We all know the country is having major issues with $$$ and the economy.

But, do YOU think it's why race turnout are down?

Here in Southern California -- one of THE MOST expensive places to live, and one of the WORST economys going... yet RACERS have set a record.

Well, not the kind of racers for THIS section...but RC Racers all the same.

The JIMMY BABCOCK NITRO OFF-ROAD SERIES held their FIRST race of 2009 April 26th, and had 340 entries. This set a NEW Record for this series.

Babcock also runs a very popular Electric Off-Road Series as well.

www.jimmybabcock.com (http://www.jimmybabcock.com)

I am not sure, We are having the Stimulas race with free entry to help the racers and introduce the track. I will let you know once i see how many show up. we had some racers out on Saturday to run some mock racing and they all seemed to be excited to race on this track.

I wish we had 340 entries in Oval.

I wish we had 340 entries in Oval.

A lot of places would love 40...:drunk:

i think oval is probably one of the more expensive types of rc racing.... maybe not to get started but to stay or become competitive you need to be able to spend some green.... there is a famous saying and i quote you have to pay to play or is it you need the right tool for the job awe hell i dont know what it is.. just be happy we all have some where to race as things get better and this battery brushless situation settles down and people know exactly what to buy and know that it isn't going to change again in less than a couple months more people and the old faces that aren't around any more will start to come back.... just think i have been racing less than two years and oval for me has already change like 4-5 time started with 4cell 27 turn brushed then it went 4 cell 13.5b/l then it went 21.5 2s lipo and now its 13.5 1s lipo when this all stops things will go back to the way they where.....

doughboy...you ever price a 1/8th scale NITRO OFFROAD setup

From what I've seen them things are EXPENSIVE..

Oh and on the day they had that turnout...they only got to run 1 QUAL and MAIN! YIKES...although I do believe they run LONG mains...not sure though.

I would think the 1/8th scale 4WD off-road has got to be close to the same cost that we have. Oval is funny. If you stick to your guns, and really work on your chassis, then you can be competative on a budget. With that being said though it really doesn't happen for the new guy, because he breaks every race out and has to spend 50 bucks just to get back on the track.

Off-road appeals to the novice person. They see those cars and say..."I can use that at home, and then bring it to race".

With a pan car if you race you don't mess with it on the street.

I think it has to do with to many classes and the rc racers getting together under 1 set of rules along with the economy.

Also now there seems to be a new brushless esc or motor every month.


Rod Mullen

doughboy...you ever price a 1/8th scale NITRO OFFROAD setup

From what I've seen them things are EXPENSIVE..

Oh and on the day they had that turnout...they only got to run 1 QUAL and MAIN! YIKES...although I do believe they run LONG mains...not sure though.

1/10 scale Nitro is not to expensive once you buy the vehicle.
They don't change as much as the oval classes do.

The Traxxas Slash class in Ft Myers, Florida has 75 guys every other week come race in just the one class.

Oval racing cost a little more then most R/C classes.
Foam tires, new lipos, new brushless motors.

And soon changing to one cell lipo is going to reduce the oval racers
even more.

I think it has to do with to many classes

Too many classes where? In OVAL?

The 'THING' with "classes" is that people only OFFER what other people want to RUN.

If the RACERS want LOTS of classes - the smart race directors RUN them.

Look at Off-Road or even DIRT OVAL and ALL the classes that are out there!

Off-Road has 1/18th, 1/10th, 1/8th scales.

Nitro, Electric, 2wd, 4wd, buggy, trucks, truggies, slashs, short course, etc. plus a lot of places have Expert, Sportsman and NOVICE divisions of ALL these classes.

That can be close to 30 classes at a days race.

If you have 30 classes with 10 racers in each class you get HUGE entry number.

If you have 3 classes with 10-12 entries in each class, you yave 30-35 entries.

hmmmm but lots of classes KILL racing!

ROSS, some of the NITRO guys I've seen have a BOX full of Motors, PILES of tires...for each track, I look at the crap they have vs. what some of the oval guys have, and I watch them drop their $$$ in the hobbyshop w/o batting an eye.

As far as only running ONE class - MOST of the offroad guys I know run at least 3-4 classes on a race day...just to make sure they get more than 4 races a day.

I would think the 1/8th scale 4WD off-road has got to be close to the same cost that we have. Oval is funny. If you stick to your guns, and really work on your chassis, then you can be competative on a budget. With that being said though it really doesn't happen for the new guy, because he breaks every race out and has to spend 50 bucks just to get back on the track.

