34 replies to this topic

[John Streisguth]

[Robert BG]

It's good to see some life coming back.I bet if a few more folks started to show up things would really bounce back to a half decent track.

 

If you decide to start running some wing cars,shoot me a PM,while it's a little far I'd make the trip for a race

[John Streisguth]

What the heck...maybe I"ll bring along one of my retro pros

[John Streisguth]

Chris, we still on for this Friday?

[John Streisguth]

So I visited T&L last night, met with Chris and Ralph, who works there (and has since 2000?). The king was in decent condition, recently cleaned. Traction was a little "strange," some turns seemed stuck and some a little loose, but it did not look like the track has been run much since the last cleaning so I'll chalk it up to the fact no new rubber has been laid down; it definitely got better as I put in more laps. Best tires were Kellys, either Euros or Retros. The track joints were better than last time, but there were still a few spot where the front of my body "clicked" when passing over a joint (this is probably the result of the building having no A/C or heat until jut a year or two ago). Honest assessment: I would not hesitate to race on this track.  

 

The 220' Altech is still in rough shape, especially towards black and purple in front of the driver station,the result of water damage years ago. Still, I ran a bunch of laps with my Can-Am, and it was fun... very different than the SpeedZone Engleman! The bank is absolutely huge, and the cars go UP into it... really old school, reminds me of when I was about 10 years old and my car didn't have enough speed to make it around a bank like that LOL.

 

I did not run on the oval, but from what Ralph told me that's pretty much the rental track, and unfortunately kids have a tendency to climb on it, as well as the other tracks if nobody is keeping an eye on them (despite signs saying not to do this...).

 

It's a shame Nick had a bad visit, but despite Ralph's efforts (and a new guy Jay that I did not meet) the place overall still lacks for customer service as well as cleanliness... that's the way it's been for a long log time and I doubt it's going change... it is what it is. This being the start of the summer season, slot racing is pretty dead, but I'll be checking back in September to see if there is enough interest for a regular race schedule, and if it's on a day that works for me, I'll be a regular there for whatever they run.  

 

Ralph said they also have an "Imperial" in storage, which is an Engleman built track shaped like a king, but with a triangular shaped donut (amongst other differences).  IIRC, this is the same track Nutley Raceway had before it was damaged by water and replaced by a blue King.

 

BTW Tony, I was in the 5.3s. hHow does that compare to your track record? 

[tonyp]

Not even close, geek. LOL.

With a GT coupe and TSR body on my aero chassis.

tonyp, 5.1316
Jay Kisling, 5.3065
Noose, 5.3069
Mike Katz, 5.3427
Rob Kurylo, 5.3994
Dave Brooks, 5.4507

[John Streisguth]

Ok, next time I'll know what to shoot for!  LOL

[tonyp]

I liked the track when we ran there. Jay cleaned it and lightly sprayed it so it was loose but OK. You had to drive it.

[blue&orange]

It was good to meet John and Nicole on Friday and actually have three retro cars on the track.  I'm an amateur builder and don't have the reflexes or tuning knowledge of a regular racer, but running with them I ran a personal best 5.37 with my home built JK X27.  Given the times Tony listed I don't feel too bad.

 

It would take some work, but if we could get a few more locals to race and the right time for folks we could probably get something going.  In the mean time I hope a few more folks would just check the place out.  If the owner sees (or hears of) more interest we may have a better shot at improvements.  Those of you who were prematurely bemoaning the demise of T&L nonetheless have a good point -- these tracks are a valuable asset, at least to the slot community.  

[John Streisguth]

Anyone thinking of visiting over the summer needs to be aware they close relatively early most nights.