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The Fray (kinda) = Burning Man/the Olympics?

3/4/2013

1 Comment

 
I'm not sure how many of you know what Burning Man is, but living in the SF Bay Area and working in an industry that is largely populated by people younger than me, I have been familiarized with it. It is a festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada over the Memorial Day weekend that is full of art cars, semi- (or fully-) naked people, techno music, art installations and a giant wooden man that is burned in effigy to all the problems the people at the festival have in the real world. The population at the festival makes it the 3rd largest "city" in Nevada for a week or so, behind Las Vegas and Reno respectively. So many people from around San Francisco attend the festival that traffic in the area is markedly less.

I equate the drop in email and message board traffic during the Fray to that of foot and automobile traffic during Burning Man. It sure gets quiet on HOWL and the HO sections of Hobby Talk, SCI and other message boards.

I also equate the re-entry into the regular world after the Fray to be like olympic athletes following their performances every 4 years. I once heard Jonny Moseley talk about his life after winning his gold medal in which he wanted to do ANYTHING but go skiing. He had spent every moment of his life for many years working to that point in his life. Having won a gold medal, he put up his skis for a long time before even thinking of hitting the slopes again. I imagine many Fray competitors suffer from T-Jet fatigue after running their 45 year old toy cars for 2, 3 or more days straight, especially after "training" and preparing for the event for weeks and months.
1 Comment

Hobby comes and goes

5/30/2012

1 Comment

 
There are few people who stay active in this here slot car hobby of ours for decades. I can think of a few, Curtis Adams, Rick Philis, Bob Lincoln, Bob Beers and Henry Harnish come to mind immediately. I know there are many others, but they're escaping my brain at the moment.

I am a prime example of someone who has come and gone from the hobby a couple times. I started with slot cars back in the 70s with my Jackie Stewart set. That lasted a few years until junior high school when I needed money for bikes, movies and other new interests, so the slot cars were sold at a garage sale.

Then in the 90s, The Phantom Surfers released their "The Exciting Sounds of Model Road Racing" LP just as I was moving to San Francisco. I found a cool HO scale set at a sidewalk sale, set it up in the living room, Phantom Surfers blasting, and I was hooked again. However, I couldn't find any HO scale tracks, hobbyists or racers in my area, but about 10 minutes away was Slot Car City in Colma, CA. I ran there for a few years, enjoying 1/24 scale stock cars, sprint cars, can-am cars and drag racing. With the closure of Slot Car City, I sold my slot car stuff for a ridiculously low price and my interests grew in scale to RC cars. I tried that for a couple years, but due to living in one of the most expensive cities in the country, traveling to tracks on a regular basis was cost prohibitive.

Now in the early 2000s, I picked up a Super International track with cars, some other HO cars, pieces, parts, bits and bobs, as well as a wealth of information from those that I met online.

Where am I going with this? Well, as people fal out of the hobby for one reason or another (financial reasons, interests change, wives clean out the garage, kids grow up, etc), it gives us a chance to enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor and efforts, as well as introduce it to others who show interest.

While it sometimes might feel like pulling the boots of a fallen cowboy, I think it's more often appreciated by the person getting out of the hobby for carrying on their interest. Many times they may be able to continue to offer information and insight into their collection, as well as hints and tips for racing, painting, construction and collecting.

We are standing on the shoulders of giants and continue the lineage of slot cars, be they HO, 1/43, 1/32 or 1/24 scale. We are rich with information, historical vehicles, tools and equipment, as well as racing venues and competitors.
1 Comment

The Fray in Ferndale 2012 Multimedia Extravaganza

3/15/2012

1 Comment

 
Here is a collection of all of the videos of the Fray in Ferndale 2012 I could find. Please reply or comment with links to other Fray 2012 videos you know about.

Individual Competiton, A-Main.
Video by Lenjet1.
No audio in the car, title or screen shots (first 12 seconds).



Individual Event A-Main Heat 4 alternate angle.
Video by Rondo1234560.
Individual event, E-Main, Heat 4.
Video by Rondo1234560.



Individual Competition, G-Main, Heat 5.

Video by Rondo1234560.



Team Competition, St. Louis vs McKinlyville, Race 8, Heat 6.

Video by Rondo1234560.



Team Competition, St. Louis vs McKinlyville, Race 8, Heat 5.

Video by Rondo1234560.



Jeff Kraatz of the St. Louis team qualifying.

Video by Rondo1234560.
 


Ron Schmidt of the St. Louis team qualifying.
Video by Rondo1234560.


Team Inland Empire, is this you below?
1 Comment

Fray 2012 Updates

2/29/2012

27 Comments

 
Watch this space for updates from the Fray in Ferndale as they come in.

Feb 29, 2012 8:27am Pacific from Mitch Valder of Sacramento, CA.
Biggest news early in the Fray Week is that the heaters are ON in Belotti Hall. It was a welcome surprise to enter a . . . well, I wouldn't call it WARM, but a pleasantly comfortable room.

Nice contrast to the driving rain just outside.

Back to it . . .

Mitch



Feb 29, 2012 9:30pm Pacific
No new news from the Frayers. I can only presume they are busy testing, tuning and shooting the bull. As soon as I hear from anyone in Ferndale, I'll be sure to post it here.
-Cory


Feb 29, 2012 10:26pm Pacific from Jim Rose of Sacramento, CA
Just practice today.  Team IROC tomorrow.  


Mar 1, 2012 6:29am Pacific from Dave Parker of Hunstville, AL
Heat? What Heat?
Maybe in the morning... but by the time the sun fell, so did the heat.  Oh well... it was time to head to the brewery anyway.
 
