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I like it!!!

TONY - This goes out to you. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LOANING US THOSE BEAUTIFUL RACER FERRARI 250 LMs for our last race of the NASTE 2009 IROC series!!!!

The cars were BEAUTIFUL and their performance was EXCEPTIONAL! The cars ran great!

Bryan - CONGRATS on the Championship Win!!!!!!

------------------------Bill

Some very good points and concerns Rico. That's why I'm glad to see some discussion going on, I hadn't considered some of your points. Let's give some of your points some names and numbers for example. Let's consider a PASER member, PASER currently races at Checkered Flag and Rapid Raceway, and this past season they raced once on the BullRing. That would give one of their racers 5 finish results. However many of the PASER racers also race with OSCAR, so they would be able to pick up their remaining race finishes at Tom's World in Bend, Electron Raceway or Spare Time Raceway in Roseburg, or Heidelberg Raceway or Pelican Park in Eugene. The PASER or OSCAR racers probably have one of the best scenarios in this format, second only to the NASTE racers because we race everywhere with all the different groups we know of. The draw back there is the races would not be IROC as we have done in the past. The Cape Horn racers are at a disadvantage. Their group races on one track, although I did read they have another track at a different location now. Also at a disadvantage is the group that races with Beaverton Slot Car Club, again one track. What it boils down to is how many races are available on how many different tracks where they race the same type of car? Or how many opportuniities are there for a racer to race HIS car on different tracks? So here's the beauty of this for track owners. It's NOT about getting all the groups and racers doing the same thing or racing the same cars. I hear track owners saying they're not getting enough use out of their tracks. So with this format you have the ability to have more races because it doesn't matter if your schedule interfeers with another group's. Here's an example, Rapid Raceway is open for a Hardbody PASER race on the 15th. On the 30th Rapid Raceway is open for a Flexi race Cape Horn style, different cars, different group of racers for the most part. If track owners truely wish to hold more races this would be an easy way to accomplish it. The 1/24 tracks around could hold races with the car types from Cape Horn, Pelican Park, Heidelberg etc. etc. in 1/24, as well as 1/32 magnet-less races. Nobody would have to have extra cars, or for that matter, even more than one! The rub maybe with the HO racers? I do not know how many different tracks they race on? HO GUYS, wade in here! However, I do know of two HO tracks that are on the NASTE circuit that don't get much use! And I am willing to use mine! I truly believe this format could accomplish a lot for the racing in our area, without changing the make-up or continuity of the existing clubs and groups. It's about racing opportunities!  -------------------Bill

Monte and I have talked a great deal in the last few months about what NASTE's role is or should be in the world of slot car racing. In the last couple of years the popularity of slot car racing in the northwest (Oregon in particular) has grown tremendously. There are many clubs or groups in the area, and many races throughout the year held at many locations. With all these different groups and so many races its impossible to align all the schedules to allow racers to attend all the racing available. For the past few years NASTE races have also encompassed all different scales of racing, which has also added to the complexity of scheduling.

So here's my thought; what if NASTE represented a "sanctioning body" that's sole purpose was to help or facilitate competition between and with different racing clubs? There would still be a "NASTE Championship Series", but there would not be a series of NASTE races. Here's my thoughts of how it could work:

Racers sign up with NASTE to participate.

Each racer's NASTE Championship points would be scored from their best race finishes in (as an example 9) races. The races would consist of ANY race, on any track "sanctioned" by NASTE. So what does "sanctioned" mean? In my mind it would mean any "official" race by any of the established clubs or tracks (i.e. OSCAR races, PASER, BSCC, Pelican Park, Heidleberg Raceway, Electron Raceway, Spare Time, Rapid Raceway, PSSRA, HOPAC). Any official races on these tracks or with these clubs would be recognised by NASTE as elligible. The catch would be a racer can have no more than two race finishes for any one track. For example; if PASER held 8 races, 4 at Checkered Flag Raceway, and 4 at Rapid Raceway, a racer that paricipated in all 8 of those races would only receive points based on his 2 best finishes at Checkered Flag and his 2 best finishes at Rapid Raceway. The racer would still need to submit 5 more race finishes to gain his maximum allowable totlsl of 9. Now if PASER had no more than those 8 races, the racer would have to attend 5 more races with anothe club or clubs to accumulate additional finishes.

I believe this format would inspire racers to try racing on other tracks, and promote interclub racing and competition.

So what's in it for participants?
Track owners - NASTE will post your track information, race schedules, and race reports or just finish positions for the entire year. All we need is for you to send us your information and race results. Track owners do not have to do anything any different as far as how they run there races, how many races they hold, or the classes they race. ANYONE can participate!

For the winner of the championship - You will get your name and club affiliation engraved on our NASTE trophy. This 2 foot tall trophy has been passed from racer to racer for 13 years running now. The racer that wins the series keeps the trophy for one year, unless he is successful in defending his title the next year. And prises! As a track owner I will post a grand prize or prizes that will make it interesting and worthwhile (as if the racing alone isn't worthwhile!). There will be some reward for your efforts.

So why NASTE? Well, we have proven our dedication to the slot racing hobby. We have promoted races with many different racing groups and clubs. Our website has been in continuous, uninteruprted, continually updated, operation for over nine years! .........................and mostly, we're willing to give this a try!

So let's here what you have to say!  -------------------------Bill

Like Rico I've spent money upgrading my cars over the initial cost. I'll admit that I've spent way more than I care to remember. As far as the $10 votes, I suspect that's mostly HO scale. However, when I look at some of the cars on the market (regardless of scale) and consider the "quality" of the car as a whole, anything over $10 is too much for many of them!!!! There are quite a few cars where all you're paying for is the body!!! And considering a complete 1/24 scale model kit is not quite $20, I figure a 1/32 body (painted and all) should be worth about $12 (ok, so that's my opinion). Most of the 1/32 OEM chassis, wheels, tires, axles, and guide flags are JUNK! And in reality the motors are about as cheap as they come!!!! SCX has the best quality motors!!! All the rest are "throw aways"!!! HO scale slot cars have always been the cheap route into slot racing. Quality wise, I think HO cars are better than most all the 1/32 cars!!! 1/32 cars are superior only in body detail........but hell, they're BIGGER!!!!  ------------Bill

Bob Nakamura sent me these photos of his GTP Mustang.

This is one good looking race car! Great job Bob!

--------------Bill

OK Smooth, The SCX Class is your baby!

We your followers seek your guidance and wisdom..................We seek speed and legality!........................well, SPEED anyway!!!.......................... LEAD US OH WISE ONE!!!!!!

The gude flag assemblies on the COT cars are different than the older style NASCARs. I don't like the guide flag setup on either car. The whole setup to me is overly complicated, not condusive to good electrical contact, and delicate/fragile. It will be interesting to see how they hold up under serious competition. But I don't see where it would be an easy conversion to something else because there are no motor wires that connect directly to the guide flag braid. You would have to cut openings in the chassis for the wires to pass through, plus have enough clearance for the wires when the guide flag turns or swivels. As I read the rules, cutting holes in the chassis is not an allowable option. I say the guide flags should be raced as installed by the factory - STOCK. Because, if someone were to modify theirs, and it turned out to be better, it would be banned anyway if it were deemed "too hard to do"...........

Sounds legal to me Rico!!!!..................but then, you are aware of my track record when it comes to "RULES" and interpretations!!!!!!!

OHhhhhh, NOW you tell me!!!!!................................