317 replies to this topic

[Clyde Romero]

 

Storytime: I opened totally ignorant of everything associate with slotcars. I had never owned one and didn't even know anyone that raced them. I wasn't aware there was the level or interconnection and organization I now know. I just thought they were neat, bought a track and opened the doors for people to come and play.  I opened in an old and mostly run down main street in Inman, SC. An old furniture store. And somehow we did pretty good. Lots of foot traffic and rentals.  Fast forward a couple of years.....storm hits, takes the ceiling off and my trioval is gone. I grab my hill climb and move to an old NAPA store on the MAIN road. HWY 176 across from BI-LO and next to everything Inman could offer. I had an elevated lighted roadside sign just like all the other big boy businesses.  My race traffic stayed up but I lost virtually ALL of my rental traffic. Rent went up, facility was newer, nicer, prettier and more visible but it was a stand alone building so cars just flew past. Lot's of visibility but no one just stopped by to see what it was all about.  Called up for military duty, track changes hands....some slot car shop drama followed and eventually the track comes back to me. Now I'm opening in a strip mall downtown. Next to a bar....food eating kind of bar and a Chinese buffet that's very popular and a pizza buffet with a huge game room that even includes bumper cars.  I have twice the square Ft I had and more track.  I'm not yet opened....so all this is qualified by that of course, but every time I'm there I have to stop working and give a tour or discuss with someone that's never seen it just how much fun slot car racing is. And I have more than a dozen that have all but tried to buy a car before I open.  

 

So location..... we can't open in a stand alone building. We have to share a parking lot with businesses people go to for other reasons. Then....they look in our window and the "WOW" can happen. 

 

We can't look like a garage inside. We have to be clean and well lighted. If people feel they are invading your personal space then there is some discomfort for most. Make it like a regular store feeling. Lots of great examples online to look at. Mine is still a mess so I'm not putting my own pictures up....since I'm not open and all.

 

Work with lighting and good light effects. It's not a disco but keep it from being boring too.

 

Have some masks on hand for those worried about germs and order one of the touchless thermometers to use. Preferably one you can mount and they just stand and it reads automatically.  Might as well make the adjustment to the new reality of germophobia. That's not a knock on anyone....it's just here and not going away.

 

Location, appearance, and amenities from bathroom to healthcare.  Diversify a little but don't forget you're a slot car shop. Hobby racers want a slot car shop to go to.

Please let me know when you open I will come and race 

I believe as a owner we must go to other tracks and support them if you are able to

[Clyde Romero]

Ok what’s the market in slot racing? 

 

That’s the underlining issue, 1500 racers in the lower 48 states at best?

 

Be realistic here because that’s what I feel the market was prior to the virus outbreak and the market is largely concentrated around large population centers like the west coast and east coast cities and the Midwest.

 

Thats it guys and girls that’s our market, and it’s shrinking because of the economy 

 

So what do you need to do ?

 

Yesterday we had 2 guys come in the track that were 50plus years old with their old stuff, controllers cars etc. I showed them that none of their stuff was applicable to what out there right now and the cost to bring it up to speed would exceed them buying one of our RTR Box stock cars which they both did and we RACED!

 

And you know what they had a blast and will be coming back and they will buy the latest and greatest stuff to have a positive experience on our track

 

But that’s not where the story starts, I asked them what brought you back to slot cars one guy said he was replacing an air filter in his house and the filters were by his old slot car stuff

and that caused him to get on line and find a nearby track and the rest is history. 

 

He brought his friend who was a car guy and had raced slot cars as well and these two live 45 minutes from our track 

 

Every slot car guy was a car guy at heart so I go to car shows with some slot cars and have cards with me and let them know the tracks are still around and both of these two new customers were and still are car guys.

 

For some of us 60 plus year old guys we started out with train sets and morphed into slot cars in the early 60’s 

 

No one does trains anymore so there is no lead in so to speak - your best marketing is going to car events with slot cars; thats my take on it anyway.

 

To date we have sold I believe around 17 RTR JK LMP cars to existing and new customers. We have found that the average racers no longer wants to go through the details of body mounting and all that goes with it they would rather just replace a motor and tires and gears and braid and race a car that looks like a real car. 

