Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

Race screen shot, proof positive we were there.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray120.jpg

Anthony and I in the heat of the battle. And no, that turn marshal is not fixing my car....

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray121.jpg

An action shot of the cars during a race. Yes they looked that blurry to me too!

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray122.jpg

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

Anthony and I still at it on the track. Anthony was in the top three and moved up. I was not and did not....

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray123.jpg

Turn marshalling in the Fray is stressful. The cars are fast and things happen just as quickly. Pressure added by the race director Richard Phillis watching on!

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray124.jpg

Mike Leech readies himself as the cars are lined up for another heat race.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray125.jpg

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

Drivers get prepared between heat races in the individual race.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray126.jpg

Anthony, Mike, and Dave preparing for their next heat race in the individual competition. All three of these guys did an awesome job of driving!

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray127.jpg

In between heat races.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray128.jpg

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

Here's Rene White with Team Oregon getting in some practice laps. Although Rene did not actually race she was of great help to the team turn marshalling, helping get cars ready between heat races, and taking photos. thank you Rene!

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray129.jpg

This photo says it all!

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray130.jpg

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

Having been eliminated early on in the Individual Race competition, I had plenty of time to check out old town Ferndale. The town is full of historic buildings!

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray58.jpg

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray60.jpg

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray61.jpg

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray62.jpg

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

We had dinner here at the Hotel Ivanhoe. The food was excellent and there was also live music.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray138.jpg

I saw this cool display in one of the downtown store windows.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray141.jpg

The Gingerbread Mansion.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray151.jpg

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

This was it, Saturday morning. Race day started with the driver's meeting.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray155.jpg

Numbers were drawn to set the running order and team match ups.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray157.jpg

Teams were then introduced.

http://www.naste.org/members/bill/fray158.jpg

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

After the team introductions the Team Race competition began around 8 A.M. The format was the same as the IROC race with each race consisting of 10 lap heats. All the teams raced each other head to head with 3 drivers from each team on the track in each heat race.

I apologize for not getting any photos duting the big race competition, but I was pretty busy all the time. There was no time for anything but driving and turn marshalling for the first 4 hours. If you weren't on the track racing, you were needed to turn marshal. You had to run to have time to take a leak!

There was a lunch break around noon. After lunch which was about an hour break, the second half of the race began. Same routine as the first half of the race. No time for anything but racing and turn marshalling! The race ended at approximately 6:00 PM. It had been a really hectic FULL day of racing and I was beat! I was wanting to get on my home so after the last heat race I loaded up and headed out the door. As I write this I still don't know how we finished. As soon as I can get the results I will get them posted.

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

Breaking news!!!!! This just  came in on the wire....... Bill has not got enough of the ho cars . all other classes for this odd thrusday  race  have been switched to thunder jets cars and not to leave THE MONT OUT all cars have to be painted a shade of yellow. once again this is breaking news straight from the fake news network...

The secondnidator

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

I think Monte just passed out after reading this!

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

On this trip to the Fray I spent much more time poking around the pits and observing. The attention to detail and time these guys spend on their cars is incredible! They take these toy cars that were mass produced in the 1960s and turn them into precission racing machines. No detail is overlooked, and every part is reworked into a precission piece. I have to give these guys credit, they know what they are doing!

So here's a few things I picked up on. Things I think are a must if you want to have a competitive car.

MOTOR MAGNETS - Dash magnets seemed to be THE motor magnets of choice. In addition you NEED the strongest DASH magnets you can find! The fast guys use a gauss meter to check and match all their motor magnets!

WEIGHTED FRONT END ASSEMBLY - A good weighted front end assembly is also a must. A tungsten axle also helps out. Wizzard makes one that seemed popular http://www.dynamicarmatures.com/. I was using an RTHO front end setup on my cars, one with the "rocker" setup and one with the standard weighted front axle. They worked well but I think the Wizzard setup is superior.

REAR AXLE - A good straight rear axle, either stainless or tungsten.

ARMATURE - I felt I would be OK giving up a little speed for good handling in the tight curves. Well, I was wrong! The fast guys are fast in the curves and even faster down the straights! You NEED speed, which means a good armature. Armatures cannot be less than 16 ohms across each pole. With a factory stock Aurora armature you need to be sure each pole of the arm measures as close to 16 ohms as possible. Aftermarket and Dash 2 laminant armatures are allowed in the team race on Saturday. Balanced armatures  are the way to go.

PICKUP SHOES - Wizzard pickup shoes seemed to be a good choice.

CROWN GEAR - With the extremely small diameter rear tires used on the Fray type tracks, the stock Aurora rear crown gear will touch the track. You need a smaller diameter 15 tooth crown gear. RTHO makes a good one http://rt-ho.com/gears.html

I also picked up a few tuning tips. For some of the tracks good brakes were a benefit. A little extra motor brush tension helps out there. When assembling your chassis work to eliminate every bit of friction you can. Even small improvements pay off! Be sure your front wheels rotate freely, very freely. Use spacers on the rear axle to ensure your crown gear and wheels maintain their position on the axle. The fast guys were running rear tire diameters of .322" to .326", front tire diameters were close to .300". Bodies should be mounted somewhat loosely, and the front guide pin should be glued in place.

I know there are many more tuning tricks, but these are just a few I picked up on. I'd like to thank Dave Smith for getting my chassis built for the race. Dave gave me four of the best running and handling Tjets I have ever owned! Even at that I was not competitive in the Fray. The level of performance these guys reach is just astonishing! I was definitely schooled!

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

Bill, thank you for the excellent reporting with pictures.  It seems like quite the event, how far away were teams coming from?

Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win.

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

It is quite an event and quite an experience!

There were teams from Washington, Nevada, Alabama, Colorado, and Missouri in the IROC event. I know there was a guy from Maryland. I believe there was also a team from Pennsylvania in the team race.

Re: The 2017 Fray In Ferndale

Read more about The Fray here: http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/266-slot- … ndale.html

And here: http://www.slotcarillustrated.com/porta … ost1006286