55 replies to this topic

[rdmac]

Mr Raceways Indy 300

Cool track . . . :up:

[Maximo]

Do any of these INDY 300 tracks still exist anywhere? I brought this track up earlier in a different thread here about commercial tracks and I want to find and buy one of these or have it "remade" by one of the current track builders. Also a Purple Mile . . . I want to open a "track museum" here in the US sometime in the next two years with maybe TEN tracks or more and without the reliance on the tracks to survive . . .

More plans to come later . . .

This is the track I want for start that dream with!



This is another Mr. Raceways track



- Max

[johnford]

You forgot the 220', or was it 240'?, American Emperor tracks . . . rumored that only three were built. One at Buzzy's, one in Colorado, and the third one to Europe.

You are right . . . I did forget that one, and I think it was still only a scale mile (220 ft). It is the only one of the original American Tracks that I never duplicated in modern construction format. I had the computer plans for it done up, but no one ever ordered one, and I couldn't afford to build on spec. The information I had (later proved wrong) was that only one was built and it was in France BUT . . . if Buzzy had one, I would like to know. Anyone with a pic . . . please for my scrapbook.

I raced all over Colorado and never heard of one there, but there was a large 300+ ft. Engleman built track at the Disney-owned bowling alley in Denver . . . AND outside Denver, possibly the same one is in storage but set up at a museum of strange things..... At least it was about 20 years ago. They had neat stuff like . . . Spoolies. And if you remember them, you are really old and your mom most likely used them. Thanks for the reminder on the Emperior I never built . . .

[johnford]

John, does your nine confirmed Purple Miles include the one owned by Dick Cafarelli of Modelville Hobby in Framingham, MA? I raced on it between 1969-1975 and it was there before and after those dates. It was sold to someone in RI when Modelville closed in 1977 or '78.

There may well have been many more than nine built, but I got a spattering of sales records and construction orders from AMF in 1977. I tried to make some sense out of all the stuff I got, but was not as informed as I am now. A lot of information went into the trash, never knowing I would ever want it. After all, no one wanted tracks either.

For the most part, back then, no one even knew slot racing was still around. I bought up about a dozen old tracks and old merchandise that came with them, then started re-building them and selling them when I could find someone with interest. I bought and sold the same American Imperial five times from New Mexico to Mississippi. It was a great time, and I was oblivious to the fact that no one really cared about slot racing. I did and that was all that mattered.

I had developed a screen printing system which made me some money (Iron Ons) and eventually sold my Custom Imprints Screen Printing company and the four related shopping mall retail outlets to a company called Texas T-Shirts. I settled in on a 3,000 sq. ft. building on Beach Street in Fort Worth (actually Haltom City) and started working from there with the slot racing stuff I had been collecting.

For you collectors, I have to admit that I threw away and took to the scrap yards a ton of stuff. (Nobody wanted it . . . remember). For an example, I took a truck load of stuff one time and got $67 for the magnesium alone, several hundred for the brass, and over $600 in all for the load of brass, aluminum, and steel . . . That was at 1978 prices. Who knew! Sorry! :roll:

It wasn't until I met Linda that the idea for a magazine came about. She was a copy editor for Hart Hanks Publishing in Dallas and we used the same camera equipment left from the screen printing company to make our first negatives for the pages of the first issue. She saw little chance for a successful "New" American Tracks company without a place to advertise. We sent out the first issue to only some 30+ raceways we could find still in operation . . . and the rest, is history. I've really enjoyed the ride . . .

[endbelldrive]

There was an American Sovereign up and running in Toronto (Yonge and Lawrence) back in 1980. I don't know what happened to the track or if it's still around in some shape or form. :?

[tonyp]

Larry, I never made any of those races. I was supposed to go with Peter a couple of times but never managed to get it together.

[Prof. Fate]

Hi John,

Then you should remember the oddball track running in Denver in the late '70s and early '80s at "Jimbos". Supposedly a 225 with brass RAIL for contacts and the worst power I ever contended with.

Jim Benton's brother-in-law had a bunch of tracks in storage in the basement, including racks of parts and cars from Disney. He let me do some minor mining for restoring some of my old cars for fun. Bill Price was racing there and was later a national champ. His dad got excited with MY oldies and started hitting the basement to resore HIS oldies. Initially, the kid was obsessed with winning and hated that his dad was wasting time on these. But after a bit, he started getting into it. My playing with my old AMTs and Russkit Rattlers got the whole track starting a 1/32 based "Womp" class.

