Now where are we gonna race!

[woodman]

Kansas City's Raceway (Raytown International Raceway) is coming to a tragic end..Just got an email:

We have some news that is not good. Got an Email July 2 from the property owners of our store, stating our new rent amount is due July 1, paid the rent on June 30 for July’s rent. Our rent has more than doubled for the space we have. There is no way we can keep our doors open, when we can barely keep the Slot Car Store open, very slow in the Summer. Therefore, we don’t order parts all the time. Bills must be paid first. We must be out of this facility by the end of July. Tracks are for sale and other items on the walls/tables/chairs (except for the people who brought items to hang on the walls). Come in and pick your boxes and other items asap. Thank you.

Wow.....6 lane oval, Dragstrip, 155' king.....You aught to see all the pit spaces we all rent, cars pit boxes, stuff and more stuff all of us have with no place to race......I have tried my darndest to promote here in KC.

[Mitch58]

Sorry to hear.

Here in the NW (Portland) we don't have any commercial spaces in use, we race in garages, basements, and private shops. We are fortunate enough to have a couple of 30' and a 60' track available, with an 80' track under construction. However about an hour south of here a hobby shop closed recently that had one of the original 8 lane tracks from the 60s. I'm not sure where the track ended up, I hope it wasn't scrapped.

Hopefully a space will become available in the future.

[mattb]

Same old story. Hope you guys can find a place to put a track or to build a club track and keep racing.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I wish you luck. I will soon have to put a 150 foot track that is the 1965 grandfather of the King track IN A DUMPSTER! Imagine how that feels. I can't even give it away, even though 3/4s of it is fully restored and it is more complete than any 53 year old track in the world, including those huge metal cabinets for timers, power supplies, etc. I tried to give it to Jay Leno, and he already has one, hundreds of clubs have been contacted and no takers.

The big problem with these things is that even if they are stored, they take up so much space it costs a lot.

Good luck, guys. At least you are dealing with a modern track and may have a better chance of placing it than an antique one.

[bobbyraz49]

Sorry to hear this. We had a hobby store in the Buffalo area close last year that had a 200 foot/6 lane Carrera track.
I have met MANY wonderful people racing there and they have become my good friends.

After the closing we started racing on a beautiful 3 lane routed track in a club members basement. Still have a great time.
Then I and a friend built a 3 lane routed track in my basement. We rotate tracks and have a blast.

Hopefully you will find the answer.

[woodman]

I have my 3 lane D oval, maybe now It will see more use, Hard to get racers that have room for a track....they supply materials I will build one free , long as they help braid it...and local I can race on!

[slothead]

Is there any sort of national association for slot car racing? If we had something like the National Model Railroad Association it would be easier to work together to keep tracks from being demolished and promote the hobby.

Slothead

[mattb]

The slot car hobby is probably the most disorganized hobby in America. this has always been a problem.

[WB2]

Slot Blog has a tracks for sale listing.
http://slotblog.net/forum/259-slot-car- ... filter=all

[HomeRacingWorld]

Well it's a longer haul, but if you ever feel like venturing out on a slot car road trip give me a holler.

[slothead]

Not sure to who or to where Harry was mentioning a road trip - but I do a coast-to-coast cross country road trip every year or so and am planning another later this summer. Generally pass through 20 or more states and Missouri has been one of them after leaving Texas and heading back to the northeast. I could probably fit some dirt modified cars in the trunk to bring a long.

Slothead

[HomeRacingWorld]

Just shoot me a message. We are In Dixon. 15 miles North of I-44. When you here Banjos and Crickets...you are here.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

"The slot car hobby is probably the most disorganized hobby in America. this has always been a problem."

HRW is the NMRA of slot cars... Nice ring to it, eh?

[BIG E]

Sorry to hear about another good commercial raceway being killed by the land lord - same reason I had to get out of my Long Island store back in the early 1990s.
My sincere condolences, I hope those tracks can find a home somewhere, and that the racers can figure out a place to race.
Tragic -- Ernie :>)

[woodman]

Good News when it closed all tracks sold. Two of the guys bought the drag strip, and they found a building at 8834 E. 350 Hwy. Raytown Mo. They are turning it into a club to pay all expenses amoung members....The drag strip was the mainstay that kept the raceway open for 8 1/2 years......The building is big enough for an oval , which I hope to be building.....