PN Racing World Cup Regional Race - Central Division

[ruf]

Just putting out some feelers here for date conflicts. I'm proposing JUNE 25-26. A-main drivers qualify for the PN Racing World Cup Finals (tentatively scheduled in Las Vegas). There will be handout motors and prizes, so this looks to be a very exciting event. A-main winner may receive travel assistance to the World Cup Finals.

The location of this Regional Race is yet to be determined, but will be in Houston, TX. The venue will be selected based upon interest/projected turnout. This is not a "state" race but REGIONAL event, so we need to have input on possible race conflicts in the multi-state area and promotion in those areas as well (OK, LA). We would be willing to offer a small credit/discount per class for those travelling from out of town to help offset travel costs (a token offering, but it should buy a gallon of gas... :rolleyes:)

Let's get some feedback guys! Feel free to crosspost this on other forums to get their input as well!

[Q ball]

Joe, How does this compare with what Dan has been working on? Is it part of that or a totally separate thing?

[ruf]

Dan, Trey and I will all be working together on this. That's the nice thing about the Mini-Z community! Less politics, more racing! :D

[ruf]

Q ball - if you mean the Mini Cup that Dan's working on, then this is separate. This is an international event that is sponsored by PN Racing. I think that this is the second year for it. The World Cup Finals should have racers from all over the world at it.

[Q ball]

Sounds like a great deal! I look forward to that just as I do the race Dan is working on. You are right, there seems to be less politics with the mini Zs. Lets hope it stays that way!

[Biff]

Keep us informed Joe!

[TITANIUM]

Pending my results at rialto...I may or may not run in yours....
if I do not get into a'mains a rialto I will be there for sure to try again...
last I talked to Philip he was debating if he will allow b'main qualifiers to enter the world’s event....
anyway...
what’s the drive time from Dallas to Houston? (I am there many times a year, maybe one time many just work perfectly)

[ruf]

3.5-4 hours

I wish you success at the Rialto qualifier, but we would love for you to have you at our race otherwise! :D

[madf1man]

At 75 to 80 mph!!!! :eek:

[ruf]

and?... :D

[TITANIUM]

....that is quite a drive!.... :eek:

[ruf]

Texas is freaking big. The trivia fact that's always used is that Houston to El Paso is longer than El Paso to California. :D

[TITANIUM]

im in Mt.Pleasant right now working for a couple of days...and the first thing i asked these guys when i got here was where is the "Mt." :p

[ruf]

Ok PN Racing has some more info on their site now. I am trying to firm up some venue info so we can get the online sign-up started. Looks like we're a go!

[Wyo-Mini-Z]

Joe,

We’re thinking of heading to your race. I was going to race in Rialto but I’ve got some major schedule conflicts with that race.

Will your race be on RCP track? What kind of lap counting system will you be using?

Thanks!

[Biff]

Joe, you have mail.

In case it gets lost, Im at

flounderflinger101@yahoo.com

[ruf]

Joe,

We’re thinking of heading to your race. I was going to race in Rialto but I’ve got some major schedule conflicts with that race.

Will your race be on RCP track? What kind of lap counting system will you be using?

Thanks!Sorry for the late reply. I've been travelling a lot, and we've been trying to sort out some details with PN. The date will the weekend of June 25. Depending on the number of entries, it will be one or two days. Most likely two days. We have enough RCP track to pave a road for you to drive here from Wyoming, so yes it will be RCP... :) And the track will be huge. We will be using the KO AM lap counting system. That way no one will have to buy an AMB transponder or try to put a gigantic card on their car.

[Wyo-Mini-Z]

Thanks Joe! We're starting to make travel plans. At least two of us will try to attend maybe three. Do you have an idea of how many participants might show? Also do you recommend any hotels in the area?

Thanks Again,

[ruf]

We have 30-40 locals and I'm shooting for at least 50-100 entries. Should be some good competition.

I am planning on having it in a hotel conference room like the snowbirds so it would be very convenient for you guys to just stay at that hotel. I am shopping hotels right now and should have the location locked down by the end of the month. Hopefully I can get a special rate on a block of rooms.

[Q ball]

Joe,

You're definitely doing this the right way! Thats good to see. With it being a PN race (aftermarket company) there will only be mod (open) classes, is that correct?

[ruf]

The rules state that stock class will be NON-FET with Speedy 05 motor. Mod class will be S03. All motors will be handout motors and the price is included in the entry fee! It's actually a really good deal.

