Category: Announcements

General announcements and notices.

The Crash

In the final race of July 30’s “Under the Lights” event, a significant crash occurred as drivers exited Turn 4 on the SR3 Oval in Segment 5. This crash impacted literally every driver in that segment.

During the crash, the deslotted car in the Blue lane passed under the scoring gantry on its lid, triggering a lap for the driver in the White lane. While still spinning, the car was hit at full speed by the car actually in the White lane, causing that car to de-slot and come to a stop on the Orange lane. That car was then plowed into by the car in the Orange lane at full speed.  All of this occurred before the race director halted the race and cut the power.

A lot of very impactful things happened as a result of the Blue lane car deslotting:

      1. The Blue lane did not get their lap.
      2. The spinning Blue lane car triggered an early record lap for the White lane driver.
      3. The White lane car crashed hard into the slowly but still spinning Blue lane car and de-slotted, coming to a stop in the middle of the Orange lane.
      4. The Orange lane and Green lane cars both picked up a lap during the crash.
      5. The Orange lane car then slammed into the White Lane car and also de-slotted with an “Out-of-body” experience.

All the above things happened before the power was cut and the segment halted.

As the HOPRA rules below have long supported, the expectation of most drivers present was to allow the Blue lane car to regain its “missed” lap by placing the crashed car behind the scoring gantry, near where it de-slotted, and restarting. Which, as you can see in the video, was attempted.

However, the Orange and Green lane drivers disagreed with the expectation that the Blue lane car should be allowed to regain the lap it had lost.

The general consensus was pretty much a toss-up, and the track owner decided not to count the lap, and the segment and race continued. Of course, the Blue lane driver and others were not pleased with the decision.

The track owner’s reasoning was that allowing the Blue lane car to get the lap back essentially negated any negative impact on the crashing driver while significantly negatively impacting all the other drivers.

Key HOPRA Rule on Missed Laps / De-SlotsFrom HOPRA Racing Rules and Procedures (section covering de-slots and lap counting):

      • The only penalty for a de-slot (car coming out of the slot) is the time lost while a marshal replaces it.
      • A driver shall not be penalized a loss of lap(s) if their car misses the lap counter due to a de-slot or improper marshalling.
      • A driver shall not gain a lap if another car passes over their lap counter for the same reason.
      • Recognition of a missed (or extra) lap must come from an official marshal or Race Director.
      • If a car misses the counter, the Race Director adds the deserved lap to the driver’s total during or at the end of the segment.
      • If a track marshal verifies a missed or added lap, they notify the Race Director to correct the count.

In short, missed laps caused by de-slots or marshaling errors are corrected (added back) rather than left as permanent penalties. The time cost of being off-track is considered sufficient.

The keywords in the HOPRA rules are “The time cost of being off-track is considered sufficient.” In this case, there would be no time cost. Only the laps lost and the distance lost by all three of the other drivers who did not crash.

I’m sure this type of incident has been encountered before and will certainly happen again. To avoid future frustration and anger, a specific rule will be created to properly address this type of situation going forward.

View the video on Rumble here.

Just before this final race got underway, I was thinking to myself how much fun it has been racing with the Thursday Night “Under the Lights” bunch.

It is not fun when folks leave Stewart Raceway angry and/or frustrated.

MegaG+ 1.7 Modified Class: New Rules and Build Guidance

The earliest version of this car class had very limited rules, allowing only the super-light photo-paper body and aftermarket rear axles, tires, and rims. The new rules allow for much more performance enhancements, transforming this rig into a true “builder” class platform.

Because of the “can” motor construction, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to put together a competitive car. The basic, easiest mods are relatively cheap to procure and easy to install.

This guide will provide you with links for sourcing the parts and components needed to transform any MegaG+ 1.7 rolling chassis into a speedster racing platform.

The first thing to focus on is what type of body you want to run. Smart money says the photo-paper body will likely be the best choice for raw speed and handling. However, you can choose any snap-on plastic, resin, or 3D-printed hardbody to get started in this class. Right now, the rules call for a Whelen-style body similar to the above paper bodies. F1/Indy bodies are not allowed.

Here is a 3D-printed body we’ve used at Stewart Raceway on IROC sets.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/285415821110?_skw=sk&itmmeta=01KVHNDBQYGH1F0V4CRPWCJC59&hash=item42741bcf36:g:-5UAAOSwIwlgEEQI

Right now, the only sources for photo-paper bodies are through Stewart Raceway or Webster Motorsports (Kevin). Kevin’s body is probably a bit heavier than the Stewart Raceway design, but might be a bit more durable.

Right-click and open in a new tab for a larger image.

Stewart Raceway will provide a pre-designed body upon request for any regular participant at Stewart Raceway. If you’d like custom graphics, please email them to me, and I’ll see what I can do. I’m also thinking about creating a Lexan Whelen-style body. We’ll see where that goes.

