Madera Speedway Slot Car Project

Track will be a four lane, high banked short oval based on the real world racetrack located in Madera in central California. The layout will be six feet in length by three feet in width, and will have a minimum of nine inches of side boards to keep the cars within the layout. Outside lane (lane four) lap length is 12.41 feet, running length. The layout will feature grandstands and bleachers, a scoring display and billboards accurate to the real world track, as it appeared during the 2007 racing season.

Track surface will be all new TOMY track, with the corners banked at 45°. Total banking in the straights will vary but will be no less than 8° between the turns. This is very much the configuration of the actual track as well. Height of the banked curves is estimated to be four inches outside of lane four. Power will be run to all four lanes with a single jumper from the front to the back stretch. The power supply will be a variable voltage BSRT G-Jet power pack. No decision has been made as to a choice of controller, but the Parma 25 ohm is desired.

Plans are for the track to be assembled “upside down” as to allow access to the bottom surface. All track pieces will then be clamped together and either glued or, preferably, screwed together using 2-56 bolts and locking nuts. Another choice would be the TOMY track clips but having never seen them before I can’t make that as a decision. Once completely assembled it will be flipped and any gaps will be addressed. Painting of the track to resemble the actual racing surface is also being very seriously considered.

Support for the banking will come in the way of Styrofoam wedges cut to the angle of the banking and glued in place. Wedges will be placed every 1/8th turn, then every six inches along the straights, and the space between the wedges will then be filled with expanding insulation foam. This will give the track total support and act as a sound deadening material. The outside of the banking will be carved Styrofoam sheeting. Walls made of .040 plastic sheet with fiberglass screening will be installed outside the perimeter of the track.

The pit entry gate in turn one will be represented but will not be functional. Same with the pit exit gate onto the track in the back straight. The grandstands and bleachers will also be present; however the level of detail for each has yet to be determined. The concession stand near the turn four bleachers will also be represented.

Other objects like track lighting are being considered; currently the emphasis is being placed on accurate landscaping for the layout. Permission for the use of Madera Speedway logos is also being requested. The track is designed so that upon request it may be transported to the race track during special events, this is a condition offered in exchange for the use of the name and logo.

“Ground breaking” is planned for early April.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MaderaSpeedway.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MaderaProject.jpg

Madera Speedway pics: http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fs earch%2Fimages%3Fp%3DMadera%2BSpeedway%26js%3D1%26 ni%3D20%26ei%3Dutf-8%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501%26xargs%3D0%26pstart%3D1%26b%3D101&w=345&h=240&imgurl=www.scrafan.com%2Fimages%2Ftracks%2Fmadera% 2Ftrack209.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scrafan.com%2Fracetracks%2Fm adera1.html&size=26.8kB&name=track209.jpg&p=Madera%20Speedway&type=JPG&oid=55fb283f06ffd7f8&no=117&tt=359

Ran up to Madera for about an hour, talked to my connection up there and got to walk the track for a few minutes. The banking isn't anywhere close to 45 degrees, according to my DeWalt digital level no part of it is more than 10 degrees. The straights are slightly banked but at about 4-5 degrees.

What I'm now thinking about is this: taking flat track and not so much banking it as putting a pitch in it. Here's what I'm talking about.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MVC-022S.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MVC-023S.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MVC-024S.jpg

The lead in and the corner will elevate but the inside edge will be lower than the outside edge, giving me the desired slight banking without having the 45 degree I'd get with the TOMY corners. At the old Laguna Seca layout turn one was off camber the same sort of way, I know I can do it with 4 lanes of flat track, I've seen others of you do it so it is possible.

This will also save me $60 for the corners and supports as I already have the track pieces on hand. I'm going to try a few experiments first, but this may be the solution to too much banking. I don't want anyone being able to go flat out, that's not racing to me. By reducing the bank, it'll put the skill back in the drivers hands and still let me make a reasonably accurate real world track.

Hey Pete, Some where in Slot V's archives is a detailed "how to do'em" for home made bankage. The jist of which is a series of 'lil pie cuts to relieve the vertical ege/curbing on the track.

Simple angle risers are used to support from below. It was a simple, crafty thing and I made a note of it.

I'll look it up, I remember seeing something in the Laguna Seca build up too. I sat in a dwarf car while I was at the track, I know why they call them dwarfs now, that's what you have to be to get into them. I almost couldn't get out! I was going to try a 600 Racing Thunder Roadster but it just looked too tight.

My $.02 worth . . . good idea on ditching the banking. It makes for lousy racing on a small oval.

The problem lies in the transition out of the turns and to the straight. If your straights are going to be flat, you will end up with a lot of de-slots from cars bottoming out or riding high off the corners. You'd be better served to either bank the straights too, or stick to a flat track.

Been there, done that, didn't quite work.

