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The NASTE Forum → Posts by wb0s
The 2019 Fray in Ferndale is scheduled for February 28th through March 2nd. It is the largest slot car racing event in the nation, ironic since HO is the smallest of the car scales raced.
This year I'm looking to be a "mooch" racer as I have no HO cars that are competitive for the event. However, with any luck finding it, I should have a suitable controller to race with.
Anybody else interested in attending this year?
What else would you expect from a racing venue know as Too Bad?...............
That rule has been enforced but it has never been used in point series races. It was established as a rule to keep the competition as close as possible in the non-points races. Bryan Trachsel was the main recipient of that rule for obvious reasons, but for the most part it was not due to the car's performance. At one point Bryan was assessed a three lap handicap in one of the classes. We had our fun with Bryan for a couple of seasons, but since Bryan quit racing with us no one has dominated like he did, although Chris Kouba has come close. The rule made more sense when there were a lot of newer racers in the group, whereas now we have more skilled racers. I think the majority of the racers in the NASTE group now, have been racing together long enough that they have all improved their skills to the point where most anyone can win a race. If the majority is OK with removing it I will take it off the list.
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.
NASTE's number of classes is a direct result of the number of and variety of car offerings, and the disparity in performance between manufacturers. Disparity due to chassis design, motor fitment, and body characteristics. I used to think the 1/24 clubs raced a lot of classes but, they've been racing the same classes for years! In the 1/32 world in one month there can be the potential for two, three, or more classes to be added to the racing list due to the manufacturers latest offerings. One option would be to ban any car manufactured after a certain date, which I don't think is practical or fun. Before TooBad closed I had been considering using a break-out type of race format for some classes. With the computer systems we now use we can set a minimum lap time and if a racer exceeds that that time his or her lap does not get counted. Using this type system could allow racers to race various manufacturer's cars together. In my opinion there are two basic performance factors for the currently manufactured 1/32 cars, motor power/RPM, and chassis design of non-motor pod or motor pod.
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!
I know of one thing that fixes it for sure. When I had TooBad Motorplex I originally used Trackmate as the lap counting system. Trackmate will work with Race Coordinator. When I switched to using Race Coordinator I still used Trackmate's interface board and never had the power shut off problem. When we switched Howie's 1/24 Rapid Raceway over to a new computer and installed Race Coordinator we experienced the same power problems Al is experiencing with Rippin' Ridin' Raceway. I installed the Trackmate interface board off of my routed HO track and that eliminated the problem completely.
Bob Nakamura's Scalextric Sport track also uses Race Coordinator through a Trackmate board and has had no issues.
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..............
After Inslot's Checkered Flag Raceway is set up and ready for racing here in Vancouver, I will be enforcing a rule requiring the body screws on 1/32 production cars to be secured into the chassis. This is easily done by placing a piece of electrical tape over the mounting screw holes on the bottom side of the chassis. We have all experienced someone losing a body screw on the track. They get into the guide slot where they are difficult to remove and can cause damage to cars. The other common scenario is for them to get picked up by a car's motor magnets which can also cause damage to the car. My question to the rest of the group is; is this a rule we should adopt as official under NASTE's General Rules?
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.....
Thanks for the advice Doc!
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...............
I will admit my NSR Porsche 917 is an awesome car! And it was like that right out of the box. The only thing I have done to the car is pull out the traction magnet, and loosen the body mounting screws and the motor pod screws just a bit. It even has the original treaded tires on it. It was not as fast as Al's NSR Corvette, but it is really smooth and controllable.
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.
Here's my revelation after last night's race. After re-reading the rules for Can Am I came to the conclusion I could have raced my NSR Porsche 917 in the Can Am class...........CRAP!...........too bad for me that was the last Can Am point race!
How about a couple videos from last night's race?
Around the room at Rippin' Ridin' Raceway on January 3rd. From the left: Monte, Daniel, Kevin, Zack, Jeff, Al, and Rico.
Can Am Class grid.
Our hero Monte Saager, car builder, racer extraordinaire, organizer, and the creator of our website! Thanks Monte for ALL you do!