Day one was practice/practice/practice.  9 tables... 54 lanes... 54 different perspectives as to how badly I sucked. 
 
But I got to shake Rick Jocham's hand, so the day wasn't a total loss!  LOL
 
Lots of fast drivers with faster cars than I have ever seen on a t-jet track.  A virtual Who's Who of t-jet racers/dealers (no offense to those on the East Coast who couldn't/didn't make the trip).  Really great to put a face with so many names.
 
Rick Phyllis let it be known he is here for more than serving as race director as he won an impromptu practice race with about 25 racers.
 
Maybe today the lanes will look more familiar.  Or at least maybe the heat will be back on! ;-)
 
Dave Dave Parker
"Nothing is foolproof, to a sufficiently talented fool!"


Mar 1, 2012 7:33am Pacific from Rick Phillis of Ferndale, CA
About fifty have arrived so far. The other half will be here by
Friday. There have been two practice races so far with first being won
by Chad Trump. Some of the new faces are from St Louis, Huntsville
Alabama, Salt Lake City, Eugene Oregon and the East Coast.

Today's event will be the team IROC race with five teams signed up so far.

That's all for now,

RAP


Mar 1, 2012 8:00am Pacific from Dave Parker of Huntsville, AL
Junkabilly's Question: Do they race only fray cars or are there other classes as well?

Dave's Answer:
Nothin' but fray.... individual race tomorrow, team races (16 or 17 of them) on Saturday.  10 lap heats for each racer on the 5-person team on each lane.  So 60 laps times 16 races... around a 1000  laps of intense racing. 

  Dave

Mar 2, 2012 7:04am Pacific from Dave Parker of Huntsville, AL
Fray - Day Two - "I can't see!!!"
Well, now I feel like less like a rookie.  I almost feel comfortable on 3 of the 54 different lanes.  Only 51 more to go!  
Still meeting lots of the "old hands"... still learning tons of ways to go fast.  15 minutes of time with xxxx was worth the price of admission.  (trying not to list names... there really are many... many notable t-jet racers and builders  here and would hate to mention someone specifically and not mention everyone else.  suffice to say, I am humbled... and not worthy.)
 
A "practice" IROC race yesterday.  My team "Inland Empire" finished well... 4 wins and 3 losses (after one team called in some ringer replacements.) I think I finished 35th out of about 46 racers.  I seem to recall RAP at the top of the list.  (dang it... I said I wouldn't mention names.
 
Gotta tell you... if you have never been, mark your calendars for nest year!
  Dave


Mar 2, 2012 7:20am Pacific from Rick Phillis
I just got a phone call from Rick Phillis. He reports:

There were 46 drivers on 8 teams in the Team IROC races yesterday. Here are the results.

Team IROC Competition Results
Pos
1
2
3 (tie)
3 (tie)
5
6
7 (tie)

7 (tie)
Team
Ferndale
South Bay
Sacramento
Inland Empire
St. louis
Nevada
Free Agents

Southern Humboldt
Record(w-l)
7-0
6-1
4-3
4-3
3-4
2-5
1-6

1-6
Members
R Phillis, R Machado, D Ryan, W McClurg, A Michel
R Coaxum, P Josefy, J Hurley, K Stephens, S Testerman, D Jimenez
M Valder, J Rose, T Lang, B Ostrom, J Valder, 
Dave Parker, B Raymond, B Bowman, M Hurtado, P Leuty, 
C Trump, J Kraatz, L Wuori, A VanArtsdalen, R Schmidt, 
J Ramirez, J Shallow, R Wontorski, S Peterson, M Loomis, M Vizenor
M Boynton, D Haase, M Knowles, J Crosley, S Arrestouilh, D Dudley, P Laurio
Jim Jr, H Rojeski, Just Michael, Jim III, J Rojeski, K Arreguin, Jim Sr, 
Team IROC Competition, Individual Results
Avg
Score
Racer Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7
1 29.86 Phillis R Ferndale 33 27 28 29 29 28 35
2 28.57 Jim Jr So Hum 30 30 28 28 31 30 23
3 28.33 Hurley J South Bay 28 29 31 26 28 28
4 28.00 Stephens K South Bay 26 28 31 27 28
5 27.43 Lang T Sacramento 28 29 22 28 26 27 32
6 27.33 Coaxum R South Bay 32 23 26 26 32 25
7 27.33 Trump C St Louis 29 28 22 23 32 30
8 27.00 Rose J Sacramento 29 29 20 30 26 26 29
9 25.57 Machado R Ferndale 25 25 26 22 29 20 32
10 25.57 Ryan D Ferndale 28 23 23 26 30 25 24
11 25.29 Valder M Sacramento 17 31 27 23 30 24 25
12 24.57 Raymond B Inland Empire 31 22 26 24 24 24 21
13 23.71 McClurg W Ferndale 26 17 16 23 33 26 25
14 23.00 Boynton M Free Agents 25 25 19
15 22.75 Ramirez J Nevada 17 25 20 29
16 22.50 Kraatz J St Louis 21 25 20 19 25 25
17 21.86 Bowman B Inland Empire 27 26 26 20 15 22 17
18 21.60 Shallow J Nevada 22 19 22 29 16
19 21.50 Testerman S South Bay 19 17 25 28 19 21
20 20.50 Haase D Free Agents 17 17 29 19
21 20.43 Hurtado M Inland Empire 20 22 18 22 20 23 18
22 20.33 Jiminez D South Bay 21 13 24 24 22 18
23 20.00 Wouri L St Louis 25 18 20 16 24 17
24 19.83 VanArtsdalen A St Louis 19 23 21 14 28 14
25 19.67 Schmidt R St Louis 23 23 17 17 20 18
26 19.33 Knowles M Free Agents 20 21 27 23 15 10
27 19.00 Wontorski R Nevada 22 22 22 16 14 18
28 19.00 Crosley J Free Agents 21 14 21 25 14
29 19.00 Rojeski H So Hum 19 17 24 16 19
30 18.71 Luety P Inland Empire 21 21 19 17 19 19 15
31 18.71 Ostrom B Sacramento 14 20 16 25 22 9 25
32 18.67 Peterson S Nevada 16 17 23 14 23 19
33 18.20 Micheal Just So Hum 11 13 21 12 34
34 18.14 Serge Free Agents 15 20 17 18 16 24 17
35 18.00 Parker D Inland Empire 17 22 18 16 17 18 18
36 18.00 Josefy P South Bay 17 18 19 17 16 21
37 17.20 Loomis M Nevada 17 20 16 14 19
38 16.86 Michel A Ferndale 19 19 17 11 14 11 27
39 16.00 Jim III So Hum 14 22 16 12
40 16.00 Rojeski J So Hum 15 17
41 15.83 Arreguin K So Hum 11 23 16 8 8 29
42 15.60 Dudley D Free Agents 16 11 17 23 11
43 13.86 Valder J Sacramento 7 13 18 15 17 14 13
44 13.80 Vizenor M Nevada 15 15 11 14 14
45 13.40 Laurio P Free Agents 10 18 10 14 15
46 13.33 Jim Sr So Hum 8 12 12 14 11 23
Everything is running smoothly and looking good. Today is the individual competition. Should be exciting.