 

Granted it’s not as fast as a high down force GTP car with an super thin body and aluminum pans but you know what, they don’t seem to care; it’s all about having fun 

 

Clyde in Atlanta 

[MattD]

Clyde I think you are wrong about train interest.     I go to the local train swap meets (2), the local model car swap meets (2) and participate in the local slot car swap meet (1).     The train and model car swap meets have at least 4-5 times the amount of people coming thru the door and that is twice a year.    I know more train guys than slot car guys.     

 

The train hobby is facing the same issue as slot cars, it mainly only appeals to kids of the 60's and earlier, so the interest by young people is usually kids coming in with grandparents.   They are in the same situation as all the old "hands on hobbies".    Trains have been popular among all people since the 30's and 40's.   Slots were a craze/fad in the 60's and ran their course among that generation for 8-10 years.    Full service train shops are not plentiful, but probably still outnumber commercial slot tracks 5 to 1.

 

A lot of train guys (mostly 60 and older) don't want to admit they have  dying hobby, just like commercial slot racers.   They are just starting with bigger numbers.

 

Good luck to you and I do hope you can become a profitable and strong business.   

[Dave Crevie]

Model railroad participation way outnumbers slot racers. Just buy any model railroad magazine and look in the schedules section. There are many,

many conventions listed. How many major slot races are there each year?

[Clyde Romero]

Oh I am not going to argue you there but it’s not the same as slot car racing which is more dynamic in my opinion where I feel trains are a passive hobby where just one person can do it all not at all like slot cars, but that’s just me.

 

I morphed from trains to slot cars in the early 60’s, there is no hand eye coordination skill set as dynamic as slot car racing- and I am a retired airline pilot and fighter pilot so I have a good perspective on this skill set required.

 

In fact I am willing to bet that the majority of slot car racers would be excellent pilots if trained since they have the skill set to control an object that they are not directly connected to ! 

 

At speed no less; just think about that for a while.

[MG Brown]

In the world of model trains, slowly building up motion with the illusion of great inertia is a feature that many scale train enthusiasts look for- it makes their rolling stock appear more realistic.

 

How many slot car racers build their cars to start as slow as possible and take a long time to build up to top speed?

 

A BIG "thank you" to Clyde at ASCR for putting a slot racing class on his program that is about having fun and fellowship among racers. After we move later this year we will be ~ 4 hours from ASCR. We have friends and family in the Atlanta area so I bought an LMP car from ASCR to get on the fun when we visit.

We have friends that live in Acworth, GA that want to check out ASCR- they don't know anything about scale racing but are "active people" who thought that the competition aspect of it "sounded fun". I'll build them a couple of cars to the JK Box Stock LMP rules and when we are in the area, I'll invite them to come out and "play", if they have fun they might race that evening, who knows?

 

IMO, one of the biggest problems that people like our friends living in Acworth face is that many adults these days have very little free time. Outdoor activities, family gatherings, trips, jobs, etc. take up nearly all of our free time. Seldom is there time left over for hobbies- and certainly no time for craft-type building and painting and tuning and so forth. It's rare that a couple can afford to spend hours at the raceway- that's why the "box stock" racing formula might work for people like this. It's certainly worth a try.

 

Maybe Clyde can coax Greg into setting down the iPad and putting a controller in his hand?

 

Also ASCR is a very welcoming place- I've been there several times both under the former and current ownership. It has a club-like feel to it that I feel at home in. This is a plus for people who are new or returning I believe.

[Revtor]

That the model train hobby is done at home is exactly why there are more numbers.

 

There are probably more guys into HO than 1/24th because you can do it at home and can do it as a collector hobby as well.

 

All shops should push HO a bit since that can keep people engaged at home, and hungry to run their bigger cars.

 

There are lots of repair and hop up parts to offer for sale for all brands and levels of HO slots, plus the pure collector side of it.

[Michael Jr.]

I read a lot of logical wrangling putting together some sort of profile for the train enthusiast and the car racer. The part we seem to leave on the table is the imagination of the hobbiest and their awe of the machine. As a kid....trains were something I and many of my peers just watched in awe.  TV shows featured trains....Petticoat Junction, Wild Wild West, and on Sunday I watched the Tweetsie Railroad and went there on vacation. We loved big 18 wheel trucks and used to try to get the drivers to blow their horns. We knew cars at night by the shape of headlights. And big block engines sounded like space ships to us with that monstrous growl. We were filled with awe at these machines. They were big and powerful and we couldn't wait to be old enough to get one. And I miss those days to be honest. I want to still be awe of something.

