43 replies to this topic

[Michael Jr.]

It's been brought to my attention that there are some slot car enthusiast that read the threads and then tell other racers about what they've read which then is interpreted as something that is happening or that it is gospel truth.

Reader beware... I personally visit here to learn and wonder out loud. I process things externally here because I lack the experience and cumulative wisdom that I can find here. Sometimes I latch onto a possible plan and work it out to the end and discover it won't work or as in the case of the blue Grandstand, sometimes it does work.

In any event, this isn't where you can learn what a raceway owner is planning to do. There aren't any secret plans made in this public forum and to spread brainstorming or investigative questions as a plan being executed creates unnecessary drama at the track.

If you read something and want to discuss it... message me! I'll answer you honestly. Heck, I tend to dream big. I want to provide the best track on the East Coast before I'm done. And yes, I realize I'm far from execution on that but if I quit thinking and trying to work things out then we are dead in the water.

So please, ask if you have questions.

[Cheater]

Lots o' uneccessary drama in the little world of slot cars, Michael.

 

Stepping up into my pulpit, I wish more would confine the competition to the track, and exhibit more cooperation for the "greater good" when not holding a controller. Sadly, 'tis not the nature of the beast.

[SlowBeas]

I'll lend my support to Michael as best I can. He has a great set-up and, as he says, he dreams big. In other words, he's thinking of new ways to help make our racing experience at Upstate Speedway even better!!

 

Thank for your work. See you Saturday.

 

jb

[Michael Jr.]

Lots o' uneccessary drama in the little world of slot cars, Michael.
 
Stepping up into my pulpit, I wish more would confine the competition to the track, and exhibit more cooperation for the "greater good" when not holding a controller. Sadly, 'tis not the nature of the beast.

I'm beginning to see how the unnecessary drama has a negative impact and handicaps our growth.

[Dennis David]

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined.” 

― Henry David Thoreau

[anumber1]

I feel the drama is what is killing my local track.

As a newcomer (two years in the hobby) it's frustrating.

I have thousands of dollars wrapped up in this, and really no local racing even though I have a nice, clean, well stocked shop literally around the corner from my house. I travel to most racing events.

Wish things were different in this hobby but I fear that the competitive nature works against us most of the time.

[Arne Saknussem]

Hand-out sealed motors are fine in their place. I raced quite a few hand-out events in the Parma Deathstar era. Back then the motors were "pre-screened" so to speak, before being supplied by Parma to the sanctioning body. That is to say that the ones that sounded like rock crushers when running were removed from consideration before shipping.

[anumber1]

"Wish things were different in this hobby but I fear that the competitive nature works against us most of the time."

Quick answer: handout sealed motors.(May work even for wing cars! )

What class(es) do you race?

 

Flexi classes. Mostly. With sealed motors and very beginner friendly rules.

My local shop has no regular racers besides drag racing (which I have no interest in).
Most established racers nearby stick to their local shops and don't come out to other tracks, ever.

My local shop has not been successful at drawing in new racers for anything but drag racing. Many personality conflicts among the area racers compound this.

[Booger]

What drama?... It is better to remain quiet and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt... 

[Michael Jr.]

The "drama" seems to grow from the sense that everyone knows how to run the track better than the next guy. And I can't count how many times I've been told someone will quit coming if I start racing a particular class or motor. Never mind that there's no requirement to run in a new class, just having it on the property seems offensive.

 

Then the rumors and popularity contests. It's like high school sometimes.

 

There is a wonderful teaching in Matthew 18 for resolving disagreements. You go directly to the person you're having trouble with and talk for the purpose of reconciling.

 

Make things better. Don't fan flames unnecessarily. I wonder how many tracks are lost to immature and un-Christian antics. (Yes, I'm firm in Christianity being the right ethic).

[tonyp]

Lots of issues come from those with the mindset they have to win at all costs. That's how it was during the pro era I raced in and it was not pretty. The race programs we have here in FL, Retro and flexi, are a pleasure to race in because the racing is the friendliest I ever raced in outside of Retro East^™.

Retro because of no prizes to win keeps things more friendly on and off the track.

[Michael Jr.]

I'm going to be visiting the Vero Beach area I think. Any tracks or racers hanging around that area? The track list shows several tracks in Florida but there's a lot of road between each one.

[tonyp]

Bill Pinch's raceway is about 40 miles north up 95.

[Cheater]

The "drama" seems to grow from the sense that everyone knows how to run the track better than the next guy.

This happens, in part, because almost every new raceway owner has to start from ground zero, oftening making the same mistakes most other track owners have made.

To put it another way, there's no "institutional memory" of the hard and expensive lessons learned over decades in the commercial raceway industry.

[DOCinCanton]

As Tony pointed out, Bill Pinch's track would be closest. He is located in Melbourne. Hope to see you there sometime. 

