SC Trucks Last Night

SC trucks was great last night on the road course with the jumps. I haven't had that much fun in a long time! Hopefully we can run that way more often!

would you be intrested in running the road course every other week just so pepole who arent good on the road course like the younger kids who seem like they show up every other week can go out whith not that much practice and have a good chance of winning i feel that doing it that way every one can have fun

I guess running the oval would be ok. I think we still need the jumps. These trucks are built to run on offroad tracks with jumps and berms. The road course with jumps is a pretty decent winter time way to get that feel from the trucks.

oval with jumps would be ok I guess.

I had a lot of fun on the road course, but if we have a majority that wants oval then that should be how we do it.

brettweir78 wrote:I had a lot of fun on the road course, but if we have a majority that wants oval then that should be how we do it.

I broke and lost some front end parts when I launched into the support column in the B-Main with the TC4. I'm not sure if I will be able to round them up tomorrow or not. I may only bring the slash Saturday.

If that is the case and we are voting, I vote road course w/jumps

Call Ken at RCH and hopefully you can find the parts you need

I am not a SCT racer, I race in the Vintage Trans Am class; but I would just like to add my $.02 about the road course and oval.

The Saturday night group keeps growing and each class seems to keep growing as well, which is great but there are some issues that may need to be addressed. As everything grows it adds more heat races and more mains which in turn extends the evening later and later. I'm worried that we will soon be there past midnight which creates problems for some, especially those with kids. Already what we are seeing is that the time between each round has been shortened so much that no one has much time to charge batteries or wrench on their car anymore. It's a bit too rushed, and I think that is a result of trying to do too much in one evening. I have talked to several racers who are concerned about this.

Ideally, it would be better if the oval was run on a different night so as to save some time and allow the larger road course group to race without changing the track back and forth several times during the evening. Another possibility to consider would be to try and convince Ken to start racing an hour earlier at 5:00 instead of 6:00.

Any thoughts?

I agree. But you may run into some opposition from the oval guys as they were here first. Granted if you tried to base a racing program on the 3 or 4 guys that show up for oval it would be a very quiet night. I think starting earlier is also a good idea, but i dont work on sat. Last week we were out by ten. But we ran fewer classes and did not change the track. Ken also did a very good job of moving things along. I am not sure what is best for the program. Hopefully others will add there .02

Understood. I am just afraid that if we keep things as they have been and the Saturday group continues to grow, we are going to have a problem.

It's great that Ken kept things moving along last week, but I know from talking to some that maybe he's going a bit too far by limiting the time between the heat rounds to 15 minutes or even less. This results in some not having sufficient time to charge batteries or work on their car. Plus we lose some of the time to just hang out between rounds and visit with each other. It tends to make the evening feel rushed.

One other option I heard was to cut back to 2 rounds of heats instead of 3. If they do that then they need to reduce the entry fee by a few dollars and this also results in less racing which some won't like.

As to the oval guys being there first, that's not entirely accurate. I'm the one who found that place for Ken and when we built the first track there it was during the height of the then touring car craze back in 2001, and everyone, even the "oval guys" were racing touring cars on the roadcourse. Back then the roadcourse group was the larger group just as it is today. It's just that over time the touring car racing died down and the majority returned to oval and that is what most now remember. But I was there at the start, so I know how it really was.

Now once again the roadcourse group is the larger group by a huge margin as most of the original oval group no longer race at RCH. So while I know I'm risking it all by pointing this out; I have to ask why we still have to cater to the oval guys. If it was left to the 3 or 4 of them then I think the track would eventually close. The roadcourse group is who now supports the track and the racing and I see no end of that.

One other suggestion I made that fateful night was to run more than 3 or 4 cars in the mains that would reduce the number of races at the end of the night,just my thoughts from the shadows.

I don't really know what to say. Let me start by saying that I've just finished putting together a car to race in the spec class. I went up to check out the racing just before Christmas, and it really looked like a lot of fun. So I bought a roller and have been buying the parts and electronics little by little. So I'm finally ready to go and was looking forward to coming to race this Sat. As I read these posts it sounds like maybe its not as fun as it looked. Have people really been asked to leave for expressing opinions or making suggestions? Is there more to the story? I just want to have a good time. And I hope I can. It sounds like it is super-structured, and being entirely new to racing, I'm just looking for a nice relaxed atmosphere to get my feet wet. Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and give it a shot Sat. I guess if I like it then good, if not oh well!!! I know you guys are racing SC, but its on the same night as the spec class right?

bigleobets, all that I'm getting at is that the Saturday racing is getting bigger all the time and while that's a good thing for the health of rc racing in our area, it also inevitably leads to some issues that will need to be resolved in the near future, such as the racing extending to midnight or possibly beyond. To "hurry up" the evening racing program or to eliminate the third round of heats are solutions that are not very popular with most.

I'm just fishing for suggestions from all you racers who come Saturday nights as to how to handle this.

As to anyone being asked to leave, I am not involved in that and therefore cannot speak to what may or may not have happened. In other words; I just don't know anything about that! I wasn't involved.

