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Terry, I have been having fun racing with you in this class! It seems we are very closely matched! The race before this one I beat you by less than a full lap, this time we tied but you were faster! This is fun stuff!

Have you been able to get hooked up for the NASCAR Class yet?

Thank you Howie for providing us with an awesome place to gather and track to race on!

Photos from the Indy Car race on January 26, 2019:

The start of a heat race for Indy cars.

This morning I started working on cleaning up the lands next to the slots to lay the braid. I want to get this step done before I do the paint touch up on the running surface so I can also touch up the lands where needed. I will be re-laying most of the braid as it is in really good shape. I did however find some areas where the braid should be replaced, so I figure now is a good time.

This is easy mindless work, just some light scraping followed by vacuuming and a light swipe with a rag.

Looks much better after they're cleaned up!

Thanks Zack.

This is what the countersunk screws in the track surface look like before the bondo is applied. They're pretty deep and the trick is, if the track should ever have to be moved, these puppies have got to come out! We spent quite a bit of time digging them out so we could separate the track pieces.

When we were taking the track apart, we didn't even know exactly how many screws there were to remove, or exactly where they were located. Being a realistic type of person, I know some day this track will be moved. Probably not in my life time, but someday. So for the next caretaker of InSlot's Checkered Flag Raceway I am taking lots of photos illustrating where and how to disassemble this beast! Plus, where there are countersunk screws in the track surface that MUST come out to complete the disassembly, I am covering the screw heads with a small piece of paper. I'm hoping this little piece of paper will not only keep the Bondo filler out of the phillips head screws, but keep the Bondo from bonding to the screws as well!

Whatever you're thinking Doc........Save it for the Halloween Race!!!!

Bob had been using Naptha. He gave me a couple spray bottles and partial cans. It is a strong solvent/thinning agent so it stinks a bit, plus you should probably use plastic gloves. But it definitely cleans! Takes off dirt, grease. whatever with ease!

The last thing I worked on today was the braid. I started to remove the old glue used to hold the braid to the track surface using an old knife I have. I was very pleased to find the braid land was well painted by Kirk Smith when he originally built the track. Being well painted helps save the MDF underneath from damage when the old braid and glue is pulled up.

This old knife was my grandfather's. I have no idea what he used it for but it works perfectly for scraping off the old glue in the narrow land next to the guide slot. It is dull so it does not cut into the paint or MDF. I love it when I can put to good use some of these really old tools my grandfather had. I know for a fact this knife is much older than I am!

After I had the track surface cleaned, I did an assessment of the condition of the braid. I used blue painter's tape to make the areas of concern.

The good news is other than where the track was disassembled there are np portions of the braid that MUST be replaced. There are some worn spots, but nothing terrible. For the most part all of the braid is in very good condition.

My plan includes storing my routed HO track underneath this track. I will build a platform on casters for my 8 foot X 4 foot HO track table. I moved and removed some of the track's legs to make room for storage of the HO track underneath the two straights.
Before:

After:

Zach, one thing to consider about an "L" shaped track is visibility. If you are considering an "L" shape with the long side up against a wall as well as the short side, you will have the potential for a really bad blind spot. This is due to the need for turn marshals to go into the inside of the "L" to re-slot cars. My last track was an "L" shape, but with the driver's stations located on the outside of the "L"'s longside (the cars travelled away from the drivers or towards them when negotiating the "short side"). Configured like this, for the most part, turn marshals did not block drivers line of sight when turn marshalling.

When it comes to power taps on a track, I consider lap length, the type of power or power supply, and the types of cars to be raced, and the number of lanes the track has. Any track with a lap length of over 40 feet I would break into quarters with a power tap in each quarter. My last track had a lap length of 84 feet and I used four power taps spaced equally around the track. My HO track has a lap length of approximately 30 feet and I used two taps spaced half around. My considerations for power taps are probably overkill, but I have raced on many tracks with "power issues" and it is really a fun killer! With that said, the track I just got has only two power taps and all reports were that it was just fine. Let your conscience be your guide, knowing that too many is WAY better than not enough!

Plan?..........drawing?..............hmmmmm..............I've never tried that!