[TITANIUM]

i was looking at the pn site...they list only june 25th for this race...is that true?
if infact, it is one day i may be able to attend...
maybe I'll give you a chance to try and sneek that black F1 by me....NOT...j/k

[ruf]

Do you mean that you can attend the June 25-26 weekend or only the day of June 25. I'm still up in the air about ATTEMPTING to make this a one day race. Highly doubtful though.

[TITANIUM]

yes, the pn racing site had it listed for one day...the 25th...if that’s the case I may attend...
one day...well that will be one long day...lunch break, dinner break...then last qual & finals ending around 10 or 11 pm....
I just wanted to know from you....what the real schedule was....

[ruf]

The real problem with a one day race is that I can't take everyone out the night before the mains and get them trashed at the "ballet". :D

[TITANIUM]

so offically... one or two day race?

p.s. its always good to have someone call everybodys room two ot three time during the night and hang up....or knock on the door and run.... :D

[ruf]

At this point, I'm going to have to say 2-day race. BUT, if you want to qualify for the PN Finals, all you have to do is run on Saturday. If you qualify for the A-main and DNS on sunday, you're still "IN" the A-main. :D

[TITANIUM]

At this point, I'm going to have to say 2-day race. BUT, if you want to qualify for the PN Finals, all you have to do is run on Saturday. If you qualify for the A-main and DNS on sunday, you're still "IN" the A-main. :D
thanks for the info...
i plan to qual at Railto ...but ya never know....
otherwise i just wanted run with the guys....

[TNB]

Dang T,
First Rialto, then NorCal, NY and TX? I figure one shot in Rialto and that's it. After all, I can still BS at ECACP if the final race is held there.

[TITANIUM]

.no NY or north Cal. possibilities...
But it was possible to get to Houston for a day race...but since it will be two days, I cannot make it...
im not to worried about qualifying...if I make it great, if not so be it....
I just would like to race....chasing my kids on the track has become a bit dangerous for my cars....there has been some close calls....
id much rather try to survive your driving on the track than a smashed car via my kids feet...
However, I will try NY next go around...due to the fact my family wants to see Niagara falls....we will make a week of it
....
:D

[Q ball]

Thanks for the info on the motor rules. I'll get with you Saturday and get caught up on all the details.

[Q ball]

Ruf,

Are you aware this falls on the race day of one of our regular series races?

[ruf]

Actually, it is exactly 2 weeks after the last round of the 2nd series. I will serve as a break between Series 2 and Series 3.

[Q ball]

ah! so we'll wait and start series 3 after it? cool!

[Q ball]

Joe,

Any word on location, entry forms, and schedule yet?

[ruf]

Ugh. Sorry it's taken so long guys. The PN rep in charge of this has been out of the country so I'm waiting to talk with him about some details. The entry forms will be on PN's site. The race is scheduled for June 25 qualifying and June 26 mains. I've narrowed it down to 3 venues and will make the choice by the end of this week. Flyers will go out in April.

[Biff]

Were in. :)

[ruf]

Ok, just finalized everything with PN. It was just a simple miscommunication. The PN Racing World Cup Central US Regional Race is now ON! June 25-26. Get ready for the media blitz! :D

[JELIAS]

Thanks for all of your effort in getting this race set up. I hope I can make it.

Jose

[ruf]

No problem Jose. This will be a VERY fun race. Just to review, the A-main in Stock (Speedy 05), Open (S03), and F1 (Speedy 05) will qualify for the Finals in Vegas on October 29 and 30. The winners will be awarded a voucher to help cover their airfare. The race fee includes handout motors, so your entry fee is only $6 excluding the motor! Can't beat that! :D

[iOverland]

I'm in Houston, TX and I might be able to go where is going to be held?

[Q ball]

Joe,

Have you heard any rumblings about the speedy 05 motor blowing non-fetted boards? Are fets allowed in the stock class?

[ruf]

FETs are not allowed in the stock class. The only rumblings were from my friend in NY that happened to get a bad motor. The 05 ran flawlessly at the Regional Race in Rialto, CA this past weekend.

[Tubaboy]

Me and one of the guys I race with installed the speedy 05 without any issues last week.

Acceleration is really nice, but seems to be lacking in top speed compared to the PN Speedy BB motor.

[ruf]

Gear up. The 05 has more torque than the BB.

[ruf]

The race will be on RCP track. The counting system will be selected at a later date. We have both the KO ARC system and the CORE system at our disposal. The track will be absolutely huge. I am arranging for rooms at the same hotel that the track will be set up. Should be a GREAT time.

[ruf]

Well the venue has been finalized. Originally we wanted to do it in a hotel ballroom, but unfortunately all of the decent affordable ones have been booked to the extent that we couldn't have it for both Saturday AND Sunday. Thanks to Trey and Mobility Plus for providing us with a solution for this. We should still be able to run the huge track that we have been planning on in his facility.

