33 replies to this topic

[Cheater]

Agree, Bob.

At Harding Mall Grand Prix in Nashville, in the '60s, they had a 220' Sovereign, a black, and something else (red, yellow, I duuno). The only time I ever ran on anything but the Sovereign was if I couldn't get on it.

[gc4895]

King tracks are great since they have provided a "standard", so eloquently described by Tony P in his post above. 

Where I race we have the great luxury to have a user-friendly King where all the new racers - when we are lucky enough to get any!!! - start out. Some are anxious to transition to our other luxury, a lovely 140" road course. Some give the flat track a try but don't come back, at least for a while. 

Beginners have difficulty jumping right in and being competitive even on what many experienced racers might regard as a "punch bowl." But it is much more accessible to inexperienced racers than the flat track. Accessibility is actually vitally important to retain someone interested in the hobby long enough to develop more than a passing, casual experience. Just because it's more difficult for many doesn't make it "better."
 
Our local program doesn't do wing cars, though we could if there was enough interest. Since these are slot cars, generally speaking, we don't bother with "interiors," numbers or even masking "windows" unless a particular racer likes that sort or thing. 

We are all winners when we can support the track and a share in a friendly, accessible racing experience.

[Cheater]

Since these are slot cars, generally speaking, we don't bother with "interiors," numbers or even masking "windows" unless a particular racer likes that sort or thing.

Which IMO is one of the factors that has hurt the appeal of slot racing to many. All you have to do is to look at the 1/32 slot car and 1/24 drag racing segments to see that the 'modeling aspect' of slot cars seems to be an important aspect to a lot of the (potential) participants.
 

We are all winners when we can support the track and a share in a friendly, accessible racing experience.

Can't argue with this sentiment, but for the raceway owner the most important issue is having sufficient 'wallets' (which get opened regularly) come through the front door. And ignoring the 'modeling' part of the equation works quietly to reduce the overall numbers in my experience.

[Ecurie Martini]

Which IMO is one of the factors that has hurt the appeal of slot racing to many. All you have to do is to look at the 1/32 slot car and 1/24 drag racing segments to see that the 'modeling aspect' of slot cars seems to be an important aspect to a lot of the (potential) participants.

 
I could not agree more. Look at what has happened to NASCAR attendance – may well be related, at least in part, to the cars having less and less resemblance to what one might drive to the race. Parity -> mediocrity.
 
EM

[jimht]

After the boom/bust here in Texas we were racing Open class wing cars for years without the benefits of having a King... big wire arms, glue, battery power, full air control, etc.
 
Races were mostly on reds and oranges and my Engleman and the Altech in Houston.
The really fun part was not having the same track everywhere.
The locals always had the advantage of knowing the track better, the out-of-towners were more expert at adapting to differing conditions and had greater depth of equipment.

The arrival of Kings here allowed everyone to see just how good the Texas group was (not me, he said modestly ;-)) but it didn't make for more raceways or "better" competition.
 
If the King weren't "The Standard" we probably would be racing the same stuff as we are now but I doubt that the out-of-towners would be able to just walk in the door and go fast without thrashing.
 
The off and on mini-booms we've experienced in different areas since the '60s have had nothing to do with the types of tracks available, just that there were tracks and inexpensive cars.
 
I think the real flaw in the King is that it allows so much speed... then the builders have constantly tweaked the design to make it even faster.
 
In hindsight, standardization has not increased inter-track competition.
Why bother traveling when all you do is race the same stuff on the same track?
 
Then there's the fact that differing tracks lead to a larger variety of competitive equipment and more focus on tuning and driving rather than sheer speed.
 
Designs that have five to seven turns but not in the same cookie-cutter configuration are always good... I personally don't like the MTT derived 10 or 12 turn nightmares for general business, there's as much wrong there as with the Kings, just in the other direction.

[tonyp]

Now if slot cars stayed 1/32 scale and not morphed into 1/24 scale, slots would have taken a completely direction.

Tracks could be smaller but as spectacular and take up less floor space making rents 1/2 what they were or less. Larger hobby shops could have a track making slots available to more people.

Home track cars could be run at commercial raceways with out getting run over by a Manta Ray.

I have always believed had we not gone with 1/24 scale the hobby would be much stronger today.


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[MattD]

Some good posts in this thread.    I like detailed cars and since we run all hard bodies, it is pretty easy to get a satisfying level of detail with the model parts that come in most kits.    I figure scratch built 1/32 is the option for a few of us if  the 1/24 track goes away.  Either that or build a track.    1/32 would be fine, but at my age hands and eyes don't do 1/32 as good as they can the bigger stuff.

 

I do really like the landscaped home tracks I see on HRW forum.      Just a little bit of landscaping and decoration look great to me and I could  go in that direction pretty easy.   Actually a 4 lane 1/32 plastic track  would be fine and reduced speed compared to the 1/24 stuff.    

 

For now it is 1/24 on a King or on our Carrera home tracks.

[Mike Patterson]

Tony and Jim,

 

I thank you both for your very thoughtful and informative replies.

[swodem]

Speed Crazed Morons

Odd that those are my initials....

I’m off to have my palms read...


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