(I'll do my best to get you the full list of drivers that were on each of the teams. If you can help me out, please email or leave a comment. -Cory)


Mar 2, 2012 2:39pm Pacific from Jim Rose of Sacramento, CA
Qualifying is over. NorCal did great....10 in the top 18. 

3. Glen Schneiderman
4. Paul Josefy
5. Jeff Hurley
6. Jim Rose
7. Rick Voeglin
8. Mitch Valder
12. Curtis Adams
15. Paul Leuty
16. Ken Stephens
18. Ron Coaxum

Mar 2, 2012 10:09pm Pacific from Dave Parker of Huntsville, AL
(In response to Greg Carpenter wishing and hoping the best for people in Dave's area of the country due to the hurricane outbreak)
Greg,

Thanks for the thoughts... all the family is fine, but the exact same subdivision that got hit last year just north of our house got hit again this year.
 
Dave



I'm very relieved that Dave's family came through the day unscathed. I wonder how his cars and trigger finger did today. -Cory

Mar 2, 2012 10:36pm Pacific from Dave Parker of Huntsville, AL
More from the Fray - the individual event.
Just a short update... it's been a looooong day.  I think we had every letter of the alphabet for the mains... 81 racers... but in the end it was Adams, Boswell, Hurley, Jocham, Lincoln and Voeglin making it to the A-main. Holy crap did those guys put on a show with some incredibly fast cars.  But it wasn't much of a surprise when the computer popped up the results and RC Lincoln had won the individual competition.  He dominated many of the heats leading up to the main.  Adams was second, Jocham was third, followed by Voeglin, Hurley and Boswell.
 
Another long day tomorrow... 18 teams, so 17 races.  But the cars are impound, so nothing to do tonight but sleep.  :-)


  Dave


The Fray in Ferndale Individual A-Main results
Pos
1
2
3
4
5
6
Racer
RC Lincoln
Curtis Adams
Rick Jocham
Rick Voegelin
Jeff Hurley
Jerry Boswell
Team
Hometown
Bedford, PA
Sonoma, CA
(SoCal), CA
Aptos, CA
Sonora, CA
Dallas, TX
Notes
Dynamic Armatures

RJ-Jets


2010 Fray Rookie of the year
Congratulations to RC and the rest of the A-Mainers. You guys totally Frayed it up. - Cory 


Mar 3, 2012 7:40am Pacific from Cory White
Today is the team competition. Eighteen teams have entered to claim their place in history. Best of luck to all the racers.

-Cory

Mar 3, 2012 12:21pm Pacific from Greg Kondrek
In response to my request for some information about what's going on at the Fray and how things are going.
Sorry, Cory...a little busy here!

Greg Kondrek

Individual event qualifying took place on Friday, March 2 on the tan track.

