| Re: Slot Cars |
Subject: Re: Slot Cars by Weavsvet on 2010/6/11 21:16:49 I love those things. Brings back a bunch of memories. Speaking of little cars....check out what is going on in the parking lot at Rockingham tomorrow. These cars go 132 feet in 2 seconds and run 115 mph. To cool!!! This was an article on The Rocks Website today. ALSO THIS WEEKEND IN THE PARKING LOT The IMDRA Billy Weeks took a wrong turn after his college classes and stumbled across a model car drag racing competition in a parking lot. He got hooked. I have been involved with it for more than 20 years, said Weeks. I have three or four cars. This weekend the International Model Dragway Racing Association (IMDRA) will hold the fifth annual eastern nationals at Rockingham Dragway. We have been averaging about 100 racers, said Weeks, a Richmond County resident. The cars run off nitromethane or rechargeable batteries. Owners of radio controlled racers from California, New York, Florida and New Jersey will travel to Richmond County for this weekends competition. The cars ravel down a 132-foot strip in less than two seconds. They race 12 categories with cars that go as fast 115 mph. Weeks explained that any league that is organized for road cars is also available to the model cars. The equipment made for the model car races is also very similar to the stock car races. The president of the IMDRA, Ron Hicks, began by racing full-sized stock cars and stopped when he got married. I wanted to get involved in something else so I found this and it is just as exciting, Hicks said. There will be people here who put anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 in their cars and who bring 15 cars, said Weeks. Many of the cars are made out of carbon fiber and T1 aluminum, which Weeks said is the same aluminum used on space shuttles. Weeks will not be racing this weekend, but is helping the IMDRA organize the event. He really looks forward to each of the races. I enjoy just having fun and working on the cars, Weeks said. Each of the five years the race has been held in Rockingham the racers have set new records. There are going to be a lot of contestants from all over the country and it is going to be a lot of fun, said Hicks. The track is open Friday for testing. It is $50 to enter a car in the first race and $25 for each additional race. Spectators get in for free. Qualifying begins at noon on Saturday and eliminations begin Sunday at 11 a.m. Attendance is free and is located in the front parking area outside the track. Cameron Quick can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 15 or by e-mail at cquick@yourdailyjournal |
