Marshall for the help during the Coupe race. The best thing about this event is it brings a large number of different regions together for a single event,saw many friends from the East coast,the Chicago area,the South,the Midwest all in one place. Sometimes you wish the country was smaller so the Cali and Texas areas could make it also. Got the pics up at: http://www.flickr.co...tos/billfulmer/

No text with them yet,I will try to add some later,Ron or Greg will probably pull some and caption them.

[Precision-Slotcars]

Thanks to the McMasters family for hosting one of the best races I have attended!

One of the best parts of the race was being able to meet all the people I have talked to over the years,
and know through slotblog.
Slot racers are a bunch of really nice people I have the pleasure to know!!

Special thanks go out to Mike Iles!!!

After two terrible races I asked Mike and Jay from Speed Zone for help with my F1 car their advice was to put the car
back in my box. Mike gave me one of his best F1 cars to race, which I raced to a fourth place finish in my heat,
Thats the best finish for me in a retro race. Thanks again Mike and all the Jersey crew for making this race
better then it could have ever been without your help and generosity.


Thanks to Greg VanPeenen for building me a custom Gen5 Flying Dutchman Can-Am car built for my driving style.
Also thanks to Larry Langdon for lending me a car.

I hope to see everybody at the Div 2 Nats at Mid America in April.

[John Miller]

I had a terrific time hanging out with everyone and a big thank you to Wes P. for wrenching on my car and getting me back in the race.

Gina worked tirelessly during practice putting everyone’s cars back on and I want to thank her for that.

I will definitely be back for next year’s event as the McMaster’s host a great event and the Ohio folks really know how to have fun.

Jersey John, I will definitely head east for a race with yous guys.

[Ron Hershman]

The best part is seeing who shows up for the race......... old faces....new faces......new chassis designs.

Big thanks to the Mc Masters family for EVERYTHING they do to prep for the race and carry out throughout the event..... we think they work hard the weekend of the race, yet there is so much to do before and after that we don't realize.

A bigger thanks to Noose for doing the tech and settling the arguments or questions that come up during the racing. Bill Fulmer..... the guy who documents it all with his camera....over 500 pics.

Without a question...... all of the racers who traveled far and near for this years HUGE event. It was great to see all the guys from the East, down South, Michigan, Chicagoland, Ohio, Indiana and Texas.

53? Coupes, 65 F-1's and 60 Can-Am cars......WOW and 33 Stockers on top of that.

Lots of clean close competitive racing throughout all the races. The move-ups to the semi's and mains were nail biters for sure. Probably the most competitive R4 to date and one of the fastest. Everybody seems to have the thought of building better handling and faster cars.... better prepping.....more laps being run from the top to the bottom.

Special Thanks for Wes and Rande for being there when some needed quick fixes and repairs to get back on track and going forward.

To Gina and Sharon for turn marshaling during practice sessions...... they do their best to get us all back on track.

A fantastic win for Matt Bruce in Can-Am andTom Lauterbach in GTC and James Merriman in the Stock Car classes. Well deserved victories to all three.

One of the Legends of the 60s/70's Rick Davis was there and had a great time and didn't do so bad for his first visit to Tom Thumb. His partner in crime BIG Bob was a pleasure to talk to about a variety of subjects. He had some good tunes playing off his I-Pod as well.

It was great to meet Dave Mountz and see Rich Atee as well. The Boogie guys..... man and boy ran pretty decent as well..they even loaned a couple cars to some wing racers Mike and Zach Holly so they could join in the fun as well.

As usual many "entertaining" comments were made by many throughout the event that kept us all in laughter and a lightened mood most of the weekend.

The "Tiny Twins" Max and Mikey Iles ran pretty well and did some serious trash talking when ever they felt like dishing it out. I am certain Jay Kisling is teaching them a thing or two when it comes to trash talking and racing....LOL

I was super impressed by the smooth driving talents of both John Streisguth and Dave DeMott displayed....both represented Retro East rather well.

Jersey John..... what can we say..... we can all feel the "love" you express when you are in the room.

ALL of the ORS guys ran pretty impressive as well...... Josh Crutchfield, Rick Maynard ran real well..... Paul Martin did well in the races and Brian Cox is getting better and better at each race. Jessica did real good too. Tom Calvert made the Can-Am main that was great too. Congrats to Gary Echelbarger on his "heat" win in Coupes. Mark Kitto and Mike Grider were also there and running well.

It was good to have Sano Dave back racing.... welcome back and thanks to "The Fastest Girl on the Planet" Laura Schmitt for bringing him to the race.

Thanks to all the sponsors who provided prizes and other "benefits" to all of us.

The food was fantastic and the service was second to none.

Thanks to EVERYONE once again for coming to the race and making it a memorable and fun time.

[Howie Ursaner]

had a great time.must sleep now

[Jerry Ward]

Way to go to Cap Henry for making his first R/4 main in Can Am great job !! Jerry

[Jacob Shiplet]

Way to go to Cap Henry for making his first R/4 main in Can Am great job !! Jerry

4.80 in black is just plain gross. That car was BAD fast! He drove a good race no doubt.

