When racing on this 6' X 18' I did not ever feel disconnected from my car. I guess this was because I could see my car 100% of the time unlike the "The Lunacy". For me the track flowed nicely. There were technical sections on the track but the large banked horseshoe part of the track followed by a long straight gave you just enough of a breather and just enough time for you to let your guard down before hitting the toughest technical aspect of the track.

The technical sections are shown below...

Given the layout of this track and the arrangement of the driving stations all of the marshals were on the opposite side of the table and the two ends of the table. From a drivers standpoint the marshals were never blocking the drivers view of the track. The one issue I saw given the 6' width of the table was trying to  marshal the inside straight the middle third of the track... for the taller guy no problem, but for us shorter guys it was a stretch... pun intended  :-)  ! 

About half way through the race I noticed the following

• I tuned out the outside conversation
• I reviewed the settings on my controller
• I reviewed the track the technical sections in particular just before the race started which seem to help.
  • where to go slow
  • where to go wide open
  • where to go medium
  • From the start it was fast then slow and careful, then medium and careful and then back to fast

I wrote an article on concentration you can see it here. Take a look at the video below and notice the concentration you see of the racers.

Finally, below is a video of the Fray T-Jet racing action of the day... Enjoy!!!

Had another great day with these guys!!! Hope you all have your great days also. Make it happen if you can and go racing!!!  :-) 

Here's the M.A.S.C.A.R Official Race Report

Greg Wisniewski is a great guy and an ambassador of this hobby in his own right. For the last several years he has freely shared his knowledge of building and racing which has helped me model and cast better car bodies. He has never asked for anything in return.

I asked Greg if he would be interested in a set of the truck bodies to run in the IROC race at the ECHORR Challenge. It was my way of returning the favor and saying thanks... He said he would need to check with his team and he would get back to me. Long story short they said yes.

I was excited to be a part of the ECHORR Challenge even if I could not actually be there. I really didn't care if anyone else knew, I would know and that's all that mattered. I started working to that goal I had to push now because I knew I had to get the truck bodies to Greg in time for him to mount them on the chassis and dial them in. I mailed him the bodies around the middle of September. I had hoped that he would like what I sent him. I think he did by his reaction. :-)   I also think the 515 team and the guys that attended The ECHORR Challenge this year did too. :-)  I had hoped that they would run well with the Dash IROC chassis that Greg was prepping for The Challenge's IROC race. From everyone's reaction Greg did an outstanding job on the chassis prep. We had kept it quiet and I told him that he would be the one to spill the beans about the trucks going to The 2017 ECHORR. He took them to a couple of races before The Challenge and put them through the paces so they would be right for The ECHORR Challenge.

He had shared the trucks with the 515 team and I guess they decided to make me an honorary member of this years team. He had posted it on one of the Facebook groups. I thought it was a very nice gesture and I was very happy to be a part of this year's ECHORR Challenge! There is a great amount of enjoyment and satisfaction that people like and appreciate your work.  Life was good!!

Below is a picture of the 515 Team. From left to right Don Auriema, John Weaver, Greg Wisniewski, Peter Lentros, Dave (Flash) Kaiser, and Steve Nilsen.

Then I got this mail call this weekend see below

When the plaque showed up in the mail I was completely blown away!!! It was the last thing that I expected to receive in the mail. On the back of the plaque are the names of the team members and my name was included. Life is better than Good!!!

So, to Team 515 I thank each of you for allowing me to be a member of your team!! You all are truly a great group of guys and more important you exemplify what this hobby is all about!!!

Thanks guys and thank you Greg.  Tom Hobgood  :-) 

The Coasting Factor

I got there when the doors opened at 8:00 am. Racing started at 10:00 or 10:30... I figured I needed all the practice I could get given it was my first time on the track. I figured I could maybe place somewhere around two thirds down the roster, anyway that was my goal. Well, after about 20 minutes of practice that goal changed to... "My goal for the day was just to keep the car in the slot!". While practicing Lewis the owner of the track made the comment that he used a lot of "Coast"... I responded that I normally used braking. Anyway after another 20 minutes of frustration it hit me... If the owner of the track uses a lot a coast there just might be something to that statement. Some of us are slower learners than others... so I started playing with Coast on the controller. It helped but It took me a while to get it dialed in. If you look at the track 3 of the 4 corners are pretty tight and then there are the esses. If you were on the inside lane of one of those corners you just about had to coast through them. The catch to the adjustment was finding the right setting that would help you out in the 4 places you really needed coast on the track.

