I am getting ready to open a small HO track in our little town on a part time basis.
I was wondering where I could go to find all of the rules for the different classes of cars for races. Its been almost 40 years since I have run these cars and I know things have sure changed alot.
Also, I was wondering what would be a good bunch of cars to keep for rentals that will run good and be dependable on a routed track.
There are so many different HO cars out now that I am lost on whats what. Need to keep the prices low so that the kids can afford to have a car. This is sort of a poor town in The Ozarks.

Ronnie :)

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Thanx AFX, It seems like you have a good answer for everyone of my questions I come up with. Maybe you can come to The Ozarks for my grand opening in Feb. LOL

Ronnie

Try visiting some of the other boards and lists on the web to see what everyone else is racing, especially those in your area of the country. Not knowing where in Arkansas you are, there is some good racing going on in both Kansas City and St. Louis. From there you can adapt rules to fit what you want. Don't try to replicate another club or organization but create something that fits what you need. If you follow somewhat what is being raced in your region then your racers can if they chose venture to other areas and be able to compete with minor changes to their cars. If you follow to closely to an established organization's or club's rules then your racers are limited to where else they can race without thrashing their cars or having to have seperate cars to race elsewhere. Happy racers make for a flourishing club/ group, or organization.

Try to establish a balance between the two basic car designs, pancake and magnet cars. After this, the racers will determine what classes they want to race. Box Stock classes, Spec classes, and up to Modiifed classes and beyond. The point is to supply an avenue of racing that draws racers back each successive time. If you are in an area where HO racing is new then you will want to only have a couple of classes and keep them very simple. Over the last 35+ years I have noticed that the first impression is very important in this hobby and an overwhemling assortment of classes can scare potential racers away when they start mentally calculating costs.

Perhaps the best way to get some racing going in your area is to host IROC races. This way there is no financial out lay for the participants prior to getting into an actual race. Most people are competitive by nature so get them on the track with equally prepared cars and before long you'll be hosting regular races.

As for other recommended web visiting:

AHORA (http://www.homestead.com/ahora/ahora.html)
NITRO LIST (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NITRO-Racing/)
NITRO Home Page (http://erikruud.freeservers.com/nitro/nitro.html)
Mid America HO Racing (http://home.kc.rr.com/jhabernal/mahor/)
Slot Car Illustrated Board (http://slotcarillustrated.com/portal/forums/index.php?)
Scale Racers (http://www.scaleracers.com/AtTheRaces/)

What part of Arkansas? My wife has family in the NW part of the state and if your in that area I will bring my box with me the next time we're down that way.

co zee, that is some good info there, and I thank you.
I am in Missouri, Warsaw to be exact. I am actually at the dam where Truman lake ends and Lake of The Ozarks starts. We are exactly 125 miles straight north of Branson on 65 Hwy Some of the best bass and crappie fishing is less than 2 blocks from me. Together the 2 lakes are a little over 111,000 acres.

Ronnie

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I am ordering the trakmate equip for the 6 lane setup next week so kevin will have it to set up the track. That way everything will be tested and ready to go when I pick it up the first part on Jan.

Yeah! Until I get caught back up for the last 40 years off I'm going to take it easy and simple for awhile. LOL

Ronnie

For simplicity then just go with readily available and low cost cars such as the JL 500s and X-Tractions. Keep them as Box stock classes with minor changes/modifications. With either class it would be wise to allow the changing of the rear tires to a silicone. Sanding of the front tires could be allowed for a couple different reasons, all of which greatly helps the driveability and performance of these cars. If keeping the tires on the rims becomes a problem then changing the rear rims to double flanged ones could be allowed and tallowance of gluning fronts on is an alternative here. Otherwise the car should stay as it came out of the box it came in.

Since financial outlay for the prospective racers in your area is a concern, simply set up enough cars of both types and hold an IROC race.

When the racing first begins, if it seems everyone is having a bit of a driving problem, then turn the power down some till racers get used to the cars then as they progress in their driving abilities you can begin to bring the power back up. Remember, if it isn't fun they more than likely will not come back or at least probably not very often.

I guess we'll be able to run anything. I ordered the 30 amp astron variable pwr. supply a couple days back. I hope that is enough for the 6 lanes if we ever run hot cars on it.

Ronnie :)