Home Slot Car Raceways versus Commercial Raceways

Many years ago, I think it was about 20 years ago, I saw a trend starting and made a prediction about slot car racing. The prediction was that commercial slot car tracks would become less prominent and home clubs/raceways would become more prominent. I thought the home clubs, home raceways, or home raceway circuits would blossom. I thought these would be mostly 1/32 scale or HO scale tracks. This really took off in Europe and came to the U.S. shortly after. People started building tracks with landscaping and all kinds of interesting structures. Lots of tracks featured level changes of various types. These tracks range from plastic tracks with the surface built up to be level with the track to home routed tracks. The home raceways that clubs race on usually are anywhere from 2 lanes to 4 lanes and can be larger. Most are too large to fit on a single sheet of plywood and many will have “L” shaped tables to make better use of space.

It is remarkable what the people who have started these clubs have done. They have gathered friends and or family that is interested in racing slot cars and started being competitive in their own home. After they do this a while another member of the racing group or club may decide to build a track and a circuit begins. I have seen clubs where they will have 4 or 5 home tracks in their circuit. This kind of thinking and passion inspires me. They are taking slot car racing to a point where very few commercial raceway racers can even think of. I applaud these efforts and the ingenuity.

There are also some track owners who have built their tracks at their homes who have taken it to the next step. Some have made 1/24^th scale tracks at their homes. I am not talking about the plastic 1/24^th scale tracks. While I do not take anything away from those who have worked hard on a plastic 1/24^th scale track at their home, I place that in the previous category. What I am talking about are people who have built or had built a commercial style 1/24^th scale track at home. These are usually 4 lanes, but could be more or less lanes. I have raced on one such track and the racing was incredible. It was a 150', four lane track featuring a very interesting lay out and multiple banked turns. I will be racing on another 4 lane home track soon that is about 90' long. Earlier today I was talking to a slot racer in Ohio who built a 40 foot four lane track at his house. These tracks run from high bank raceways to flat tracks and the ones I have seen or seen pictures of were built as well as any commercial raceway you could go to. In fact some of the tracks I have seen or heard of were built by top names in the track building industry. I have not heard of home track owners of this nature starting a circuit yet, but that could be very interesting if it happens.

Commercial tracks are difficult to keep in business, they are plagued with high over head and it is very hard for them to stay in business. If a commercial track is in your area it deserves your support as you will benefit from the raceway greatly. The track owner has not only gone to the expense of getting the track, but he has brought in cars, controllers, and parts for you to buy. He has made a major commitment to the hobby for us. Also you have to consider the fact that we may not want to go to the track on a particular day. The commercial track owner is there even if he would like to go to a baseball game or some other activity. Unfortunately, many of these tracks do not last over 2 years. I have talked to many track owners who have been in business for many years. The common denominator here is they all have a specific plan for keeping the hobby fresh and bringing in more people. Also, many of these track owners work another job so they can afford to keep the track open. I have also talked to many track owners who had no clue as to keeping the racing fresh and interesting. These track owners also had no idea how to promote their track to bring in new racers.

This is how the downfall of a typical commercial track takes place. It grows quickly in the first 90 days and starts races. The race participation continues to grow for a while then levels off after about a year. Looking for more challenges some of the racers want faster classes and spend more money on cars and motors. This makes the track owner very happy and he caters to these racers who are spending more money at his track. The focus of attention is moved from the beginner classes to the more advanced classes. While this is going on his newer racers who did not grow as fast as others in the hobby are getting disinterested because they are constantly at the back of the field. Soon the newer racers are few and the focus grows even stronger on the older racers spending more money. The problem is after a while the racing base has been reduced to just a few in the beginner class and a few of the faster classes. Without a significant racer base the commercial track cannot afford to be open. Either that or the track owner becomes disillusioned with so few racers and wants to get out of the hobby.

The track owners I have known who have stayed open for 10, 15 or even 35 years all have one thing in common. These track owners keep the focus on the beginner or entry level class. I have also known track owners who knew that it is much easier to keep a track open for 2 years than 5 years and made plans for this. They would sign a 2 year lease on a space for their raceway. After two years they would evaluate if they needed to move to another part of town. The existing racers who were really committed to the hobby would follow them and they would be exposed to a new traffic pattern for drawing new racers. Often people discover slot car tracks quite by accident. Most slot car tracks don't do much advertising so they count on word of mouth or traffic in front of the track. This is why so many tracks have opened in shopping centers and will move to another shopping center a few years later. There is one track I knew of that was open in the same location for 35 years. It was run by a man I only knew as “Doc”. He was very strict in his rules and stayed focused on the lesser expensive classes. He also understood the need for special races to keep interest up. He would have special races spread out through the year such as a Black Light Race, Endurance race, races with special bodies on the cars, and various theme races. These variations would be done about every two months and kept everyone’s interest. Unfortunately “Doc” passed away and another person took over the track who did not have his vision. Two years later the track closed after being open in the same location for over 35 years.

The great benefit of a home track is that it is not dependent upon sales and track income to keep it open. On the other hand, these tracks usually do not have a supply of parts available to purchase. Also, home tracks are not dependent upon any certain number of racers. As long as there are people to corner marshal the race goes on. If there are not enough to corner marshal then you race in a crash and burn format. Perhaps if there are not enough people to corner marshal you can call track when you deslot and you are penalized one lap as a result. As property prices and store space rent continues to grow it is a fact that it will be harder and harder to keep commercial tracks open. With this in mind, those who have thought of home tracks as being substandard to the commercial raceway need to rethink their position. One day home tracks may be all there is in your area. You will have the choice, don't race or participate in a great form of racing maybe you have not explored. After all, racing is racing, even if it is on a shorter track or one with less than 8 lanes.