For you locals, I have attached a quick map. More info + flyers coming this week!

[Q ball]

Sorry I didn't help with the hotels Joe, I've been sick and not doing much of anything.

[ruf]

Not a problem Scot. Later this year, we can work on planning a big invitational race like we want. It's just too short a notice to pull in the big guys right in the thick of race season and book a venue in the middle of wedding, reunion, etc season.

[TITANIUM]

so where's the venue? will this be a one or two day event?
are the dates official?

[ruf]

Ask and you shall receive...
Venue: Mobility Plus
Dates: June 25-26, 2005

Flyer/sign-up sheet (http://www.reflexracing.net/images/PNRegional.jpg)

and attached below...

[TNB]

Ask and you shall receive...
Free harem of naked, hot, wild and wet Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders rooting for the Big D. :D

[ruf]

I'm sure that happens sometime, somewhere. But I think it's a safe bet that you're not "the Big D" that they're rooting for... :D

[TNB]

I did used to live in Park Cities not to far from the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. ;)

[ruf]

Online registration is up! Hotel info coming soon.

[ruf]

Here's the hotel info guys. It's less than 5 minutes away from the track. I couldn't work out any discount due to the undetermined number of out-of-towners, but the rates are $59/night which is pretty reasonable imo.

La Quinta Inn Houston Wilcrest
11113 Katy Freeway
Houston TX 77079
800-444-6835

Sign up online so I can get an idea of headcount!

A taste of things to come! The regionals track will be even bigger! Movie is about 5MB.

http://www.reflexracing.net/files/thrcf1.wmv

[TNB]

I noticed the large inside turns (and the other thread). ;)

[ruf]

La Quinta is $59/night through Hotels.com

If I can get 10 rooms, we can get $49/night.

[ruf]

Random pics:

http://www.svt-enthusiast.com/albums/album187/track1.sized.jpg
http://www.svt-enthusiast.com/albums/album187/Image003.sized.jpg
http://www.svt-enthusiast.com/albums/album187/Image006.sized.jpg

[TITANIUM]

I am sooo....pissed.......
I was going to come down to the race....
I was making arrangements tonight....but I then found out that stupid delta skymiles need to be booked like six months in advance....Doh!
if I paid for a $500 dollar ticket my wife would have my hide...
so I guess.......I am S.O.L.
stupid thing is...the flights are not even full !!!!.....stupid....stupid....stupid!!!!!!!

[Biff]

Im signed up!

[ruf]

Ouch. Sorry man! We woulda loved to have had you over. Rent a car and road trip it! hahaha! :D You can always crash with us.

[TITANIUM]

Im still working on it with my better half....
problem is we just did a disneyland trip & a park city trip...this last month ago,
and i did the railto race too...
so my wife thinks i've spent enough $ on fun for a season or two.....
dont count me out just yet....though
p.s. is the watts (shannon) family signed up?

[Q ball]

Hope you can make it. This race will be huge fun!

[ruf]

Yup Shannon & co. are on their way! :)

[ruf]

MORE RACING!

We have now increased the number of qualifiers!

3 qualifiers on Saturday!
2 qualifiers + mains on Sunday!

Originally we were going to have timed practice, but figured screw it, let's race some more!

[Biff]

Joe, how will the qualifing be done? Single best time, or the qualipoints, or whatever its called thing

[ruf]

Nah. Rocket round. I don't think this event needs qualipoints yet... :p

[Biff]

And IFMAR starts! I like! :)

[ruf]

PN Regional schedule:

Friday:
7:30-9:30pm track testing
10pm doors close

Saturday:
9am doors open
9:30-11:30am open practice
11:30am mandatory drivers meeting
1pm qualifying round 1/2/3

Sunday:
9am doors open
9:30-11:30 open practice
1pm qualifying round 4/5
~4pm mains

[madf1man]

There will be some banked turns on this track.Since we were unable to do any tire testing last week on the banks there may be some concerns yet to be discovered.In lite of rescent events I would like to propose chicanes be put in place at turn entrances to slow traffic or be allowed to run foams.While there are no driver concerns in our case we would like to maintain somekind of realism in our hobby.If the participants request are not met I fear there may be some who may pull out of the event again purely for the sake of realism. Thank you for your time and I look forward to resolving these issues.

[Tubaboy]

This a joke related to the F1 Michelin debacle? Heh

I doubt they will allow foams as this is a regional and the regionals lead to who will move onto Nationals.

