How to Open an HO Club
Forming a HO slotcar club is a great deal of work
but the
benefits far outweigh the effort. The goal of this
article
is to identify some of the key items, in my opinion
and
experience, that make for a successful club.
Since I first got "into" slotcars it has
always seemed the
commercial tracks can rarely stay in business for
more than a
year or so. As a result I've been without a local
track to
race on for the majority of the last 32 years. The
problems
faced by commercial tracks have been dealt with thoroughly
in
other articles so I won't go into that topic here.
Suffice
it to say if you cannot travel the nation and want
to race
slotcars regularly, year after year, some type of
home-based
club racing is the most viable way to go. While
this article
based on my experience with HO Slotcar clubs the
principles
surely apply to any scale of "in-home"
track.
First of all how to start a club? There are always
people in
your area that share the same interest you just have
to meet
them. Most hobby shops will let you post a notice
and there
is always the local grocery bulletin board. (Now
that I
think of it you might even have some success on the
Internet.) The bottom line is to put together about
a
paragraph of information and include a method for
people to
contact you. When I moved to Rochester, Mn in 1989
there
were no commercial tracks, not even in Minneapolis
or St
Paul! So after a few months of stewing I put a flyer
up in
the local hobby shop and soon received calls from
about 5
people. Six years later we typically get 12 racers
at a meet
and sometimes 20, so don't expect the club to start
out big
just get it going and keep at it.
Lets assume you meet some other slotcar lovers and
you all
decide to form a club. The real trick is to keep
it going.
To that end I submit my Six keys to a successful
slotcar
club.
1. AVOID BURNOUT - The typical commercial track
has to sell
parts to stay in business. The best way to sell
parts is to
get people to race often, at least once a week if
not more.
However racing this often will burnout even the most
avid
slotcar fanatic. It is just too much too frequently.
Our club holds an 8 race championship with the races
spaced
out to once a month. This timing seems to work out
just
about right. We race often enough to satisfy our
need for
speed but infrequently enough to have time for the
home
fires, jobs, and other hobbies. One club I know
of raced
once a week every week for 6 months. At first it
kept
everybody fired up and they often had over a dozen
racers.
By the second season however attendance fell off
to just a
few regulars. That organization is now struggling
to exist.
On the other hand I know of a club that races on
ovals for 6
weeks in a row and that's it for the year! That
group has
been at it for something like 15 years now. Exactly
how you
limit your racing doesn't matter, the point is to
avoid
getting so obsessed you race to the exclusion of
all else.
This is especially important if the group has kids
in it.
The threshold for burnout in youngsters is much less
than
adults.
2. NEWSLETTER - Putting out a newsletter is an incredible
amount of work but it can make a big difference in
keeping
club members coming back to the races. Primarily
the
Newsletter should document results for all the racers.
Don't
just say who won, publish everybody's lap totals
per lane and
qualifying times. These numbers are an important
tool for
the enthusiast who is not winning. By looking at
their
results lane by lane a racer can see if they are
improving
and identify the areas where they need to improve
to start
winning. The Newsletter writer can even clue the
backmarkers
into this type of analysis. For example: "While
Gordy, Curt
and Lee took the top three podium spots only a bad
run on
gutter-red kept JJ out of the top 3." After
reading this JJ
should get the idea that with a little improvement
he'll
score his first top 3 instead of just thinking he'll
never be
able to beat those "fast guys." A well
done Newsletter can be
just the kind of encouragement someone who is struggling
needs to stick it out and keep trying. Finally a
newsletter
is also a great mechanism for sparking interest and
helping a
club grow. The local Hobby shops post our newsletter
and
that brings in new racers regularly.
3. RULES - If we are just out to have fun why do
we need
rules? Any club needs rules to keep the competition
fair. I
submit that good close FAIR competition is the most
fun you
can have. You need rules for what's legal on the
car and a
process for enforcing those rules. You need rules
for how to
run the races and you need rules for how the club
is run.
