7 replies to this topic

[Mike Patterson]

The first Retro Revival Reunion Race is in the record books, and I am proud to have been able to participate in such an historic event. Even though I didn’t win any races (I didn’t expect to), I had a GREAT time, and learned some more about what makes some of these little cars work better than others.

I should start out by saying that I was one of the lucky few racers who was able to sleep in his own bed at night, Zanesville being about 60 miles east of Tom Thumb, and that due to family obligations, I knew I wouldn’t be able to run F1 on Saturday. So here we go:

Saturday dawned (?) damp and foggy. Driving to Columbus was somewhat surreal, as the view out the windshield never changed, just gray mist everywhere. Visibility was 1/4 mile at best. However, the somber weather did not carry over into the raceway.

Upon my arrival, my first thought was “S***, where’m I gonna park?” My second thought was “S***! I hope I can find place to pit!” I decided just to leave my car where it was, and move it if somebody needed out. As I wheeled my junk inside, the first thing I noticed was that pit space was indeed at a premium, and the old fart to young guy ratio was heavily skewed in favor of the former. I asked Mike McMasters where I should pit, and he found me a space back in the corner by the high bank, along with Josh Crutchfield, another ‘sorta-local’. This worked out well; it was only a short run from the driver’s panel.

The first race on Saturday was GT Coupe. My Chevron passed tech with no problems. I was pleasantly surprised by how well my car worked in the race. I was actually competitive in speed, if not in driving ability, with the rest of the field. I finished 4th in my main, with a fastest lap of 5.01 seconds. I ended up 14th overall (out of 31), a very respectable showing in my eyes, considering this was only my third race this year, after a 7-year hiatus. I went home Saturday night feeling pretty good about my chances Sunday, since my Can-Am was the faster of my two cars.

Sunday was a different story. Arriving in the outskirts of Columbus, I am confronted with a closed Interstate 70. After having to figure out a detour that didn’t involve driving around Columbus on the outer belt, I got to the track only to be informed that the schedule had been moved up one hour, so instead of it being halfway through practice, it was halfway through tech! S***!!!! This day is NOT going to be as much fun as Saturday.

So I get everything unpacked, get the car out of the bag, and give it the once-over before joining the tech line. I notice that the car could use some new braid. So I get a new pair out, get them trimmed and brushed, and start installing them in the guide, when SNAP! The guide tongue had decided to separate from the rest of the chassis. S***!!!

Fortunately, I had my chassis jig with me, and the guide lead was still set to where it was when I built the chassis, so I crank up the ol’ Ungar, and proceed to solder that puppy back on. I get that fixed, and proceed to tech inspection, where I am informed that I need some new rear tires. S***!!! I’m starting to wonder I used up all my “fun quotient” on Saturday!

So its up to the parts counter, where I find out that they are out of Alpha Piranha Big Hub (free plug!) tires. S***!!! (Are you seeing a pattern here?) I’m no tire whiz. My choices are Parma Full Big Hub Tunas (which I personally don’t care for), and a whole bunch of different JKs. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I finally settled on some JK Big Daddys, even though they were a little oversize (0.820 dia.). That sucker ought to pass tech now (it does)!

I end up ceded in the C Main, which is a 9-man round robin. I start on white, and it’s immediately apparent that my car is nowhere as drivable as it was in practice on Thursday. Missing practice this morning was definitely going to impact my performance, and as you have probably guessed, not in a good way. I do my sit out trying to think of something, ANYTHING, that will help my car (short of a relief driver!). I finally decide that I’m not going to fix it in the two minutes allotted, so I should probably try to change my driving to accommodate its handling quirks.

Coming back into the race on red (not my favorite lane), I’m anxious to see what my car will do on on it. The power comes on, and my car goes... nowhere!!! WTF? I glance down, and notice that in my haste to get back in the action, I had hooked up my controller wrong. S*** again!!! I’m thinking “Man, I just fried my Difalco.” Wrong!!! I corrected the hookup, and my car finally ran. YAY!!! So I motored off, just trying to endure, and keep the damned thing in the slot!

Next up: green lane. I’m finally getting to the lanes I can drive. My car is just coming out of the finger when the power comes on, and BAM!!! Some dumba** (me) hooked his controller up wrong! AGAIN!!! This resulted in my car being driven at full speed into the track wall in the 90. S***!!! Major Damage. A broken axle, bent motor bracket, main rails snapped away from the axle tube, this was Not Good. I’m ready to call it a race, and cut my losses.

At this moment, a miracle of a semi-religious nature occurred. Rob Hanson and Basil Michael, two racers from the Chicago area, asked to see my car. I forget which one said, "That can be fixed", but they were instantly at it. One held while the other bent and soldered. Thanks to their heroic effort, I was actually able to complete one lap that heat!