[madf1man]

Yes this is a joke just tryin to crack Joe up

[Tubaboy]

Phew. :) Ya know I'm not a big F1 fan, and don't know all the politics involved, but that entire event really soured my tastes on how the league is run. Allowing a sponsor to control racing like that is just sad.

Could you imagine if Ford, Chevy, or Dodge attempted something like this in a NASCAR race? HEH We would see riots like none could believe

[ruf]

After 3 rounds of qualifying:

F1:
Nick Watts 45/10:12.70
Scot Quintel 45/10:13.60
Trey Morris 44/10:03.72
Shannon Watts 42/10:03.52
Ron Taylor 41/10:03.66
Danny Finley 41/10:05.36
Mike Isadore 34/10:01.40
Joseph Chen DNS

Stock:
Cristian Tabush 49/10:06.84
Josh Elmer 45/10:00.18
Scot Quintel 44/10:07.33
Trey Morris 44/10:11.75
Shannon Watts 43/10:16.49
Nick Watts 42/10:05.61
Danny Finley 42/10:07.33
Chris Thayer 41/10:05.38
Biff 39/10:03.49
Hector Zacrisson 37/10:02.83
Mike Isadore 36/10:02.06
Taz Hicklen 36/10:12.73
Julie Watts 28/10:14.74
Pat Gaetje DNS

Mod:
Cristian Tabush 50/10:06.87
Jacob Feinstein 48/10:09.16
Brian Bosley 47/10:11.00
Joseph Chen 45/10:10.88
Nick Watts 43/10:08.00
Shannon Watts 42/10:12.94
Chris Thayer 32/10:07.78
Ron Taylor 15/7:29.76

[TITANIUM]

Cristian is on FIRE!

[Biff]

WHAT a race! Im so tired. LOL

Christian is the man though. Congrats bro.

I dont know how to relay my appreciation on a keyboard like this race deserves. Thanks ruf, madF1man and P/N Racing.

Especially ruf. Joe Chen. You made it work bro!

[ruf]

Final Qualification (after 5 rounds):

F1:
Joseph Chen 47/10:08.16
Nick Watts 45/10:05.90
Ron Taylor 45/10:08.33
Scot Quintel 45/10:13.60
Trey Morris 44/10:03.72
Shannon Watts 44/10:09.89
Danny Finley 44/10:11.32
Pat Gaetje 41/10:07.96
Mike Isadore 36/10:15.65

Stock:
Cristian Tabush 49/10:05.06
Josh Elmer 45/10:00.18
Scot Quintel 45/10:04.16
Nick Watts 45/10:05.19
Trey Morris 44/10:11.75
Shannon Watts 43/10:16.49
Danny Finley 43/10:04.94
Biff 42/10:02.35
Chris Thayer 41/10:05.38
Pat Gaetje 41/10:05.72
Hector Zacrisson 38/10:03.26
Mike Isadore 39/10:14.60
Taz Hicklen 36/10:12.73
Julie Watts 29/10:08.31

Mod:
Cristian Tabush 51/10:10.45
Jacob Feinstein 49/10:12.30
Brian Bosley 48/10:11.26
Joseph Chen 46/10:00.96
Ron Taylor 44/10.00.57
Nick Watts 43/10:08.00
Shannon Watts 42/10:06.59
Chris Thayer 36/10:01.95

[ruf]

Final Classification:

Stock B Main:
Chris Thayer 40/10:05.68
Pat Gaetje 40/10:08.57
Hector Zacrisson 38/10:13.33
Julie Watts 29/10:15.33
Mike Isadore DNS
Taz Hicklen DNS

F1 A Main:
Scot Quintel 44/10:10.80
Nick Watts 43/10:09.62
Ron Taylor 42/10:07.97
Trey Morris 42/10:11.57
Shannon Watts 41/10:02.41
Danny Finley 41/10:13.33
Joseph Chen 22/4:36.70
Pat Gaetje 1/0:22.40
Mike Isadore DNS

Stock A Main:
Cristian Tabush 47/10:05.69
Josh Elmer 45/10:02.86
Scot Quintel 44/10:03.79
Trey Morris 43/10:05.70
Nick Watts 43/10:09.76
Biff 42/10:00.52
Shannon Watts 42/10:10.74
Danny Finley 40/10:07.02

Mod A Main:
Cristian Tabush 48/10:01.63
Brian Bosley 47/10:07.05
Nick Watts 43/10:09.18
Jacob Feinstein 42/10:10.77
Ron Taylor 40/10.08.56
Shannon Watts 38/10:06.91
Chris Thayer 33/10:06.90
Joseph Chen 11/2:39.63

[CristianTabush]

Joe's performance in the mains is due to the fact that he is the most unselfish guy at the track...

