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).

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.

Some people say slot cars of all scales are making a comeback. For some, they never went away. That said, the local news in Fresno, CA did a story on a local track and the characters that frequent it.

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.

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.

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"

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.

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?