I wish I could remember more about the rest of race, but I was still amazed that Basil and Rob had managed to repair my car, and in the process, made it more drivable. I finished 30th out of 34 racers, with a fast lap of 5.37 seconds.

Next up were the award presentations, because most of the out-of-towners were packing up for the long trip home. Time to say goodbye to some of the more interesting people and racers I’ve met in a long time. I hope everyone made it home safely.

By the time for the Retro Flexi GT race, the crowd had thinned considerably. We had 16 sign up, which meant two mains. I was not expecting to do well in this class, simply because my Turbo-Flex Porsche was underpowered by an all-Chinese Pro Slot, and it didn’t disappoint! My best lap was a 5.6 something, while Dave Fiedler was turning 4.6s. I ended up finishing 10th, which was waay better than last!

A few notes on the cars: The paint jobs were awesome! Mike McMasters was asked to judge Concours, and he had a helluva task. All the cars were way above average, and a few bordered on outstanding! As far as chassis go, the Most Interesting Award goes to the car Jay Kisling raced in the Can-Am race. The chassis was built by Tony P, and had what I can only describe as ‘ground effects tunnels’ built into the side pans. Very Sano!

I would like to thank EVERYONE who was involved in this great weekend of racing. First of all, Ron Hershman, for organizing and promoting the whole shebang. Thanks, Ron! Mike, Cindy, Jason, and Jessica McMasters, and the rest of the Tom Thumb staff, for putting up with all of us (mostly) old farts! Thank you for allowing us to disrupt your routine for a few days. Thanks to all the great sponsors for the Most Excellent Race Prizes, and a Special Thank You to whomever decided on how to distribute them. Genius! I know I got more stuff than I have EVER received at any race. And a BIG Thank You to all the racers, who made this weekend the most low-key, ego-free, slot car race I have ever attended!!!!THANKS!!!

I would like to add another Special Thank You. I hope this isn’t construed as an endorsement, merely constructive information, but I would like to thank Jim Difalco for designing such a bulletproof controller. I managed to hook it up wrong TWICE, and it wasn’t fazed at all.

And finally, an Extra Great Big Thank You to Rob Hanson and Basil Michael, who managed to take my mangled (I wish I would have snapped a pic) race car, and not only repair it, but make it drive as well, if not better, than before the crash. Thanks to you, I managed to achieve one of my goals at the R4, and that was not to finish last in any class I entered! Thanks again.

It was neat to finally meet, and chat with, so many of the people I have corresponded with here on Slotblog. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I was too busy having FUN! I hope the planets align again next year, and we can do this again!

Mike Patterson
Team BOZO

[Mopar Rob]

...At this moment, a miracle of a semi-religious nature occurred. Rob Hanson and Basil Michael, two racers from the Chicago area, asked to see my car. I forget which one said,"That can be fixed", but they were instantly at it. One held while the other bent and soldered. Thanks to their heroic effort, I was actually able to complete one lap that heat!...

You're very welcome, but I will give Basil the credit for the "That can be fixed". We had a lot of practice in the F1 race with Basil tuning his car with the bank or specifically the underside of the top shelf on the bank. Just kidding Basil.

[Pablo]

Rob and Basil both tried to save my life, too; thanks, guys!!!

[Mopar Rob]

You're also very welcome, Paul. Just wish we would have been faster and closer to my box.
Special thank you to Ken Swanson, who tirelessly built and repaired some of the other Chicago racers' cars up to, during, and probably after the R4.

[MSwiss]

...We had a lot of practice in the F1 race with Basil tuning his car with the bank or specifically the underside of the top shelf on the bank...

Basil should get a special thumbs up since he doesn't get much practice fixing wall damage here.

[911GT3]

Mike,

Basil, Rob, and I were standing at the bank discussing your misfortune and how well the car ran after they fixed it. It was certainly a pleasure to see racers helping other racers. Hope I can make it up to Chicago to race with these guys sometime soon. Hope to race with you again at Tom Thumb's. I will keep bothering Mr. and Mrs. McMasters about club racing.

Sounds like you achieved my number one goal, too. HAVE FUN!!!

[Mike Patterson]

I just wanted to post a picture of my best handling chassis to date. I ran this in the Coupe race on Saturday, and managed to turn a 5.1 something with it:



I heavied this one up, with a 1-1/8" x 1" nosepiece of 0.062" brass, and 0.032 pans. I used a Rick Bennardo motor bracket and single 0.062" main rails. Wheelbase is 4.062" and guide lead is 4.8125". Chassis is pictured as raced, no added lead. I think I'm going to build another one.

Mike Patterson

[Ron Hershman]

Try one with a 5" guide length.