 

Melbourne is on the schedule April 30 (IRRA^® Retro), May 14 (MySeries flexi & IRRA^® Retro), Sept 10 (flexi enduro), and Dec 17 (IRRA^® Retro).

[Michael Jr.]

This happens, in part, because almost every new raceway owner has to start from ground zero, oftening making the same mistakes most other track owners have made.

To put it another way, there's no "institutional memory" of the hard and expensive lessons learned over decades in the commercial raceway industry.

There's also a phenomena I'm reading on all these "now defunct" raceways that leave their Facebook pages up for an autopsy. The owner tries to tie in with a larger race footprint but locals become irritated that rules aren't tailored just for the small group living around the track. The owner, feeling rather alone in all this, eventually caves with the assumption that the small group of committed locals will keep the lights on and the rent paid. But, they can't. So traveling racers don't show because the track doesn't offer what they race, local racers interest ebbs and flows like the ocean tides but bills stay consistent.

 

The Civil Wars and sense of ownership by racers can sometimes cut their nose off to spite their face. No one intends it, but all I'm reading indicates racers shut down most tracks with divergent views of what racing should be offered.

 

I know... owners shut down tracks, too. But I'm talking specifically about the tugs of war, walk-outs, threats of quitting, rumors and storytelling, and all the other things that go into shaping the local track and with all the best intentions, running it into the red and then into the ditch.

[Samiam]

I think way too much emphasis is put on racing and racers. Yes, they are part of the pie.

 

But just how big a slice? I have no real hard numbers but I'm willing to guess total income from racing and racers accounts for less than 20% of a track's profit. Parties and walk-in rentals are much more critical to a track's bottom line and cause so much less drama.

 

If my local track had to survive on what I spend there as a racer, the only racing I'd be doing is on my 50-year old Revell track.

[Les Boyd]

The last three tracks that where in operation close to me all went strictly race programs they only opened for races and there where no open times for anything else. And that doomed them... they did not last long. That and very little advertising, few people even new that they where there much less that they had a slot car track.

[Michael Jr.]

I think way too much emphasis is put on racing and racers. Yes, they are part of the pie.
 
But just how big a slice? I have no real hard numbers but I'm willing to guess total income from racing and racers accounts for less than 20% of a track's profit. Parties and walk-in rentals are much more critical to a track's bottom line and cause so much less drama.
 
If my local track had to survive on what I spend there as a racer, the only racing I'd be doing is on my 50-year old Revell track.

I grant the need for parties and such. But local racers threaten to quit coming if kids come. Drama...

[Bill from NH]

Michael,

If you have a juniors racing program, on a separate night, encourage the kids under 15 to participate in it. Run a flexi chassis, a high downforce bod, and a relatively low speed motor. They'll be low maintenance, easy to drive cars. Don't use Womps.

As the group gains experience, encourage the better junior drivers to race with the adults. Their quicker reflexes will soon make them very competitive at the adult level. I've seen this done time and time again.

If you only run a single racing program, don't exclude kids. They are your future.

[Cheater]

Michael,

Segregate the newbie kids from the adults. There's a reason many pools have an "adult swim" time when the kids aren't allowed in the pool.

[Outback]

I disagree with not letting newbies and kids race with everyone and putting them in a separate class. We do not do that at OMS.

 

It's really no difference than real race tracks where newbies and under experienced drivers get into cars to race and they don't have a separate class for them.

 

Plus I'm a firm believer as you are only as fast as the competition you are running against. Also nothing beats a young son trying to beat his dad, or his Dad trying to beat his son and having "bragging rights" on the ride home.

 

I see no advantage at all trying to deter someone from running with the better racers, as they will learn way more much faster that way.

 

Can it be a pain for the better racers at times? Absolutely, but what racing doesn't have this happen?

 

With the format we run, the less experienced racers slowly get eliminated as the night goes on, and the cream rises to the top. This in turns makes the less experienced racers learn to race better, faster, so that they can try to make it into our NQ races, and then get goo enough to make it into an A-Main Event.

 

This is just another thing that I think has made us grow here at OMS, but it might not work for All?

 

Again just my experience and opinion

[jimht]

I agree that if it's King Of The Hill Racing, sorting by eliminating the less competent is efficient and effective. The big winner gets all the glory.

 

However, toy cars, fun, and spare time amusement are relevant to kids as is allowing them to play with other kids.
 
Adults and kids can't always compete head to head and shouldn't have to in order to play with slot cars or any other sport or toy.
 
Focusing all the energy on one form of racing to the detriment of the other can work, but isn't necessary to have a good time... and isn't having a good time what it's all about?

[Ramcatlarry]

Slot racing is only one niche of the concept of adult hobbies. Model airplanes changed from rubber band free flight to control line to RC stick built to helicopters. Slot shops need to be diversivied in their income streams. Some are seasonal as with bicycle sales and ice cream shops and many are paying the expenses as online warehouses.