It's also important to keep the rules stable for
at least a
season. There is nothing more frustrating for a
new racer
than to have the rules changed just after they've
built their
first car.
It is very important to have unambiguous definitions
for what
is and isn't legal on the cars. Only by making sure
that
nobody is bending the rules can healthy competition
be
maintained. Our Club has a technical inspector who
checks
over each car before each race. After the race the
2nd
through 6th place racers vote whether or not to tear
down the
top three cars. This system seems to work.
To run races, clear policies on track calls and race
director
duties are essential to ensuring fairness. In our
club we
all act as race director at one time or another and
we all
strive to do our best to be fair.
I suggest starting with a copy of one of the HOPRA
rule book
and use that as a starting point for ideas. The
main thing
is to set up the rules, stick by them honestly, and
limit
your changes to once a year for the sake of stability.
4. MAKE IT FUN, SERIOUS FUN - I have the most fun
when I am
trying my hardest at both driving and corner marshalling.
Don't tolerate racers trying to crash each other
out in the
name of fun or a corner marshal who doesn't take
that
thankless job seriously. By putting out their best
effort
each member of the club will accomplish the most
and in the
end have the greatest amount of fun.
5. VARIETY - just as its important to keep your
rules stable
during a racing season its also important not to
stagnate by
never changing them over the years. I know of some
clubs
where all you can run is a T-JET car or a MAGNA-TRACTION
car.
Hey that's fine but its as though they are stuck
in time. Its
really hard for a new racer to join such a club since
they
can't buy the cars or parts they need easily. We
have tried
to embrace new technology as it arrives and run three
different classes so everybody gets to run something
they
like. Currently these classes are Boxstock, Super
Stock, and
OPEN. Every year we make minor changes for all three
classes
to adapt to new products on the market. Sometimes
that calls
for some tough decisions in the middle of a season.
When a
certain distributor put polymer traction magnets
in TYCO
440X2s then put them in their own package we had
to decide
was this really a BOX STOCK car? Our answer was
no, but it
doesn't matter as long as the rules are interpreted
the same
for every body in the club.
Another aspect of variety is tracks. The neat thing
about HO
racing is that almost every member of a club will
have their
own track. To that end we race on four to six different
tracks each year with two race meets at some of the
tracks.
This way almost everybody has a home track advantage
at some
point during the season.
Having purely fun, non-championship events or races
at a meet
is also a good way to mix things up. We typically
have at
least one or two non-points events a year with trophies
and
prizes. We also have some non-traditional races
at various
meets. For example at the last race of the championship
we
hold a CRASH and BURN TRACTOR TRAILER race which
is always a
laugh filled finale to the year.
6. ENERGY and ENTHUSIASM - Without this element
no club will
survive and yet no one person can supply enough E&E
all by
themselves. Pouring effort and thought into your
rules,
running of the races, publishing of the newsletter
and
helping the also-rans will result in an entity that
has a
life of its own. When our club started I shared
everything I
knew about slotcar racing and hopping up cars and
still do.
We now have a culture where all the "fast guys"
help anyone
new or struggling to improve. We are supportive
of all
members and genuinely enjoy and respect each other
because of
these efforts. Our wives tease us but our kids can't
wait to
go racing with Dad! After six years the spouses
are going
off and organizing things like awards banquets on
their own
and have established friendships that will probably
outlast
the racing if it ever does stop.
To me racing is a hobby where the rewards far outweigh
the
costs and SLOTCAR racing is simply my favorite flavor
of the
sport. Forming a club and working to make it grow
will let
you race as often and as long as you can. Strong
local clubs
will help the hobby grow and prosper but most of
all a club
will magnify the enjoyment you get from "playing
with your
slotcars!"Mission: To promote sportsmanship
and have fun racing HO slot cars.
CLASSES: S.M.A.R.T runs three classes of cars:
1. CLASS C - BOX STOCK - only Tyco 440-X2 and Lifelike
cars may be
used. NASCAR replica hard plastic stock bodies
only.
The class runs the CRASH AND BURN race format.
