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Terry up close.

This is the Rapid Raceway track.

Bob Nakamura's '49 Ford.

Bryan up close.

Ted up close.

Rico.....up close.

I agree with the comments both Chris and Rico posted up. Part of having so many classes is being able to provide a venue for new comers to race WHATEVER car or cars they already have! And to enforce Chris' comment, we have ALWAYS been accommodating to new racers by loaning them cars when they do not have an appropriate car for any class.

If you look at NASTE's history over the years, we have engaged new racers on a yearly basis, and recruited more new racers than probably any other slot car club in the state. I give our IROC racing program most of the credit for that success. So although entering into the Odd Thursday Night program maybe somewhat daunting and confusing for new comers, I'd say the same can be said for starting up in any new group activity! I know for me DANCING is WAY more daunting than slot car racing with the NASTE group!

What else would you expect from a racing venue know as Too Bad?...............

I agree that a separate race format for each class would be the way to go. However I don't think the break-out format would need to be used for every class. I'm not sure the lap records currently recorded would be appropriate to use. You would have to verify they are indeed accurate records and not the result of a rider or the performance of a non-spec car, such as a car equipped with a traction magnet or illegal motor. Any official class lap record should be backed up by additional lap times within 5 to 10 percent. There may be enough data already available to verify those lap records.

Made another trip out to Bob's today for more prep work on the track. I determined that we could not load the 12 foot by 8 foot section into Howie's trailer without removing the legs. So with help from Howie, Beau, and Bob Nak we disconnected the legs from the track, all 10 of them!Two of the legs were secured with a couple screws we could not get to, so out came the saws-all and problem solved! Both track sections are now ready to transport.

Thanks to Howie, Bob, and Beau for all the help today!

All the racing banners were taken down and Checkered Flag Raceway now has the look of being closed down. A sad moment for slot racing in the area. But the good news is it will be resurrected and re-opened in Vancouver as Inslot's Checkered Flag. Same track in a different location, located very close to the Vancouver Mall. I look forward to seeing the racers that have been enjoying this track at its new home here in Vancouver!

Too valuable as a collector piece to me Doc. That is just Ebay fodder. $95 is probably about all you could get for it on Ebay. The vintage stuff I collect I can throw on the track and take some laps...........once I actually have a track up and running............and I find my cars..............

That sounds cool Mitch! My Bentley pig of a car may be competitive with those cars with the stock motor in it!....We'll see at Al's next race.....

After the motor work I ripped into the chassis...literally. The chassis on wheels sat nice and level. From what I've read online about the Scalextric Bentleys I'm lucky there. I decided to try installing brass side pans instead of using just lead. I removed the molded reinforcement ribs from the chassis to allow for the brass strip. I was surprised at how rigid the chassis was after the removal of the ribs.

Normally I weigh everything before weight modifications are made but I really had no idea where my scales were. I grabbed a piece of .045" x .5" brass strip and cut two pieces for side pans. I glued the pans in place with super glue. I also took a piece of a lead wheel weight, approximately 1/8 oz., and beat it flat with a hammer. I then bent and formed it to fit under the front axle just behind the guide flag pivot point.

I used super glue to cement the rear axle plastic bushings in place, and then gave the bushings the super glue shim treatment while the motor rotated the axle at about 1/3 speed. After this the rear axle slop was gone and the running gear was much smoother and quieter. I used a little bit of Goop glue to insure the motor stays in place, and to also help dampen vibration. During today's work I accidently broke one of the wires off of the rear tailight circuit board. I drilled a hole through the solder joint on the circuit board, re-inserted the wire, and resoldered the connection.

I also removed a little material around the perimeter of the rear of the chassis to try to allow for some body float. I was thinking things were going pretty good but, I was a little concerned about weight. The car now feels a little porky.....And then it happened. While searching for some tools in the attic I found one of my digital scales. On the scale went the Bentley and it weighed in at 114 grams!............CRAP!..........Now I'm not sure that Scalextric motor is gonna push this pig around....Well I guess at this point I will go ahead and finish the car up and just hope for the best. It can't possibly be any worse overall, although it may be even slower...Maybe it will stay in the slot now?

That's all for now. I'm going to look over the rules and see what class I can run this thing in if I re-motor it with something that will actually move it!......

One last note. For some reason while I was working on the Bentley today the old movie Old Yeller came to mind. I seem to remember a scene where the kid is talking to Old Yeller about how the dog eats up the chicken eggs and his father says the dog is worthless. A biscuit eater was the term he used for the dog. Well it looks as though this Bentley may be somewhat worthless as well, a Bentley biscuit eater........Maybe just Bently Biscuit for short...............

One more race with Le Mans class cars for points then it is on to GT3 Class races for points. My GT3 car SUCKS! My Scalextric Bentley GT3 handles terribly! Good news is it is SLOW!........So this afternoon I decided to take a closer look at it. After removing the body the first thing I noticed is the plastic rear axle bushings are not equipped with ROUND holes. The axle flops around like a 1/2 inch pipe inside 2 inch pipe. This definitely needs some work. After connecting the motor to my Big Boy power supply I noticed the motor pitch changing like Boy George's rendition of Karma Chameleon.....My initial thought was to throw this piece of crap away, but then I remembered I would have to buy something else, and this car was CHEAP.....After some consideration I decided to break the motor in and see how it worked after some run time. I took the motor out of the chassis and connected it to my Big Boy power supply. After three hours at 6 volts the hiccups and pitch changes were gone......Side note: there may have been just a little motor "work" done before the break in. With the motor break in done, tomorrow if I make time I will start to work on that rear axle setup to try and eliminate it swapping holes!

This is the Big Boy power supply. My friend Dana Denton gave me this power supply about 20 years ago. If I remember correctly his uncle had built it from scratch. I have never misplaced it, even in my recent move because the damn thing weighs about 60 pounds! It is not a variable power supply, but it has fixed outputs of varying voltages. It features a pair of large cooling fans to prevent it from overheating. I love it! Thanks again Dana - still using it after 20 years!

Here's the crappy Scalextric Bentley GT3 motor powered up at 6 volts.