Michigan 6th annual 24 hour race

[SlotCarCorner]

[cgingras]

A third of the race is over.

SCC has changed their lighting system in 4.5 minutes and is still ahead by 14 laps over Quick Slicks. Battle for 4th is amazingly close (2 laps).

Now, we're in the night portion of the race.

[cgingras]

Halfway through.

SCC still in the lead, 57 laps ahead of Quick Slicks. There's a battle in the making for 3rd place. Cincy Slots had mechanical problems and are now pretty far in last place.

Night heats are over and the lights are back on.

Bodies are starting to lie everywhere there's a mattress, couch or blanket.

[SlotCarCorner]

The night segment is in the books. Standings through Heat 21 below. Some tired faces but the enthusiasm hasn't waned!



:auto-driving:

[cgingras]

Results after 2/3 of the race.

Only 42 laps in the lead for Slot Car Corner over Quick Slicks. Will be tight until the end.

Battle for 4th is fierce.

[cgingras]

"Only" 4 hours of racing to go for each team.

Slot Car Corner is now ahead by only 22 laps on Quick Slicks and the QS car is getting better.

Battle for 4th will also go down to the wire. Exciting stuff! Fun.

[Oscar Racing]

Race ended with Slot Car Corner winning their 5th Michigan 24, Quick Slicks came in 2nd less than 25 laps behind, 3rd Place to Cloverleaf (again), Changing Gears edged Can Am for 4th and 5th place respectively, and Cincy rounded out the field...Official results will be posted a bit later.... :auto-driving: :auto-checkeredflag:

[SlotCarCorner]

Before posting a summary of the race results, a few comments and thoughts are in order.

While the Michigan 24 is first and foremost a slot car race, without a doubt the Slot Racers Giving Back (SRGB) charity fundraising was a highlight for everyone involved. With the generous support of HRW members and visitors we raised $3,370.00 for charities - this is more than twice the amount raised last year. The real winners of this event are those who benefit from the services these charities provide. Please be sure to check the SRGB thread for more details. :text-thankyouyellow:

Next, we want to thank our gracious hosts Kelly and Mike Stott for opening there home to 30+ racers for 3 days to partake in some of the best 1:32 slot car racing on the planet. This marks the 6th year Kelly and Mike have opened their home (and their hearts) to let grown men play with little toy cars in their basement. We can't thank them enough for their hospitality.

To the six (6) teams who participated in this event - thank you for making the trek to Fenton to help support and grow this great hobby. It's one thing to sit behind a keyboard and talk about slot car racing - it's quite another to participate in an organized slot car racing event. Teams traveled up to 13 hours (one way) to participate - in addition to the time commitment, there is a significant cost involved for travel, lodging, cars, parts, etc.. For the most part, these costs come out of participant's own pockets - again, to help support and grow our hobby.

The camaraderie at this event comes up quite a bit in discussions about previous events. This year's event was no different. Always lot's of hugs, handshakes, good conversation and laughter when these teams get together. Being geographically dispersed makes it even more special whenever we get together.

To Team Changing Gearz who participated in their first Michigan 24 - well done!! It's one thing to watch videos and read race reports from prior races but quite another thing to actually put a car on Clover Leaf Raceway, hookup your controller and go racing with some of the best slot car racers in North America. I speak for all of the teams when I say you earned our respect.

To Don and Diane Walker who spent countless hours setting up the video equipment and overseeing the live streaming - a big thank you! Despite limited bandwidth, Don and Diane were able to live stream most of the event and switching the viewpoint between 3 different cameras. The video was a tremendous success with nearly 3,000 hits (some for just a few minutes, some for several hours) throughout the 24 hour period. There were quite a few international viewers as well. Again, thank you Don and Diane.

Every one of the six (6) teams experienced problems throughout the race necessitating repairs and adjustments. When someone had a problem, more often than not someone from at least one other team was present to offer assistance, parts, etc. to help resolve the problem. Sportsmanship is very much alive at these events. A shout out to Team Cincinnati for never giving up despite some significant challenges - well done guys.

