Tip from Billy Watson

Tip of the Month for August - Billy Watson

The tip of the month for August comes from a man who is not just a racer, not just a track owner, but he is also a track builder as well.  Billy Watson started racing slot cars in 1966 up in Ohio.  The golden age of Slot Car racing, a time when tracks were all over the U.S.A.  Two years after Billy started racing he re-opened a track that had closed down.  Billy has seen a lot of changes over the years of racing.  He and his wife Minnie had just bought new cars for racing at a local track about ten years ago, when the track they were racing at closed down.  In order to not lose out on racing slot cars, Billy built a track in the basement of his home in Prattville, AL.  This track he dubbed Dungeon Raceway since it was in his basement.  He built a four lane commercial grade track 150' long.  The track is exceptionally fast featuring three straights connected by two banked turns.  After the speed section of the track, there is a technical corner leading into the longest straight on the track that goes into yet another banked turn followed by another technical section..  Having built this track he invited people to come race with him.  He currently has a race program that will see people show up from two or three states every race day.  Billy has seen so much in slot car racing over the years you would be amiss not to listen to any suggestion he makes.

Billy's tip for us is one I have seen him utilizing himself and is a great way to save money on racing.  In fact, Billy admits to being cheap, and that is why he uses this tip himself.  Tires today cost anywhere from $12 to $20 a pair.  When you set your tires up for minimum clearance the way Billy does, the tires don't last very long.  Recently Billy helped me set up a pair of tires so my car would be more competitive and I was able to squeeze out two races with them.....barely.  Using tires at this rate, tire cost can be expensive.  When you look at race fees, new braid for the race, new tires every other race, periodic body and motor replacement, economical racing can be difficult.  If you can find a way to still do all these things and reduce your cost, it can be very helpful.

Billy's exact words to me were, "I am cheap so I recap most of my tires."  If you are not familiar with this practice, it is done widely in slot car racing.  The tires you get are referred to as donuts.  It is the tire without the hub.  Billy explained the process he uses..."First I remove the old rubber by putting the tire in a drill press and cutting off the old rubber.  Next, put the rims on an axle , apply some 3M #08002 weather strip and gasket adhesive to the rim and some on the inside of the rubber, then quickly slide the rubber on the rim, wipe off the excess then set aside till the next day.  I usually make up several at a time."

I would like to go a little farther with this by making a disclaimer about Billy's ability to do this.  It is absolutely necessary to true these tires once they are mounted.  Billy uses a lathe to do this.  This gives Billy the opportunity to make the tires whatever diameter he desires.  Most of us do not have a lathe at our disposal to turn tires down, but many have a tire truer such as the Hudy tire truer.  I have used one of these and can tell you from experience that the tire truer does not work as well as a lathe.  However, lathes seem to start at about $500.  If you do not have a tire truer, you can buy one in the $189-$229 range.  Saving 50% on the price of tires means you can pay for a tire truer by making up 30-40 pairs.  If you can buy the donuts in bulk you could possibly save more and pay for the tire truer quicker.  I will not go into how well a tire truer works at this point as that will be my product review of the month for August.

I would like to thank Billy Watson for his tip of the month.  I know it will truly help a number of racers.