58 replies to this topic

[Cheater]

Les,

The Raceway List will return. In all honesty, I was trying to make a point.

It just frosted my chaps when I discovered well over a dozen raceways listed since 2008-09 that had all closed and no one thought it was worth the time to let me know.

It amazes and depresses me that the commercial "industry" puts so little (almost zero actually) importance into letting enthusiasts know where they can enjoy the hobby.

[Michael Jr.]

It is the personal ownership and lack of a blanket organization that's the issue. If I went belly up and lost everything the last thing on my "to do" list will be to make sure everyone knows. I would be hurt and disappointed and putting it all behind me. If we had a patent association they would know when a raceway dies.

[Bill from NH]

Talk is cheap. So someone organize it, format it, figure out a neat way to keep it updated, and just do it! I'm not volunteering myself, but I might suggest someone like Samiam.

[garyvmachines]

It is not the raceway owner who needs to tell Greg it closed... It Is the racer's job to say, "Hey, I used to race here... it is closed!!"
 
GAV

[PCH Parts Express]

Did you folks know that the place listed below has closed?

 

El Cajon Raceway Slot Car Club
1235 Pierre Way
El Cajon, CA 92021
(619) 787-5915
(619) 850-1736

1/24 scale slot cars

 

There was talk about relocating at one point. They have not yet do so. The racers now race at LeMans in Chula Vista. 

[PCH Parts Express]

Have you heard that the raceway in Palmdale, CA, reopened under a new name with the same phone number on 1/16/16?

[Cheater]

The only raceway I had listed in Palmdale was Wright Slot Car Raceway. Is this the track you mean?

What's the new name please?

I did hear that the El Cajon track had closed.

[Michael Jr.]

The Groove in Pickens has closed. Green Flag closed before that. The Green Flag Windsor track went to the Groove and remains in Pickens presumably opening under another name.

[Michael Jr.]

Would it be hard to put these tracks as pins on a map. Might help to see where high concentrations of tracks are located.

[PCH Parts Express]

The raceway in Palmade is no longer known by Wright Slot Car Raceway. It is now called something like Grable's Slotcar Raceway and Hobby.
 
LINK to Yellow Pages listing.

[Dennis David]

"If I went belly up and lost everything the last thing on my "to do" list will be to make sure everyone knows."

... and another slot car racer is left with a box of useless junk. Why would you ever want to take up this hobby if you hadn't already been involved in the '60s or '70s?

[PCH Parts Express]

Would it be hard to put these tracks as pins on a map. Might help to see where high concentrations of tracks are located.

You just want to show off when you have three raceways.

[Michael Jr.]

Well, when that happens I'll make sure it's printed on shirts and I'll mail them out. LOL.

[Cheater]

The raceway in Palmade is no longer known by Wright Slot Car Raceway. It is now called something like Grable's Slotcar Raceway and Hobby.

Here's a great example of the problems with keeping the raceway list current.

I never heard that Wright Slot Car Raceway had closed and until you posted today, I never heard it had been sold and had reopened under new ownership.

As I posted almost a decade ago, if the participants in the 1/24 commercial raceway hobby aren't willing to help keep the raceway list accurate (and by and large most don't seem to be), it is indeed an exercise in futility, as someone mentioned.

[Michael Jr.]

"If I went belly up and lost everything the last thing on my "to do" list will be to make sure everyone knows."

... and another slot car racer is left with a box of useless junk. Why would you ever want to take up this hobby if you hadn't already been involved in the '60s or '70s?

Remember the goal is to keep these tracks active one way or another and in one place or another.

A raceway owner not far from me has about five tracks in storage... I'm thinking seven actually. He's taken some grief over that but he wants to keep those tracks out of the trash heap or wet storage rooms and has a vision for expanding into several different facilities.

There are a few of us who are trying, at personal expense, to keep as many tracks alive as possible. And birthing a racing generation born since the turn of the century is vital to success.

If we track owners will keep the tracks requiring vast storage and significant expense, maybe racers can push harder to bring in grandsons, scouts, youth groups, peers, retirees, and everyone else you know. If every race brought ONE into the hobby this year we would double by years end.

We all have to apply ourselves to let folks know about this fun hobby and competitive sport.