2. CLASS B - SUPER STOCK - Tomy, Tyco, Lifelike
CAN-AM, WSC, GTP,
GROUP C,Trans Am, Sportscars. Hard plastic Stock
bodies only. No
open wheelers.
3. CLASS A - UNLIMITED/OPEN-NEO/POLYMER anything
goes. Both Neo and
Polymer cars run together in one race but there
are two separate
championships.
NOTE: Some of our rules are copied directly from
the 1992 HOPRA
rulebook. However SMART is not affiliated with any
HOPRA group.
The objective of these rules is to ensure fair competition.
CLASS C - BOX STOCK RULES
1. The chassis shall be stock and cannot be cut.
No chassis modifica-
tions shall be allowed. Only Tyco 440X2 or LIFELIKE
cars and parts
are allowed. Parts may not be swapped from brand
to brand.
2. The armature magnets shall be stock and cannot
be modified in any
way. Motor and traction magnets may NOT be shimmed
or relocated.
Polymer magnets (motor or traction) even if stock
are illegal.
3. Any extra magnets used shall be stock, cannot
be cut and be of
matching stock polarity.
4. On Tyco 440x2s only bulkheads having the four
motor magnet
retaining tabs on the motor magnet retaining
ring may be used.
5. Any flux collectors used shall be stock and shall
remain in their
stock position. They cannot be modified. They
cannot be used
upside down. Flux collector coverings shall
not be allowed.
6. The armature shall be stock and cannot be modified
in any way - no
rewinding, dewinding, truing of the commutator,
gluing or balancing
in any way or other tampering of the motor shall
be allowed. The
minimum ohmage allowable shall be 5.8 ohms.
(measured pole to pole
with the armature removed from the car after
a 5 minute cooldown)
7. Electrical system shall be stock except for the
pickups, motor
brushes and motor brush springs which may be
stock replacement
parts for the car. No shunt wires shall be allowed.
BSRT part #218
or equivalent is acceptable for both Tyco and
Lifelike cars.
8. The axles, gears, wheels and guide pin shall
be stock or stock
replacement. The gear ratios must be stock.
7 tooth pinion 25
tooth crown.
9. Rear tires must be stock unless the racer is
under 12 and then they
may be readily available replacement tires such
as AJs, TwinnK,
Wizard, sponge etc. ASTs and any custom tire
are ILLEGAL! Front
tires must be stock unless the racer is under
12 then they are
unrestricted. All tires must touch and role (General
rule #17).
10. Tyco and Lifelike cars must use the stock manufacturer's
hard
plastic body. These must represent past or current
NASCARs. (ie NO
Camaros, Firebirds, or Corvettes) These bodies
may NOT be lightened
by dremelling or modified. All cars may be repainted.
The stock
mounting system must be used and may not be reinforced
in any way.
(For example: NO TAPE) Except LifeLike cars
may use a tiny amount
of RTV on the four body mounting tabs since the
manufacturer builds
them this way. Excessive amounts of RTV will
be basis for
disqualification. The brand of the body must
match the brand of
the chassis.
11. The use of glue shall not be allowed on the chassis
or bulkheads.
12. Additional spacers may NOT be used on the armature
or rear axle.
13. Tech tear down: See GENERAL RULE #3
14. Except for Under 12 racers the cars must not
be lower than stock.
Points (CLASS C - BOX STOCK)
1. 175 for 1st
170 2nd
165 3rd
160 4th
155 5th etc for all cars that qualify
2. 5 bonus points for the most laps during a heat
3. 5 bonus points for the most laps on all lanes.
CLASS B - SUPER STOCK RULES
1. The chassis must be stock readily available,
and cannot be cut.
No material may be added to stiffen the chassis.
TOMY, TYCO and
LIFELIKE cars allowed. TYCO Super Circuit Cars
are also allowed.
2. The guide pin shall be STOCK. It may be glued
in place but shall
remain in the stock location.