 

Today, Trains are considered a nuisance. Flying is routine. Cars are just flat boring as heck. We can't depend on an interest in cars to bring people in. 

People still drive cars. Human nature is still basically competitive.... but this young generation doesn't take losing well at all. Everybody gets a trophy for participating. When they started giving certificates for graduating Daycare I knew we were in trouble.

 

People want to belong but not be committed. They want you to know who they are but not question anything about how often they race, how well they do, or anything about their life. They fear being judged and compare themselves to everything and everybody.

 

And they aren't in awe of anything. They can have everything and now with a 3D printer....they literally can make just about anything themselves.

 

So here we are with our little clear plastic cars and wood tracks. It's more than that to us because we, or at least I am in awe of these tracks and the driving of slot cars on those tracks.  Size impresses those that come in....but the window of opportunity is small and quick.  We have to learn to strike while the iron is hot. When they come in and take our little tour, we need to do something to make them imagine themselves with a car in their hand.  We don't need to sell the hobby, we need to help them imagine themselves with a this hobby.

 

In the 60s, having a place with big tracks that everyone wanted to go to play was the attraction in itself. Now we can get a season pass for Carowinds cheaper than a slot car so we can't expect folks to come just because we exist. We gotta get personal. I've mentioned before we aren't gonna draw them to the Slot Car racing organization, but we can bring them in by personal connections. Not a TV add.... not a billboard (as cool as that would be to see), but by walking them in and talking to them. Make them feel important. Share the awe we feel and maybe it will be contagious.

[Clyde Romero]

MG

you are correct it has to be fun

because if its not fun then why do it

that's what makes the BOX STOCK CLASS easy 

because its fun

 

if you've ever raced with me at a big retro race 

i have them laughing 

when I walk in the door at these big races i am usually the only minority there

and i say well "the Irish guy is here" 

because  even though the retro crowd is serious 

i get them to loosen up a bit

remember its grown men racing small electric cars! 

and its the only place I know where you can hit someone and not call the POLICE!

I am always in the Z main in every class

but you know what ?

I am having a blast with guys my age 

I had a track owner at the last fall brawl tell me while we were racing in the Z main F-1 

he wishes he had 2 of me at his track making guys laugh 

 

if you don't have a smile on your face while your racing 

you need to do something else

because a customer watching will notice the non verbal body language

forget about someone cursing or throwing a car against the wall 

that's for GOLF!

 

 

 

[eshorer]

The recent discussion reminds me of one of the major concepts we covered in popular culture studies. Hey, I wanted to study something fun! Anyway, it's a simple idea that makes plenty of sense: Convention vs Invention. In order for something to be popular, and remain popular, it must have a fine balance of both components. The conventional is familiar and makes us feel comfortable. The inventional is new, attractive, and catches our eye and mind's attention. If it is too conventional, or if there is little change, we eventually get bored. If it is too inventional, it can just seem too weird or odd, and we'll want no part of it. The needle keeps moving between these two, and there will always be a few fans on the extreme edges. But for it to become firmly established in our popular culture (and in this day and age that means it's making money), it must be fluid, and change enough to keep our interest, without getting too "out there." 

The economics are a whole other issue, of course, but I do think the above figures into making a successful slot car shop: Catch the interest of the customers with your product, and make it accessible. 

Something like that.

Eddie

[Ross Fox]