[PCH Parts Express]

The grand opening of the new place was on 1/16/16. The raceway changed hands only recently. Over the years we have seen false rumors started about raceways being closed or closing. One should be 100% sure a raceway has closed before starting a rumor. Only after hearing it straight from the owners mouth do I tell you a place has closed. I have told you in the past that a place may have closed. If a shop has their phone or website down temporarily some people automatically say that are closed. When a shop moves.... oh then must have go out of business. It's all a touchy subject for some. 
 
Many years ago a truck driver told me that he thought we were never open. He always was in the area at about 9 AM on Monday. He never read the hours sign. Others see the tracks in the shop with the lights out. Hey, they must be out of business. No! They aren't open until whatever PM.

[Richard G With]

I think PCH has brought out a factor that has not been addressed in these discussions: It's not a good idea to open maintenance of the list to everyone.
 
There needs to be some kind of vetting of editors. Along with that, verifiers need to be trusted enough to allow them to identify themselves as representatives of Slotblog when contacting an owner. I also suggested somewhere else that the listings need to have indicators of when the listing was last verified and last known status. I suppose initially the last verified date would be blank, and the flag set as "Unverified". Status updates from the general population could then be routed to the regional person for action.
 
It also occurs to me that having phone numbers and website URLs could allow some automated verification to be done periodically as a screening procedure for further action.
 
Not to point fingers at anyone, but when I started trying to find a local track again, I tried contacting some distributors. No response. I now realize that distributors regard such information as proprietary. I get that, but if this business is so cutthroat at that level that sharing your list of extant raceways will lead to "piracy", then this entire effort may have another level of challenge.

[Cheater]

The way the Raceway List was operated was that anyone could post but their posts would start hidden, i.e. invisible to the members. That allowed me to confirm new entries as well to format them to the template I use for the list.

In general, I always confirm that a raceway has closed before deleting it from the list. And I usually would call new raceways to confirm the info provided before making a new entry visible.

So essentially, I have been doing as suggested in terms of "vetting" new entries and/or deleting entries for closed raceways.

[Michael Jr.]

As always... our woes are connected with the lack of governance or an authority.

Imagine stock car racing without NASCAR. It's just a bunch of guys running on local dirt tracks as long as their cars and interest holds up.

[Cheater]

It also occurs to me that having phone numbers and website URLs...

Richard,

You would be surprised how many raceways don't have a website as well as how many don't even list a phone number!

I can recall one raceway owner in the past who refused to reveal his facilty's physical address!

Just this past weekend, a well-known body painter handed me his business card which shows just a first name, a phone number, and an email address and nothing else...

[Cheater]

... Our woes are connected with the lack of governance or an authority.

The way I've been putting it for years, Michael, is that in the slot car hobby, especially the 1/24 commercial raceway segment, there is no one providing leadership, focus, and direction.

For better than two decades, I have compared and contrasted the 1/24 raceway industry/hobby to other just as frivolous leisure-time activities (hobbies) to try to identify the factors that brought visibility, stability, and respect to those other hobbies.

The absence of some sort of entity providing leadership, focus, and direction is the glaring difference between slots and the more-successful others. (And my apologies to those who have tired of hearing me say this. However your disgust at my repitition of this claim doesn't make it any less accurate.)

[Michael Jr.]

So... when the NFL organized, why did teams volunteer to be a part? Why do men race NASCAR instead of just hitting the local dirt track? Why did Carolina join the SEC instead of remaining independent?

If USRA would develop a race series that didn't require crosscountry travel but did recognize tracks as legitimate and based on that allowed competition in big or even money races... there may be incentives for racers to go to sanctioned tracks.

Owners will be forced to buy in or be categorized as a hobby track or club.

[Dennis David]

"I can recall one raceway owner in the past who refused to reveal his facilty's physical address!" That is hilarious ...

Of course this was to keep out the riff raff without realizing that the riff raff were his customers. LOL

[Samiam]

." ......the riff raff were his customers. LOL"

What are you trying to say?  

[Half Fast]

Sam-

 

If the Riff fits Raff it.

 

Ultimately we are but Flotsam and Jetsam in the universe.

 

Cheers