This was the pic from Scarf I was talking about:

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=206708

And those are much tighter than the corners that will make up Madera. The corners will be epoxied together, and I'm thinking about the 15" entry tracks too, making basically two units I'll join together with the middle 9" sections. I plan to fill all joints and seams with epoxy and smooth it out. I'd like this to look like a routed track. Once painted I'll reapply the track texture by dropping the air pressure on my airbrush. I'm still not sure how much of a role styrofoam sheeting will play but the supports will model aircraft 1/8th" ply.

'doba, the straights will have about half the banking that the turns do, I was thinking about the bottoming out myself. Laguna Seca taught me a lot about things like that.

S-C-A-F-R-E-M-O-N

Scaf is ok, but Scarf just sounds, I dunno, weird. :)

I gotta admit Pete - I love the way you tackle a track build. Kudos to ya. Even though LSMR was short lived (RIP), the build was one I, and I am sure others here, won't forget.

In regards to the banking photo, here is a link to the website for that track.

http://www.inlandempirehoraceway.itgo.com/

This track owner is a local So Cal slotter (there aren't many of us), and I believe may of had a team at this years Fray (I have not re-read the site) possibly competing against our own afxgns (a thread I need to revisit).

He may have more track pics that you may find useful.

In regards to banking, if you can get the track assembled and sturdy, upside down, with the banking you desire, then the foam wedges you mention sound like they would provide the neccessary support. However, the foam wedges will not allow you to drive a nail or screw in areas if and when you need to try and keep a banked piece in place.

As I mentioned in a recent Orange Raceway post, I really, REALLY liked the idea of driving itty-bitty nails through the track into some wood to hold a troublesome track-bend in place. Just something to consider.

Looking forward as always to your latest track build!

Scafremon, sir, :) Dunno where I got the extra R from. Sounds like the evil lion in Lion King.

I now have a very nice sheet of 3/4 interior ply framed and mounted, 6' long and 3' wide. I have my nice color printed crowd for the grandstands and bleachers I'm going to build, and I have enough styrofoam to do the bankings and sink the track. Tomorrow is payday, I'll nab a gallon of Elmers and some of my blue shop paper towels for the mache. Glue mache this time, not starch. I have all the track, wire for the wiring, and the power pack will hide in the refreshement stand. The great thing is the huge amount of reference pictures I have to build by.

Unfortunately Yoshi got my 2 Parma 75 ohm controllers when I took down LSMR, I owed him for his investment in getting it done so I'll be replacing them but with 25 ohm models.

I'm going to be in SoCal sometime this summer, I'll have to let you know when I'm coming and meet up for a soda or something.

Toying with ya on the name thing Pete of course. :thumbsup:
For sure though let me know when you are in town. I'd consider myself lucky to pick your brain for a while about this hobby we share.

Madera Speedway's racing season opens tomorrow (Saturday) night, unfortunately I have other plans but I will be attending next weeks races. I'm anticipating about 3 weeks before my version is ready for racing.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z262/FresnoPete/MVC-025S.jpg

I've started working on the main grandstand. It's just over 30" long and about the peak of the roof will be just over 4" high. With each inch equal to 6' in what is roughly HO scale cars that makes it 180' long and 24' high. Pretty close to Madera's dimensions. The scoring and announcing booth will be represented as you can see, and the roof will be supported by doweling representing the supports. The windows will be sticky mylar, I think they're tinted gold but I need to look at my pictures. The spectators will be printed from Greg Braun's slot car website. I'm not worried about the tenth degree of detail here but at least have real buildings represented.

There will be two bleacher sections on either side of similar construction, each will be just over 15" long. There's also a small set of bleachers just outside of turn two for the pit crews to watch the races, I'm having to measure my track margins to see how big I can do that one.

The scoreboard outside of turn 3 that you can see in the website photos will also be made from foam board. Same with the concession stand under the grandstands and the bathrooms seen behind the turn 1 bleachers. The small building behind the bleachers to the right of the grandstands is a small building to buy stuff at, that's where the power pack will be located. That one building will be velcro'd in place to allow the power to be turned off and on, and voltage to be selected. It may not be scale but it will be built to allow some air circulation around the power pack.

I'm going to do as many of the buildings and such as I can now while my ankle is still healing. In a week or 10 days I'll start on the foam for the track. Things will be done to represent the real track as much as possible.

Just got a call from the admin at Madera Speedway, while he was interested in seeing the track when done the name actually belongs to the Madera County Fair Board since the track is located on the Madera Country Fairgrounds. And from my past dealings with Ms. Wilkerson at the fair board I'd rather remove my spleen with a butter knife.

The track will be built according to previous designs, a "Madera Copy" if you will, but I'll just give it the Sequoia Speedway name. So if you noticed the name change in the string, that's why.

I don't understand these track naming issues. I'm not sure why you, the Fair Board, or both of you are so concerned about it.

IMO, name it Madera Speedway if that is what you want to do, and wait for the cease and desist letter before you change it. I just can't see that letter getting mailed.

Sequoia Speedway is a cool name too though.

Eh...I'd rather avoid the drama, I seem to be a magnet for it in my life lately. And as such, the build up will be in a new string.