The pit area at this race is also a highlight of the event. The banter is just incredible - sometimes I think it's actually easier to race on the track for a 48 minute heat than to sit in the pits. You had better be able to "hang" because you're going to get an earful. Try to sit there quietly and you'll get a bigger earful. The pit stop competitions between the teams this year were especially entertaining.

To Mark Azarraga (black lane) and Allan Jarvis (aka "Audi1" - blue lane) who raced on either side of me throughout the event - some very hard, clean racing. For Allan this was his first race and he steadily got faster with each heat. For Mark, I can't match your pace but I always learn something when racing with you. I would also like to thank you for offering to tip over my stool (with me on it) during the last heat :lol:

To Team Quick Slicks - what an incredible race!! I don't think any of us will ever forget this race and I'm not referring to the final outcome. I doubt there has ever been a 24 hour slot car race were 2 teams battled neck-and-neck for hours on end and neither team blinked. Every racer on both teams pushed themselves to the limit and beyond. Speaking for Team SCC, we have incredible RESPECT for every one of you (yes, even Jason...). We enjoy hanging out with you guys before and after the racing - our dinners at Lucky's are certainly a highlight of the trip. We hope some/all of you will be able to join us at Area 51 later this year.

To Team SCC - always an incredible honor racing with each and every one of you. Special thanks to my teammates for carrying my load while I was feeling under the weather. A shout out to Smokeio for the incredible amount of preparation he puts into getting our race cars ready for this event - they are such a blast to race. Bob Bradley - we were glad to have you on the team this year and hope you'll be able to join us for future events.

To Dave Wickham - thank you for running to the local store to get me some ginger ale in my time of need. I really appreciated it!

:text-bravo:

[cgingras]

Here are the official results for the race, after the official data from the timing software was compared with the spreadsheet.

I'm still too tired to do anything else than post these results but let me tell you that the story of this race would make for a fantastic movie screenplay. Despite the intense competition on the track, it's always a (very very) fun-filled event and the friendships are by far the most important part of this weekend for me.

FinalResults.png

[ElSecundo]

Steve (Slot Car Corner) perfectly summed it up. There are so many positives, but one thing that always stand out is that now matter how hotly this race is contested, the teams will help each other without hesitation. We're friends first, and we want each other to do well, and make the trip worthwhile. Steve and Mike (Smokeio) both stuck around on Friday night to help the Georgia guys get their car dialed in. And who were we racing against in the final hour? The Georgia guys, and it was a blast. During the race, the teams offer each other help, share parts, help the other teams diagnose problems with their cars, and offer to superglue each other's controllers into the full throttle position. :) Everyone wants to win, and each team puts in a HUGE effort every year, but nobody loses sight that we're friends first, and there to have fun.

And speaking of huge effort, nobody puts in more effort than Smokeio. SCC doesn't win by luck, and SCC doesn't win by talent alone. Mike puts in a staggering amount of time each year, and when SCC wins, Mike's preparation is a huge part of it. The amazing thing is that Mike is as good a driver as he is a tuner, and that fact gets overshadowed by his voodoo-like tuning skills.

The rest of the team is as organized as teams get, and they think of everything. I'm the luckiest schlub on earth, getting to drive for this incredible team.

All that said, on race day, the drivers have to deliver. Steve had gotten sick overnight, and as lousy as he was feeling, he stepped up and delivered a clutch performance in the second-to-last heat. It was a heroic drive at a critical time, against a team that does not fold under pressure. The Georgia guys never give up, never stop charging, and they're at their best when the chips are down.

It's a fantastic experience every year, win or lose. Many thanks to Mike Stott and the Cloverleaf guys, and to Smokeio, Steve, Christian, Georges, and now Bob for letting me be a part of this. Great, great job, guys -- congratulations. :)

[waaytoomuchintothis]

THAT is my much-respected El Sucko! I missed you, Kurt!

[dreinecke]

The Professor and I watched about an hour of the night portion and really enjoyed it. It was fascinating watching the way the teams were jockeying for position - an off was incredibly costly and I think one of the segments we watched was Cloverleaf about a 1/2 lap behind SCC and then they had an off that doubled the lap time for that one. SCC pulled out almost two laps and it went from there. Incredible action.

