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.

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 rumors are flying about a new t-jet chassis and associated parts by Dash. The sources are reporting a post from Feb 10 that Dan (the Dash guy) says his t-jet pickup shoes, based on BSRT 504 shoes, will be pure copper and samples are expected from the factory "in a few days" and, if approved by Dan, will be available "by the end of February."

He's also quoted as saying another run of t-jet magnets will be completed within 2 weeks, but than Tom Stumpf bought the entire run, so see Tom for Dash Magnets.

The sources continue with information regarding a pancake armature. Dan is rumored to have said that the armatures will drop in to an Aurora, Johnny Lightning or Auto World t-jet, X-Traction or Magnatraction chassis (3-gear or 4-gear). Dan also mentions that the armature will come from the factory with multiple resistance values for varying levels of performance (vintage, Magnatraction, drag racing, etc). This has generated much conversation and speculation. Will they, in fact, drop right in? What will the performance be? What will the reliability be? Will it be legal for the various racing series? Will it cause all existing armatures to be obsolete? If the rumors prove to be fact, time will tell.

Finally, the big bomb-shell is that these components will lead to a full chassis production. Magnets are ready and proven. Shoes are nearly ready. Arms are in the works. Gears are at the factory. A source quotes Dan as saying "Needless to say, the armature will eventually lead to the production of the various chassis that use this arm."

Interesting times here in the world of scale motorsports.

UPDATE:
Tom Stumpf has confirmed with me that he will be taking possession of the Dash magnets. They will be $3 per pair. No volume price break was mentioned.

Feb 17, 2012
UPDATE 2: In addition to Tom Stumpf, Jerry Schmoyer at One Stop Slot Shop and one other unnamed person (possibly Jim Gase of JAG Hobbies) have split the most recent production run of Dash T-jet magnets. Wish I had gotten in on that order.

Feb 19, 2012
UPDATE 3: "From the horses mouth.This is to crush any rumors.I have purchased the entire run of Dash magnets..Dan has decided to come back and produce his great line of products again.New parts and new cars on the horizon.I purchased the magnets to help out.I am not in partners with anyone.Jerry Schmoyer has purchased a substancial amount of them.The price will still be the same $3.00 a pair.They should be here in 2 weeks.Anyone interested can contact me at Tomhocars@aol.com or at the shows..Thanks Tom Stumpf"

Feb 20, 2012
UPDATE 4: From HobbyTalk.com
Quote: Originally Posted by swamibob

Hello Dan;
I believe we've met, at least once, at the Midwest slot car show, probably when it was in Matteson.


I love your work and have purchased, in the past, a lot of your magnets. I've been contemplating building a new t-jet bare chassis myself. Is yours going to be an exact replica of the original T-jet chassis?

Tom (from Minneapolis)

Dash Dan's reply:
Exact? Nope. but it will have the same wheelbase and track. Magnets are already more powerful. shoes will be different. Arm will be similar but not 'exact'. Gears will be a low friction bronze alloy, not sure if the original used solid copper or an alloy. We won't be using plastic gears in the T-Jet , except for the crown.

Feb 22, 2012
UPDATE 5: From HobbyTalk.com
Dash Dan says...
Shoe samples arrived yesterday, they look great! we'll have them in a few weeks and Tom Stumpf will have them at the Midwest Slot Car show...

Slot cars are a community. Slot cars, like people, come in all sizes, shapes, speeds, attitudes and levels of professionalism. Often times the vehicle reflects the owner.

In order to be a community, several people are needed. As more and more people assemble to talk about, race and collect slot cars, their personalities come with them. Personalities, like the gears on your cars, don't always mesh. Sometimes a little lapping of the gears is needed in order to get a set that meshes correctly. Sometimes gears mesh perfectly right out of the box. Sometimes there is a set of gears that just won't ever mesh, no matter what's done, who's around and how long you try. I have found there to be a gear or two in my slot box that just won't ever play nice with the other gears. Those unruly gears would probably work well with a gear or two in someone else's box.

What I'm getting at is that we should all be able to enjoy our life, liberty and pursuit of slot car happiness. We all have something to contribute. We all will frustrate another in our community at one time or another. Take a deep breath and find your happy place.