He's always sooooo busy working on other people's stuff that never ends up working on his driving or wrenching. Thanks for letting me focus on racing and you doing most of the dirty work.

You guys don't understand, his F1 saw almost as quick of a pace as my stock time in qualifying. That F1 was ballistic! Shame about the main, but you made EVERYTHING else happen for EVERYBODy else. Thanx a lot.

[Biff]

Ditto! Joes the man! :D

[PD2]

Congratulations Cristian!! Looks like you have secured a spot in the Vegas race!

Stopped by earlier today - just before the mains. Saw you running and the car looked hooked up!!!

Speaking of Joe - the guy is awesome!! Hooked me up with the parts I need for my new 2005 Mustang GT Mini-Z! I'll get it together and come run SS class with you guys.

Cya soon!
PD2 :cool:

[TITANIUM]

WOW, most excellent....ruf congrats on F1 TQ! what happend in the main?

[CristianTabush]

Joe broke a tie rod early in the main in F1, while he was in the lead.

[madf1man]

Thanks to the Watts family for coming down.Hope we made the event nice for them. Thanks to everyone else also for coming out to race,I enjoyed the event and everyone contributed to it going so well. The Watts may come race with us next weekend again depending on their schedule.They leave for home on Sunday. I have one word for Joe ALUMINUMNUMNUM!!!!! Sorry man you had F1.

[Q ball]

Joe's OTHER car still won in F1 ! I'm telling you, it was the car NOT the driver! We didn't change a thing on that car all weekend. Thanks Joe!

[ruf]

Re: F1
I had a bad solder joint on Saturday that I didn’t catch until that evening’s teardown so I DNS’ed all my Saturday qualifying rounds. I decided to focus on my misbehaving 94mm MM mod car and keeping the event organized and running smoothly. There were plenty of little hiccups throughout the weekend to keep me plenty busy! I spent Saturday night working through my aforementioned F1 problems, converting my mod car back to 98mm, and building trophies. I got wrapped up at about 1AM and went out for my “pre-race warm up”, so I would be on my game driving-wise the next day… :p Sunday’s F1 qualifying had me on an easy 48 lap pace, but I got tangled up(side down) a few times which dropped me to a 47. I was pretty confident going into the mains, so long as I could find a decent battery pack. My old batteries were a little flat and my new packs were too new (needed some more cycles). Anyways, I managed to get the holeshot from pole and had built up a comfortable gap a few laps into the race when I BARELY brushed the outer wall on the straightaway. Those are always the worst when the lightest rub ends up breaking something. I think I may have snagged one of the seam edges. Honestly, I shouldn’t have been that high up on the straight, but I was opening up trying to run smoother after the defensive line I was using for the first few laps. Dumb mistake and a tough break. Anyways, I ended up watching what was probably the most exciting race of the weekend from the driver’s stand. At one point there were 4 F1’s within 4 feet of track circulating the infield! Excellent driving to stay close and make clean passes. Scot eventually pulled about an 8 second gap over the field with a spare car that I had put together for him to run this weekend. The “deal” was that if he beat me with my own car, he had to buy it. Let me tell you, those F1 cars AREN’T cheap! hahaha! You would think that a die-hard oval junkie would want a spotter calling the gap, but apparently I was a little distracting. :p Scot finished the race strong and took it in the end. He will also be taking it in the end when he sees the bill for my F1… :D

Re: Mod
94mm MM is definitely a work in progress. I got my freshly painted Murcielago body back (affectionately termed “Mango” by the end of the day), and the car was much more stable in 98mm configuration. The car still wasn’t anywhere near as smooth as the top running Enzos, so I’ll have to work on that setup some more. I had to wheel the snot out of that car and it felt like I was riding a dirt bike going into the sweeper turning the car in with the front wheels off of the ground! I got a kick out of Scot and Pat doing the wave as I bounced by them on the straight. :p My final qualifier, I had another boneheaded mistake and forgot my battery clips. Again, I really gotta start reading my own tech articles. Come time for the mains, I walked over to my charger to find one of my IC3’s cold in the charger. Boo. I reloaded it and managed to get a little charge in it, but by the 2 minute mark I was running on 3 cells. It was kind of nice since it took the edge off of the Saber motors that we were running, but eventually the car just shut off due to lack of voltage. Boo. “Mango Joe” retired in the infield and watched yet another main from the driver’s stand. Mango will begin its “General Lee” transformation very soon! Watch for it!