3. The armature magnets shall be stock and cannot
be cut. (see #6)
4. Any extra magnets used shall be stock, cannot
be cut and be of
matching stock polarity. (see #6)
5. All magnets shall remain in their stock location.
No material or
method may be used to restrict the movement of
the magnets.
6. Only stock polymer magnets (motor or traction)
are allowed. Except
Tyco cars may use non-stock Polymer motor and
traction magnets.
7. Magnets may not be mixed in a chassis. That
is Tyco magnets may
not be used in a ROKAR or TOMY chassis or any
combination thereof.
8. Tyco X-2 cars shall only use bulkheads having
the four motor magnet
retaining tabs on the motor magnet retaining
ring.
9. Any flux collectors used shall be stock and shall
remain in their
stock position. They may be used upside down.
They cannot be
modified except to adjust for height. Flux collector
coverings
shall not be allowed.
10. The armature shall be stock and cannot be modified
in any way - no
rewinding, dewinding, truing of the commutator,
gluing or balancing
in any way or other tampering of the motor shall
be allowed. The
minimum ohmage allowable shall be 5.8 ohms.
(measured pole to pole
with the armature removed from the car after
a 5 minute cooldown)
11. Axle and armature ball bearings are not allowed
unless they are
stock. Replacements for stock bushings are unrestricted.
12. There are no restrictions on the gear, axles,
wheels and tires
except that they must be readily available parts.
Applied Silicon
Technology tires of any brand even homemade are
illegal. Front
tires must touch and role. (see General Rule
#17)
13. The brush tubes must be stock and cannot be modified
in any way.
The pickups must be stock or stock replacement.
The motor brushes,
motor springs and pickup springs are unrestricted.
Shunt wire is
not allowed. Electrical parts (except for motor
comms) may be
lightly sanded for cleaning purposes only. The
endbell on the Tomy
Super G+ is unrestricted as long as shunt wire
is not used.
14. The use of glue shall not be allowed on the chassis
or bulkheads
except for the guide pin.
15. The pickup retaining tabs may be repaired if
necessary during a
race. However, the chassis shall have both stock
pickup retaining
tabs intact and unaltered when entered.
16. Only stock-hard-plastic bodies representing GTP,
WSC, CAN-AM, Trans
Am, or Sports cars shall be allowed. Anything
goes except Open
wheeled cars. Bodies maybe repainted as desired.
- Bodies shall not be modified and shall use
the stock mounting
system. Except, Aurora bodies may have the mounting
post and/or
light fixtures removed as needed so they will
fit on a Super G+
Chassis. The mounting system may not be reinforced
in any manner.
(For example: The body may not be taped or glued
to the chassis,
except Lifelike-See class C #10)
- The brand of the body must match the brand
of the chassis.(Aurora
and TOMY are considered one brand) For example:
a TYCO body on an
Aurora chassis is illegal.
17. Any rear wings, that originally came on the car
must be installed.
New wings and brackets can be fabricated provided
they match the
original wing size and maintain the original
appearance of the car.
McLaren XJR and Ferrari 612P are exempt since
the real versions of
these cars raced with and without the rear wings.
- The spirit of this rule is to keep the cars
looking like real
cars yet allow broken wings to be fixed and not
force racers to buy
a new body every time something breaks. If the
race director or
tech inspector determines that a car's wings
have been remade to
gain an advantage of any sort the car will be
disallowed.
- The wings must be on for tech and the start
of the race. If a
wing breaks during qualifying it must be fixed
for the race. If a
front wing breaks during the race it does not
have to be fixed. If
a rear wing breaks during the race it must be
fixed for the next
heat and visually inspected by the race director
or track owner.
18. Tech tear down: See GENERAL RULE #3
Points (CLASS B)
1. 20 for 1st 13 for 4th 8 for 8th
4 for 12th
17 2nd 11 5th 7 9th
3 13th
15 3rd 10 6th 6 10th
2 14th
9 7th 5 11th
1 15th
2. 1 bonus point for the most laps during a heat
(top heat) *
3. 1 bonus point for TQ
4. 1 bonus point to the winner if winner posts most
laps on all lanes
CLASS A - OPEN or RESTRICTED POLYMER
1. Any chassis stock or home built.
2. Any motor or traction magnets with the following
exception:
A. NEO cars run in their own championship provided
at least
three entries are registered prior to the start
of the season.
