152 replies to this topic

[willy wonka]

If i dont get good ones ill be able to make up for it in other areas hopefully. This year will be interesting if nothing else.

[Butters37]

It will be a challenge in one way or another for everyone I think. Where and when to run the strongest motors could be important. Strategy may be key

[Butters37]

Beat me like a drum? You may want to go back and look at that again. With fks? Come on big boy come on up and we will see how your overpriced cars will help if you do it all on your own.

[Brinkley47]

Beat me like a drum? You may want to go back and look at that again. With fks? Come on big boy come on up and we will see how your overpriced cars will help if you do it all on your own.

 

What would you call this then? I had to zoom out to even get your results in the picture. 

 

 October 15th 2016

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

First of all I would like to say, I do appreciate all that the McMasters family does for the slot car Ccommunity. I have been traveling to Tom Thumb from Erie, PA, to race off and on since 1987. 
 
I have attended two R4s. My plan was to attend this year's event. I moved our vacation timeslot out of the R4 week so I could attend. I was going to arrive Tuesday morning and stay to the conclusion of the F1 race. So you can see I was invested in coming and money wasn't going to be an issue. 
 
But with the current new hand-out format, I cannot justify attending this year. This isn't about running fast. I will run mid-pack and be happy with anything higher. 
 
This is about my comfort level and having fun. Under the old format my Can-Am and F1 would be in the box ready to race by Thursday evening. Even the Coupe race now, with everyone getting hand-outs, adds to the stress of preparing motors and getting track time. Now Can-Ams have been added to that mix with everyone trying to find motors and get dialed in. Sorry, I am not going to spend time, effort, and money for unneeded stress.  
 
Steve and Aaron Ploskunak were planning on attending also. We sat and talked at length on how we would attack a plan for preparing our cars and getting motors ready. Even with the three of us teaming up, we just didn't feel comfortable that we could get the job done in a timely manner or to the best of our ability. 
 
With that said, I am sorry but the three of us won't be attending this year.

 
Dan, with all due respect I think you're making it sound worse than it is.

 

Your F1 can still be "in the box" and ready to go for Sunday. Your GTC never could. All other premier races were hand-out for GTC and I announced last year that from the R4/10 forward it would hand-out for GTC also.

 

Can-Am is the only thing different. Everyone will have equal prep time. And there will be a lot of down time Friday to bench prepare your Can-Am motors Friday during GTC racing. And many have said they plan on using GTC as motor testing for Can-Am. So.... coming as early as you said you had planned you would have plenty of time to get your cars sorted. Thursday night you can have six motors to bench prep and Friday morning to track test, Friday afternoon for additional bench prep if needed, and Saturday morning for additional track test. Thrashing at a race is something all slot racers do. Whether they need to or not.

We will all very much miss you, Steve, and Aaron. You guys are a top shelf bunch.
 
What amazes me is that some of the guys who have complained of racers buying "hundreds of motors" looking for the studs and hoarding them for big races like this and saying, "How can we compete against that?" are some of the same complaining about hand-outs. Or maybe they finally found their own studs...[/size]
 
I'm not a big fan of locking threads but if this personal back and forth sniping doesn't stop I will.

[DOCinCanton]

I am planning on attending this year's R4. It will be my first national race since I got back into slot racing in 2010.

 

I have no concern about the hand-out motor format. Seems like it will level the motor issue for everyone. I think that that is a good thing.

 

For three years now, the flexi series in Florida has had hand-out motors for the endurance series. We get the hand-out motor at 8 AM and race at about 11AM. So over a span of three hours, the motor had to be broken-in and the handling of the car dialed in. I saw no issues with hand-out motors at these endurance races.

 

I am looking forward to this year's R4 and racing back in my home state! I am not very good but I will have a great time. I am planning on getting crushed. I only want to finish ahead of Tony.

[slick in the slot]

Compared to last year, GTC will have an extra 1.5 hours to get a motor ready and plenty of time to run in Thursday's motors on Friday for Saturday. This seems to be a big improvement for the GTC races over last year.

 

Maybe the elite top guys may have an issue but for me, average guy, this is a much better format. i'm loving the fact that i won't need a huge stable of motors.  To quote a very famous racer, "It is what it is"!

[DOCinCanton]

I remember a guy named Gil Pataky back in the day in Ohio; thinking that Gil called the Elyria track as his home track. I'm talking about the '60s.

 

EDIT: Awesome, Gil. I hope to see you there.

 

BTW: I ain't fast no more; I just hope that I don't embarrass myself.

[slick in the slot]

Yep! I remember that you were fast!

Look forward to seeing you again.

[Joe Rocket]

I agree with Noose (for once).

 

Have fun, boys and girls!!!

[elinsley]

Is Steve Koepp still going to have the paint seminar on Thursday?

[YetiSRP]

Gil,
 
I'm betting Doc is referring to your dad.

[gfox]

Will there still be 'list' and 'non-list' individual races for Coupe?

Just wondering as I'm sure they will be mixed up in Group 1 and Group 2.

[Brinkley47]

Also, how will you keep the groups balanced in numbers? I remember one year the pro group only had 16 and the amateur group had close to 40. If that were to happen again, the smaller group will have a big advantage.

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

The split in GTC will remain as always. And the balance between the two groups will be balanced as much as possible. It will obviously need to be done "on the fly" but should be made easier with the registration starting on Thursday.

[slick in the slot]

Gil, I'm betting Doc is referring to your dad.

 

You think? My dad was "Mr. Gil," I was "Gil Jr."

 

We raced at the same time.

[mppicione]

This may a question I should know the answer to but I have only been involved with one hand-out race.

Will the hand-out motors only be used by the racer who purchased them or can they be handed to a friend or teammate who has made a move-up?

 

Or in other words If I am fortunate enough to make it into a semi will I be competing with my four motors against other racers who working together who have 16?

[gotboostedvr6]

I'm pretty sure that was addressed. Your motor is your motor to race, no sharing.

[Cheater]

Marc,

 

Your question was addressed in post #106 above.

[mppicione]

Thanks, Greg. I did not take the time to read all posted comments.

[Shooter7mustang]

As a relatively new racer I am looking forward to and am excited about attending my first ever "major event."

 

My goal is twofold just finish and to rub elbows with and pick the brains of the legends of this great hobby. I race because I enjoy it. It blows my mind that guys are talking about not coming because of the added stress. I understand this is a competitive hobby but the only thing on the line is bragging rights.

 

So if you have decided not to come because of stress you might want to think about another hobby. Now I understand why through attrition there are very few young men in the hobby. A shame indeed.

 

But I can't wait to come!

[B.C.]

Kevin,

 

You will do just fine. You have a nice outlook. Much appreciated. Glad to see the RMRRA will be represented.

 

Good luck.

[DOCinCanton]

Are the hand-out motors the latest production for the JK Hawk Retro stamped "7R 7R 7R 7R 7R"?

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

Yes

[DOCinCanton]

That being the case, I am thinking that this hand-out motor procedure will work very well to level out the playing field. Since the performance variation of the 7R version is very consistent (much tighter than the previous versions), The chances of getting THE rocket are remote. I like the idea very much.