In my post a couple of months ago, I mentioned that most people, especially the younger generation, are not interested that much in building anything, or for that matter understanding how it works. They only want to have fun with what is already pre-built, either by a company, or by someone that knows how to build it for them. I, and several others were pioneers in radio control helicopters. The manufactured kits for rc choppers were mostly hit and miss in those days, (late 70's early 80's) and to actually even get one to hover took a lot of practice, and constant working on the chopper and trying new things with it's construction. So consequently, very few were interested in pursuing it. Most of the guys that got into rc choppers were full scale chopper pilots or fixed wing, at least in my area. So, in my mind to find the best recruits for this hobby, is to go where car guys work - that being car garages, car dealerships, and better yet - the local full scale racetrack or drag strip. Here you will find mechanics, and many of these guys might really like trying out slot cars. Heck, many of them might wish they could own a full scale race car, but cannot because of the cost. Maybe a handful of flyers taken in and given to the owner or manager of a garage or dealership might get a couple of mechanics interested. And the owner or manager would not consider that as a threat or competition to his business. I race at Atlanta Slot Car Raceway, and they now have box stock races and I think they are a big hit with all of the racers. These box stock cars are fast enough to be fun to race, even for the seasoned hammer heads. I certainly want to see the flexi's continued to be raced, even though the races are probably going to be won by those guys that have been racing for quite a while, and know how to really make a car fast, and know how to squeeze the controller. That in itself, makes it a goal for me to get there, and be competitive in those really fast classes. So maybe, just maybe, taking your product (slot racing) to the most likely consumer, would be to go to where real car guys work, or race full size cars. A couple of hundred flyers can be printed for very little on anyone's printer, and driving around and delivering a small amount to bigger garages, dealerships, etc., might just get some interested. Even one guy getting involved - he would tell his buddies to give it a try. And I agree with all that a well run track, with helpful and friendly owners, and plenty of eye candy to purchase, is key to making a track a desirable place to go. As Clyde Romero said, if you aren't laughing, you aren't having fun. Clyde's funny comments during a race make the race a fun experience. I owned a 5000 sq ft bike store years ago, and it was very successful. We had an eye pleasing store, with friendly and helpful staff, and a good selection of bikes and accessories. We took flyers to several different locations when we first opened, and at the end of the first year in business we had 60 riders showing up at our store every Tuesday evenings for a ride. Needless to say, those 60 came into the store to buy something before the ride, and many upgraded to high end bikes before long. I haven't visited other tracks yet, so I cannot comment on what I would find. I do think however that Atlanta Slot Car Raceway is a pretty good example of how to run a track. Just saying! 

[jimht]

If you want a slot car club, promote building/buying cars and racing.

 

If you want a slot car business, make it easy for people to play and have fun with slot cars without getting into "the hobby".

[Michael Jr.]

Sometimes I have to sit back and notice that this hobby basically takes care of itself. We strategize and theorize about everything from what classes to race to sociology and whether we should have birthday parties or race series. And despite all of that, we see new raceways emerging and celebrate the success and expansion of tracks like Mid America  who is moving to a larger facility and no doubt will expand their reach and operations and the new track in Southern California that has the USRA races awarded before they even set up their tracks (apparently). This hobby won't die because we can't kill it. Slot Car racing really isn't about me as a track owner and sometimes it seems to depend less on a particular place or high profile competitors. This hobby is attractive to a lot of people and will keep on being attractive to a lot of people. As the immortal gods of the NFL and NASCAR fall the Slot Car world is as healthy as we have been and in some respects, no worse for the wear even after being required to shut down for this virus.  Slot Cars are resilient. Maybe "flexi" is a good metaphor for the hobby as a whole. It can take a beating, it absorbs bad economies, tracks that open and close, large wholesale suppliers that decide to quit....and going back to the golden age (as many see it) the American Slot Car hobby walked through the end of it's only real track manufacturer.  And we get on here and wonder if a wing car race will kill the hobby. No.... we might do some things right and a lot of things wrong but people are gonna race their slot cars with us or despite us. Maybe not 100 a day, and owning a track won't make you rich. But we just can't seem to kill it. It's a small hobby or niche in America, but it is an enduring and strong one. I mean..... we are in a time when I just watched a corn hole competition on TV. Throwing bean bags through a hole in a piece of plywood with announcers and team shirts. ...And it was on TV. 

So be optimistic. We have more to celebrate than US Soccer, the NFL, NASCAR and a whole bunch of other sporting industries that have folks swearing they will never participate again. Maybe they will all come and race Slot Cars to fill that void?  Just keep it in the slot guys. The cars will do the rest.

[nomad2race]

Maybe this will help, especially in these lockdown times.  We are promoting this event broadly to Model Builders R/C guys, drag car enthusiasts and ads on the NHRA website.

 

https://www.nomadrac...orld-challenge/

[mgerbetz]

Exposure! I love it. Great!
MG

[Bearsgsxr]

Some will take offense to this but this is my own opinion from my own experiences.
Short answer, drop the arrogance and be willing to help and teach.

[Alchemist]

I had hoped that with the advent of the Electric car (Tesla - Porsche - Jaguar - VW etc.,) it would reignite the interest in our hobby of slot cars.

 

I'm still hoping and waiting!

 

Ernie

[MattD]

There is still more to say on this subject?   Kind of like that bunny that just keeps on going.