317 replies to this topic

[Clyde Romero]

To get people hooked you need to:
1-Get them in the door (marketing your place)
2-Get them on the track with a good car and controller combo. And make the rentals for the general teen/adult crew different than for the youngsters. My god some rentals Ive driven over the years make slotracing a crappy experience even for me, a guy who loves it.
3-maybe have an employee Marshall and give driving tips for the first 5 minutes so the newbies can enjoy themselves and realize hey, theres something to this.
4- have parts, cars and controllers ready to gawk over and buy.

I know these ideas require investment.. but gents, a set of greasy whisperjets does NOT cut it.

Thoughts:
Maybe after 4 rentals or two hours of track time, or something, they can run a faster car (have a few good flexis or wings behind the counter for this). Maybe have these level two cars correlate to racing classes you run.? If they rent one of these get their email or phone so you can blast them with the racing schedule.

24 32 HO, we have our preferences and habits, but for the majority of people who walk in, they probably dont care as long as they get a good experience. Bigger tracks in general are a bit more exciting but whatever works for your space and rental budget, works.

How this thread turned into old school guys vs solder jockies vs G7 speed freaks vs plastic box stock guys... -we dont have to worry about these guys!! Theyve got the bug already! The point of the thread is encouraging growth in the hobby. Which means NEW BLOOD.

Its sad because I grew up with the Sears catalog and slot car tracks and drooling over that stuff. Kids these days dont get that.

Marketing guys, marketing!! Kids still like to tinker if given the chance! Video games and TVs and cell phones do not give them that opportunity. And this is where we could really step in by giving that particular opportunity.

Allright thats enough. Summers coming, get to those tracks and smile at any newbies, Marshall for them for a bit and show them how to improve. Engage their parents. Let them try your cars. They walked in the place because they were interested after all.....

-Steve

Steve you got it right

a rental car has to be a good car that stays on the track

otherwise its not fun

and they will not come  back

and if they bring in there old stuff you have to show them why it will not work

and give them something that will

I have a controller with a choke on it 

so I can choke down the power so they stay on the track

this has worked so many times at my track I've lost count

they must have a positive experience or they will leave and never come back

everyone likes to go fast but you have to tell them was your first car a corvette?

then they get it

drawing the line from what they actually drive as a car to what this is in my mind is the key

the current economic situation is going to make ever so more difficult for tracks to operate

but it is what it is 

 

clyde in atlanta 

[Revtor]

Matt, there it is!! YES!! Look at that glorious advertisement.. hobby porn, a reading lesson, cartoons and funky graphics all in one! Kids these days dont know what theyre missing....

[Revtor]

I wrote that whole post being a tinker and car guy my whole life. Of course, thats just who I am, and every kid is different. But I really do think that if more kids were exposed to good rich hobbies like slot racing they would really get into it.

[MattD]

Steve,  many of us probably spent hours with the Sears "Wish Books".     Kids from the 50's and 60's could look at model railroading, slots, chemistry sets, Erector sets,. all types of building block sets, paint by numbers, telescopes.   You could look thru the catalog and see page after page of hobbies you got physically involved in and required physically doing something. 

 

  I always like to say that back in the early 60's we had no air conditioning, no cable, no internet, no phone, but us kids did get outside and did build tree houses, clubhouses, skateboards, many kinds of things we created/built.    That was a 20 year span that  most kids that had access to tools and had some skills or learned them and approached hobby stuff the same way.

 

All the time being really interested in cars and hot rodding, which led us  into lifelong car hobbies.    Put that all together and you got a bunch of guys that enjoy hands on toys and cars.    Slot cars are a natural for our generation.

 

Take a kid brought up with air conditioning, cable tv, internet and cell phone, it's  a different story.    That is probably the reason there is no "Wish Book" anymore.  No more advertising of stamp collecting, coin collecting, electronic building projects, etc.     All these hobbies require an internet forum to find others interested in the same thing.   Just not common for most young people to .be exposed to hands on stuff like when we were kids.   Maybe many of them don't have a father that teaches manual skills, too.

 

[Clyde Romero]

one more thing on this very important topic

as a raceway owner I NEVER TRY TO WIN AT MY TRACK AGAINST MY CUSTOMERS!

I feel if you do that you are working against yourself

you should race but never win on purpose

being in the B or C main is fine with me at my track

but that's just me  

 

Clyde

 

[MattD]

Clyde that was a big problem at the local track.   After the owner won most every week, he told the other racers he thought he would have t go somewhere else to find competition.         The owner and family should never be competing against his customers in serious racing.

[Tim Neja]

There's just no hope for an owner that is stupid!! I remember a track in Hemet  California--the owner actualy kept a particular compound of tires a secret  that worked best with his track combination and would NOT sell them to anyone but his family!!  Simply amaizing what some will do to win--at the expense of their livelyhood and facility!! 

[Phil Beukema]

If anyone wins week after week, he should handicap himself (like golf). The Track Mate allows this programing before the race.