I have a ton of fun racing at RCH. I agree that it has been running a little late. We have also been runnig 8 or 9 races. It is real hard to fit all that into an hour per round. If you are running just one class you still have plenty of time between your races. In fact you have more time. What we need to do is make sure we are ready for our race. The race is five minutes, if it takes ten to get everybody ready we lose a lot of time. if we can keep it down to 3-4 minutes between races that is great. I love to talk and hang out as much as anybody and I am running 3 classes of cars. I would love for sat nights to be road course only. Just not sure if it will happen. It would save a lot of time and be easier for pratice between heats. If any one is new and wants to stop by I will be running the GREEN cars. See you all sat.

bigleobets, Don't get discouraged. I'm only three weeks into it, but it's a blast. Everyone is friendlyand very helpful. Unfortunately I work nights and need to leave by 10:00 PM normally, so I appreciate the structured pace that keeps it moving. One night it went way past 10:00 PM but there were a lot of racers. I had to leave but it was still fun.

I haven't been going long enough to comment on who should run what night or what time we should start. I don't want to step on any toes, but road course does seem to be the majority. The SC trucks on the road course is loads more fun then the oval (did I mention that already )

Roy brings up a good point of having a drivers meeting. I have seen very few problems this year. This is my first year racing but for the most part every oneseems to take care of them selves. If anyone has a problem they need to bring it up before it gets out of control. We need to work together to make this happen. Remember this is aboit having fun.

I am whole heartedly with Brett it is all about having fun. Think about it. If something is not fun we dont do it anymore. I do agree with things being rushed a little if you are running more than one class. I ask those who only run one class to marshall for me in the event I need to fix a car. So far I havent been told to go scratch. We have a great group of guys and so far I have been having a lot of fun. So if we need a hand marshalling give it and from my experience the favor will be returned. Just my $.02

y not run an off road night can run the slashes along with stadium trucks, buggies what ever else you want would help shorten sat nights and the offroad night would be shorter just a suggestion completly up to rch and the racers

5 PM start time would be fine with me, but a lot of the guys don't even get here until almost 6 PM. So that does not appear the be an option.

2 rounds of heats instead of 3 would also be fine with me but I'm not sure how popular that would be with most people. You will all have to let me know how you feel about that. When I first started racing 2 heats and a main was all we ever did for weekly racing. This also would result in a slightly lower entry fee.

The best way to keep the night from going too late has to do with preparation.
A little extra time spent on your car(s) during the week can help your race night run smoother. Get your repairs made correctly, with the right parts and you won't have to be running back th the bench at race time to make a last minute repair or adjustment. Being ready for your race is key. There should really be no more than 2 minutes between races. Be making your final preparations during the race before yours and be ready to put your car on the track when the previous race is done.

You always have an hour to an hour & 15 min. from one run until your next run in the next round. So even with racing then marshaling you have 50-60 minutes to prepare. Charging should not take this long with LiPo's since we don't have to discharge and equalize them like we use to with NiMh. Just top them off & go again.

Running 2 or 3 classes can be a little hectic so you need the equipment to support it such as multiple chargers and battery packs. We try our best not to have you in back to back races, although that can't always be worked out, and we will always ask for volunteers to marshal for you when you need that extra time to prepare.

Enough on this subject for the moment. Hope to see you all Saturday night ready to race

Ken, Thanks for clearing a few things up. Also running more than one class can be hectic like you said. It can be done but you must be prepaired to spend less time socializing. If you need help getting your car in shape ask someone, most everybody will be willing to help as time allows. If you can get to the track early to make sure everything is ready to go, it helps. I make sure all my cars are cleaned and charged before I head over to the track. An extra battery for pratice is also a good idea. For those that are new or still learning how to get around the track, My best advice is SLOW down. You will have more laps and better times if you spend less time on your roof or off the track. Spend some time praticing till you can make clean laps. Then slowly add speed. Only when you can make clean runs should you try to increase your speed. I am guilty of this as well. you just need to remind your self that more speed = more crashing= fewer laps. More crashing also leads to more broken cars. Last week we had many races end with only one car running. I know we all want to win but that is not how it is going to happen. Watch some of the better drivers when they are racing. Try to pick up on how they drive the track. Sorry for being long winded but I have been holding this in for too long. Maybe by writing it I can follow some of my own advice. See you sat.

As I'm not a racer there my opinions don't weigh in a lot but I would like to keep hammering the drivers meetings.Everyone doesn't have access to the net or maybe just no time to read all the forum threads so that's where a drivers meeting would come in handy.Any type of racing I have ever done has had meetings before you hit the track even if they are only a minute or two.The last night I was there a couple of drivers told me that they didn't even know we had a points series going on,also before taking votes on an issue I also think it should be discussed so everyone has an opportunity to voice there opinions.I have seen a few people discuss rules and changes on this forum but it should be discussed at the track so everyone has input not just a few or just one driver.Rules and changes to them should not be up to one person as there are many drivers affected so they should have input the same should go for track changes and that's where a drivers meeting every week would help,I think five minutes or so before a nights racing starts have a quick get together then race.Just my .02 cents and I'm sure it's not worth that much.

How late have you been running?