390 replies to this topic

[Brian Czeiner]

Can you imagine the four inside lanes running the road course while the outside lanes run the tri-oval?  Stagger the rotation between the two. What a race that would be! 

[Danny Zona]

Can you imagine the four inside lanes running the road course while the outside lanes run the tri-oval?  Stagger the rotation between the two. What a race that would be!

When it was my home track we would do four lanes on the oval and four on the infield.

You would definitely have to look ahead when the car on blue lane came on to the oval. Especially when racing FCR cars.

[Eddie Fleming]

Can you imagine the four inside lanes running the road course while the outside lanes run the tri-oval?  Stagger the rotation between the two. What a race that would be! 

I can imagine my old brain running the the outside for a heat or two then switching to the inside. How many times am I going to forget the turn into the infield. 

[Dave Crevie]

Can you imagine the four inside lanes running the road course while the outside lanes run the tri-oval?  Stagger the rotation between the two. What a race that would be! 

 

With a club I belonged to, we would run every other lane in the opposite direction. Two lanes clockwise, and two lanes anti-clockwise.  Fortunately, we agreed before hand to only run junk cars. Only a club that would run trailer races would do something like that. 

[Bill from NH]

Dave, when we had a local raceway, it held an annual "Valentine Massacre" race on the trioval. It had every other of the 8 lanes running in the opposite direction. It was a time when everyone ran something out of their junk box. As I recall, a Flexi 2 with a hot wing was one of the better chassis to run. This race was often video taped. One year my son was the star when a car flew off the track & hit him in the family jewels while marshalling.

[Clyde Romero]

Leaving for the Fall Brawl next Tuesday

looking forward to seeing some old friends and hopefully making some new ones

it's always a good time at Speed Zone with some of the fastest Retro Racers in the Nation

some of them that will be at this race have just come back from the Worlds in Atlantic City

speaking of which where can you find the results for this event?

Anyway, hoping for a better finish in all the classes than last year

although I came in 2nd in the handout motor race last year which was a lot of fun

 

 

will try to take some pictures of the racers and their boxes like I did last year. 

it's almost at the end of the racing season for the majority of us.

stay healthy and safe out there.

 

Clyde

[JerseyJohn]

Clyde looking forward to seeing you. I have something VERY nice for you.

[Clyde Romero]

Just got back from the Fall Brawl

it was outstanding

very well attended

lots of great racing 

 

 

Pat Skeggs Ralph Griffin Gary Clinton Sr and Jr and  Bob Woody Hazelwood

I was in the back room with some great guys here

 

 

here is a picture of the beautiful flat track

if you have never been to this event it's a must

I wish I had taken more pictures but I was very busy

that's about it for me this year

where did this year go?

be safe out there

get your flu shot 

have a great holiday season

see you at the track

 

Clyde 

[Clyde Romero]

A final word on the recent fall brawl

a Big thanks to NOOSE who

tirelessly does an outstanding job with tech and keeping the race on time

it's a difficult job at best and he does it like no other

thanks NOOSE!

[kustomfab1]

Very nice to meet you Clyde! I will get going on a fan for you this weekend! Take care my friend!

Chance Overholt


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[Clyde Romero]

Very nice to meet you Clyde! I will get going on a fan for you this weekend! Take care my friend!

Chance Overholt


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Same here you have some wicked fast cars! and you slot car boxes are the Rolls Royce of slot car boxes !

 

Clyde 

[MG Brown]

I am sorry that I missed brother Clyde's departure from the Flexi Race at The Raceway Cleveland. I was probably absorbed getting ready for the GRC race.

I want to say that I appreciate the work that he has put in organizing this series. I have been in his shoes in the past and can say that series organising is a largely thankless task.

 

We had a lot of fun today and it was a good turnout for a fall day with nice weather.

 

Thanks also to raceway owner Bill Pinch for hosting the event in his world-class facility and Judi Pinch for providing us all lunch (it hit the spot).

 

I'm sure there is a thread about the next series race at Atlanta Slot Car Raceway December 16th- try to attend if you can! Great racing action and fellowship among racers! 

[Clyde Romero]

Well, a new slot car racing year is upon us.

The big news seems to be brushless motors!

This seems appears to raise some serious questions since there are so many variants of these motors and you can rewind them!

It's almost like the 60's again.

So, I put this question out to those who read my post.

What's you're feeling on these new motors? 

Does it present a new class of racing? or is it a fad?

The cost factor is definitely an issue with these motors as well.

Pipe up guys, our hobby has never been one to stand on the side lines and not take an issue on motors siting down.  

[Clyde Romero]

This statement came from a study on longevity

Having a hobby, or an activity we engage in during our time off for pleasure, has been linked to fewer symptoms of depression and higher levels of happiness, life satisfaction and even reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.
Saunders, the time-management coach in Michigan, generally recommends people set aside roughly two hours for hobbies on the weekend.
Don't worry if you're not, say, a dedicated baker, painter or pianist. Hobbies can encompass much more than we might typically consider, says Daisy Fancourt, a professor of psychobiology and epidemiology at University College London who researches the link between social and behavioral factors and health.
Something as simple as reading a book or cooking a tasty meal can serve the same purpose: to give us a sense of happiness, meaning and control in our lives outside of work.

[Clyde Romero]

I will be the first one to admit I am just ok in slot car racing
I do it mostly because it takes me back to a simpler time in mid to late 60s even thought I had Vietnam staring me and others in the face and I came back.
I came upon this article about Einstein, it was refreshing to say the least
One the greatest minds of all time
So here is an excerpt from the article which keeps me going in this hobby of ours!


Rule #2: Do things you love, even if youre terrible at them.

