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SDVSA
H.O. SLOT CAR
RACING EXTRAVAGANZA
by Jeff Perry & Gene Bellegarde
 Local members were treated to a great time on Sept.
30th, when SDVSA
held
its second ever slot-car racing event, coordinated (again) by Gene
Bellegarde. Located in his Pacific Beach home, Erik vonNeumann, younger
brother of SDVSA member Ric vonNeumann, graciously provided his professional 102', 4-lane, H.O. scale 'Formula 1 '-style
racetrack -- complete with deep cycle battery power, and a fully
computerized racing software program that can set-up and run many types
of races like round-robin, main event, lap total or timed events, and
can either manage real race qualifying OR can auto-qualify by computer,
and has race data such as lap times by heat, fastest lap, race lap
totals, etc.
 With sausage over a hot barbecue, Karl Strauss on ice,
and '60s surf music from the stereo, the race festivities
began. Race #1 was a killer T-Jet race. For those of you that
remember (maybe not too many judging by the turn-out), T-jets were the 2nd
generation H.O. slot car available in the U.S., and the first
commercially successful one, and WILDLY successful at that! Today, a
single rare T-Jet in mint condition can sell for over $250. Not bad
when you consider that the original sale price was under $3. Not only
did we race T-Jets, but also the field consisted of 3 rare German Bauer
bodied Volvo 1800's, a Jaguar E-type coupe, and a 1965 Mustang hardtop.
Each heat consisted of a two-minute race period, and racers switched
lanes and ran the same vehicle for the entire race. This race was a real
blast, I think everybody lead that race for a little while, except
perhaps me, but I managed to have a good last heat and won the race at
the wire. The entire field was within 10 laps, all 1:1 scale drivers
that showed up exhibited superior racing skills to those that do not own
Volvo 1800 streetcars.
These cars are once-again hard to obtain in the states,
I have but 1 available at an inflated price. The nicest one in existence
belongs to Ric von Neumann; it has the same gorgeous green paint as does
his 1:1 edition! We miss you Ric & Libby.
As both music and race coordinator, Erik selected music from the Goldfinger
movie sound track for Race #2 which featured replicas of
British Touring Car Championship Volvo. Of course there is a catch, the
850's were chased by a police car! This race was an IROC styled round-robin,
drivers changed lanes each heat, but cars and controllers stayed on the
assigned lanes. These models are capable of incredible acceleration, and
with Volvo 1800 owners at the controls, experienced some spectacular
crashes!
By this time the fine grog was taking it's toll. Not only will an 850
do 150 mph out of the box, at close to 1200 scale m.p.h., these DUI guys
didn't have a chance, which is probably why the younger Orrell did so
well, being a tee-totaler with young reflexes and all.
The fine young men in uniform did not stand a chance in this race.
The 5 cylinder Volvo 850 car and engine is so superior to the Crown
Victoria's, or whatever other domestic car the CHP is using, that it
almost wasn't a race. Perhaps this is why the CHP has chosen the new S70
for chase cars in their fleet. The number was supposed to be a few
hundred cars, to replace the aging old Ford Mustang 5.0's that they
bought for chase cars years ago. The buyer told Volvo that if the
cars would stand up for 150,000 miles without any breakdowns or major
repairs, that it would buy them for the fleet. Word has it that they
passed with flying Volvo colors, but I, to this day, have not seen or
been chased by one. The old Mustangs used to be everywhere, so if anyone
knows more about this, please write in to the Editor, for a future
update.
 The soulful groove of James Brown filled the air for Race
#3
that featured the traditional weekly format with stock or super-stock
equipped cars. Not highly modified, but far from toys,
these cars are what Club Racers have used regularly since 1993.
The chassis used for race #3 was the tried and true Lifelike.
Lifelike is to HO slot racing as the New Chrysler Corporation is to 1:1
scale cars. It's firmly in the 3rd
spot regarding regarding sales, name
recognition, and perfom1ance. The cars do have excellent perfom1ance on
home racing tracks, what we vets call Click-Clack track, due to the
clicking noises heard when the cars pass by the separate track and rail
sections. Professional tracks, on the other hand, use a routed substrate
and use continuous lengths of rail. The pioneer and most famous vendor
for this type of professional track was BuckTrax
out of Eugene, Oregon. Another track maker was 20th Century Tracks, in
the LA area. Both these firms are out of business for various reason,
but if you want one, act right now, for there is a beautiful 4 x 12
layout Bucktrax for sale now in San Diego. It is brand new, and then
owner has decided not to open a news business that would feature this
track. Call Gene Bellegarde for details. We wish to thank Erik von
Neumann for inviting us into his home for this terrific event!
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