Individual Competition Qualifying Times
Pos Name Lap Time
1 Surratt M 6.670
2 Boswell J 6.783
3 Schneiderman G 6.785
4 Josefy P 6.799
5 Hurley J 6.816
6 Rose J 6.823
7 Voegelin R 6.847
8 Valder M 6.855
9 Jackson C 6.879
10 Joop T 6.905
11 McClurg W 6.910
12 Adams C 6.919
13 Schmidt R 6.935
14 Trump C 6.966
15 Luety P 6.998
16 Stephens K 6.999
17 Jim Jr 7.016
18 Coaxum R 7.032
19 Auriema D 7.039
20 Bowman B 7.046
21 Kraatz J 7.071
22 Davis G 7.071
23 St. Clair C 7.079
24 Giegel J 7.079
25 Linclon RC 7.088
26 Lee B 7.094
27 Michel A 7.110
28 Keen J 7.143
29 Engelage M 7.149
30 Jiminez D 7.181
31 Testerman S 7.198
32 Reynolds C 7.206
33 Shallow J 7.230
34 Jocham R 7.231
35 Lang T 7.238
36 Jorgensen Ja 7.247
37 Phillis R 7.248
38 Leppert T 7.263
39 Van Artsdalen A 7.280
40 Ramirez J 7.310
41 Tindall J 7.319
42 Lawler T 7.350
43 Jorgensen Jo 7.351
44 Goucher J 7.365
45 Godinez S 7.366
46 Owyang M 7.376
47 Garner D 7.422
48 Ryan D 7.424
49 Wouri L 7.446
50 Zampelli A 7.454
51 Haase D 7.462
52 Valder J 7.464
53 Rojeski J 7.485
54 Ostrom B 7.496
55 Jim Sr 7.511
56 Raymond B 7.516
57 McCleary D 7.542
58 Loremo S 7.583
59 Crosley J 7.590
60 Parker D 7.607
61 Kondrek G 7.686
62 Rojeski H 7.711
63 Fairweather C 7.759
64 Lumas M 7.781
65 Daniel M 7.814
66 Hurtado M 7.816
67 Campbell G 7.871
68 Dudley D 7.928
69 Vizenor M 7.981
70 Arreguin K 8.037
71 Peterson S 8.047
72 Knowles M 8.054
73 Arrestouilh S 8.110
74 Boynton M 8.158
75 Wontorski R 8.198
76 Laurio P 8.453
77 Williamson T 8.830
78 Dutra N 8.855
79 Machado R 9.006
80 Lentros P 99.999
Mar 3, 2012 10:35pm Pacific from Mark Owyang of Sacramento, CA
Courtesy of Mr. Owyang, here are the final individual and team results.

Individual Competition Results, 2012 Fray in Ferndale
Pos
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
Racer
Lincoln RC
Adams Curtis
Jocham Rick
Voegelin Rick
Hurley Jeff
Boswell Jerry
Rose Jim
Suratt Milt
Josefy Paul
Schneiderman G
Valder Mitch
Joop Travis
Jackson Chris
Lee Bill
Schmidt Ron
Stephens Ken
Trump Chad
Luety Paul
Coaxum Ron
Auriema Donnie
Michael Jim Jr
Kraatz Jeff
Davis Greg
Bowman Brad
Engelage Mike
St. Clair Clayton
Giegel Joe
Testerman Steve
Keen Jim
Michel Al
Machado Rick
Lawler Trek
Jiminez Dan
Phillis Rick
Reynolds Craig
Shallow J
Jorgensen Josh
Jorgensen Jamie
Lang Tim
Leppert Tim
Van ArtsDalen Alan
Ramirez Jose
Ryan Dennis
Tindall James
Owyang Mark
Kondrek Greg
Goucher Jim
Godinez Steve
Lentros Pete
Wouri Lewis
Garner Darrin
Haase Don
Valder Joel
Zampelli Anthony
Ostrom Brent
Michael Jim Sr.
Rojeski Jacob
Raymond Bob
McCleary Dan
Loremo Steve
Rojeski Howard
Parker Dave
Crosley Jeff
Wontorski R
Fairweather Cedric
Lumas M
Hurtado Mickey
Daniel Mark
Campbell Geoff
Dudley D
Vizenor M
Arreguin K
Knowles Matt
Arrestouilh Serge
Peterson S
Boynton Matt
Dutra Norm
Laurio Phil
Williamson Tucker
Team
Florida
Santa Cruz
SoCal
Santa Cruz
South Bay
Team DCM
Sacramento
SoCal
South Bay
East Bay
Sacramento
SoCal
Inland Empire
Santa Cruz
St. Louis
South Bay
St. Louis
Nor Cal
South Bay
Team DCM
So Humboldt
St. Louis
SoCal
Inland Empire
Inland Empire
Florida
Santa Cruz
South Bay
SoCal
Ferndale
Texas Midwest
Santa Cruz
South Bay
Ferndale
Florida
Nevada
Ferndale
Ferndale
Sacramento
Team DCM
St. Louis
Nevada
Ferndale
Team DCM
Santa Cruz
East Bay
Texas Midwest
Texas Midwest
East Bay
St. Louis
Florida
Rocky Mtn
Sacramento
Team DCM
Sacramento
So Humboldt
So Humboldt
East Bay
Florida
Texas Midwest
So Humboldt
Inland Empire
Team DCM
Nevada
Rocky Mtn
Nevada
Inland Empire
Nor Cal
Rocky Mtn
Rocky Mtn
Nevada
McKinleyville
Riverside
Rocky Mtn
Nevada
Riverside
McKinleyville
Texas Midwest
Riverside
Hometown
Bedford, PA
Sonoma, CA
Bellflower, CA
Aptos, CA
Sonora, CA
Dallas, TX
Sacramento, CA
Chicago, IL
Hayward, CA
Walnut Creek, CA
Sacramento, CA
IL

Petaluma, CA

Fremont, CA
(Ferndale?), CA
CA
CA




Escondido, CA



CA


Ferndale, CA
Kansas City, MO
CA
Ferndale, CA




Sacramento, CA





Sacramento, CA
CA



NC

Salt Lake City, UT
Sacramento, CA
NY
Sacramento, CA


CA



Huntsville, AL


Cheyenne, WY

Ontario, CA

Summit Cty, CO




Summit Cty, CO



Sonoma, CA

Final team results of the 2012 Fray in Ferndale 
Pos
1
2
3

4
5

6 (tie)
6 (tie)
8
9
10
11 (tie)
11 (tie)
13
14
15
16
17
Team
SoCal
Santa Cruz
Team DCM

Ferndale
South Bay

Florida
Inland Empire
Texas Midwest
St. Louis
Sacramento
Southern Humboldt
East Bay
NorCal
Nevada
Rocky Mt.
McKinleyville
Riverside
Record(w-l-t)
15-0-1
15-1-0
14-1-1