[Eddie Fleming]

one more thing on this very important topic

as a raceway owner I NEVER TRY TO WIN AT MY TRACK AGAINST MY CUSTOMERS!

I feel if you do that you are working against yourself

you should race but never win on purpose

being in the B or C main is fine with me at my track

but that's just me  

 

Clyde

 

I agree with that Clyde but don't tell us you are taking it easy on us ether.

 

That is almost as bad as beating us all the time, only different.

[MSwiss]

Easy there, Eddie.

Clyde is a real ambassador for slot racing.

I really appreciated that he took it easy on Willy Custer, at Sano 13.

[Half Fast]

At Port Jeff, Doug and Chubby sometimes race with the reguar weekly Retro racers (Chubby is pretty good ).

 

However, their results do not count in the final standings, so nobody minds.

 

Cheers

[Eddie Fleming]

Easy there, Eddie.
Clyde is a real ambassador for slot racing.

I really appreciated that he took it easy on Willy Custer, at Sano 13.

Yes he is and I appreciate him.  
 
And I am sure Willy does too. 

[eshorer]

If anyone wins week after week, he should handicap himself (like golf). The Track Mate allows this programing before the race.

Keith Tanaka has come up with a nice Handicap formula for our D3 Hardbody Racing (based on an average of one's "two highest lap totals") and you see the brightest smiles on the faces of the slower racers when they get their photos taken on the Handicap Podium. I'm sure it's a feature that keeps a number of them coming back.

Eddie

[NSwanberg]

If anyone wins week after week, he should handicap himself (like golf). The Track Mate allows this programing before the race.

 

The "spread" made the NFL.

[Clyde Romero]

I agree with that Clyde but don't tell us you are taking it easy on us ether.

 

That is almost as bad as beating us all the time, only different.

Eddie I hear you but when I race retro at the track I NEVER race my A Car 

I save those for when I am at other tracks and that’s the truth 

and the next time we race I will gladly show you the cars 

[Clyde Romero]

At Port Jeff, Doug and Chubby sometimes race with the reguar weekly Retro racers (Chubby is pretty good ).

 

However, their results do not count in the final standings, so nobody minds.

 

Cheers

Same here at Atlanta Slot Cars

we race but we pull ourselves out the formula for the series 

there is no upside to an owner beating his customers 

in fact I have given customers my cars to race In order for them to have a positive experience 

I will race to fill the field so to speak but that’s it 

I have even been called a SANDBAGGER since I will not race my fastest cars

so be it 

most of the time the word on the street is

lets go race and BEAT CLYDE !

i love it personally 
if I am the draw at my track 

I am good with it 

It’s just a great hobby among like minded people having fun 

and like I’ve always said

its the only place you can hit someone and the police don’t show up!

[Clyde Romero]

There's just no hope for an owner that is stupid!! I remember a track in Hemet  California--the owner actualy kept a particular compound of tires a secret  that worked best with his track combination and would NOT sell them to anyone but his family!!  Simply amaizing what some will do to win--at the expense of their livelyhood and facility!! 

Well before we bought our place the previous owner did the same thing 

he had a stash of tires that no one could get from a supplier that we knew nothing of

hence he was always faster 

it didn’t stop me from racing against him since he wasn’t very reliable on the track, even though he owned the place 

but the others who raced against him didn’t like it

whatever I have on my car is available to everyone walking through the door

controllers , bodies you name it

thats why we started the BOX STOCK Class 
it gives every racer the feeling that 

Hey I can win this thing if I stay on the track 
for the life of me I could never figure out why someone would cheat in slot car racing 

and I have been racing since the mid 60’s 

[tonyp]

Lots of cheating in my era as we pro raced for cash. I have walled my own team mate for that $150.00. Lol.


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[Pablo]

I'd sandbag my own mother for a trophy and $100     

 

[MattD]

Paul you probably blind those guys with those shorts!    That makes it easy to win.

[Phil Hackett]

Seriously, this is what it will take to make growth in the hobby:

 

1) a generational interest in cars. The last two generations have had a decreasing interest in cars in general. Demographics, people! This single factor overwhelems everything that follows.

 

2) a fairly high performance low-maintainence car (contradiction here).

 

3) cars that don't easily fall off and require replacement into the lanes. There is no patience from the public for this sort of thing.

 

4) an organized and united industry where the object is to grow the hobby and not to asause egos.

 

5) an industry-wide agreement that 1 (one) motor is the standard and that no modifications can be performed on it for competition (IRRA is partly right). Do as the RC industry did from the beginning and dictate that XYZ motor is the only acceptable motor permitted. The benefits of this are obvious.

 

6) cars that look like cars: even better cars that are recognizable to the non-automotive public.

 

#1 is something no one can change and is the biggest headwind to growth. #4 &#5 are possible but there is no real call for it, industry-wide. The entire industry needs to be involved and many egos need to be deflated to make such a thing work.

 

#2, #3 & #6 are possible but, again, this will require a change in mind-set for many. The fact that several track owners turn down power for the public shows that #3 is already done and demonstrably so.