Big thanks go out to the Watts for coming all the way from Wyoming. It was definitely our pleasure to race with you guys. Overall, I personally had a great time this weekend. Sure I sucked it up in the mains, but I felt like I “won” every time I could help someone get faster or I got to watch a good race. Someone saying that they had a great time is worth more to me than any trophy. If anyone has ever seen the movie Groove with Ernie and “the nod”, they can understand what I take away from an event like this. I was wore out and beat come Sunday afternoon, but it was well worth it!

TIMMAY!

[TITANIUM]

well Joe, mains are the trill of victory or the agony of defeat...eitherway, you proved yourself as a F1 FORCE TO BE RECONED WITH.

I look forward to racing you at PN world cup...(now L.A.)

JMO!
If I where to try and gauge your performance against Nick & Shannon...
I would probably predict that all you racers in Houston are going to be excellent contenders at the PN world Cup...it will be very very very close racing within the F1 class. but anyway, based on my experience with racers in Rialto & N.Y.....I would predict that you (Joe) would be favored to take the top spot.

just an observation....

plus, maybe I can give you a big ego...and then you will get over confident, then you can suck at worlds....part of my evil plan.....hee hee he he...

[pchan0]

Joe,

Great coverage, it feels like I'm at the race. Any pictures from the race?

[ruf]

Pics and vids coming soon.

[madf1man]

I,ll post some pics tonight

[arch2b]

althoughi only raced in teh overland class for the kyosho cup series, the f1 was always by far the most popular to watch. something about the tight racing and the high pitch screem of the cars just draws you to them :D as dangerous as the open wheel f1's are to race, i've seen them take a beating and i've seen them almost fall apart. you never know what's going to be the nail in the coffin so to speak.

thanks for the review ruf, well worth reading

[Biff]

I started racing offroad in 94 and gave up racing in 2000 because of the usual crap that goes with bad attitudes and the "Win or Die" mentality of a handfull of folks. The fun factor was gone for me. Last year I bought a gas truck and raced it 5 times and sold it. Then I bought a BK2, raced it 3 times and sold it. Even after a 4 year layoff, I still wasnt having fun. I thought about trying slot cars. LOL. I was looking around on the THRC site and I saw these MiniZs and just knew I had to give them a try. I was very impressed with the simplicity and affordability factors of these cars and started looking deeper into this unknown and underground scene of MiniZs. Thats when I was directed to this site. As I started reading posts I saw a handle I recognized from years ago. ruf. Named after a car on Grand Turismo. :) Back in the day, he really wasnt a very good driver. Sorry Joe, but you were terrible in offroad. LMAO! Decent driver in onroad though. If he drove a "KIT" car that wasnt built from Tamiya, AE and Losi parts. FrankenCars. :) He caught my attention by his attitude and his vision of what he thought RC car racing should be like. I liked what he was saying and we cooked Hot Dawgs. (Long story) LOL

Moving forward, when I saw he running around here trying to help everyone he could, I knew that MiniZ racing was for me. Joe was racing them, I had to try them myself. He helped me get me going, got me parts, worked on my car, gave me advice and has got me hooked on Mini racing. This is where I belong. Thanks Joe.

Even though this was only my second MiniZ race, I had more fun this weekend than I have had in years. At 47 years old, I think I was the oldest racer there, and Im very tired even on Monday, But Im ready to do it again. Im pupmed up, feeling good and might go to the Worlds too. Im dusting off the car now, ready for the next run. :)

Thanks to the Watts family for coming down for this race. I have a funny feeling they had fun. :) Nick beat me though. LOL. We both had set up problems on Saturday but on Sunday our cars were working alot better and he just outdrove me but it was a blast hearing how we were constantly dicing. Seems like every run all I heard from the announcer was the closest race was between him and I. But he beat me. He deserved it cuz I made him work for it. :)

After the main I asked him how he liked racing in Texas. His response was "Quality".

Yea. I agree!

Maybe in the future we can have a big/little race here in Texas just for fun. Maybe a HotDawg race for charity.................. Who knows. :)

[TITANIUM]

I started racing offroad in 94 and gave up racing in 2000 because of the usual crap that goes with bad attitudes and the "Win or Die" mentality of a handfull of folks. The fun factor was gone for me. Last year I bought a gas truck and raced it 5 times and sold it. Then I bought a BK2, raced it 3 times and sold it. Even after a 4 year layoff, I still wasnt having fun. I thought about trying slot cars. LOL. I was looking around on the THRC site and I saw these MiniZs and just knew I had to give them a try. I was very impressed with the simplicity and affordability factors of these cars and started looking deeper into this unknown and underground scene of MiniZs. Thats when I was directed to this site. As I started reading posts I saw a handle I recognized from years ago. ruf. Named after a car on Grand Turismo. :) Back in the day, he really wasnt a very good driver. Sorry Joe, but you were terrible in offroad. LMAO! Decent driver in onroad though. If he drove a "KIT" car that wasnt built from Tamiya, AE and Losi parts. FrankenCars. :) He caught my attention by his attitude and his vision of what he thought RC car racing should be like. I liked what he was saying and we cooked Hot Dawgs. (Long story) LOL