[Noose]

I have finally recovered after the trip back, the time change, the fun, the comradeship, and teching Howie's cars.

Thanks to the McMasters family for sure. Their hospitality kept me in a good mood all weekend which of course was a HUGE benefit for those going through tech. The facility is top notch and everything was well in order for all us crazies to come have one heck of a good time. It is like a homecoming event because I get to see some folks that I haven't seen in a year. It was great to see new faces at this year's event and "younger" ones at that! Seeing my bud Sano Dave though was very, very special.

Let's see ....that was 210 entrants plus the additional tech for the F1 and the Can-Am Semi's and Mains which says I checked out 258 cars over the 3 days. GT Coupe tech was a bit rough but by the time the rest of the classes got going tech went very smooth. Just so everyone knows, even the case of "Blue Moon" sitting on my pit table did not deter me from carrying out my duties as the giver did get bounced once.

Thanks to Johnny "VW" Streisguth for making the trip out with me. A super congrats on his performance at this event seeing that it was the first time he attended and got to run on the track. I was very, very happy to see him win Concours too fo the Can-Am event as well as the Special Rattle Can Concours in this class. I know how much work he did in painting it and he had my vote for it.

To the rest of my Retro East crew, you guys are great and you all should be very proud in the way you represented our region. I too want to thank Wes P for all his efforts in being so helpful to so many folks. Dave DeMott had a great weekend and should be very proud. As for Jersey John, what can I say. The guy has the biggest heart in the world and I was glad to help him. He had a great weekend and I am proud of how far he has come along.

I probably prepped better for this R4 than for anyone I did before and it worked out pretty well as this was my best R4 performance ever. A super thanks to Tony P for building me on heck of an awesome Can-Am car. I wish I had Matt's reflexes because he had the same exact car and we see how he made out! He drove an awesome race in the Can-Am. He was just so smooth.

Thanks to Bill Fulmer, my tech side kick for all his help in taking the checked cars and doing all the photos.

To my SERRA buds, thanks for the laughs Sunday night at dinner. It is almost an annual tradition to have it.

A big congratulations to Ron Hershman again for his usual top notch driving and performance. I think I found out his trick and will have to work on it myself. What is it? He only blinks his eyes 3 times a lap and he does it in the EXACT same spot every time. Congrats to Tom Lauterbach and Jeff; a great father-son combo if there ever was one. Man they are smooth. Congrats too for James Merriman on his Stockcar win. Watching that Merry Muffin Charger going around smoothly was cool.

Of course, thanks to all the Sponsors. There were lots of goodies given away and the "goodie bag" when you checked in was great.
Congrats to the following racers who won one of my custom painted bodies through the raffle:
GT Coupe: Rick Maynard
Stockcar: Jay Guard
Formula 1: Jason Echelbarger
Can-Am: Tom Calvert

Finally, some tid bit observations for the naysayers out there.

Bodies
It was great to see a mix of them and something different used by the "fast guys". Just goes to show that not just one body is the "it" body. As both Ron and Tony noted in a different post, it's all about testing and what works for you on that track and especially what makes you feel comfortable.

Motors:
The handouts lasted just fine. If some felt theirs slowed a bit then perhaps they ran a 9 tooth or higher pinion and they might have.
The winner of the Can-Am used a 3 year old motor. That's right. It is the famous Tony P Dracula ProSlot. That thing has been around forever.
The TQ and 2nd TQ guys in Can-Am used "bag motors". So much for Ron and Rande having the advantage ey?

Rules:
No major issues to speak of. Perhaps a minor clarification needed here and there but nothing earth shattering.

and...Qualifying works.

[Matt Bruce]

Sharon and I would like to say Thank You to everyone who we met and got to talk with @ the R4. Every year this race grows, mainly thru the tireless efforts of the McMasters family. We are happy to have attended every year to witness first hand the growth of retro racing as a whole. Everyone involved makes it special. Its our favorite race of the year. With that said I want to thank everyone for their PM`s, text messages, and phone calls over the past few days. Thanks to Tony P and Brian Warmack for colaborating on a great chassis for the race. Tony YOU ARE THE MAN!! I want to congradulate James, Tom, and Ron on their wins again this weekend. You earn wins @ the R4. Both Ron and Tom are absolute masters at what they do. It shows in their preparation and in their abilities. They are always fast and push to the end. To stand between these two great racers is a humbling experience. Thanks to the Illes family, Jay , Wes, and Mac for the support this weekend. Thanks to Noose and Bill Fulmer for making the show run smooth. And thanks most of all to my wife Sharon and my son Ryan for their support. We are already looking forward to next years race and hope to see everyone back again.

[Cap Henry]

The R4 is such an amazing race! The McMasters put on a great event and can't be thanked enough!