If there are not at least three entires then
there will be no NEO
championship that season. Everyone will run POLYMERS.
B. POLYMERS - all magnets must be of polymer
construction.
3. Body must be made of lexan and must be painted.
4. Any tires but front tires must touch and roll
(General rule #17)
5. Pickups must be of approved materials but can
be modified.
6. The guide pin must be positioned ahead of the
front axle.
Points (OPEN)
9 1st
6 2nd
5 3rd
4 4th
3 5th
1 6th
1 additional point for the winner if they are also
top qualifier,
scored separately for Poly and Neo.
POINTS SERIES:
1. All series will last for 6 to 8 races. Length
of the season will
be determined no later than August 1st of that
season.
2. The racer with the most points is the Champion.
Tiebreakers are a: Most wins.
b. Most laps.
3. Points go with the driver or team in all classes.
4. In all divisions you must race the car you qualify.
To earn points
you must be a SMART member and pay the race entry
fee. See
MEMBERSHIP section. YOU MUST SUPPLY your own
car to earn points.
Borrowed cars do not earn points.
5. No races are dropped, however, a designated driver
can drive and
earn points for the absent racer. The designated
driver must use
the absent racer's car and controller.
6. A Trophy for the best corner marshal of the year
will also be
awarded each season. This honor will be determined
by a secret
ballot held after each race. All ballots will
be tallied after the
last race of the year.
7. During seasons when at least two regular racers
are under the age
of 12 a separate championship will be held.
Results from classes B
and C will score points toward this title. A
win in either class
will be worth 35 points, 2nd 30 points, 3rd 25
points and so on.
If more than 7 racers are under 12 years of age
this points scale
will be revised upwards.
QUALIFYING:
1. Each entrant will have 30 seconds to run as many
laps as they can.
The BEST LAP TIME WILL be used. Not the number
of laps. Ties will
be decided by number of laps. 30 seconds is
a recommended time,
the time can be changed to suit track size or
number of entries.
2. Cars can be qualified on any lane but no time
penalty or bonus will
be given for any lane.
3. Top qualifier gets first lane choice, 2nd gets
2nd etc.
4. A crash does not end qualifying but the clock
is not stopped.
HOW RACES ARE RUN:
1. Heats will last 1 minute for CLASS C (CRASH
and BURN format)
3 minutes for CLASS B
5 minutes for CLASS A
2. Power will NOT be turned off unless
a. The track marshals cannot reach a car.
b. There is a power failure on one or more lanes
or a track
problem on any lane.
c. There is a crash in or near the lap counters.
d. See race rule number 9.
3. 1 minute 30 seconds for pitting will be allowed
between heats.
4. Total laps for all heats and track position will
determine
the winner. The number of heats is determined
by the number of
lanes being used on the track. At the conclusion
of each race, all
cars should be left on the track where they stopped
after the power
was shut off until the order of finish is officially
determined and
the Race Director authorizes their removal.
If a car is removed
prior to this time it will be credited with zero
sections.
5. No matter how many racers enter all run the same
number of heats.
6. Racers not in a heat will marshal. Refusal to
marshal means a 20
lap penalty. Marshalls may not work on any car
while the race is
in progress. Marshalls will be allowed 1 minute
of pit time to
work on a car and must be back at the track 30
seconds prior to the
start of a heat. Marshals not at their station
when power comes on
will be assessed a 5 lap penalty.
7. Racers who yell at track marshals abusively or
use bad obscenities
will be penalized 20 laps.
8. Racers who marshal their own car will receive
a 5 lap penalty.
Definition of 'marshal': to reslot a car after
it has crashed or
spun out. A driver may pick up their own car
and work on it but if
the driver deslots another car while resloting
their car the 5 lap
penalty will be applied.