Moving forward, when I saw he running around here trying to help everyone he could, I knew that MiniZ racing was for me. Joe was racing them, I had to try them myself. He helped me get me going, got me parts, worked on my car, gave me advice and has got me hooked on Mini racing. This is where I belong. Thanks Joe.

Even though this was only my second MiniZ race, I had more fun this weekend than I have had in years. At 47 years old, I think I was the oldest racer there, and Im very tired even on Monday, But Im ready to do it again. Im pupmed up, feeling good and might go to the Worlds too. Im dusting off the car now, ready for the next run. :)

Thanks to the Watts family for coming down for this race. I have a funny feeling they had fun. :) Nick beat me though. LOL. We both had set up problems on Saturday but on Sunday our cars were working alot better and he just outdrove me but it was a blast hearing how we were constantly dicing. Seems like every run all I heard from the announcer was the closest race was between him and I. But he beat me. He deserved it cuz I made him work for it. :)

After the main I asked him how he liked racing in Texas. His response was "Quality".

Yea. I agree!

Maybe in the future we can have a big/little race here in Texas just for fun. Maybe a HotDawg race for charity.................. Who knows. :)

that’s the story behind many many many z'ers! its great isn’t it!
99% of the z crowd are people just like Shannon & nick...
as for the win or die attitude.....most of the z'ers I know have that too but in a good way... ;)
Myself defiantly...it’s just too bad I dont see the win side of things enough :D
atleast i always see the fun side....

[ruknd@aol.com]

Joe's OTHER car still won in F1 ! I'm telling you, it was the car NOT the driver! We didn't change a thing on that car all weekend. Thanks Joe!
joe can definately hook a car up...glad to see it all went well. I'll have to come and race the next race where its cold here and warm there.

[Biff]

that’s the story behind many many many z'ers! its great isn’t it!
99% of the z crowd are people just like Shannon & nick...
as for the win or die attitude.....most of the z'ers I know have that too but in a good way... ;)
Myself defiantly...it’s just too bad I dont see the win side of things enough :D
atleast i always see the fun side....


Thats why I like racing with Zers. Yall rock! :D

[madf1man]

Heres a few pics.I,ll let Joe go thru the rest. This should be easy but computors tweak my chassis for some reason!!!!

[ruf]

I STILL suck at offroad! hahaha!

Thanks for all the kind words guys. I'll work on getting the pics up asap.

[Celticpride311]

I had a blast. I gotta thank Joe, Cristian, and Trey for putting on such a great race. That was the most fun Ive ever had racing. But the most fun for the weekend was had after the race when we were taking everything down and raced treys carts around the show room. OH MAN! I dont think anyone heard about that. That was the best!!!! We need to do that again. lol

[ruf]

TIMMAY! :p

[Celticpride311]

hahahahahaha. Mango Joe!!!!

[ruf]

timmy timmay... :(

[Q ball]

Biff.... Get with me on that Hot Dog charity thing.... 1) I work for a charity. 2) I had a Mini-Z company approach me about doing just such a thing....

[Biff]

Biff.... Get with me on that Hot Dog charity thing.... 1) I work for a charity. 2) I had a Mini-Z company approach me about doing just such a thing....


Good! :D Lets do this. Where would you like to start the conversation? This site would be fine with me. I think its perfect. Need a new thread through.

[ruf]

The race reports:

http://www.reflexracing.net/pnreport.asp

[ruf]

Oh yah, some pics linked off of that page. More pics and vids coming soon as well as my race report.

[ruf]

This has to be the best track layout I've ever raced on. Beautiful flow and plenty of room to attack and defend.

http://homepage.mac.com/hertoc/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2005-06-28%2011.21.45%20-0700/Image-DA01E040E80011D9.jpg

[TITANIUM]

when i had seen the pics...i thought it would have been a great layout to race on!!!

[TNB]

To me, it looks more like an M18/MRS4 track than a Kyosho Mini-Z track--it's freaking wide everywhere. ;)

[TITANIUM]

since im prone to hitting walls...I prefer the three wide!... :D

[ruf]

Hehe! Everything's bigger in Texas!

