Category: Information

SR3 Oval Ready To Go

The oval layout is operational and ready for Saturday’s test session.

I ran a few magnet and gravity cars and it feels pretty fluid and fast. It’s not as fluid around the banks as I expected but it’s a lot better than SR2 in that regard.

The cars still straighten out between the banked corners but not as pronounced as SR2. Turns 1 & 4 are sharper than 2 & 3, which makes this oval more challenging than the SR2 oval layout. Some of you have experienced the last corner before the start/finish line, it’s tight and alluring, with a decreasing radius entry that makes getting to the finish line a bit more difficult than SR2.

Anyway, it’s all set for some fast laps this Saturday. Again, we’ll just do a bunch of laps and a race or two to make sure all is good with the timing and fuel management setup.  Bring some loose cars as well as your fastest magnet cars, and any six-lane IROC sets you may have.

The difference in lap lengths between each lane is about .78-feet. We’ll have to determine what lane is the fastest and make that the pole position. Yes, there will be staggered starts for all oval races.  We’ll also do individual qualifying for the Feature races in the upcoming NASCAR MADness Series, which starts the following Saturday, May 28.

Hope to see you this Saturday.

Okay, shut up and drive!

 

2022 Racing Rules Finally Published

I’ve finally completed the 2022 general and platform racing rules for Stewart Raceway and any participating venues that choose to participate.

In order to simplify, streamline, and otherwise make the whole process easier and more manageable, I’ve decided to adopt 2022 HOPRA rules and have applied them to the various classes we run.

HOPRA’s rules are actually very similar to what we have now and also provide for additional popular classes down the road, should we desire to further expand our racing platforms portfolio.

Previously, class rules were listed on each Active Club Cars page. You can still get to the rules from those pages (under the Additional Information tab). However, all platform racing rules are now also accessible from a single page called “Racing Platform Rules” accessible from the site’s main menu.

I’ve also updated our General and House racing rules to include applicable HOPRA rules and guidelines.

I hope this helps clear up some of the confusion with rules we’ve recently seen with the TFX classes.  I don’t think anybody is going to be in violation of the new rules but I strongly urge you to review them and make sure all your cars fully comply with current .

Our vintage platforms (Mega-G, Lambo, Tomahawk, and Tyco-Jet) do not exactly fit into the current HOPRA rules. The “U-Build” rules currently posted will continue to apply to those classes.

Of course, these rules can be “tweaked” but I’d like to stay as close as we can to the national HOPRA rules.

Please feel free to comment on this post below or, preferably, in our Rules forum.

Okay, shut up and drive!

 

 

New F1/Indy Class?

HCSlots “Sportsman” chassis (short wheelbase position)

Well, not really new, just a little different twist on a theme we’re already supporting.  The short story is that we’re proposing putting an F1/Indy hardbody on a Viper-Jet platform.

Please check out the details in the Stewart Raceway Forums here. And, please comment there also. Obviously, we need to discuss and sort out the related rules, though it’s pretty much “U-Build Viper-Jet” rules with just a body, wheelbase, and front-end change. The pics here are just two different V-Spec models but you’ll get the idea.

V-Spec with MegaG+ front hubs and tires (short-wheelbase position)

Yea, I agree, we don’t really need to introduce a new class right now. However, this one is a slam-dunk and should be a great addition to our racing program going forward.

In fact, if enough interest, we’ll debut this class of car at the next Formula “e” Oval race. One more oval layout event in this series, just need to decide when.

Okay, let the discussion begin!

SR3 Update: Elevations and Banking Set

Yep, the initial setup is done. Of course, all adjustable at any time but this is what we’ll open SR3 with. Pictures don’t really do it justice. You can see it in person at Round 3 of the 2022 Formula “e” Series, January 29.

Right-click and open in a new browser tab for full-size images. The entrance to Turn 1 (oval).

 

The road course.
Down-slope, off-camber exit from Turn 4. No slam-dunk getting to the finish line here.

Lower banking on entrance to Turn 1 (oval) and higher banking on Turn 2 exit. A little bump in the middle of the corner to make things more interesting for all types of cars.

No idea how this setup will work with the various cars we run, we’ll sort it out.

Plenty of work left to do, including completely securing each track piece to the table. This becomes more important in the summer season when the heat tends to expand the Sintra roadway material. I’ll likely end up securing each piece every 8″ or so.

Once I get all the pieces secured, it’s time to get going on the wiring, which is always a challenge when you use multiple RMS (timing system) setups. While I was leaning towards abandoning SlotTrak due to their recent crazy mandatory hardware upgrade, I decided to invest in that hardware upgrade for SR3 to try it out.

SR3 also has some new features that require a completely different track wiring design. I won’t go into the details here but the plan is to be able to change the voltage for each lane at the driver’s station (and computer). This supports drivers to test different cars at whatever voltage they like while also permitting the Race Director to reset the lane voltages at race time. It’s complicated but the hope is that it benefits driver/team track time by allowing practice sessions of virtually any type of car on the track at the same time. Yea, a bit sketchy but much more productive track/testing days.

Don’t forget! Round 3 of the Formula “e” Series is Saturday, January 29, 2022. Get registered now!

Okay, shut up and drive!

 

Jag Hobbies PR-5 and MG/MG+ F1/Indy Body G2

Round 2 of the Fe Series indicated that the AFX/RaceMasters injected-molded F1/Indy bodies may not be the hot setup, at least for oval track racing.

The Round 2, 400-lap, PR-5 “race-winning” body was a rather heavy 3d-printed 2021 F1 body. The only modification was some slight removal of underside material to get the body to sit at the proper attitude for racing, a very minor and quick mod, which is not required for the intended MG/MG+ 1.7 chassis.

Here are the weights of a few of the bodies campaigned in Round 2 of the 2022 Formula “e” Series. The Viper and Gary Fast bodies are shown for reference.

FX/RaceMasters latest version
MTS/Shapeways 2021 Formula 1
MTS/Shapeways 1992 FW14B F1
VSR Formula V Hardbody for VSPEC Chassis
Gary Fast (Fastbodies) 2010 Indy Dallara

No idea yet what is the best choice for both oval and road racing but hope this info helps. The current rules aren’t real specific so you can lighten any of these bodies. However, if you lose a rear or front wing, or otherwise break off a significant piece of the body while racing, you could be DQ’d.