Off-road appeals to the novice person. They see those cars and say..."I can use that at home, and then bring it to race".

With a pan car if you race you don't mess with it on the street.


+1 FOR J DUB.... IN ADDITION TO WHAT I HAVE ALREADY POSTED ON THIS SUBJECT I THINK J DUB HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WHEN HE SAID THAT MOST PEOPLE LOOK AT OFF ROAD VEHICLES AND THINK HEY I CAN RUN THAT AROUND THE YARD UP AND DOWN THE STREET BUILD JUMPS AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND THEN EVENTUALLY THEY TAKE THAT SAME VEHICLE THEY HAVE BEEN TRASHING IN THERE FRONT YARD AND RUN IT AT THE TRACK.. AND I KNOW THERE IS A GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME THAT GOES INTO SET UP ON AN OFF ROAD VEHICLE BUT I CAN PROMISE YOU ITS KNOW WHERE NEAR THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME THAT GOES INTO SETTING UP A OVAL CAR WE RACE HERE ON SUNDAYS AND WHEN I GET HOME SUNDAY AFTERNOON I GET MY STUFF UNPACKED AND FROM SUNDAY NIGHT UNTIL SATURDAY NIGHT I WILL WORK ON MY CAR FOR ATLEAST 1-2 HOURS EVERY NIGHT SOMETIMES 3-4 HOURS... A LOT OF PEOPLE DONT HAVE THAT MUCH TIME OR THEY JUST DONT CARE TO SPEND THAT MUCH TIME BUT ITS IMPORTANT TO ME TO BE THE BEST AT WHAT EVER I DO.....

Doughboy

The old saying is: " How you make a small fortune in racing is you start with a big one"

AND I KNOW THERE IS A GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME THAT GOES INTO SET UP ON AN OFF ROAD VEHICLE BUT I CAN PROMISE YOU ITS KNOW WHERE NEAR THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME THAT GOES INTO SETTING UP A OVAL CAR WE RACE HERE ON SUNDAYS AND WHEN I GET HOME SUNDAY AFTERNOON I GET MY STUFF UNPACKED AND FROM SUNDAY NIGHT UNTIL SATURDAY NIGHT I WILL WORK ON MY CAR FOR ATLEAST 1-2 HOURS EVERY NIGHT SOMETIMES 3-4 HOURS... A LOT OF PEOPLE DONT HAVE THAT MUCH TIME OR THEY JUST DONT CARE TO SPEND THAT MUCH TIME BUT ITS IMPORTANT TO ME TO BE THE BEST AT WHAT EVER I DO.....

Boy do I have a lot to learn - I can't think of enough stuff to do to my pan car to keep me busy that long each week.

If you see him race you would understand. LOL just messing with you doughboy. Call me later also.

i was at the paved oval at jimmy babcocks yesterday doin some testing.there were some folks i know at the offroad track doin the same with 1/8 scale gas cars.i went over to see how they were doin.one guy there i dont know says "oh,oval racers are the most anal folks he's ever seen".he couldent figure out how we get so involved in it.i truly had to agree with him.the time i spend at home and at the track and the money i spend is ridiculas.is it worth it?for me it is.would i ever want to do off road?absolutly not.folks associate what their intrusted in with what they race.i never could figure out why,with nascar being so popular,why that doesent relate to more folks at least trying oval racin.never could figure why dirt racin was so popular unless its the jumps & roostertails or whatever.not knockin it,but i'd rather spend time trying to find more corner speed then jumpin over dirt berms.oh,air temp in saugus,cal was 103 yesterday,track temp was 135 at 11:00 in the morning and motors were coming off at 200.oh,and even tho i was testing,i was smilin all day
dave werner

Hey SHAKY - grrrr on this EARLY SUMMER Heat!! 105 in Lindsay Saturday (at least we were INDOORS and NOT in the sun) but it was 92 in the building I was told.

I had a nice big BLUE BLOWER keeping me cool!!

We've already seen 100+ days in April and May -- I hope this is NOT an indication of a HOT SUMMER! LOL

I was looking at the places Jimmy's OFF-Road Series races are - they are HOTTER than Saugus!!