The concept of the track was to give people plenty of room to pass. All of the high speed entries are 3 wide as well as most of the exits. This gives you a variety of lines to really dice it up. It pinches down into 2 wide only mid corner in a multiple corner complex where the speeds are pretty low anyways and there isn't as much passing.

The racing was awesome. Not your typical Mini-Z bump/brush/collide/oops pass, but actual clean passing/racing. It really felt like 1/10 on a big track. Who's got the guts to go into the corner a little deeper, a little hotter? Who's got the exit drive to power up the inside? At one point I remember 2 F1's doing battle where it reminded me a lot of a MotoGP pass/repass. I think it was a Renault that passed a Mclaren on the entry going really deep, but ran wide mid corner allowing the Mclaren to close back up, and by the exit the Mclaren had passed him back on the inside. Like watching 2 intersecting arcs. Beautiful stuff to watch and even more fun to drive.

[CristianTabush]

Even though the track seems wide, I placed a lot of though into the layout, using Ruf's and madf1man's input. Those rounded inside radius corneres help a ton, making the lanes a lot wider. The efect that I wanted to get was one were the racing line was VERY tight, but the track didn't feel tight, allowing some faster driving (eventhough probably only 2 tiles were being used). This allowed for more passing and less wrecks when people were getting lapped/ passed after they wrecked. Slow cars could actually pull over to the side and stay on a fairly fast line without having to completely stop or get out of their racing line).

My favorite part had to be the slow section before the straightaway, a real drivers' section. If you tried to go fast, you actually went REAL slow.

[Q ball]

"My favorite part had to be the slow section before the straightaway, a real drivers' section. If you tried to go fast, you actually went REAL slow."

That's where Christian ate everyone for lunch. BTW Christian, in some of the late heats I did what we talked about there. My fasted lap of 12.6 turned into some 12.5s a 12.4 and a 12.3 .

The track had tremendous flow. It didn't race as wide as it looks. Often,that 3rd tile was way off the racing line. Christian is right, there were places you could move over to give the leaders room without costing yourself a ton of time.

[madf1man]

I enjoyed also guys,great layout.Be advised that the mini z cup race at M&M on Aug 6th with be a 2 tile track only.Don,t get spoiled on the 3 tiles!!!! :eek:

[ruf]

Exactly. The track actually ran about 2-wide throughout the infield. The fast line was of course only 1 tile wide. :p The only time we actually NEEDED 3 wide was in the sweeper to make the radius larger. That decreasing radius was FUN! I loved the chicane coming onto the straightaway, but I guess that's just the Michelin in me talking... :)

[ruf]

Updated the PN results page:
http://www.reflexracing.net/pnreport.asp

Cristian's report here:
http://www.reflexracing.net/pnreport_2.asp

My report here:
http://www.reflexracing.net/pnreport_3.asp

[Biff]

The layout was awsome!

[ruf]

More pics are up...

http://www.reflexracing.net/gallery_2.asp

[TNB]

Hey, I've met a few of those people. ;)

[ruf]

Yup, the Watts were nice enough to visit us all the way from Wyoming.

[TITANIUM]

where do I find everybody’s individual lap time per lap.
mains & heats...


???

[TITANIUM]

i checked cores site...the race stats are not there....(really not much of anything...kinda a ghost town...)

[Zrc]

OH GAWD !! It's my dream track. Can anyone tell me how many RCP tracks and expansion kits were involved in making that layout and what the overall dimensions were?? Thanks

[arch2b]

nice to see the use of some banked corners :D i'd love to put some back in my track for out next gtg.

[TITANIUM]

where do I find everybody’s individual lap time per lap.
mains & heats...


???

RUF?

As I was sitting waiting...( chirp, chirp),(cricket)...I started to ponder the vastness of the galaxy.......(wind rushes by)....hey, look! (I pointed) a tumbleweed...!
and that’s when I hit me....the answer to everything....
and then all at once my short term memory loss kicked in...

[Q ball]

We did not usethe core system for the regional race. It showed up too late to get tested and make sure it would run trouble free. We used the KO system that we use for the regular THRC races.

[TITANIUM]

We did not usethe core system for the regional race. It showed up too late to get tested and make sure it would run trouble free. We used the KO system that we use for the regular THRC races.

does that mean you dont have a print out? or save files?

[TITANIUM]

look (as I pointed) another tumbleweed!...ya.who!
then again it occurred to me why I was sitting here waiting...no wait, its gone again...(that darn short term memory) what was I waiting for?

[ruf]

Sorry dude. Out of commission this weekend. I can scan in the printouts.

[TITANIUM]

I figured,
I was giving you the benefit of the doubt......
I was just trying to be a smart a$$.....