While many of Einsteins passions extended far beyond physics including a love of baked goods and a penchant for playing the violin perhaps the one he enjoyed the most was sailing. As Einstein wrote, A cruise in the sea is an excellent opportunity for maximum calm and reflection on ideas from a different perspective. His second wife (and cousin), Elsa, added that There is no other place where my husband is so relaxed, sweet, serene, and detached from routine distractions; the ship carries him far away. By focusing on something mundane, Einsteins mind was free to wander, frequently leading him to exciting new ideas.

Einstein, however, was completely inept at sailing, and was at best a wildly inattentive sailor. He would frequently lose his direction, run his boat aground, or have his mast fall. Other sailing vessels frequently had to beware of Einsteins ship, as he was a hazard to himself and others, refusing to wear a life vest despite being unable to swim. Boaters and even children routinely rescued him, and having his boat towed back to shore was a frequent occurrence. But the serenity Einstein experienced while sailing was unparalleled, giving him a mental freedom that we should all aspire to for ourselves.
____________________________________________________________________________________

So ponder this gentleman if one of the most intelligent men in our lifetime can have issues with a hobby, where are you in this equation we call life?

Have fun with it knowing that you cant make the dreaded A main or TQ at a race, thats what I do.
Heck I usually pull off a win in concourse at the Fall Brawl, not this time, I did podium and you know what that was good enough for me!
I showed up and that what counts!
In fact myself and several others are going out west again in April to the retro race to get crushed by the locals out there.
Heck just getting through LAX airport and getting the rental car should count for something!
And did I mention traffic?
For me its a chance to meet and race against those who have a similar love for this narrow spectrum of a hobby called slot car racing.
See you at the track guys!


Clyde

[Dave Crevie]

I believe I have read that same piece. Is it from an older publication, maybe from the late 1980's? In any event, what I took from it helped me make some important decisions some time later on. 

 

When I was choosing a career path, someone I well respected told me, " Choose a job you really enjoy and you will never work a day in your life." 

 

After my stint of restoring old trains, I was unemployed. I could have done that forever if federal laws, and elimination of federal grants, didn't put an end to it. I would have loved to work for an automotive restoration shop, but the pay just wasn't good enough at that time. I was thrust into a job I would never have chosen, but it led to being a toolmaker, and I found that fun enough to stay with it. That led to tool design, and new product design. Manufacturing process development, and a slew of offshoot projects followed. And I never suffered the drudgery of a mundane job. 

 

I find the stories of ol' Albert and sailing eminently amusing. I too have an affection for sailing. But I just never found the time to get into it, just as I missed out on flying. I almost bought a sailboat, a Grampian sloop. I was at a point where I thought I needed a diversion from life. But just when I was finalizing the sale, my father died and it became my responsibility to handle everything involved with that. There are seamen in my family history, and as a teen I had a friend who's family had a sailboat. Certainly a mood modifier.   

[MG Brown]

There is nothing quite like the fellowship and camaraderie among racers of any type. I have to believe that it is similar to the fellowship that military pilots have for each other.

 

I haven't had the results that I have had in the past because of many factors, but that doesn't mean that I am about to or ready to quit.

I don't fully understand the mentality of some people that if they can't win, they don't make the effort to be the best that they can be.

It takes time to develop your skills and your "race craft". Even World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi did not win the Indy "500" his first try.

 

Heck if I have to just show up to help with race directing, I'll do that.

 

[Clyde Romero]

well most of the guys at my track are 60's plus in age

we have one guy who is 82!

so we got together and decided to start a vintage racing series

cars have to be pre 1970

our first race will be Feb 24

looks like its going to be fun getting in the way back machine and racing what we all started back in the 60's

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mjsh]

"Modern copies"   of chassis  defeats the entire  purpose of the race.  A jaildoor built this week verses a sixty year old Manta Ray 36D sidewinder.

[Clyde Romero]

Agreed but no one is going to be doing that in our series 

the intent is clear 

[Tom Thumb Hobbies]

Dang it Clyde. You need to move up here. I’d love to race vintage. Great times.


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[Clyde Romero]

I think its going to be a lot fun 

no pressure 

just good times

 

I miss racing at your track

hope you and the wife are doing well.

 

Clyde 

[Clyde Romero]

Well, if you've been following it a lot of discussion on body thickness in the retro racing world concerning stock cars.

It got real deep with discussion about where and how to measure the thickness of the body.

And you know here's the funny or sad part of this, everyone who races stock cars knows who makes the thin bodies, so why go there!

As far as I am concerned, and I love Retro, the racers that go out of their way to find the loopholes in any of the classes we race are just watering down the hobby.

And you have to ask yourself why? 

I mean let's be totally realistic here, for the most part the majority of the racers are grown men. 

So, ask yourself this, is this the way grown men should act with regards to a hobby?

At the end of the day, if you have won a class of racing by capitalizing on a loophole or getting away with something that the tech guy missed, who have you really beat?

Just think about that for a while. 

IRRA put a lot of work into the rule set. 

Racers should do their level best stay well within the rule set.

 

Off Soap Box! 

 

Clyde Romero 

 

 

 

 

[Danny Zona]

It's definitely easy to order thin stockcar bodies.

With the new rule update racers don't have to worry about keeping up with the Jonses anymore.

[John Luongo]

years ago racing 4.5 flexi stock cars on a tri-oval, those thin <.010 bodies wouldnt last 2 races and did little to protect those flimsy flexi chassis we used. some guys would double up the bodies just to protect the chassis. switching to .040 bodies cured that problem the cars were more durable then, chassis and bodies would last a whole series. of course, what little handling the cars had went away with the heavy .040 bodies. tech involved sliding the car up to a measured front bumper height gage and a roof height wire gage on the tech block. simple and quick. still, those .040 bodies would be a price alternative to using plastic model car bodies. wish they were still available. best regards