COUNTY SPEEDWAY SCALE AUTO RACING
Scale auto racing is what County Speedway is all about. Our 4 lane circuit is a custom made routed 1/25 scale slot car track with 60 feet of track per lane. The power is fed to the lanes from a variable voltage DC power pack, and we race with the power dialed in at 8 volts. Most tracks operate at 12 volts, but we slow things down just enough to make the racing speeds more true to scale. The slightly lowered speed also makes it easier to get a car to handle well, and just makes it a little easier for everyone to compete.
The cars are about 7 to 8 inches long, and are built from 1/25 or 1/24 scale plastic model kits that are retro-fit to a manufactured or custom built chassis.
Slot racing was very popular in the 1960's and 70's with many commercial tracks being built in hobby shops around the world. Some tracks were built with as many as 8 lanes and 200 feet of track per lane. The cars of yesterday were realistic appearing, the bodies were made of hard plastic, and they raced at somewhat scale speeds. At County Speedway, we try to stay true to the roots of the hobby.
There still are some of these tracks in existence, especially in the United States. However most of the commercial tracks in Ontario have closed shop. It has become increasingly difficult to make a profitable business from the hobby.
For the first 6 years of racing at County Speedway, our track was located in a big room upstairs in our home, but we outgrew that room and built a bigger facility out in the barn. We recently (Jan 2018) moved the track out there and had our first race in the big room on January 6th. We had an official grand opening for January 27th, 2018. We charge $10 for a night of racing - just bring your car or borrow a loaner car. The sooner you show up on race night, the better your choice for a loaner.
One bit of technology we like to use is the computerized lap counter. As the cars cross the finish line, a relay is tripped and the information is sent to the PC. The race results are instant and we have a remote monitor across from the drivers station for easy viewing during a race. Our lanes are color-coded and the corresponding color appears on the race monitor. The status of the on-going race is displayed and the running order is listed from top to bottom. If you pull into the lead during a race, your name and color automatically appear at the top of the 1/25 scale jumbotron.
The cars are about 7 to 8 inches long, and are built from 1/25 or 1/24 scale plastic model kits that are retro-fit to a manufactured or custom built chassis.
Slot racing was very popular in the 1960's and 70's with many commercial tracks being built in hobby shops around the world. Some tracks were built with as many as 8 lanes and 200 feet of track per lane. The cars of yesterday were realistic appearing, the bodies were made of hard plastic, and they raced at somewhat scale speeds. At County Speedway, we try to stay true to the roots of the hobby.
There still are some of these tracks in existence, especially in the United States. However most of the commercial tracks in Ontario have closed shop. It has become increasingly difficult to make a profitable business from the hobby.
For the first 6 years of racing at County Speedway, our track was located in a big room upstairs in our home, but we outgrew that room and built a bigger facility out in the barn. We recently (Jan 2018) moved the track out there and had our first race in the big room on January 6th. We had an official grand opening for January 27th, 2018. We charge $10 for a night of racing - just bring your car or borrow a loaner car. The sooner you show up on race night, the better your choice for a loaner.
One bit of technology we like to use is the computerized lap counter. As the cars cross the finish line, a relay is tripped and the information is sent to the PC. The race results are instant and we have a remote monitor across from the drivers station for easy viewing during a race. Our lanes are color-coded and the corresponding color appears on the race monitor. The status of the on-going race is displayed and the running order is listed from top to bottom. If you pull into the lead during a race, your name and color automatically appear at the top of the 1/25 scale jumbotron.