Sorry, I digressed.

Fate

[mjsh]

National champ at what?

[Ron Hershman]

If I remember correctly . . . Bill Price was the USRA National Champ in the International 15 class. Either very late 1970s or very early 1980s.

[johnford]

Then you should remember the oddball track running inDenver in the late 70s and early 80s at "Jimbos". Supposedly 225 foot with brass RAIL for contacts and the worst power I ever contended with.

I do remember that track and raced on it many times while I had my raceways in Amarillo and Lubbock. It was huge and made out of masonite with "wonderful" ripples at various spots, depending on the humidity in the building. It was there that I bought most of my merchandise and could write off the trip as a business expense . . .

Our paths may have crossed long before San Antonio. I also remember that monolith at the bowling alley where the track didn't fit the building and Stan Engleman had to redesign it on the fly the track to split and go around a pole, four lanes on one side and four lanes on the other. It was there while he was building, or modifying that track that I met him the first time . . .

[Prof. Fate]

Hi

Yup, we did meet. You were hawking the new mag to Jim, and I was just one of the local experts standing silent while you talked!

I may have even suggested I thought a mag would never work. Grin.

Later when I argued with you at Honeycutts, I mentioned we had met. But being a famous magazine type, you were used to that! Actually, part of the argument involved your Kawie triple and my love of the Norton Commando.

Fate

[johnford]

I am not sure I was a famous magazine type back then . . . not too sure now!
I will say that of all the people I have met over the years, you stick out . . . and Honeycutt, too!
Sort of like hitting your thumb with a hammer. . . .

[Rob968323]

Anyone have pics of the Purple Mile? Are there any up and running these days?

[Maximo]

Your wish is my command . . .



- Maximo

And also . . .

[Cheater]

Rob, to the best of my knowledge, there is not an original AMR Sovereign 220 in operation anywhere in the world and that's a real shame.

Anyone know anything different?

[Rob968323]

WOW . . . that's an amazing track!!

[johnford]

Maximo, that looks like a scan from an original American brochure. Got more pics of their line of tracks? . . .

[alanb]

This is likely not the largest track still in existence but it is probably the largest oval anywhere. Located in a small hamlet called Hildebran, NC. It measures 244 feet.

I have not been there in a while but I suspect its still around as it was run more like a club rather than a money-making venture. This photo was taken before the track was completely rebuilt a few years ago, but it still has the same footprint. They ran only hardbody cars with spec scratchbuilt chassis, much like a Champion jailhouse, keeping the format that was used by a similar track in that area back in the '60s.
If you go looking for it, note that there are two slot car tracks in Hildebran; this one in the basement of a closed hosiery mill behind the fire station.

I can confirm there is a newer track in the same location as this one was. The new track was built by one of the owners, Terry Throneburg. It is now operated as a business under the name Tri-County Hobby Center. The new track was built in the fall of 2005. We still run those scratchbuilt frames and hardbodies as described earlier in the thread. I'll take a few pics later this week and post a couple of the new track. The original owner mentioned earlier, Don Duckett, built some 1/12 scale cars using scratchbuilt frames and 1/12 scale Lexan R/C car bodies. Those things are pretty popular, too. We race those big cars on Tuesday nights and NASCAR trucks and cars on Friday night.

[Maximo]

John,

Yes, I have more pictures from a brochure, which ones do you need? Please let me know as I love these tracks and sharing with everyone is what this is all about!

- Maximo

[Rick]

I raced on a Purple Mile for a few days in 1990. It was the worst road course I had ever encountered. If you geared the car for the long straight, it was too soft in the back half; if you geared for the back half the car was peaked a section and a half before the bank. There is a reason why these old tracks do not exist today and it's because they sucked to race on. Grandiose to look at but fall short for a racetrack.

Just my opinion, as a racing point of view . . .

[tonyp]

Also a hell of a long walk to put your can back on.

[Pappy]

Back in the '60s, Don's Hobby Shop in Cincinnati put in a track that (I heard) was 350' around it. I saw it when it was under construction but never ran it. It didn't last long for the same reason Tony mentioned.

[Ron Hershman]

Also a hell of a long walk to put your can back on.

It was along walk when we were 16 years old . . . LOL . . . it would be journey at today's age.

[Pappy]

The best way to do that is to have about six cars at your drivers station. Then you only have to make the journey once every six times you fall off. :mrgreen: