(Editor's note: This racing event has come about as a result of discussions over the past month or so on the "Slots" email discussion list, with input and suggestions from slot car enthusiasts from all over the world. If you are not familiar with the "Slots" discussion list, it is an email based mailing list, with discussions regarding all types of 1/32 and 1/24 scale slot car building, racing, and collecting, as well as discussions on related real race car topics. Altough the group is open to all scales discussions, a large number of subscribers are quite knowledgable and devoted enthusiasts of 1/32 scale home & club racing. For more info about the "Slots" discussion list, as well as subscription info, click here: Slots Mailing List - Paul K., OWH)
We promised you a published set of rules by December 1, and here they are. As we said at the beginning, we can't please everybody, but we have tried to develop a set of rules that will make participation in this event feasible for as many racer/builders as possible.
These rules are revised and expanded from the original proposal on the basis of all the input we received. Where we considered it practical and in keeping with the objectives of the event, we incorporated suggestions that we thought would increase participation and make car building easier and less expensive.
The three biggest areas of controversy were motors, vacuum-formed bodies, and the eligibility of specific cars.
We decided to stick with an all-Plafit motor rule for both classes. We could not come up with an easily enforceable motor rule that would allow all the different kinds of motors common in home, club, and vintage racing to compete on an equal basis while keeping out all the expensive, exotic pro racing technology which is outside the spirit and scope of the kind of racing this event is all about.
We also decided to stick with an all "hard" body rule in the sports car class. We believe that, questions of scale accuracy aside, vacuum-formed bodies, especially very light Lexan ones, can and do offer weight and center-of-gravity advantages which will tend to make injection-molded and fiberglass bodied cars uncompetitive. Furthermore, cars with injection-molded bodies are by far the fastest-growing segment of the slot car hobby. In addition, the broader world of car modeling, rightly or wrongly, retains a deep-seated bias against slot cars with vacuum-formed bodies. We want this event to help move the worlds of slot cars and static model cars closer together. Finally, after all the comment, both public and private, the weight of opinion came out firmly in favor of "hard" bodies only for this first event. For these reasons, we have decided to leave vac-formed bodies for another event at another time.
The original proposal for the CanAm/Sports-prototype class created confusion and controversy as to just which cars were and weren't legal. So, we have broadened the concept of this class to simplify questions of car eligibility. It now includes all mid-engined sports-racing and sports-prototype cars first raced between 1960 and 1976. This admits to the class all the mid-engined sports cars from the USRRC, CanAm, SCCA amateur racing, the Interserie, and FIA endurance racing during those years. This should make it possible for everybody to obtain a suitable body or to race a car already in their collections. The change of the class name to Sports-racing / Sports-prototype Class reflects the new rule. We did not include front-engined cars. We think a "Front Engines Forever" race would make an excellent follow-up event if this first one is a success.
In the NASCAR class, there were some requests to broaden the rules to include historic NASCAR stock cars and all American sedan-type cars in general. We have decided to stay with contemporary cars because of the widespread availability of Scalextric and SCX cars and Revell/Monogram and Toybiz bodies at relatively low cost. Again, vintage NASCAR deserves an event all its own.
In the NASCAR class, we also decreased the minimum front and rear tire size to .750". This makes it possible to adapt readily obtainable Parma Womp and Champion Thumper chassis with only three straight cuts. This puts the construction of a reasonably effective chassis within the range of virtually everyone's building skills.
We received no response whatsoever to our proposal for a class for plastic chassis cars to be run on a Scalextric track, so that idea will also be saved for another time.
Thanks to all who gave input into these rules. We hope many slot car enthusiasts will enter one or both classes in this event and help make it a success.
Bob Ward - Race Host & Director
email: bobward@oldweirdherald.com