One of the evenings Can Am grids.
Can Am entry.
Greg Greenman Petrolati brought along his new 1/24 scale Fiat to last night's race. Pretty cool car!
One of the GT Class grids.
Around the room from the left: Kevin, Rico, Zack, Daniel, and Amy.
I'm with ya there Chris! Shouldn't be a problem, this is one BIG track! Sad news for me is I will have no place for the Kouba three laner.........
NASTE 2019 Point Series Championship Race No.7 @ Rippin' Ridin' Raceway January 3, 2019
Race Results - Can Am Class:
1 Monte 77.7 Laps - 10 points
2 Al 76.8 - 9 pts.
3 Mitch 73.8 - 8 pts.
4 Daniel 73.6 - 7 pts.
5 Greg 68.2 - 6 pts.
6 Jeff 67.7 - 5 pts.
7 Bill 67.0 - 4 pts.
8 Zack 65.1 - 3 pts.
9 Rico 63.5 - 2 pts.
10 Kevin Lagassa 58.2 - 1 pt.
Current Standings for the 2019 NASTE Point Series Championship After 7 Races:
1st Monte - 60 points
2nd Al - 56 pts.
3rd Rico - 41 pts.
4th Daniel - 38 pts.
5th Mitch - 28 pts.
6th Bill - 24 pts.
7th Jeff - 20 pts.
8th Greg - 16 pts.
9th Stan - 11 pts.
10th Chris - 10 pts.
11th - tie Gary - 9 pts.
11th - tie Fernando - 9 pts.
11th - tie Zack - 9 pts.
14th - tie Jake - 2 pt.
14th - tie Farmer Bryan Dickerson - 2 pts.
16th - tie Terry Redeau - 1pt.
16th - tie Kevin Lagassa - 1 pt.
What a great way to start out the new year racing at Rippin' Ridin' Raceway on January 3rd 2019. We welcomed a new racer, Kevin to the group, and then proceeded to thrash some cars!
The first class to grid up was GT. The basic rules of this class state cars must must have a roof and full fenders. Most cars fit into this class which makes it easy for newcomers. Initially NSR brand cars were not allowed in the class but, since the price point of NSR cars has come down and the cost of building a competitive car has gone up, the restriction was removed. The outcome of that decision is reflected in the results of the race listed below. Note that my winning NSR Porsche 917 was totally box stock. I took it out of the box, loosened the chassis pod and body mounting screws and raced it. It is running the original stock, treaded tires.
GT Class Results:
1 Bill 79.8 Laps
2 Al 77.1
3 Mitch 73.4
4 Greg 69.0
5 Rico 67.7
6 Jeff 67.2
7 Daniel 66.1
8 Zack 64.4
9 Monte 51.5
10 Kevin Lagassa 49.5
Can Am was the next class up and the night's race for points. Monte killed us with his awesome scratchbuilt Porsche 917. Al followed in second with Mitch finishing third.
Can Am Class - NASTE 2019 Point Series Championship Race No.7 @ Rippin' Ridin' Raceway:
1 Monte 77.7 Laps
2 Al 76.8
3 Mitch 73.8
4 Daniel 73.6
5 Greg 68.2
6 Jeff 67.7
7 Bill 67.0
8 Zack 65.1
9 Rico 63.5
10 Kevin Lagassa 58.2
Can you load the wide piece on it's side so that the wide section is the tall portion and lay it on it's back so the legs become the wide portion? Or remove the legs and put it in at an angle?
Those are two options I have yet to explore. I'm not sure turning it on its side will work as that will make the overall height just under 8 feet. I have to take some measurements to see what kind of height there is to work with in an enclosed trailer and or a box truck. Taking the legs off to go into the truck or trailer at an angle may be an option. I have found trailers and box trucks that measure 8 feet in width inside. It's the door opening where clearance is reduced.
The first track piece to arrive at its new home!
Kirk Smith built this track to be rugged and able to withstand most anything! This is just a small sample of the heavy duty construction!
The NASTE Forum → Posts by wb0s
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