The Marshal Factor

Given the layout of the track and the arrangement of the driving stations all at one end of the track, at times, the marshals while doing their job caused the drivers to loose sight of their cars and for me it was every time my car was in one of those "coasting" corners so I was driving blind. Of course given my performance one could say I was driving blind all day. On the flip side of the coin the marshals on each side of the table had to really be on their toes. While not marshaling a car you had to take a step back from the table so the drivers could see their car and when a car de-slotted in the coverage area you had to step up quickly and get the car back in the slot and the step back. Things really got hairy when more than one car de-slotted at the same time. Whether you were driving or marshaling you had to be on your toes and pay close attention.

The Shoe Factor

When the other racers starting showing up I kept my eye on them as to what they were working on with respect to their cars. The overwhelming majority were concentrating on the pick-up shoes. It wasn't arms, magnets, wheels tires it was the pick-up shoes. Ray Etheridge, Rick Phillis, and others were working on making sure that they maximized the surface contact between the shoe and rails in order to maximize the current flow. They did this by sanding them flat. In talking with Ray, once he has a shoe flat he does NOT touch it not even to polish it with a dremel. Another thing I noticed that Rick Phillis did was polish the pickup shoe hangers to make sure he maximized the current flow between the pickup shoe and shoe hanger. He used a thin strip of fine grit paper and pulled it through the shoe hanger. (I will touch on this later when I get the materials and try it out myself). The picture below is of Ray checking the surface contact of the pickup shoes.

The Connection Factor

The last thing that I noticed was when my car was at the far end of the table I did not feel connected to it I lost the feel of the car. My friend, Joe Colburn, made mention of this. As soon as he did I realized he was correct I did loose the feel of the car or the connection. With larger tracks I guess this happens when you don't run on them regularly. There was one corner in particular that it would go under the tunnel and then make a sharp u-turn and you would loose sight of the car completely when it went in the tunnel and did not see it again until you had made the turn and it was coming back towards you. This connectivity got better as the day progressed but It was something that I had not expected.

Other Nuggets of Gold

• The M.A.S.C.A.R. group are a welcoming group of good people!! If you have a chance to race with these guys DO IT!!!
• Tom Bowman runs Dash armatures in Aurora chassis in the Beach Jet class as is (not balanced). He is an ambassador of this hobby!
• Rick Phillis while racing does not take his eyes off his car... he concentrates on his car. He is the example of concentration while racing. He also concentrates on the race when it's his turn to marshal. He is also an ambassador for this hobby!!!
• Vernon Dew shows up with the smallest pit box I have ever seen... It holds one car and maybe a controller and he is competitive... what this says to me is the driver is still a major factor in the equation... it is not all the equipment...  :-)

I had a great day of racing with the M.A.S.C.A.R group!!! Thanks Guys!!! :-) If you're interested here's the link to the M.A.S.C.A.R Official Race Report.

​Below are two videos of the racing. The first video is of the Magnatraction racing and the second is of the Beach Jet racing (T-Jets)

There were 12 racers. I finished 12th... I was the 12th runner up! :-) I had a great day, I learned a few things that will make me better and I met some great people so I had a winning day!! If you have an opportunity to go to a race take it and have your winning day!!!

There are times in a race when you are challenging an opponent that might have a slightly faster car and/or might demonstrate a slightly better skill set with respect to racing. Do not throw in the towel... there just might be a way or a racing strategy that will help you to place ahead of this competitor. You might want to use a "Press and Pass" strategy.

