Comments on: “That Track Sucks”

By: Brian Ditmer

Brian Ditmer — Fri, 20 Jan 2017 19:37:16 +0000

three words: it’s off road

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 05:22:31 +0000

People bitch too much about tracks today and then wonder what happened when they shut down. Back in the 80s we ran on real dirt, not this super prepped surface where you need a magnifier to see the knobs on your tires assuming it has knobs. We had the rc10 one car for dirt today you need two maybe three cars if you race on multiple tracks.

By: Is the track bad or is it you? | Modélisme

Is the track bad or is it you? | Modélisme — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 17:27:02 +0000

[…] are? We’ve seen an increase in negativity towards tracks and we’ve talked about it before here: That Track Sucks Public rants are often very harmful to a business, it can turn people away from going or even […]

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 17 May 2016 17:41:34 +0000

Robert, You must race at the same shop/track I do. You just described every race night. 🙂

By: Mark Soliman

Mark Soliman — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 13:12:20 +0000

The Trinity Track was a straight mile South down Newbridge Road in Hicksville, NY. Straight sand it was and nobody ever complained about it, not even a thought or hint of a subject for that matter. We didn’t get to roll up in Daddy’s new car with bins full of R/C luxuries. I mounted a milk-crate to my BMX bike, hung two folding tables on each side and loaded the basket with my Optima, tackle box and charger. Tires……Optima tires had spikes and Turbo Optima tires had 2-stages with a corvette-style rim that I upgraded for v. 5-star rims. The marshals didn’t have to work as hard either. Unfortunately there was still that one spoiled nasty brat that could never govern himself back then. Sure glad the calcium/sugar craze is over though. Calcium has its place just before certain events to let the surface pack in perfectly for a groove. But the enamel treatments at indoor and outdoor tracks are proving very easy on tires, cleaning and even track maintenance when covered from rain. But the sandy stuff still rules the most 😉

By: Bart

Bart — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 17:05:14 +0000

So sad that at a worlds they set the example .
As if the track is to slippy the put suggar on the track .
On the other hand i do not find it proper to run a euro’s or so on a 8 the track with some minor ajustments .
I do see a lot off hard work being done at most tracks and i have lots off respect dor those who do .

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 09:23:55 +0000

That’s what you get with today’s kids and their way of communicating. I also think it goes a little deeper than you being responsible for setting up your car or truck. The track atmosphere itself could give you a bad vibe on enjoying your race day. One too many ego’s that are competing off and on track, bad attitudes, tracks only tending to “friends” of theirs (not paying the necessary race fees and/or membership), cliques, and one too many spoiled kids (and even adults) with their heavy wallet carrying parents spending way too much money on club races to show off. Times HAVE changed, sadly.

By: Ron Miller

Ron Miller — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 20:35:34 +0000

We got my son his first RC-10 in ’91 and he was racing it on a local track 6 months later. Since then, he has run 10th and 12th scales, indoor carpet, offroad, dirt oval, paved road course, using electric and nitro; the only thing he has missed is the paved highbank oval. His racing experience includes 8 seasons of dirt oval racing in full-sized machines (hobby- and street-stocks and IMCA modifieds) on a 1/4 mile oval.
In all of his racing, I have NEVER heard him trash-talk the track. (It did come close when the track operator would cut and water the track between the qualifier and the main.) He has always “brought his car to the track”. What I mean is that he has always run and adjust his machine to excel on the existing track conditions.
Take note…even the NASCAR Cup and Indycar racers are always adjusting to conditions!
Those folks that are looking for perfection out of the box and blame the track operators when they do not achieve it are destined to always be disappointed. The winners will always be the ones who can adjust to the track.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 21:01:25 +0000

I just finished reading this and the bit about potentially being sued for driving r/c’s. The world is a different place than it was ten or twenty years ago, so of course values and perspectives change. My first kit was a Tamiya Blackfoot that I bought with my own money that I had earned myself. I purchased a combo pack that included a transmitter, receiver, and two servos, a quick charger, and a nicad pack. I spent several glorious days building that kit, and when I finally drove it, I enjoyed the fruit of my labor. It was an awesome experience, and one that most folks today unfortunately don’t get to experience as they grow in stature, but not necessarily in character. I then developed some money management skills (for hop ups!) and learned how to care for my vehicle, so it ran better, more reliably, and lasted longer. The r/c industry wasn’t a part of the throw away culture back then. I eventually moved on to nitro trucks, and I still enjoy taking my Tamiya Lunchbox Re-release out for a spin. I earned my knowledge the old hard way, and I payed for my mistakes. We now have become so “user friendly” that manufacturers are offering electric cars that have tiny stereos that make real motor noises! Are you serious? I’ve got a couple of monster trucks that make real motor noises because they have actual internal combustion engines in them, and they are beyond awesome! There are very few things more rewarding than running a nitro r/c that is tuned well, and part of that satisfaction is the tuning process. The problem is that it isn’t well understood by too many people. We don’t need fuel injection, we need an effective system in place that teaches people how to maintain, tune, and operate their vehicles. I recently saw a youtube video where a fellow was surprised and disappointed that his 18th scale 1800mha battery pack almost caught on fire when he charged it at 8.5 amps.
I think we need an educational body that can create videos and articles to help educate folks interested in the hobby. There is so much misinformation, finding good solid material can be a full time hobby in itself. Also, to someone with no experience, how do you know what is valid and what is junk? It’s all well and good for manufacturers to offer support (they should), but I feel there is a need for a nonprofit that owes nothing to any particular brand, and I think manufacturers and online retailers should choose to provide a home page link to said nonprofit. It could run off of funds contributed by r/c manufacturers, retailers, and r/c sanctioning bodies- in short, all the people who profit off of our hobby.
I learned through trial and error, but many people today aren’t willing to put in the time or money to get to the point of being proficient. Good information that is readily available would help ensure that more people who got into the hobby became proficient and stayed in the hobby, and here in the information age, that should be easier than ever before. Thanks!

By: Gary

Gary — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 19:01:27 +0000

Amen, I go to all kinds of tracks, carpet, dirt, clay, indoor outdoor, onroad, offroad and oval. I do ok by asking local racers for help and checking out their cars but do not expect to win the A over people that have more experience on their home court. So far I have not found one I do not like, my main goal is to get more consistent by the end of the day not win everywhere I go, even in the B or C there is competition.