Electron Raceway hosted an Early Modified and Mixed True Scale race on 5/3/21. Although the track has been in place for nearly fifteen years, it has been dark for more than a year due to the Covid pandemic. The grand “reopening” event was held just two weeks ago and racers had a blast. After a long hiatus, racers were a bit rusty and the previous event was peppered by more offs than would normally be expected but as the evening wore on the old hands began to get comfortable with the track once again. For the latest event, eight slot heads showed up to race.
Electron Raceway is a custom designed and constructed, wood routed track. The following is a brief list of specifications
• Track Footprint 24x18 feet
• Track Surface MDF finished with epoxy paint
• Number of lanes - 4
• Lane Spacing 4.5 inches
• Lane length 90 feet
• Minimum turn radius 12 inches
• Braid Traditional (non-magnetic)
• Track Power Rivergate 13.6 volt, 70 amp power supply
• Crash walls hardboard softened with rubber wall base molding
• Timing and Scoring Trackmate
Track construction began in the spring of 2006. I completed all of the work myself using only some simple hand tools and power tools. There was no need to rush the project. My slot racing needs were being met by another local track, Spare Time Raceway (STR) where I could race on a weekly basis. After about seven months of part time work, Electron Raceway was completed in August of 2006. Below is an image of the track
Early Modified
This class is a blast to run and the cars are very light and quick. I have decided that we will begin a four race series for Early Modifieds beginning on 5/17/21. The guys seemed excited to be running a relatively new class on a familiar track. Below is a summary of the latest race.
There were two new cars in the field for the latest race; Bob’s early Ford Victoria and Mark’s 37 Ford. Both cars looked great. The fight for the top step of the podium was between Rich’s 32 Ford and Bob’s “Vicky”.
Bob and Rich battled for supremacy in heats #1 and #2, neither with any clear advantage. At the end of heat #2 only a section separated the two competitors. Both had a couple of issues in their third heat; a couple of unforced errors and an errant car blocking a lane. Entering the final heat of the race, Rich was ahead of Bob by about a half of a lap. Bob pushed his “Vicky” and began to close the gap a bit. About halfway through the heat Bob made an unforced error taking the pressure off. In the end, it was Rich and Bob for first and second respectively, only about a half of a lap separating the two competitors.
Meanwhile the bottom step of the podium was being hotly contested by Ron and Joe (the third and fourth seeds respectively). As the third seed, Joe began the race on the white lane and turned a respectable 19.9 laps. Then he sat out for the next four heats. Ron entered the race on his nemesis lane, red in heat #5 completing 17.9 laps, a deficit of nearly two laps compared to Joe. The pair met head to head for the final three heats (#6 - #8). Ron erased the deficit in heat #6 and went on to add a half lap cushion in both heat #7 and #8 securing third place.
Mixed Race
For the mixed race, I allowed the racers to select any “True Scale” car with the exception of GT1. Even so, three of the less experienced racers selected OSCAR spec cars. The OSCAR spec cars with their sophisticated hinged chassis and small diameter wheels have a definite advantage over the production chassis True Scale cars with larger (scale) wheels.
Two new rides appeared in the race; Rich’s 1/20 scale Cobra Daytona and Ron’s 1/24 scale Corvair. Ron’s Corvair was mounted on a 2NASTE chassis while Rich’s Daytona was mounted on a Scholer chassis with a 2NASTE front end. Ron’s Corvair suffered from some chattering in the corners and still needs some sorting out. Rich’s Daytona is an original resin cast reinforced with carbon fiber (see one of the final images below). The car is taller and heavier than the typical True Scale car and as such at somewhat of a disadvantage. Editor’s note: The Cobra Daytona will be a replica of the car that ran under the Ford France livery at Nurburgring in 1965. Rich did not have time to finish the striping (see the final image below for an image of the Nurburgring car).
The battle for podium positions was between Bob, Joe and Rich (the top three seeds in the race). In heat #1 Bob took the early lead over Joe and Rich by about a half lap and expanded that lead to a full lap over Rich in heat #2. Entering the final heat, Rich was really out of contention for the top two steps of the podium, behind the leaders by some two laps but well in control of the bottom step of the podium. However, the battle for the top spot was hotly contested by Bob and Joe. Entering the final heat, Joe was a bit more than a half lap behind Bob. Joe immediately began closing the gap on Bob and as the heat wore on, Joe continued to chip away at Bob’s lead. In the end only a few inches separated the two competitors with Bob coming out on top (see image below for the gap between cars).
