| |
HOSTed Racing Brings NASCAR
To Basement Raceways
NASCAR in the cellar has all the skill and speed involved a true NASCAR event and provides the same excitement for drivers without the danger and it all takes place at a scale of 1:32.
I dropped in on one of the weekly Wednesday Night races in southeastern New Hampshire to see what draws 10 to 15 slot car racers to one of these MDF board and metal braid tracks weekly to take up the gaunt...er controller to duel it out on the make-believe asphalt. | | |  | | | | (Left to Right in the Canterbury cellar) Rick Toleos--Lee, NH racing for about 2 years; Steve Rodonis-Weare, NH racing for about 6 months; Dickie Pearson-Canterbury racing for about 7 years; Cliff Mathewson-Concord racing for about 3 months; Kevin Jeglinski-Litchfield racing with us for about 1 1/2 years; Has been raced HO elsewhere for many years; Ethan Harmony-Canterbury hasn't "officially" raced yet and Marc Gosselin-Webster racing for about 2 1/2 years, but like Kevin, has raced HO elsewhere for many years. | | | Winter in New Hampshire has a way decimating the normal turnout for such as event and six guys managed to surpass colds, car problems, snow and muddy roads to get trackside with their mobil racing car pits/cases to provide them with a 5-10 car race pack selection. The cars involved (like the four in the corner) range in price from $40 to $60 and up, with most going between $45 or $50. The better ones can run 24-hours a day for a week straight.Tires are usually the first things to go. "I ran a used NInco car for 2,000 scale miles (62.5 actual miles) over a 3 week period," said Dickie Pearson who hosted this Wednesday night race event in Canterbury. |  | | | "We (the Wednesday night gang) run the cars pretty much stock from the package. We do change the stock rear tires (usually made of rubber) to an aftermarket silicone tire. Popular brands of silicone tires are Supertires, Slot.It and Indy Grips.," he added. |  | Kevin Jeglinski (left) helps a newer racer setup his car before taking to the Triangular oval track Pearson just set up in the basement of his home. Popular car brands are Carrera, Scalextric, Fly, Ninco, Slot.It and Artin. There are other brands such as NSR, Revell, Monogram, Sloter and MRRC that are not as popular, but do put out some unique cars. A lot of attention is given to the rear tires of these racing cars. This particular night, the guys are racing Carrera "Vintage NASCAR and some SCX Modern Nascars. You can grab one online at the Red Rocket Hobby Shop online. There are other brands such as NSR, Revell, Monogram, Sloter and MRRC that are not as popular, but do put out some unique cars. | | | This group of drivers ran for about four hours in this session with no major breakdowns despite de-slotting. Yuh, some thought their cars could perform better. | | Vintage Nascars racers (3 Fords and a Plymouth) await the starters flag for one of 35 trips around Pearson's tri-oval. It took about 60 hours and under $500 to set up the new race track finished last month as a HOST (Home Operated Slot Track |  | | | Just about all tracks we run on are routed from MDF, using either braid (like mine) or copper tape to supply the power to the cars, according to Pearson. |
Race Results Show Contenders Close
|