9. If a driver or marshal damages another car while
replacing the car
on the track, power shall be turned off to give
the owner of the
broken car time to fix it. The time limit for
repairs will be the
time of the heat for the class being run. (1
minutes for C, 3 for
B, and 5 for A).
10. When more than eight cars are entered the top
4 qualifiers will run
4 heats straight. Whenever possible races will
be run in groups of
four otherwise all other racers will compete
in a standard
rotation. For example if there are 9 entries
the first group would
consist of the top four qualifiers and the second
group the 5th
through 9th qualifiers. If there are 12 entries
there would be 3
groups of 4 racers each. Results are combined
to make one race.
On six lane tracks twelve or more entries will
invoke this rule
using groups of 6.
11. When more than ten cars are entered in CLASS
A the club may decide
to invoke the TOP 8 rule. When the TOP 8 rule
is invoked only the
top 8 qualifiers will race regardless of the
number of lanes.
A majority vote of the club members present is
required to invoke
this rule.
12. A line one foot from the driver's station (where
the controller
connects) will be marked on the floor. No driver
shall stand
in front of that line during a heat. Violations
will invoke a 5
lap penalty.
CRASH AND BURN FORMAT:
1. No Marshalling of cars by anybody.
2. A driver can only make laps in their own car
on their own lane.
3. In the event of a rider the driver should notify
the race director
and drive slowly until the rider is in front
of the race director
then stop. At that point the race director will
remove the rider.
4. Power is never turned off unless the race director
thinks it should
be to maintain fairness.
5. 1 minute heats.
6. Lane assignments are done in order of the cars
received by tech or
based on point standings.
7. Waves will not be run. All racers will compete
in one big
rotation.
8. When there are an even four under 12 racers they
will run in a
separate wave otherwise they are part of the
full rotation.
EVENTS:
1. There are two categories of SMART events: IN-HOME
events and OPEN
TO THE PUBLIC events.
2. IN-HOME events are not open to the public and
are open only to
SMART members and their guest.
3. SMART members may bring one guest to an IN-HOME
event or more if
they have permission of the promoter. Guests
are the sole
responsibility of their sponsor.
GENERAL:
1. If a situation is not covered by SMART rules
a majority of the
members present will decide the issue.
2. All cars will be inspected by the Tech Inspectors
before
qualifying. Inspection will be for obvious compliance
with rules.
It is up to the racer to ensure their car is
legal. Racers not
passing tech will go to the end of the line.
All cars will be
impounded when not qualifying or racing unless
they have to be
repaired. Repaired cars must be reteched.
3. CLASS C and B, the top three cars from a race
will be impounded:
The race director or designate will pole the
2nd through 6th place
racers. If the majority of those racers request
a tear down the
top three cars will be torn down by the tech
inspector as soon as
possible but no later than the end of the day.
Any driver with an
illegal car will loose all championship points
earned to that point
in the season.
4. Cars may not be wider than 1.3125 inches, minimum
wheel base is
1.375, maximum length is 3.00 inches.
5. All cars must use pickups made of standard materials.
6. Any car causing damage to the track will be disqualified.
7. All decisions of the Race Director are final.
The Race Director is
that individual in charge of scoring and power
for a given race.
8. NO TRACTION GLUE ALLOWED. Tires can be cleaned
but not treated.
9. Any car without a body or with an interfering
body will not be
allowed to continue to run.
10. The body must be a replica of an actual car.
11. The body must be painted and cannot have any
added air control
devices.
12. Except through legal openings, the body must
cover the chassis when
viewing the car from above.
13. Only one guide pin per car shall be allowed.
14. The terms Lifelike and Rokar are used interchangeably.
15. Track records only count at paid season SMART
races.
16. Cars must have four tires that touch and roll
on a test track with
no rails.
17. Black boxes may NOT be used in class B or C.
They may be used in A
but are subject to technical inspection. The
Tech inspector may
require that the box be opened up. Refusal to
open the box will be
grounds for disqualification.