The next important upgrade is an aftermarket rear axle assembly. You can do multiple options here. I suggest just purchasing one or two complete Viper rear ends. I think you can purchase without tires also.

This mod gives you a significant performance boost and lets you run any Viper Narrow PST Slip-On tire set.

Both 25-tooth and 23-tooth gearing are allowed. No metal gears! The lower tooth count provides higher speeds on larger tracks.

https://viperscaleracing.com/product/mega-g-g-pro-rear-end-setup/

The next upgrade would be an independent front-end assembly. This component provides for smoother corner entry and exits, which means better handling and faster lap times.

Brass, Delrin, or Alloy hubs are allowed.

 

The jury is out on which setup will work best and which courses, but my thinking is that the heavier (brass) material will allow a heavier pickup shoe spring tension. In theory, this will provide a bit more speed and keep the front end planted better.

This setup also allows a wide range of tire circumferences, giving you more tuning options to dial in your car for any track or course layout.

https://viperscaleracing.com/product/mega-g-brass-390-independent-front-end-setup/

 

Up next would be a motor upgrade. There are several options available here.

This is a motor and electronics board available from either Jag Hobbies or Viper. Viper also makes their own replacement motor assembly, which should be available on their site soon.

There are various motor options out there. The original MG+ motor had a green endbell. Newer cars have a red or orange endbell. The Jag and Viper assemblies appear to have black endbells as shown here.  Some are faster than others, but any of these motors can outperform another at times.

https://viperscaleracing.com/product/jag-replacement-motor-assembly-mega-g/

https://jaghobbies.com/ho_slot_cars/parts_tomy.htm

In any case, aftermarket motor assemblies with stripped electrical boards are, at a minimum, lighter in weight. If you’re running a brass independent front, this can help the car come off the start line and through the corners a little faster.

I don’t want to get into the weeds with the details here. The above parts and components will get your MegaG+ 1.7 chassis in the ballpark and competitive at Stewart Raceway.

Of course, there are many other ways to improve this platform’s performance. From front and rear axle shimming to replacing or otherwise changing pickup shoe spring tensions, this class provides builders with a very flexible, highly tunable racing platform.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please comment below or email any Master division driver. We’re hoping to start racing these new cars as soon as we have enough drivers with race-ready cars.

Parts List:

Front Axle Spacer .010″ (10 pcs) $2.95
NEW COLORS V2 Aluminum Independent Front End Setup – Black $8.95
V2 Independent CNC Retainers 3 pr. (Delrin) $4.50
Independent Front Tires – .326 $2.50
Independent Front Tires – .336 $2.50
MG+ Lexan Body Clip (Fits Viper Pin out) $3.99
JAG Replacement Motor Assembly Mega G+ $9.95
Brass Pinion Stopper .025″ (10 pcs) $3.95
Polypro Mega G 23T Crown Gear $3.95
Mega G+ Pro Rear end setup .250 NDFR $13.95

Platform Rules Update

We’ve really only been running three different builder classes in the last couple of seasons.

I’ve tried to simplify the rules for each of the major “builder” classes we run, and I’ve removed other car class rules that may have been confusing or conflicting.

For the time being, the following classes can be considered “active” racing classes, and their rules have been revised:

I’m not going to go over the specific changes here. The main purpose of the changes is to make sure everyone is clear on the platform rules and that we keep things competitive, but as low-cost and simple as possible.

Please review each class carefully and configure your stable of cars accordingly. I don’t think anyone recently racing at Stewart Raceway violates any of these revised rules, but please carefully review them at your earliest convenience to be sure.

Of course, we can add any new class to “active” status. I propose adding at least one of the Jag Hobbies platforms to the mix. The NC-2, RS-6, or the PR-5 come to mind.

Please feel free to comment, make suggestions, or ask questions.

2025 50/50 Series, Round 4 Video Coverage Posted on Rumble

Race #2 Podium: GP Designs bags the top step!

Videos of all three races have been posted on our Rumble channel.

Your favorite Race Director got all four races on video, and I edited them down as much as I could. Just fast-forward through any pauses in the racing action.

We STILL need a better camera crew in our video production department. If anyone would like to volunteer to manage the video operations, I’ll show you what’s involved. You ensure it is set up and working and monitor things throughout the race day.

Okay, shut up and drive!

 

 

 

 

2025 50/50 Series, Round 3 Video Coverage

Videos of all three races have been posted on our Rumble channel.

Unfortunately, Race 1 and 2 have no background audio, and Race 3 has no audio at all. The good news is that both cameras captured video, so there are views from both turn four and turn two.

We need a better camera crew in our video production department. If anyone would like to volunteer to manage the video operations, I’ll show you what’s involved. You ensure it is set up and working and monitor things throughout the race day.

Okay, shut up and drive!