I will be intown this weekend visiting family and I was wanting to know if the track will be open for practice? Thanks in advance.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=59285

Looks like Off road is dead in fort wayne. We might need to start a new thread in the DIRT OVAL section.
I have attached an alternative. see above

Oh come on Red, There is room for oval guys and the offroad guys. The glass is half full - keep saying that to yourself over and over. See ya on the dirt in a few weeks.
You know you want to strap a mod motor in a dominator and slide thru the turns - give in to the dark side! :thumbsup:

McKeller,
The indoor carpet track is open. The outdoor track(s) are under re-construction right now. The work just started Saturday, and is in the preliminary stages right now, so it is not open for practice. Reports of off-road's demise in Ft. Wayne have been greatly exaggerated, to paraphrase a famous quote. I just bought a Losi 4wd buggy, and I'm looking for a good deal on a B4. (can't go entirely Losi...)

"Reports of off-road's demise in Ft. Wayne have been greatly exaggerated"

I guess that would depend on your defination of OFF-ROAD!

baron, john i presume.... just drive it....
paul

baron, john i presume.... just drive it....
paul
Paul, I can't.......We worked our tails off last year to have a good off road track. Have you seen this thing?

email me at: jbarron@fwi.com and i will give you the info.http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/images/icons/icon9.gif

I plan to keep an open mind about the track in Fort Wayne but I have not seen it yet either

This weekend again will be work days at the outdoor tracks at Summit R/C Raceway. Phil will be there Saturday to continue the work on the track. He will be installing additional drainage tile, and working on the watering system. Anyone interested in volunteering and helping out with the continuing construction is welcome to stop by. If the weather cooperates, they should be able to make some great progress.

Hey Harry! Can ya paint me a stadium truck body. You did a great job on the buggy and if ya have time I would appreciate it.

i seen it over the winter. it looked pretty nice. granted the oval will dimish the overall track. you will have to get over it. they are trying to make a multiatmosphereric track?
it'll be ok john i don't see it being there for long (dirt oval). i'll e-mail u when i get home.

dale I should be able to squeeze one in. I will be up that way this weekend to get some parts for the truck. Let me know how ya want it and Ill see what I can do with it.

it'll be ok john i don't see it being there for long (dirt oval). i'll e-mail u when i get home.

Guys,
I understand your frustration, but this is a business. The owners need to run it the way they feel it should be run. I have known Dale and Phil for years. I have rarely been on the same side of an issue with either of them. But it is their court and their ball. Lead, follow, or GET OUT OF THE WAY. Fort Wayne hasn't had a real track in well over 10 years. Now we have it and more. If I were doing this I wouldn't appreciate people blasting my effort, hard work, and my %&#@ money so they can race and then complain about it. I run roadcourse, you guys run oval and off road. We (the on road folks) haven't gotten a fair shake as far as I was concerned but things are looking up. I didn't get on this virtual bashing bandwagon. It will work out. Relax, they are just toy cars. Just my 2 cents and I am as full of it as anybody else.

-Sean

Hustler

I could reply to that.....but I won't :lol:

wallyworld,
you got e-mail.

i'm not blasting ur facility. the people, track, and atmosphere are great. i hope the d. oval takes off for u. i just don't know many people in ur area that race dirt oval. ya, i think ur spitting in the wind on that... but that's only an opinion. i've known barron for a bit. and if he's upset there is a lagitiment reason. i think ur offroad numbers will decrease. i think ur carpet track is the bomb. oval and course are great. i do think the dirt trck needs to be bigger to suite bothe kind of events. off road guys want jumps and bumps. keep doing a great job. i wish u guys were closer to indy.... :wave:

Hey Guys,

I would like to say a few things. Blue, Baron......you know I'm a very opinionated person, and I will not hold back so here it goes.

I do not see it as a problem to run off-road and dirt oval at this facility. Phil, Dale, and Scott pulled me aside and asked my honest opinions about the two tracks co-existing. My opinion......AWESOME! In the state of Indiana, where have you seen a track that supports two types of outdoor racing in a confined area???? NEVER!!!

My other opinion....why conform to one type of racing.....and make it your life blood......Not everyone wants to run off-road, and not everyone wants to run dirt oval.......if one falls off and you depend on it...as a track owner when that happens to put in as blunt of terms as I can put it....your SCREWED!!

Last year at the start of the Off-Road season there was off roaders of plenty. Due to some technical problems with stuff, and lack of interest because of it......the track only averaged about 15 racers......with that attendance how do you ecpect a track to survive??? Can't..... So the alternative......off road and Dirt Oval.....

Here is a scenario to prove my point....

Off-Road Only Figures....

15 racers a week at 12.00 per racer = $180.00
$180.00 per week * 4 Saturdays = 720.00 per month

For instance let's say the rent, electric bill, insurance totals 2200.00 per month.....the track is over 1480.00 per month in the hole!!!!! Your not even covering the rent, electric bill, track maintence, insurance etc.

However if you run oval/ and Off-road......as an example....this is a littl high but possible based on survey results.......

Off-Road & Dirt Oval Figures......

20 Off-roaders $12.00 /racer = $240.00
20 Dirt Oval Cars $12.00 /racer $240.00

Thats 480.00 per week multiplied by 4 for 4 saturdays a month......Thats $1,920. the track then is only 180.00 in the whole which can be made up by practice fees and such. With that the track can promote some nice trophy races.......

So You think about it ......15 racers offroad...or 40 total racers a week keeping the track here in Fort Wayne so everyone has a place to race year round.........

I will support both the off-road track and the Dirt Oval Track......Not just as a racer, but as a race director at Summit Raceway.......

Kris Fowler
KGF MOTORSPORTS

..........:roll: :roll: :roll:

the no nitro is what killed off-road last year. most of the electric racers had elsewhere to go and were starting to show up. now i don't see any reason to race off-road rally in the middle of an oval. i will come to watch since it sounds like the attendance will be large for the oval races. i don't feel bad that my factory is keeping me working weekends since i will have to drive further away to race when i do.
Red Barron, i feel your sorrow......:cry: :cry: :cry:

dale I should be able to squeeze one in. I will be up that way this weekend to get some parts for the truck. Let me know how ya want it and Ill see what I can do with it.
Thanks Harry.

Redbarren, I purposely deleted your e-mail without looking at it . Please don't take this in offence, I just don't like to discuss important matters like this through e-mail or hobbytalk. Please come down to the raceway to discuss matters like this as Phil and I will be there all day saturday and are much better at discussing things face to face. I know we discussed this briefly last week and you said you were going to refrain from comments until you've seen what the new track looked like and for that I thanked you. Obviously you totally disapproved of it and for that I am sorry. Phil and I discussed doing dirt oval many times over the winter and I could see how much he believed in this and how he felt it would help the raceway. We made this decision strictly with the hope of keeping the business going through the summer and being able to pay the bills and for no other reason (Oh yeh, if you want to see a hopeless old man reliving the old days just come on a thursday night when I'm slotcar racing). We were hopeful the off - road guys could compromise some and we knew some people would be upset but remember this is dirt and if we can't make it work with what we have now things can always be changed. Scott showed us tuesday a couple of track configurations we might consider and Phil and I are willing to discuss other ideas from the local racers. The only thing we ask is come down to the track and talk to us. Phil and I understand the importance of the facility and track to the racers so if you discuss somthing of this matter on hobbytalk we understand. But as I have suggested before on Hobbytalk if you come down to the facility and express your views to Phil or I we can discuss matters like these and have a better chance at resolving them. Thanks

:thumbsup: :wave: :D

Dale,
Actualy my e-mail to you was asking if you could call me as I'm very busy at work and home. I will be out of town all weekend racing and wanted to talk to you.
I don't feel that I'm bashing Summit. I am voicing my opinion in a very restrained manner. If you would like to discuss things with me please feel free to call me as I don't have your #.

I would have to agree with Wallyworld :cool: ......matter of opions should be face to face at the track . Ask Wallyworld and Phil how I express my opinions in person. The listen and respect my way of doing it. I hold nuffin back,and that's why we get along ....right Wallyworld???


Kris

Blah,blah,blah!!!

I see. Now I need to drive all the way to Fort Wayne to talk things out. Why is there some big secret? I thought that is what this forum was for. Why can't different views be expressed on this forum. That is what everyone has done so far. We all are a part of this racing facility and all of us should be allowed to talk about what is going on.
I have raced Off-road for 14 years so I have some experience in this area. I feel that taking a once promising off road track and diminishing it's size to 1/3 of it's original size is sad. The Off-road struggled thru it's first year for many reasons last year...reasons I don't want to get into. I know I was there from the begining sweating with the rest, watering , brooming and marshalling when voulenters were needed.
Trust me,
in previous replys about adding to track turn-out by making the oval. It wont add to monthly income if you loose the off-roaders. 15 + 0 is still 15.
It takes more than a U-turn to be an off-road track. I was waiting anxiously for this season to build on what we had last year and to bring in some of the off roaders that I have raced with all winter.I have supported summit all winter long indoors as I want this facility to make it in fort wayne.

anyway My feelings are known.. I'm not bashing anyone...But I do know if you make the off-road this small it won't make it.

John Barron

Redbaren as I said on my last post. Discussion on the track here on hobbytalk is fine with both Phil and myself. We realize the importance of the facility to the local racers. Any talk we have on the track will not be kept secret if you come to the track to talk to Phil or I. We would much prefer discussing issues like this face to face while at the track with the racers so as there are no misunderstandings when we get imput from them. That is the only purpose of asking for that. If a look at the track while talking is necessary to make clear points of view of either side it is important that we be at the raceway also. I would appreciate it if you would respect how we feel about this. Thank you for supporting summit all winter long indoors and for anything you have done outdoors last summer, it is appreciated.

It would have been great if an oval track would have been made next to the off-road track but trying to have an off-road track inside of an oval takes away from one or the other. It would be very hard to have great tracks together. I know Barron and others were promoting an great off-road track in Ft Wayne not an Oval/off-road track.

Ya know, If the Oval/Offroad track doesn't work out after a few weeks to a month, and there is a low turnout for the oval. The track can be changed back to an offroad only track in a weekend. The change isn't permanent and ya can't blame the owners for trying something new.

Or wait, is it new............... Can anyone remember in the late 80's that Ft. Wayne had two dirt ovals? The turnout for those tracks was huge, and at that time Ft. Wayne supported TWO dirt ovals!

I guess we can just wait and see what happens, the oval may flop or it may fly. I am just thrilled that there are places to race RC/cars in Indiana again. There was a long time without the choices we have now.

And there isnt anything cooler than open mod Dominator with a huge wing sliding thru a turn at full throttle. Well, maybe there is something cooler....... that would be 10 open mod Dominators with huge wings sliding thru the first turn at full throttle !!

If you build it - they will come

Corey

I dont understand what everyone is so mad about ....i know the diehard off-road guys dont want the oval....but i think it is a cool idea and i can race two car instead of one ....i think the dirt oval takes off it will help the carpet track in the winter cause of people wanting to run the sprint car and other car in on the carpet .....i wish the dirt oval was in the building and take the carpet out ....i hate it when racing is all about $$$ .....the only thing in off road is better drivers not $$$

baron .....it all about getting away from the house for a few hours and cracking on G-drip .....by the way have you seen him ????

:wave:

Ya I've seen G-drip, he's grabed a q-tip to clean his nasal drip. He's got a bad cold. He said that he cant wait to take his brand new Super Hornet and kick every body's butt at Summit. :D

Wow I Love It Controversy Galore Lol. I Stopped By The Track Today And I Will Admit It Looks Like The Offroad Track Will Be Smaller. I Did Talk To Dale For A Few Today And I See His Point Of View On A Business Stand Point, And What They Are Looking At In The Long Run. Like I Said Before I Am Keepin An Open Mind And Not Gonna Take Sides. This Move Could Do One Of Two Things. It Has The Potential To Expand Summits Profits ( Which Is What The Owners Are Lookin At) Or Two It Could Totally Bomb And The Offroaders Will Go Somewhere Else. Really It Is Yet To Be Known What Will Happen. As A Racer I Cant Say That I Am Enthused With The Track Being Turned Into An Offroad/dirtoval, But We May All Be Wrong And It May Be A Kickin (little) Track. I Say We All Should Give It A Bit Of Time And If It Just Aint Gonna Work. Ask Phil And Dale To Look At Something Different And Change It. Like Everyone Else On This Thread It Is Only My Two Cents And It Might Only Be Worth A Penny. In All Reality I Think Our Opinons Are Looked Into And Taken Into Consideration.

I helped saturday getting in the sprinklers in and added more drains for it dont do what happen last year.....i think it will be fun for both oval and off-road ....i plan on running both ....

I think G-Drip was at a wedding this weekend.....


I dont think Summit can wait til May whatever to open the off-road track ....they need it to be open ASAP.....
kevin

I'm not a dirt racer and never claim to be, but with dirt oval going in i may try it sometime if i can.
Yes i race carpet and have the time to do that, but summer time i don't have alot of time to race.

KEEP this in mind the more you talk bad a track and say bad things about how they run things will hurt your future in r/c racing.
I'm only saying this because i see it every year.
summit raceway is a good place to race and is a fun place to race.
so keep in mind you have a place to race and maybe you only have a 5 min. drive or a 1 hour drive
if track closes down ..... then you'll have a 2 hour drive to the nearest track then you get tired of the drive then you sell out.

this is not pointed out to anyone person
just for all who say they don't like the small off-road track or don't like the small dirt oval or want more.

all this coming from a guy who has to drive 1 hour and a half to race

later
jason

Summit may be a good place to race,but so is the PLANET!

Although I'm not an off roader I've been reading this and just want to say a few things. First, I get sick of people that can't understand that complaining is what makes change. Sometimes we complain in a wrong way, but it is human nature. Someone complaining means they have an interest in what is going on. Some people don't bother to complain and just go somewhere else. Baron, I do have to say I am getting better response with Dale when talking face to face. I agree that you should be able to discuss things threw the net as thats what it was invented for. Major corporations have important discussions through E-mail. However, to get what you want you may have to taik face to face. As far as Dale and Phil are concerned I do think they take things too personally when people complain. Our country has only became better from people speaking there minds. I personnally feel that they are trying too many different types of racing instead of giving things time to grow. But I don't pay the bills. For off road to grow it needs 2 or 3 years of consistant weekly racing or more. But as most people that try to own tracks they can't afford to wait that long so they try every scale and type of racing to bring in an income. It's hard but the tracks that seem to make things work are the ones that can afford to lose money for a number of years to make things work. I think Dale and Phil are trying. I may not always agree but they pay the bills. But they do need to allow people to complain without being thin skinned about it. :thumbsup:

As someone who volunteered then worked for Summit in the very early days and up until Hill arrived I know that Phil and Dale are trying to do what is best for raceing in Fort Wayne and Summit Inc. I just wish that they would have given off-road racing more time to grow. One option they might try is to make the infield more adjustable, with different lane options. They could always race dirt oval and off-road on separate days so the track could be arainged better to suit the racing going on, and the off-road track could include the whole track area with out it being 3/4s of an oval in reverse.
Ya G-drip was in a wedding, he was the maid of honor......... :cool:

Aaron Donovan

See I knew we could make Summit the popular thread on Hobby Talk.:)

For everyones information I have talked to Phil and Dale about the Dirt Oval way back when the snow was flying. I told them I didn't think it would work because of the size of the area in the fence, in order to make the oval the proper size it would choke off the off-road into non-exsistance. I think if you look at the track this is painfully obvious.
Yes I know this is there business and I respect that. I also thank both of them for bringing R/C racing back to Fort Wayne. I was in the process of recruiting off-road racers from other areas that I have raced through out the winter. This will be difficult as the off-road track is a fraction of it's former self.
If the Dirt Oval takes off and becomes profitable for summit that would be fantastic for Phil and Dale. (Every business first goal is to become profitable.)
I do not want to purchase new eqpt. to run dirt oval and the Off-road track is just too small now to be of any interest.
I hope things go well for Summit this summer. :thumbsup:

See Ya!
John Barron

at least the summit racers are alot nicer than the planet racers are on trinity trash talk

at least the summit racers are alot nicer than the planet racers are on trinity trash talk
Yea, I know what you mean. The funny thing about that is even after all that Planet R/C has turned into one of the top Off-road tracks in the country. They are now under new ownership and when they were up for sale they had offers from New York all the way to California to buy the business. How funny is that?
They have even had R/C Magazines do car kit track tests there.

Could I please have either Dale or Phil call me personally at my house. (574) 457-5501 I do belive we have a few important matters of business to discuss! I will be home and available to chat up untill Thursday night......If I hear nothing, I guess I will get with Dale or Phil friday before I leave for the Velodrome Race.........

Thanks......
Kris Fowler

maybe tony stewart will bring his custom works cars to summit

Even Tony Stewart likes off-road.

Jason, don't sweat it. People are going to come and draw they're own conclusions. I've been involved in and headed up RC racing for some time now in Fort Wayne and there is one thing I have learned. Most RC racers have there own very independent mind and Phil or I or anyone else will do little to persuade what they do or don't like. This discussion on the forum is OK. Most personal comments are just they're way of venting. When they come this spring we will listen to the racers on they're thoughts.

dale ....you think phil will have it done this weekend for we can get on the track ...and start finding the fast way around????? I cant wait til may ...Iwant my off-road NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup:

kevin

JUST PUNCH-IT!!:)

ovalrookie. Phil has plans on installing the underground pipe for the for the sprinkler system and doing some other work. I seen some cheaters running their trucks around on the dirt and having a good time last weekend though when he was working.

We use base loaded antennas on our RC Helicopters and I was curious as to if anyone has ever tried one on an RC car. It just seems like people are always having problems with antenna tubes coming out and the antenna getting pulled. I was just curious. Thanks.

what is a base loaded antenna?

base loaded antenna.. :hat: short stiff antennas used on air planes and heli's, aircraft need way more range, and if you look at the length on the antenna on aircraft recievers you will find a 39" antenna, this allows the range they need. you could prolly use one, but it would have to be tuned(sp) to allow for the shorter length like used on car Rx's

the same issues come into affect if you break it then you are in trouble.

my 2cents

not Terry the other T