13-2-1
12-4-0

10-6-0
10-6-0
9-6-1
9-7-0
7-9-0
6-10-0
6-10-0
4-12-0
3-13-0
2-14-0
1-15-0
0-16-0
Members
Rick Jocham, Greg Davis, Milt Suratt, Travis Joop, Jim Keen
Rick Voegelin, Curtis Adams, Bill Lee, Mark Owyang, Joe Giegel,Trek Lawler 
Anthony Zampelli, Dave Simms, Jerry Boswell, James Tindall, Donnie Auriema, Jeff Crosley
Rick Phillis, Al Michel, Dennis Ryan, Jamie Jorgenson, Josh Jorgenson
Jeff Hurley, Ron Coaxum, Dan Jimenez Paul Josefy, Ken Stephens, Steve Testerman
RC Lincoln, Darrin Garner, Clayton St. Clair, Craig Reynolds, Dan McCleary
Mickey Hurtado, Mike Engelage, Chris Jackson, Brad Bowman, Dave Parker
Rick Machado, Steve Godinez, Walter McClurg, Phil Laurio
Jeff Kraatz, Ron Schmidt, Chad Trump, Alan VanArtsdalen and Lewis Wuori
Mitch Valder, Jim Rose, Brent Ostrom, Tim Lang, Joel Valder
Info, please.
Glen Schneidermann, Greg Kondrek, Bob Raymond, Pete Lentros
Info, please.
Info, please.
Info, please.
Info, please.
Info, please.