Temecula, Hesperia, Beaumont, Bakersfield,Riverside, Ontario...at least he'll be in Santa Barbara in AUGUST --that one will probably be FOGGED IN or under heavy SMOKE!! LOL

Hey Guys

Wow, didn't know there was somebody else out there feeling the heat. For us here in Arizona, its a regular thing but it is early. Glad to know I'll be racing indoors for the summer. Hate to think of having to race on a parking lot in the brutal heat. We here have also had a jump in the number of racers showing up. Especially in the last couple of weeks we have at least doubled the car count and then some. There are still a few more that are interested but don't have cars yet. This is in pancar. I think this is fantastic considering things the way they are. A lot of these guys are either new to racing or r/c altogether. Hopefully this trend continues and keeps going. It going to be a lot of work but I think it will be worth it.

Wes, where is the new carpet track? Is this the place out by the little airport?

PHOENIX?

(My daughter and her MOM live in TEMPE - they keep talking about how HOT it's been already)

well as some of you may know..team trinity/epic has moved in down the street from me in debary. my buddy works for them..ernie is going to support oval racing in florida alot more than most have done either present or past..

testing is underway on there new 40c 5000 pack and the duo 2 motor

so far they are looking good


no sense arguaing over why what sells at the hobby shops

yes oval guys are the most anal bunch of racers there is...

yes you can spend 20 hours or more a week messing with your toy car

yes you can spend as much as you want on ay hobby...

nitro off road is no less expensive or less time consuming

the top 5% racers gas/electric onroad oval or off road all rebuild there cars and are always trying new stuff..this is why they are the top 5% in there hobby...

jimmy babcock isn't going to build a oval car by himself and set the oval world on fire in 6 months time

pete deagnolo wont build a 1/8th off road racer and win a nats anytime soon either..

support and promote each day ta the track...

and than ask yourself what would kat do? than do the exact opposite...you will be fine!

Hey Joe,

I forgot that you had family here. Yes, the track is in Phoenix. It's north Phoenix in the Deer Valley Airpark. The place is Speed Sports. The website is Speedsportsusa.net Its approx. 140 ft runline on med. bite carpet. Its small and tight but its fun. We race there every sat nite. There is road course stuff on fri. nites. They also have a Legend series for oval on wed nites. If you are ever this way again we would be glad to have you or any of the Calif. guys here. The Shootouts that we had here in Phx were a lot of fun and it always great to meet other racers from other places.

Wes, Glad to hear PHX has SOMETHING for oval still or again...

Kat, Jimmy can hold his own VERY WELL on a Oval, actually I haven't found too many Off-Road guys who couldn't.

I think that the bigest problem is that the cars all look alike so an outsider can't tell the different classes apart or the progresion of the classes. Pretty hard to tell an open mod from a 17.5singlecell lipo on the table from five feet away, espesially with no racing background. I do have an opinion on how to fix this but my idea hasn't been very popular around here.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Back in the day it seemed paved oval was all there was for good organzied racing (late 80s early 90s). Magazines were all over it, and so were car companies. Read the ads in an old RCCA, it was all oval. Racers (and people in general) like to be where the crowds are at. Look at the local bars. The ease of getting into off-road with RTR rac ecars sure makes it easy today. And I am sure the thrill is more to a new off-road racer hitting those big jumps than running around in circles for tenths of a second. Oval has a great following of diehards and this hobby goes in circles. Oval is getting more organized and simplier that is for sure (and this good), and with companies such as Associated and Trinity putting efforts towards it again, it will grow. When I go to a local Florida nitro off-road race with 200 entries, it is amazing how many used to race oval (even at my oval track in Tampa 10 years ago), or who used to race the Florida on-road series. Many seem to switch gears and run different stuff for awhile.... keeping having fun what you like to do. Do what you can to help keep it postive. Positive attitudes and good times spread among others. ZOOM ZOOM out!

When I go to a local Florida nitro off-road race with 200 entries, it is amazing how many used to race oval

I see the same thing out in CAL, and it makes me think about "The Old Days" out here...

The big difference now is, OVAL doesn't get the cross over guys the way it use to. It use to be R/C guys were R/C guys, and most would run ANYTHING.

They could be the Off-Road HERO or the On-Road GTP/TOJ hero and they would also come run some OVAL races. Flip side, guys who raced oval would run some of the other stuff too.

There still are several OVAL guys I know who run Off-Road or On-Road, but VERY Few OFF ROAD guys that I know that cross over to OVAL.

...oh, and there are SO many tracks and "BIG" races now, WHO has time to cross over?