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
1. The yearly membership fee is $5.00, except for
racers under the age
of twelve who may join for free. Joining the
club automatically
registers you to score points in the championships.
Points will be
awarded only after joining the club, race results
prior to joining
do not earn points. Non member finishing positions
will be dropped
when figuring points. Non members are always
welcome to race and
may race the entire season. However after the
5th race of the
season no one new may register for the championships.
Membership includes:
a. Automatic registration in all championships.
b. 10 SMART business cards and post cards.
c. A copy of the rules and all updates for the
season.
d. The right to use the SMART logo on your personal
wearing
apparel.
Membership does not include automatic mailings
of all newsletters.
If you want a newsletter show up at the race
or send a SASE to
whoever is currently writing the newsletter.
2. Race fees are $1.00 for members and non-members
per meet. These
fees are used to cover the expense of the newsletter,
of running
the event and things like buttons and dots.
All individuals
pay the $1.00 fee even if they do not receive
a newsletter. No
discount is given to those not running in all
three classes.
The $1.00 fee will be presented to the treasurer
or tech inspector,
in return the racer will receive tech sheets
for all three classes.
Cars not registered with a tech sheet will not
race.
3. SMART maintains an address and phone list of
all members. This is
distributed solely to other members of SMART.
Please do not make
copies of this list and give it out to the general
public.
4. Public announcements of any kind MUST be approved
by all SMART
members before it is posted or aired.
5. Non-members get 1 copy of the rules for free.
RACE PROMOTER REQUIREMENTS:
1. Race promoters post a $10 trophy purse for each
race they sponsor.
This money is paid to the club at the start of
the season before
the date is awarded to the venue.
2. Ideally at least one non-points race should be
held on a track
before it is used for a championship event.
3. A section of test track must be available to
racers at each race.
4. Promoters may provide refreshments and/or prizes
but this is not
required and will not be reimbursed by the club.
APPENDIX A: TRACK BUILDING GUIDELINES
1. The table should be approximately 30 inches high.
Painting the
table is optional and scenery is also optional,
however scenery
should not be too cluttered or block vision.
The entire track must
be well visible from all driver positions. Must
have sufficient
retaining wall to prevent cars from falling on
the floor (minimum
of 4 inches higher than track level, 6 inches
is better). The track
must be well lit.
2. Must be at least a 4 lane track made from (Tyco,
Tomy, or Aurora
track or equivalent). BuckTrax or a track of
that style
construction is also acceptable if not preferred.
Track should be
nailed or screwed to board, joints should be
smoothed out as much
as possible. Guardrails may be used on the outside
of turns,
however we prefer the use of skid pads made from
plywood, masonite,
or cork model train roadbed. Alternatively the
entire track may be
embedded flush in the board. Lane colors must
be well marked with
either paint or stickers. Ideally this marking
is continuous, at a
minimum color marks should appear no less once
than every 12
inches. Colors preferred are blue, yellow, green
and red in that
order. Heat rotation then is blue, green, red,
and yellow. It is
best not to have overpasses in the layout because
cars can become
stuck underneath during a race.
3. Power: Good power is a critical element to having
a good track.
Power must be a minimum of 18 volts and maximum
of 25 volts. If
power packs or wall packs are used you must have
a separate pack
for each lane. Home built or custom built power
supply with anti
surge capability and voltage regulator is acceptable
provided it
has the proper power rating. Car batteries may
be used, however it
must have the proper wiring and circuit protection.
You must have
a power shut off switch and capability to hook
up a timer that will
kill power when time is up. If wall packs are
used you should run
jumper terminal tracks if track is more than
30 feet long to
prevent lag. NOTE: Unlimited cars just don't
work right unless you
use batteries.
4. Track must be wired according to the diagram
that follows.
Controller connections must be solid 1/4 inch
bolts and must be
clearly labeled: WHITE (+),Black (-), and RED
(Brake).
Wiring diagram
Controller panel
Power + >-----------------------< WHITE
Supply
- >----=------------------< RED
:
Track :
Left rail >----=
Right rail>-----------------------< BLACK
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