Team Competition, Individual Standings

Avg
Score
Racer Team R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9
1 32.06 Jocham R So Cal. 32 33 34 33 28 34 28 35
2 30.80 Boswell J East Coast 33 27 32 28 26 28 33 27
3 30.57 Phillis R Ferndale 27 30 34 27 35 25
4 30.50 Engelage M Inland Empire 33 29 34 33 30 27 34 30
5 30.00 Tindall J East Coast 30 33 30 32 22 24 21 36 29
6 29.73 Machado R TX/Mid West 33 27 27 25 30 34 31 29
7 28.75 St. Clair C Florida 25 35 32 30 33 31 21 30 27
8 28.44 Linclon RC Florida 18 26 25 30 30 23 31 33 26
9 28.33 Adams C Santa Cruz 35 29 32 31 26 25 26 23 31
10 28.31 Trump C St Louis 31 35 33 31 30 31 31 30
11 28.00 Hurley J South Bay 33 35 26 24 27 31 34
12 27.75 McClurg W TX/Mid West 32 29 18 28 24 22 31 34 36
13 27.71 Lee B Santa Cruz 25 29 31 25 31 21 27
14 26.67 Lawler T Santa Cruz 30 25 28 30 20 31 17 20
15 26.56 Rose J Sacramento 34 33 16 23 27 17 34 26 33
16 26.33 Voegelin R Santa Cruz 30 31 25 30 14 23 35 21 30
17 26.25 Jorgensen Ja Ferndale 29 28 35 27 28 24 28 14
18 26.20 Giegel J Santa Cruz 24 31 22 26 17
19 25.93 Stretch J Nor Cal 17 27 28 28 20 27 26
20 25.81 Surratt M So Cal. 28 32 28 24 30 18 19 24
21 25.79 Coaxum R South Bay 31 27 31 21 32 21 20
22 25.46 Auriema D East Coast 26 22 23 24 25 20 34
23 25.31 Kondrek G East Bay 29 18 27 30 21 29 33 12
24 24.93 Godinez S TX/Mid West 32 19 11 23 23 20 28 28
25 24.75 Schneiderman G East Bay 25 17 30 32 27 32 24 20
26 24.73 Jorgensen Jo Ferndale 22 28 32 20 26 25 26 22
27 24.73 Jim Jr So Hum 26 25 32 21 33 24 24 32
28 24.57 Testerman S South Bay 31 32 25 23 27 26 28
29 24.42 Owyang M Santa Cruz 26 29 31 19 12 31 21
30 24.31 Joop T So Cal. 23 32 28 18 25 18 21 18
31 24.14 Stephens K South Bay 23 25 20 31 24 33
32 23.63 Reynolds C Florida 22 25 25 20 30 30 16 30 18
33 23.25 Keen J So Cal. 26 24 29 21 25 23 15 32
34 22.88 Davis G So Cal. 24 23 30 22 20 12 24 32
35 22.56 Bowman B Inland Empire 26 14 23 24 28 18 26 20
36 22.46 Daniel M Nor Cal 22 26 31 25 14 12 21
37 22.20 Luety P Nor Cal 20 23 35 22 27 18 18
38 22.19 Haase D Rocky Mountain 24 18 19 24 23 17 29 12 26
39 21.86 Wontorski R Nevada 16 17 23 31 20 22
40 21.75 Valder M Sacramento 27 30 14 16 22 14 31 21 20
41 21.43 Ryan D Ferndale 28 9 20 13 30 27 13
42 21.38 Hurtado M Inland Empire 17 10 27 30 33 18 21 17
43 21.31 Campbell G Rocky Mountain 19 18 21 17 20 21 12 19 27
44 21.30 Miles T Ferndale 31 9 22 15 32 25 11
45 21.25 Lang T Sacramento 29 27 15 20 20 19 34 13 31
46 21.18 Jiminez D South Bay 20 24 19 23 15 29
47 20.50 Van Artsdalen A St Louis 18 28 17 13 19 21 25 23
48 20.50 Kraatz J St Louis 23 25 28 19 27 28 32 14
49 20.33 Zampelli A East Coast 21 19
50 20.25 Raymond B East Bay 24 15 15 28 20 20 21 26
51 20.25 Schmidt R St Louis 21 25 28 23 27 27 30 17
52 20.20 Leppert T East Coast 15 20 24 14 13 30 11 24 30
53 20.19 Jackson C Inland Empire 15 11 29 17 30 18 27 25
54 20.00 Josefy P South Bay 30 25 9 30 14 24 24
55 19.93 Simms D East Coast 14 21 21 15 14 30 20 28
56 19.85 Rojeski J So Hum 18 32 20 24 16 26
57 19.67 Shallow J Nevada 15 15 19 12 35 22 14 16
58 19.33 Crosley J East Coast 24 19
59 19.25 Goucher J TX/Mid West 27 15 10 21 15 13 22 25 20
60 19.13 Knowles M Riverside 17 17 14 27 12 22 20 20
61 19.06 McCleary D Florida 16 24 13 15 24 22 17 26 15
62 19.06 Ostrom B Sacramento 27 31 9 25 20 25 22 27 16
63 18.56 Parker D Inland Empire 18 16 23 21 22 18 20 21
64 18.50 Wouri L St Louis 17 26 25 22 21 29 30 18
65 18.27 Martin G Nor Cal 11 27 22 23 14 13
66 18.20 Rojeski H So Hum 15 16 24 10 20 19 17 27
67 18.00 Lentros P East Bay 14 14 16 25 17 19 22 15
68 17.86 Boynton M Riverside 16 17 17 17 20 17 14
69 17.83 Silva A McKinleyville 17 16 21 17 17 14
70 17.14 Peterson S Nevada 14 15 13 14 31 17 10
71 17.08 Robinson A McKinleyville 15 17 12 16 15 13
72 16.73 Jim Sr So Hum 16 16 21 12 17 9 12
73 16.17 Lumas M Nevada 17 8 16 14 10
74 15.94 Arrestouilh S Rocky Mountain 13 10 20 13 15 13 20 12 22
75 15.64 Micheal Just So Hum 6 10 12 22 13 25
76 15.58 Vizenor M Nevada 11 13 17 9 22 15 11
77 15.56 Loremo S TX/Mid West 18 11 12 8 12 9 16 24 17
78 15.45 Jim III So Hum 14 21 11 10 14
79 15.23 Robinson R McKinleyville 16 13 15 15 12 12 15
80 14.83 Canzoneri J McKinleyville 13 17 22 14 18 13 10
81 14.83 Dutra N McKinleyville 14 15 16 17 16 11 13
82 14.38 Jones R Riverside 14 13 14 17 12 13
83 14.31 Fairweather C Rocky Mountain 14 11 15 12 12 9 16 13 9
84 14.31 Dudley D Rocky Mountain 7 9 18 13 15 11 20 12 12
85 14.13 Valder J Sacramento 17 23 8 17 13 7 19 9 14
86 13.94 McClurg M East Bay 8 7 13 18 7 17 13 12
87 13.40 Arreguin K McKinleyville 17 11 13 12 9 12
88 13.36 Michel A Ferndale 23 13 17 9
89 12.94 Garner D Florida 11 15 14 14 11 14 7 18 11
90 12.92 Parker C Riverside 9 11 9 12 10 22
91 12.83 Ramirez J Nevada 8 10 21 16 15 11
92 12.14 Ferguson M Riverside 15 12 12 12 11 11
93 11.25 Rielly M Nor Cal 20 13 12 11 8
94 10.82 Jones J Riverside 12 8 14 11 17
95 10.57 Pietrok R Nor Cal 6 22 12 14 7 8 8
96 10.40 Silva B McKinleyville 6 14 12 10 8 11
97 9.69 Williamson T Riverside 6 10 11 8 8 10 13
98 7.00 Laurio P TX/Mid West 8 6
All Fray IROC Team:
  • Richard Phillis – Ferndale
  • Jim Michael Jr – Southern Humboldt
  • Jeff Hurley – South Bay
  • Ken Stephens – South Bay
  • Tim Lang – Sacramento
All Fray Team:
  • Rick Jocham – So Cal
  • Jerry Boswell – Texas
  • Richard Phillis – Ferndale
  • Mike Engelage – Inland Empire
  • James Tindall – East Coast DMC

Mar 3, 2012 11:56pm Pacific from Dave Parker of Huntsville, AL

What a day in Ferndale!
Absolutely the greatest day of racing I have ever experienced.  Great teammates... great tracks... great competition.  Captain Mickey Hurtado had a great quote to start the day - When Chris "Action" Jackson asked about what to do about having butterflies, Mickey's response was "Get them to fly in formation."  That line helped me to deal with the chaos, carnage, and comraderie to come.  Just keep it together.
 
Saw one post already about the winners... listed the captains, but each team was full of great racers.  Also, there were 98 racers there today, including a few younger racers and some  local newcomers.  I'm pretty sure EVERYONE had a great time.  As for me, at the end of the day I got a little brass plate that says "The Fray in Ferndale 2012".  Most expensive plate I have ever bought, and worth every penny.  For those who have the opportunity, make the trip someday... you won't regret it. 


  Dave


Mar 4, 2012 12:22am Pacific from Cory White

Congratulations to Team SoCal for their win in the team race on Saturday.
Congratulations to RC Lincoln for his win in the individual race on Friday.
Congratulations to Team Ferndale for their win in the team IROC race on Thursday.

I'd like to take a moment and thank all of you who have contributed to this post, viewed this post or spread word of it. It's been a fun experience and I can NOT wait to see pictures and hear stories of the 15th annual Fray in Ferndale.