It was awesome to meet so many new people! It was awesome meeting all the Jersey boys, didnt realize how many dirt track fans and drivers were down there! LOL

I also have to thanks James Merriman for fixing my can-am car during the A-Main, Thanks James!

And to make the A-Main on Can-Am with a car I built myself, well that made the whole weekend worth my while. And for the cherry on top, I broke Ron's lap record on Black!

Can't wait for the ORS Season next year, and R4/5!

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

The R4 is such an amazing race! The McMasters put on a great event and can't be thanked enough!

It was awesome to meet so many new people! It was awesome meeting all the Jersey boys, didnt realize how many dirt track fans and drivers were down there! LOL

I also have to thanks James Merriman for fixing my can-am car during the A-Main, Thanks James!

And to make the A-Main on Can-Am with a car I built myself, well that made the whole weekend worth my while. And for the cherry on top, I broke Ron's lap record on Black!

Can't wait for the ORS Season next year, and R4/5!

Your car was extremely fast and not just on Black. Building it yourself makes it even sweeter. I didn't look at your car closely but you told me it was a bit "rough". My suggestion would be not to try and pretty it up any. You might make it slower. And remember, anything that fast no one can see if it's rough anyway.

[Brian]

I'd like to send out a big Thank you to Mike McMasters, his family, & friends for all they do to making the R4 the event that it is. It was great seeing old friends & making new ones. Its nice to have faces to go with names now. It was a pleasure finally meeting & pitting next to Greg "cheater" Wells for the whole event. Thank you Noose for your hardwork on keeping everybody square . Bill Fulmer for all his hardwork taking pictures and posting them. And, all the sponsors that donated lunch & or product. Congrats to all the podium finishers & winners!!! See ya next year,

[Steve Deiters]

Many thanks to the McMasters and their extended family of worker bees who put on a great series of races this weekend. Everything went smoothly and moved forward in a timely manner even though the racer and car count was way up over previous years. I think a great time was had by all.

Also thanks to racers who helped others out with emergency repairs during the race. Rande Marshall who is always the "go to guy" for a quick repair in the middle of a heat to help a fellow racer and he does it at every race. There were others also who did the same whose names I don't know but showed real sportsmanship throughout the weekend. Their efforts were noted and appreciated.

Also the thanks for the marshaling by Gina, Dave Simerka's betrothed, who marshals every practice no matter if Dave in on the track or not. I'm sure there were others.

One other marshaling/sportsmanship observation. Bill Gerhart would post himself in line for the practice sessions, mention something to the guy behind him, and then step out and marshal as the line progressed till his turn came up for practice. The marshaling postion he assumed was more often than not in the "holes". Smart use of time to the benefit of other racers. It was noted and appreciated by this racer and now acknowledged here.

I almost forgot... how could you not have a good time when Jersey John is pitting in the same area as you?!!

All in all it was a great weekend of racing and thanks again to all who made it happen and happen so well.

[Dave Fiedler]

Once again a most fabulous event. Great job by the MacMaster family as usual. Congrat's to Matt,Ron,Tom, and James. All very deserving and super fast. Great job by my buddy "El Swissablo". Man, seems to me the speed of these cars took a big leap this year!(I'm talkin lap speed and lap totals, not strait-away speed). I can't believe how fast everyone has gotten. Just so fantastic seein all my friends I missed at the Sano 4.

A very special thanks to Ron Hershman, Mike MacMasters, and Laura & Roger Schmitt. Without their help,I could not attend this great event.

Thanks again to Mike Swiss and all of you great people that participated in the raffle. Hope to see you at the Sano 5. Maybe I won't suck, but as my good buddy, Matt Bruce is fond of saying, "Fiedler, you're all hype"

Thanks all, Hope ta see ya soon

[MSwiss]

I'm finally recovering from the race and finally caught up at the raceway(not really )
to post my thanks on such a terrific event.

Thanks to Mike, Cindy & Jessica for all their hard work and hospitality.
Also to Noose, Bill Fulmer & Eric B for all they did to keep such a large event
running as smooth as it did.

With all the entries and the new format(which I loved), I was amazed at how early
we finished every night. I don't think things could of went smoother.

Along with the terrific racing, I know we had a lot of laughs in the pits in "our" area
of the raceway.(Fingerville Junction ??)

It was terrific to finally meet Rick Davis, Bob Appelle, John Streisguth, Dave Demott &
the Isle twins. To also see and get to talk to Steve Deiters again.

It was also good to see Wes P. at work, cementing his status as "Retro Racing's #1 Cut Man".
It's great to see a 17 yr. old with a "Don't give up attitude" and as much enthusiasm for slots, as Wes has.

Back to the racing. It couldn't of been been better and closer.
While I don't like losing to the likes of the Laterbach's, Ron, Matt, Chris R., James & Jay,
I couldn't of had a better time doing it.

And special thanks to Manta Ray for doing the bulk of the driving both ways.
I was beat comin' and goin'.