Anyone remember slot car tracks? So much fun!

[Younggun]

It’s weird. Once I started playing with R/C the Radio/remote thing got kinda like magazine/clip. Oh, and you control it with a transmitter. Not a remote, lol.

For the actual slot cars I guess it would still be a remote control since it’s hard wired.

The Hobby Town in Waco has done a couple of parking lot races but I’ve been on call and couldn’t make it. They also order some carpet track to do indoor 1/28 scale racing but track was very small so they were going to have to order more material. For the size of the cars though it would look like slot cars without the rails.


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[Younggun]

In all seriousness, there was a track I went to ( I think in San Antonio, but it could have possibly been Ft. Worth,) where people would bring their cars and race them. Not bullshit flat plastic stick together crap, but a huge banked curved track, and.....( I want to say 1:24, but like much of this memory, fuzzy, scale cars.) Anyway , I could jog my memory by looking at model car kits because most were just that.

People would buy a plastic model car kit, throw everything away but the bodies, and put them on custom chassis. It just kinda faded away.

Or....did it? Fast forward many years to where my buddy took me to an indoor RC track. Same concept, really ....except the slots went away, and the cars got much bigger. Here it was all about tweaking your car and driving it strategically . Big dirt track. Spotters strategically located to upright flipped cars around the track.

So, this was pretty serious racing. Cars had transponders to keep track of laps, and I'm sure there were certain rules concerning the cars that I wasn't aware of, but just watching Charlie work between races, and watching cars on the track, I got an idea of what was going on.

Much like football cleats, you had to match your tires to track condition. Next, watching lead cars die a quarter track from finishing while out front, it was also a matter of gearing and driving for battery management. Ideally, you wanted to finish with very little left in the tank to be a contender.

Just about anything you can imagine being tweaked on a full size car for racing is done for R/C racing, at least for those who are really competitive.

With LiPo ruling the battery world now there is pretty much no chance of running out of juice before a race ends and the car will be just as fast on the last lap as it was on the first. You don’t have the gradual loss of speed as the battery drains that you would see with NiCad and the brushless motors are way more efficient than the old brushed stuff.


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[SloppyShooter]

Just about anything you can imagine being tweaked on a full size car for racing is done for R/C racing, at least for those who are really competitive.

With LiPo ruling the battery world now there is pretty much no chance of running out of juice before a race ends and the car will be just as fast on the last lap as it was on the first. You don’t have the gradual loss of speed as the battery drains that you would see with NiCad and the brushless motors are way more efficient than the old brushed stuff.


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Yep...I was referring to quite a few years back. No doubt it is a completely different animal nowadays, as is all racing. Gone are the moonshine runners roots, it's all high tech and money now. Maybe demolition derbys are still fairly pure.

But Charlie was damn sure competitive, he had an enclosed 8×12' trailer just to jack with his cars with on site, and a bad day for him was finishing 3rd in ANYTHING he did.

So....RC...LOOK MA!!! NO ////'s. Get over it! I'm lazy, not stupid.

Now....this thread hasn't been derailed enough by TGT standards, sooo, let's talk about soap box / pine box derbys.

As a young feller growing up, I was a boy scout. The pine box derby was fun. As I was trying to relate about my life before wiseguys jumped in and to conclusions and killed my desire to finish, my dad died when I was 6. So, I, and I alone built my car. It was obvious that some kids didn't even touch theirs.

Leave it to Beaver had a show that addressed this, where Ward didn't let Beaver do anything on his soapbox car. Beaver snuck in and "fixed it up" much to Ward's chagrin, as this thwarted his efforts to out-do another rival parent.

Anyway, I didn't win many races, but I won favorite car award ( or something) because of the design and looks of my car.

There was also a rocket race. You had a kit, with a rubber band and propeller and you carved out the body and added fins.

An astute Scout leader asked me if my Dad had helped me build mine, ( as they were winding it up to race.) I said: " No sir, my father is dead." I'll bet that took some steam out of those fathers living vicariously through their sons.

Then it got better!!! I mean here they are winding up a rocket the required amount of turns, and it collapsed on itself. Beautiful glass finish surface, OBVIOUSLY carved as thin as possible, a race winner for sure.....hey, mine at least made the trip!

 

[Coiled]

In daily conversation especially with a questioning, unfamiliar observer, I almost always say remote control.

If someone calls a magazine a clip, they've earned a supersize wedgie and it is your duty to administer the punishment on the spot.

 

[Younggun]

A guy I work with asked what the difference was between a “transmitter” and a “remote”. Told him a couple hundred bucks and a bunch of switches.

For what I spent on the damn thing, I want it to have a special name so people know know how special it is.


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[ZX9RCAM]

Actually the R stands for radio, not remote.

I thought a remote control car was controlled by a hard wired hand unit connected to the track?

ETA: I see that YG touched on it.

 

[Dad_Roman]

Heheh...RC

 

[Younggun]

You need to pull one of them out of the rack. Way to pretty to have them in storage today.

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[Dad_Roman]

You need to pull one of them out of the rack. Way to pretty to have them in storage today.

Yea you right.

 

[Pops1955]

What we raced were called slots. Groove in the track. Stayed in one lane. The controller was plugged in with a jack. You had speed control and brake. That was it. The placed we raced in both towns was named "Super Slots" No radio or remote involved. This was back in 1966 -68.

 

[Younggun]

Yea you right.
View attachment 153115

You’ve got me beat. Being on call (and a little lazy) I stuck to foam and electric today. Gave a few looks at my modded Kadet but figured about the time I got it prepped the phone would ring.

Hope it flew well.


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[Gummi Bear]

When I worked in Garland a few years ago, there was a slot car track over near Casa Linda. I’m pretty sure it’s closed or relocated, I didn’t see it last time I was in the area. I stopped by a time or two after work to watch them run. The guys were really nice.

There was also an indoor RC track over near downtown, I think it was formerly a bowling alley or something. I went there to buy some paint and parts a time or two from the attached hobby shop.



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

 

[Shotgun Jeremy]

There was also an indoor RC track over near downtown, I think it was formerly a bowling alley or something. I went there to buy some paint and parts a time or two from the attached hobby shop.

If thats the track I'm thinking of, I spent many Saturdays there either racing or hanging out at the arcade games they had while my parents raced. When we'd get bored with the arcade, we would go watch Walker Texas Ranger or Cops in the TV room. I don't know of any other bowling alleys turned into dirt tracks, so I'm assuming that's the one. When I went, the drivers stand went down the middle with a track on both sides. I think they had the Oval on the left side and rally course on the right side. Would you mind taking a pic of the inside next time you're there? That would be nice for old times sake.

Another Dallas area one that sticks out was at a Hobby Shop in a business park. The track was a little smaller, but they always had good layouts and some fast lap times. I always enjoyed the r/c plane computer simulator complete with controller they had in the store. That was where I learned I may be better with vehicles that stay on the ground.

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