I know the information is a little incomplete right now. I will tackle that in the morning. I would appreciate any information you may have regarding yourself, your friends or teammates so that I can complete the final results info.

Safe journeys, racers. I hope you got seriously Frayed.

-Cory

Mar 4, 2012 11:04pm Pacific from Jim Rose of Sacramento, CA
Here are a few pics.  Feel free to repost.

Best line of the event.  "We should use the purple track as kindling to burn the red track."

My best memories of the Fray
1.  The whole atmosphere of the event.  Thanks Rick Phillis!
2.  Trying to learn 54 different lanes.
3.  Paul Josefy and Paul Leuty having great runs in qualifying.
4.  Almost making the A main.  So close.  Thanks to Rick Jocham for a great car.
5.  Meeting the manufacturers of the sport.  RC Lincoln, Greg Davis, Brad Bowman and others.
6.  Hanging out with our NorCal group and especially Team Sacramento.

Blue track.  2 straights, 2 humps, blind corners and a lot of marshalling.
Blue track. 2 straights, 2 humps, blind corners and a lot of marshalling.
Red track.  Power and a maze
Red track. Power and a maze
Purple track.  The butterfly with two humps.  Not used in the team event....thankfully.
Purple track. The butterfly with two humps. Not used in the team event....thankfully.
It is reported by Dave Parker that the above picture of the purple track has the (mostly) headless Inland Empire team in practice mode.


Orange monotony.  Hardest for me to learn.
Orange monotony. Hardest for me to learn.
Tan track on the way to storage.
Tan track on the way to storage.
Fray track storage area.
Fray track storage area.
Mat 5, 2012 at 7:29am Pacific from Dave Parker of Huntsville, AL
(In response to Alan VanDoren's (of TRACK) congrats on his third place in the IROC race.) 

Third?  Nope, we were 6th.  The 1/2/3 teams were very strong and smoked us.  They were the cream of the crop, and the racing among them was very close... 1st tied with 3rd, but beat 2nd, and 2nd beat 3rd (just barely).  One or two different placements would have changed the results.  But we gave 4th and 5th a good run, and upset a couple of other teams.
 
Sounds like you guys had a great time as well.  I'm looking forward to a nice "relaxing" club race later this month.  LOL
  Dave


oops... yep, we were 3rd in the IROC, but that was an 'unofficial' race with only 8 teams entering.  We tied for 6th (out of 17) in the team event, which is the focus at the Fray. 

Dave 
  
Dave Parker
"Nothing is foolproof, to a sufficiently talented fool!"

Mar 5, 2012 at 11:40am Pacific from Jim Rose of Sacramento, CA
Here are some of the tracks while they were bring loaded up for storage.
Black track
Black track
Red track
Red track
Yellow track
Yellow Track
Gold track
Gold track
Mar 7, 2012 8:00am Pacific from Cory White
In a little bit of a backward move on my part, the qualifying times have been posted on the Fray site. They can be found here.
Qualifying times.

Also, the individual car pictures have been posted. They all look so cool.
Car pictures.

Mar 13, 2012 4:00pm Pacific from Cory White
Fray in Ferndale 2012 videos.

Individual Event A-Main uploaded by Lenjet1
No audio in the car, title or screen shots (first 12 seconds).



Individual Event A-Main Heat 4 alternate angle by Rondo1234560



Individual event, E-Main Heat 4 by Rondo1234560



Individual Event G Main Heat 5 by Rondo1234560



Team race St. Louis vs McKinlyville, Race 8, Heat 6 by Rondo1234560



Team race St. Louis vs McKinlyville, Race 8, Heat 5 by Rondo1234560



Jeff Kraatz of the St. Louis team qualifying by Rondo1234560
 


Ron Schmidt of the St. Louis team qualifying by Rondo1234560
27 Comments

How do you get to the Fray in Ferndale?

2/24/2012

1 Comment

 
Using that old Carnegie Hall adage, practice, practice, practice.

Most people from outside of Northern California and Southern Oregon will fly into Redding, CA, San Francisco, CA or Medford, OR and make the drive from there. It's about a 5-6 hour drive from San Francisco up highway 101. If you want to see some of the most beautiful terrain on the planet and have a couple extra hours, head up highway 1 along the Pacific coast. You might need some Dramamine from all the twists, turns and switchbacks.

Here's Rick Burneson's experience at the 2002 Fray. He drove from Southern California.

Old Weird Harold (I think) talks about his trip to the 2003 Fray, which took place in a new, larger venue. 

One industrious race, Tom Bowman of BRP rode his motorcycle from Virginia to the Fray in 2008. Here's his article on the experience.

Here is racer Smalltime's account of his experiences at the 2011 Fray.

I swear I'll make it up there someday.
1 Comment

Experience is King

2/22/2012

0 Comments

 
At the most recent race I attended, I overheard a couple of veteran, respected drivers and car builders talking about what it takes to win races. Sure, a competitive car is needed. Bringing a knife to a gunfight never does anyone any good, except the people with the guns. However, where you invest your time is more important. If you spend a full day working on an already competitive car, you may only get a tenth of a second per lap faster, if that. However, if you spend a full day on a track, running multiple cars on each lane, you're likely to gain four tenths of a second per lap per lane. Experience is king.

I had first hand experience with this at that same race. I showed up late in the practice session to a track I had never been on before, got set up, was able to run 3 minutes on 4 of the 6 six lanes and then qualify. Luckily, qualifying was on one of the 4 lanes I ran on. I qualified second to last. The first race I finished 15th out of 18. I had the same result in the second race. However, as my time on the track increased, my finishing position started to rise. The third race I finished 13th out of 17 and the fourth race I was 11th out of 17. All of this happened while I had almost no time to adjust my car to suit the track. It turned out that, while my car wasn't the fastest, it was competitive and my knowledge of the track grew. Experience is king.

