Breakout Racing

[War Eagle River]

What would you set the time at for a breakout race?

[Pappy]

I don't like breakout racing because it punishes you for doing good. So I would set it at 6.5 seconds a lap, that way everyone would be punished for doing good.

[RichD]

For a while I did breakout racing on a trioval at a 1/24th commercial track, I never had any use for that sort of racing. I suppose that the intent was to give the slower racers a chance at a win, but all that it did in the end was to punish the fastest guys. With the breakout time that we used even the fastest guys would be able to go flat out on the top lanes, once you got down to the middle of the track you would have to ease off or risk losing a lap. The hitch was that there would be people on the track that could not make the breakout time, even in the bottom lanes, but the faster drivers would need to get around them which increased the chance of a breakout. Some people chose to run a slow car so that they would not have to worry about breaking out. The situation would be somewhat different on a road course I suppose, but I never did breakout racing on one of those. I think that doing an IROC type race is a better way of giving slower racers a chance at a win, at least it eliminates the advantage of having faster cars.
If I was trying to do your breakout race I would start with 6.1 seconds, which is about the average time, and then fine tune that if necessary.

[Dogsbody]

Just use software that has refueling and or tire wear (both are adjustable) or just one. That'll even the playing field out and it has the added benefit of people paying more attention when they race leading to less talking...

[BRS Hobbies]

I would think that 5.9 or 6.0 seconds to be ideal. The key is to let the fast guys still be fast but narrow the gap from the fastest to the slowest car. This gives the guys that run mid pack a chance especially if the lead driver has a few mishaps during the race. Another advantage of breakout is you really don't need to have a lot of rules that require much tech inspecting of the cars. If you go too fast, your lap doesn't count so no advantage to breaking the rules. The fast guys can either de-tune some of the performance out of the car or switch to a slower slot car.

[arroldn]

They run breakout races in all classes at Bullitt in Louisville, TN Top Slots and other 1/24 venues in TN. It was a little frustrating at first. It also becomes frustrating for veterans that race on these tracks all the time. Since I am a hour to 2 hours from a most tracks I try to gear my cars to run just under the breakout. Even if you have a slower car at times you will lay down a good lap and breakout. I hate it when the locals after 3 or 4 breakouts pull their cars from the race. If I breakout I breakout. I agree with Rich use the average lap time as a guide.

[Pappy]

Maybe I'm from the old school but to me if I can't compete it's a challenge to get better.

[mattb]

Breakout racing is not racing.

It is done locally and you can tune the same setup, motors and chassis, to run at least 1.5 seconds on the same track. It is easy run 8.00 with the setup they run a 9.50 breakout with. Turns out everyone can run the breakout number and it comes down to who has the best brakes. Locally they don't like me talking about it, it is what they consider "racing'. I suggested why not use spec chassis and tires, do hand out motors. The owner told me most of the racers couldn't change their own motor, so that wasn't possible.

I am not a great builder or driver, but I do want to push my car hard every lap. I don't want to watch a computer screen and hit the brakes.

[chrisguyw]

Well..............8 racers, fastest at 5.684 (avg), and, slowest at 6.453 (avg),.....so a mid point of 6.0/6.1 seems to make sense.

I am personally not a fan of bracket racing (for a variety of reasons) , but, a few of our local clubs do utilize it, and these clubs do have large and consistent turn outs......hard to argue with their success.

Cheers
Chris Walker

[Pappy]

If my car could do a 5.797 average lap (like Scott) and they set the breakout for 6.0 I'd just follow John F. knowing he's never had a 6.0 and just go for a Sunday drive and never have to worry about coming out of the slot.

But that's not racing to me, I want to beat Josh who's average lap is 5.684 by outdriving him, that's racing.

[BIG E]

Yes, it's been my experience that the drivers who can run consistently quick are aggravated by this system. I know I've never liked being told at the end of an event that I've run a few laps that were "too quick" and were going to be deducted from my total score. Just as with Indy Car or F1 racing, there is always the possibility of pushing the envelope and turning a few "magic" laps during an event. Ever run your car into a corner fully expecting to deslot but the car hangs in there and comes out the turn exit in perfect form?
Also, a good pre-race tech inspection helps to keep things on an even keel. If someone's got to cheat to win, they're winning nothing, and should be told as much right up front. There will always be the fast guys, the better than average guys, and the drivers that need improvement. I have tried to be there to offer any advice or driving tips (if I am in the position to do so, of course) to the competitors that are having trouble keeping up with the pack or running consistent lap times. Having one of the better drivers take a competitor's car for a drive will help to find some of the weaknesses of a car or prove to the car owner that his racer is already competitive. Most of the better drivers that I have raced with at commercial raceways and some clubs will offer to do the same. Having to "sandbag" just to run within a specific lap time is - for me personally - just no fun at all, at least on an oval or road course. I believe this goes for all scales, 1/24 to HO racing on commercial or club tracks.
IMHO, I say leave the breakout racing to the bracket drag racing guys. What I like about that is you can run whatever car you like, so long as you stay within your "dialed in" elapsed time. But that's another thing altogether!
All this is just one opinion of a racer with 50+ years of experience. Whether it be taken as positive or negative advice for a particular scenario, I can't say. My objective in typing and editing for an hour is that it may provide some help.
Hope your group finds a better solution to good competition than penalizing legal drivers for running "too fast."
Enjoy... and remember to have FUN! -- Ernie :>)

[War Eagle River]

Wow, all these opinions just for an answer for what would be the best break out time? Have never done it here, and wanted to know how to formulate the break out time. Believe me, we have an outstanding race program here. Some top notch racers and some not. This is going to be a race we want to try just for the diversity. It won’t be part of our race rotation. Sometimes as a coordinator a monkey wrench has to be thrown in to spice it up. That’s all this is.

[mikeinclover]

Well you asked on Facebook and basically got the same answers. In fact I said to use the same break out time. I also said it wasn't a great type of racing.
Mike

[War Eagle River]

Yep, asking on here too, cause lots of folks don’t use Facebook.

[War Eagle River]