 

So... there is no magic that's going to bring thousands (the industry probably couldn't handle more than 1500 new people) of new people into the hobby. It's going to be expensive to try and appeal to the general public. Our customer is of a certain age,  mind-set about automobiles and have a certain passiion for it.

 

I hate to repeat this but it has been said elsewhere in this thread.... when we're gone so is the hobby (reason #1 above)

[NSwanberg]

Lots of cheating in my era as we pro raced for cash. I have walled my own team mate for that $150.00. Lol.


 

 

"There are no aplogies in slot car racing. If there were we would all have to start with our wives."

[Clyde Romero]

Lots of cheating in my era as we pro raced for cash. I have walled my own team mate for that $150.00. Lol.


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Tony that was back then when $150 was a lot of money 

gas was $.25 a gallon 

there is no room for that behavior now a days 
 

[Clyde Romero]

Seriously, this is what it will take to make growth in the hobby:

 

1) a generational interest in cars. The last two generations have had a decreasing interest in cars in general. Demographics, people! This single factor overwhelems everything that follows.

 

2) a fairly high performance low-maintainence car (contradiction here).

 

3) cars that don't easily fall off and require replacement into the lanes. There is no patience from the public for this sort of thing.

 

4) an organized and united industry where the object is to grow the hobby and not to asause egos.

 

5) an industry-wide agreement that 1 (one) motor is the standard and that no modifications can be performed on it for competition (IRRA is partly right). Do as the RC industry did from the beginning and dictate that XYZ motor is the only acceptable motor permitted. The benefits of this are obvious.

 

6) cars that look like cars: even better cars that are recognizable to the non-automotive public.

 

#1 is something no one can change and is the biggest headwind to growth. #4 &#5 are possible but there is no real call for it, industry-wide. The entire industry needs to be involved and many egos need to be deflated to make such a thing work.

 

#2, #3 & #6 are possible but, again, this will require a change in mind-set for many. The fact that several track owners turn down power for the public shows that #3 is already done and demonstrably so.

 

So... there is no magic that's going to bring thousands (the industry probably couldn't handle more than 1500 new people) of new people into the hobby. It's going to be expensive to try and appeal to the general public. Our customer is of a certain age,  mind-set about automobiles and have a certain passiion for it.

 

I hate to repeat this but it has been said elsewhere in this thread.... when we're gone so is the hobby (reason #1 above)

I don’t think it will ever disappear 

but the cars have to start looking like cars

and that’s why we’ve gone back in time to the box stock class of racing

you are correct the average Gen XYZ kid has little interest in real cars let alone this hobby

its a small slice

but it’s all we have

remember they said that about computers back in the early 80’s

IBM said who would need one ?

now look at it

keep the conversation going

there is an answer put there

we just have to find it

[Michael Jr.]

Seriously, this is what it will take to make growth in the hobby:

 

1) a generational interest in cars. The last two generations have had a decreasing interest in cars in general. Demographics, people! This single factor overwhelems everything that follows.

 

2) a fairly high performance low-maintainence car (contradiction here).

 

3) cars that don't easily fall off and require replacement into the lanes. There is no patience from the public for this sort of thing.

 

6) cars that look like cars: even better cars that are recognizable to the non-automotive public.

 

 

 

Great post. To much to answer in one post but starting with the first is always the best place.

 

Once again, I tread into this knowing I have limited time in the hobby, limited experience in racing, and I am not even open yet but still putting tracks together and stock on the wall. So I speak as an under performing, uneducated, and inexperienced novice.   

 

Now to your point from the perspective of my little bitty foxhole.  There are already products available to do all the things you have listed that I included in your quote. There are cars that look good, have dedicated motors that can bring parity to racing, stay on the track at lower speeds, and last for a long time with the possible exception of replacing tires if you get the foam style. Which particular line of cars to choose isn't important because I'm not posting a commercial. But they are available and I am committing to some already for my own track for the reasons you have laid out.  Obviously that has been met with some public skepticism here on the blog. And that's fine because we are all just posting our thoughts. But the rationale behind the skepticism is symptomatic of the headwinds against the hobby. The reason for not moving in a direction any different than the one we are in now is because this is what we know, this is what we do well, we don't like change, and we've been doing this so long we can't imagine it any different way. So we lament that our hobby isn't as healthy as we want but we dig in and push back against most any idea that ventures outside of the lines we have drawn.  We don't want to be beginners again. But in this fast moving world where racing uses virtual drivers and live events are happening in front of empty stands, we need to become a little more diversified than we currently are. In my opinion...given my handicaps of naivety and inexperience, not to mention that I'm not even open yet.

 

There is a place for Slot cars. The old stuff has an active role but we have to start adjusting to a different style of racer if we want to do more than survive. We will always get enough to keep tracks open here or there. But if we want to grow we had better make the tent a little larger.  In my underqualified, inexperienced, non-networked, and yet to even open opinion.  Oh yeah....I've not even attended a Nats so you need to keep that in mind as you reflect on my post.