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