As I drove home that night, I was able to feel good that I learned quite a bit that day and would be able to bring that knowledge back with me the next time I raced there. In addition, any track time is useful track time, especially in a competition environment. Take a deep breath, get in your rhythm, race the track, keep lady luck on your side. Experience is king.

Here's a video of the most recent race I attended, courtesy of Jeff Hurley.
0 Comments

Lesser known races

2/21/2012

0 Comments

 
It seems everyone in slot cars and their brother knows about the Fray in Ferndale. It's a long-running, highly competitive, fun and innovative race that pushes the boundaries of what the Aurora Thunderjet is. There are quite a few other big-time races coming relatively soon.

There's the Greenbrier Thunderjet Challenge, hosted by HOSCAR in Rochester, NY. March 31, 2012 will be its 20th running. This race is for box stock T-jets. The term "box stock" has been eased somewhat as I've heard of parts being swapped, massaged and some minor parts updating is allowed. The format goes like this:Mini-Enduro - 2 Qualifying heats / 8 Racer Main
Qualifying 1 - All racers, Top 6 go to Main - 5 min. Heats
Qualifying 2 - All Racers except top 6, Top 2 go to Main - 5 min. Heats
Main - Top 8 Racers from Qualifying - 20 min. Heats

The 38th annual HOPRA National Championships are coming up June 21-24, 2012 in Akron, OH. This event is for many classes including T-Jets and many varieties of magnet cars. In addition, there is a Concourse D'Elegance. Last year 86 racers entered 288 cars into the 6 classes of racing. Sounds like a lot of fun.

MASCAR hosts the UFHORA National Championship Races in Gloucester, VA June 14-17, 2012. This is another event hosting multiple classes from T-jets to brass cars to unlimited magnet cars. Tom Bowman of Bat-Jet and MASCAR is prolific and relentless in his slot car enthusiasm. Should be another great event.

The Quarrel - A Mid-West race, held in Milwaukee, WI on May 15-19, 2012, that has been going since 2004. Fray rules are used as the standard. There is also a Quarrel Class which allows the use of 12 and 14 tooth pinion gears. 

Got any events you'd like to add? Feel free to comment.
0 Comments

Bettin' on the Fray

2/20/2012

0 Comments

 

Mitch Valder posted to the HOWL (HO World List on Yahoo! Groups) that there are odds on the Fray on Sportswire. Some of the odds seem a little skewed to me, but I'm no bookie. This has generate a lot of responses and speculation. First of all, the question came up as to the authenticity of the odds. It has been generally credited as Mitch's humor (good one, Mitch). Some of the comments have been about beer, disqualifications, beer, additions and omissions from the list. It's a good lighthearted way to head into a great race.

I put my money on the trifecta of fun, camaraderie and exciting competition. I think that's a 1:1 bet. No money won or lost, but something much greater earned.

Got anyone you'd like to add to the odds makers? Leave a comment.


Mitch posted:
"Pulled this list off of Sportswire. Couple of names missing. Maybe they signed up late.

Motorsports - Fray Ferndale
Odds to win the Individual event Friday, Mar 2
Driver Odds
Rick Jocham 2:1
RC Lincoln 2:1
Walter McClurg 6:1
Greg Davis 6:1
Travis Joop 6:1
Trek Lawler 8:1
Richard Phillis 8:1
Jeff Hurley 8:1
Curtis Adams 10:1
Mike Engelage 12:1
Rick Voegelin 12:1
Steve Godinez 12:1
Bill Lee 12:1
Steve Testerman 12:1
Mark Owyang 12:1
Jamie Jorgensen 12:1
Tim Leppert 12:1
Ron Coaxum 12:1
Rick Machado 15:1
Glen Schneiderman 25:1
Bob Raymond 30:1"
0 Comments

Racing Action

2/18/2012

0 Comments

 
The on-track racing action is picking up in the HO scale, as well as the full scale cars and trucks. It's February and there's dirt tracking galore and cars zooming around Daytona in Florida. The Fray in Ferndale is just around the corner. The smells of burning rubber, spent fuel, ozone from electric motors and fresh coffee are in the air. The sounds of V-8 engines and pancake motors are within earshot.

Keep the rubber side down. Keep it in the slot. Say thank you to your turn marshalls. Help out a struggling racer. Support your local track.
0 Comments

Fray Preparation

2/17/2012

0 Comments

 
The 2012 Fray in Ferndale is just around the corner, March 2 and 3. A lot of racers are focused on the preparation of their cars, teams, strategies and all other aspects of traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to race highly modified Aurora Thunderjet slot cars. They are poring over the tiny mechanical and electrical components of their steeds with tweezers, magnifying glasses, desk lamps and any number of off-the-shelf and custom made tools. The Fray in Ferndale doesn't have the big money payout of NASCAR, ARCA or even IMCA. You get your name on the cow trophy, bragging rights and you and your teammates' names are splattered all over the Internet. In addition, whatever tools and products you were using get bragging rights and a likely uptick in sales.

Most of the racers are happy to help newbies and struggling participants. I'm sure the majority of them have a couple of secrets they keep hush-hush in an effort to have some sort of competitive advantage. Fray season is an exciting time of the year for HO slot car racers.

What's your favorite slot car race to attend?
Which race are you looking forward to most this year?
What's your best slot car racing memory?
Why not share a favorite Fray race memory?
If you were stranded on an island with one slot car tool, what would it be?
0 Comments

    Author

    Cory White is a motorsports enthusiast of all scales.

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