The night racing looked intense and we figured out that the CG guys had what looked like blue LED's on the rear of their car. As awful as it must have been de-slotting - the effect while watching was spectacular! It looked like there was a cop's gumball spinning on the track that's how fast the car spun. The marshalls were visible and did a great job quickly getting cars back on.

A class act all around and congrats to all the teams for their runs.

[Mark]

The group of racers that attend this race year after year are truly special. This is a race that I look forward to every year not just for the good racing, but also for the atmosphere that has been created by this group. Here's how Jason's wife describes it: It's just a bunch of guys hanging out in the basement, racing toy cars, drinking.....OK, it doesn't quite sound right when you put it that way, but it's a blast and the rest of you will just have to take everyone's word for it.

It takes special (and patient...and tolerant) people to open up your home to 30+ guests. This is not possible without Kelly and Mike Stott - thank you! It takes a tremendous effort to run an event of this size, and Mike and his team makes sure it runs smoothly. The racers are covered in regards to food and supplies for 24hrs, and in addition to Mike's family, this wouldn't be possible without Craig's, Dave's, Rob's, and Paul's families as well. The entire Cloverleaf Racing team contributes to make this event happen. You guys are a great bunch!

The SRGB Charity is something that the Home Racing World community and the racers can truly be proud of. The sponsor contributions this year were through the roof - even better is this community and the racers stepped up to make sure it wasn't wasted!

Smokeio, you've helped us every year, but your efforts this year really meant a lot to us. It's rare that a competitor will go out of their way to help a struggling, opposing team - we thank you for that. I don't care what Steve says about you, but you've got your head on straight.

Rob, thanks for the tire truing tips this year. Every year, we learn something new with silicone tires, and we hope we'll be able to put it all together and make it work next year. It's a blast to have you around, and it wouldn't be the same without you.

Team Changing Gearz pulled a Haas F1 on the field, and that's pretty much all there is to say about that. You guys drove well and had a competitive car from the start! It was great to meet you guys, and hopefully we'll see some of you later this year if we are able to make it to Steve's 24hr.

Team SCC, after last year, we knew you guys were going to come back strong, and that's exactly what you guys did. You guys are the "complete" team of drivers, car, and strategy. We can all learn something from you guys - and we do every year. Christian, you mentioned in the past that you used us as your standard when we first met in Chicago - well, the role has reversed my friend. Team SCC is the standard we will be shooting for. You guys showed how a team should behave and perform on the track and in the pits - I'm talking about how you help others...I'll have to admit that the pit stops were fast as well. Thank you for the good times, and hopefully we'll see you all sooner than later at Steve's 24 hr.

[mikeinclover]

I would first like to thank everyone who showed up this year for our race. I would not be able to run this race without all of you. I want to give a big thanks you to everyone on my team, you guys help me more that you know with all the little thing that take so much time but mean so much. Big thanks to Craig's wife and daughter for the great food. Thanks to Paul for taking care of getting the posters made and organizing our team schedule. Thanks to Rob for the extra food and as always the tires I know you were working over time on them really appreciate all the work you put into them not just for us be also the other team. Last but not least Dave you are always there to help when I needed something for getting the basement ready to running the store thanks.
This race was the first year we did a live streaming video and I thought it went off pretty great. Again the people behind the scenes are what make this race happen, Don and Diane did a great job as always wish I had more time to talk to you guy's
As Mark stated you can't help but learn something. The car we had in testing is not the car that showed for the race. I was very surprised at the amount of mechanical issues that showed up this year I don't think one team didn't have at least one problem or issue.
I am so glad that the racing was so close it is great to see everyone improving and the racing getting better. I know I have more to say so if I forgot something I will get it in with my next post.
Thanks to all the guy's who drive as far as you do you really make this race special. Congrats to Slot Car Corner on a stellar race.
Mike

[SlotCarCorner]

Picture of Michigan 24 teams and participants taken shortly after the race finished. You won't find a better bunch of racers, on or off the track, anywhere! If you're reading this and wondering what it would be like to race in some sort of organized race event, what are you waiting for? These guys are having a lot of FUN and you could be too!!



:text-bravo: