Some of you on Slotblog may know me; some may not, but I have been racing slot cars since the early '90s. I have traveled all over the south racing with my friends.
So a couple years ago after being out of slot cars for about five years I got my son into the hobby and he has developed a passion for slot cars more than I ever had. Recently i have really focused on building and showing him how to solder, how to adjust Retro and flexi cars, and the maintenance of the cars. He has been getting better every time we race and just loving slot cars, which is rare in our day and age of computers and gaming.
We attended a race this past weekend. We built him a brand new Can-Am car that my son was so proud of because it was the first one that he ever helped build. So he starts out by qualifying with the fastest time he ever turned and the car is really good. He starts the race so I go over to work on some other cars while he is running. I never looked at where he was running but he had told me he was running really good, so after the second or third heat someone came over and said your son is flying so I looked at the monitor and he was ahead by three or four laps! Then I started watching him and he continued to pull away, just driving the wheels off of the car.
The next heat I pitted the car, put it back on the track, and the heat started – all was well. My son made it about three or four laps when the magic smoke came trailing out of the car then quit. My son was devastated and I could not get him to calm down. I went to change the motor, because we had back-ups, but he still was really upset.
Then this is the part I wanted to share with everyone. A man I had never met him before (still do not no who he is) walked up, leaned over to my son, and said to him, "You were running a great race and i want you to have this brand new motor to replace the one you blew up." instantly my son was OK.
I got more pleasure from that one moment than I did the whole rest of the day and it really showed me one act of kindness at a slot car race made more of a impression on my son than if he would have won the race.
I want to thank that man, whoever you are, and just to let you know that's all he talks about since the race. You have made a lasting impression on my son...
Slot car racers are really great people.