This is a very simple strategy that can work very well for you during the race. The crux of this strategy is to put pressure on your opponent by hanging just behind them on the track (do not pass them just hang close) in hopes of forcing them to make a mistake. The mistake usually occurs in the corner or curves where they will go into the curve too fast, de-slot, and fly off the track. If you have backed off of your pressing just before the curve, they will fly off the track and you will navigate the curve safely and pass them by. By the time they have their car back on the track you have gained half a lap on them. By practicing this little strategy you will find out the best places or scenarios on the track to use it. Good luck and happy racing. 

This article is about some slot car racing basics. This is not all inclusive, but, it should help beginners to get started and help refresh those of you that are experienced.

Keeping the car in the slot is probably the best thing you can do. Your saying "Really, That's a No Brainer", but it can be harder than you think. Ideally you would like to drive the car to it's limits on all parts of the track, until your skill set reaches that level, try driving just below the limit of the car and just try to keep the car in the slot. Think about it... every time you de-slot it will take 3 seconds or more to get the car back in the slot. This adds up over the length of the race. New racers will try to keep up with a faster car. A lot of times this will cause them to come off the track because they are driving beyond the limits of the car and/or themselves. They will eventually lose to the faster racer. At the same time they will also lose laps to other racers performing equally with them just because their competitors are staying on the track.

When practicing before the race, practice on all lanes. I find it particularly helpful to practice a little more on the inner lane because it helps me navigate the tighter turns. This practicing helps me to identify the challenging spots on the track as well as get a rhythm going. Also, during your practice, press yourself and your car. See how far you can drive your car into the corner also see how deep you can start your acceleration out of the corner. See if you can find a buddy and practice a few laps with them where each of you lead and trail the other to help get a feel for the track.

Match the controller up with car and track. You would like a smooth driving style around the track. Your goal is to have a smooth trigger finger especially in the curves. You should not have a twitchy trigger finger. If you have a twitch trigger finger you probably need a higher ohm controller. This smoothness will help you keep the car in the slot. For additional information on controllers check here.

Clean your tires between each heat. You can use a roll of masking tape pulled back to expose the adhesive side of the tape. Then take the car and roll the tires over the adhesive. This will clean the tires and help maintain the performance in the next heat.

Clean your pick-up shoes between each heat. This helps to maximize the flow of current from the track rail to the shoe. Some people use a cordless Dremel tool with a polishing wheel attached. If not that you can use an abrasive eraser, or you can use a 12,000 grit polishing cloth.

If you can master these basics, I think you will be surprised and happy with your racing results. :-) 

Some people say that the first rule of slot car racing is concentration. Being able to focus on your car and it's surroundings as it moves around the track. Some of you might say "Well Duh!!". However it is more difficult than you think. Scientists have determined that we now have a shorter attention span than a goldfish. Think about that one for a minute, if you can.

Now that I got your attention let's push it a little further... think about concentrating for two or three minutes, the time it takes to run one heat. During this time you need to concentrate on driving your car pretty close to it's limit without de-slotting and be aware of the other cars on the track not to mention blocking out all the other distractions like loud drivers, coner marshals, and the general comments and trash talk around the table.

It is obvious why you need to concentrate on your car... but why do you need to be aware of the other cars and whats happening on the track?

Be aware of passing opportunities and/or passing hazards
If the car you are passing is on the inside lane next to you, do not pass them in a curve. If a car on the inside of you is passing you try to work it so they don't pass you in a curve. In both situations you are at risk of being de-slotted due to them fish tailing through the curve.

​Be aware of other de-slots on the track
Other cars that have de-slotted might be obstructing your lane and could cause you to to be knocked off the track. In addition, by hitting the car it could cause damage your car. Knowing when and what cars have de-slotted on the track will help you pull ahead of your nearest competitor and/or gain on the leader. Also when others are flying off the track it is extremely important that you stay on especially if you consider how long it takes a track marshal to re-slot a car in combination with how fast the average lap time is. You could possibly gain 1 to 3 laps.

Until you have become razor sharp with your driving skills concentrate on keeping your car in the slot and avoid getting knocked out of the slot or off the track.

Now, you can congratulate yourself for concentrating longer than a goldfish... :-)