Oregon Model Racing

Fellow OSCAR Model Racers,

I will boycott all Sealed Super 16D events until a solution is found.

This may seem harsh however the rules are incredibly hard
for any one member to move. So I will protest with non participation.

The rules are clear and yet there are many options to have
worked on motors that are then resealed and no way to verify.

First, this forces many to cheat, thats not going to grow membership.
It also says to would-be new racers... you cant win unless you bend
your integrity, thats not going to grow membership.

It is also a dillema for any father and son enthusiasts.
No parent is interested in teaching these ideas to their child.
When I am personally around father and son enthusiasts I sense
life lessons happening in the best way .

Some Solutions:
Super 16d motors with limited verifiable upgrades
16d motor with limited verifiable upgrades

This is my opinion to boycott, David Naylor and is
not the expressed opinion of Oscar or any of its members, just me.

I know this is going to bring out debate and heat... I have my helmet and fire suit on.

There is no way that the rules can be written that will stop some people from cheating. This is a fact of life. I vote to leave the rules alone. I have raced slotcars for a long time and also had a commercial slotcar track for several years. I competed in several other sports and activities and along the way I have been around several people who cheat. My belief is you cannot stop them and I'am not going to let people that cheat or poor sports ruin the fun I have racing . I race and play for enjoyment. I have learned alot from participating in my hobbies and sports. One of the things I have learned is people who cheat never really win, if they think they do so what. It was stated that what is being done forces many to cheat. It does not make me cheat and most of my fellow slot racers don't either and like I said for those that feel the need to it's not my problem it's theirs.

I have to agree with roguemc. I don't think its the sealed motor rules that are the problem. Its the cheaters! Instead of trying write rules to correct behavior, how about enforcing the rules that are already in effect. Here's a couple suggestions for sealed motor racing. 1.Allow anyone participating in the race to purchase the winning motor, or any racer's motor, for retail motor price plus $1.00. 2.Place all the motors in a box and let racers randomly draw their motors, at the start of the season or before each race. I've raced with different clubs that use sealed motors with good results. Cheaters don't care what your rules state. Especially if they're not enforced anyway. ------------------Bill

Have fun Rouge - thank you for your vote and opinion.
Great to be able to voice your opinion and participation.

I like your ideas, bill, to find a way to make the sealed motor work.
That would be another potential solution.

I knew this would bring controversy and debate... where better to do so
Everyone can speak or write.

I just had a member suggest "why not go to the event and then make
your case and not upset the track owners".

HERE's why:

My conversations with three track owners did not result in any addressing
of this issue, infact, they each new about the source of funny motors and two
of the three told me, THEY HAVE THEM AND RACE THEM IN THEIR OWN EVENTS!

David

Hey David, I'll buy your boat anchors from you! (Of course at a reduced price........lol).........I think we have a "Boat Anchor" class at NASTE!!! It's just above the "RadioShack" class!!! -----Bill

Sold -- how about a dollar each!

Thats a good solution Bill -- their must be a way to either enforce the rule or demotivate
the special motor creators...

David,

I realized last year about the sealed motor problem and actually pulled out of racing hard bodies which I love racing.

At one time we all ran door to door except on an occassional bad night etc. Suddenly some and now most of the racers in the sealed 16 D classes are going " crazy fast".

I'm just now putting together another hardbody and until reading your e-mail just minutes ago , I was going to attempt beating them at their own game. Your comment about bending my integrity brought me back to my sences.

I've seen the sealed motors on e-bay. they're advertised as worked over 16D motors with the seal re-attached. I've seen prices fron 40 to 50 dollars for a motor that retails for 12 dollars and change. All this for " bragging' rights.

I live in Ohio but belong to your OSCAR BB . I've been keeping track of your clubs happenings for several years now. I admire what has become of your club and envy all of the members as belonging to such an organized group.

I also admire your courage for calling a botcot of the sealed motor events.

There might be other remidies for the cheating but my idea would be " hand out " motors and spec gearing for the sealed motor classes. Everyone buys a sealed motor at the start of the series. At the end of each race, the motor is taken out of the car and given to the track owner. He will mark the motor and put it in a box. At the next race, everyone will pick a random motor and it will be instaled in the car by a race official. I don't thnk anyone would risk loosing an Outlaw motor in a box of stockers.

You have my support.

Tom D aka GoneGonzo

Hi Dave,

I hope my following comments aren’t too presumptuous as I’m not an active participant in OSCAR racing.

I’ve read your proposal re: Super 16D motors with keen interest. I’ve been involved in model car racing ever since the early ‘60’s, I say “model car” because I’ve always been involved in the hobby through clubs that have been focused exclusively on scale cars AND landscaped tracks. I’ve never been involved in the commercial side where I’ve sadly seen arguments about motors being most divisive and ultimately destructive to that community.

A unique feature about clubs I've been a member of is that members eagerly accepted very specific rules covering motor performance- inexpensive Mid- performing stock motors were de rigueur. In my experience club members become close friends sharing some very specific ideas about what model car racing was all about. A member who cheated was profoundly insulting his fellow members by being completely disrespectful and dishonest.

I’ve seen, especially from those whose slot car racing started on commercial tracks, folk who believe that a good racing program must necessarily involve the opportunities to “tweak,” improve, modify, and rebuild motors since with hot motors they believe lie the singular key to being the fastest and thus the “winningest.” And as we all know the faster a motor is rebuilt or built the more expensive becomes the quest for speed.

For some seeking more powerful motors comes the inevitable desire to win at whatever it takes, which inevitably leads to cheating. Some believe that “cheating” is an amoral matter because it’s just another though more clever, often hidden means to achieve the end- which in racing is to be the fastest.

But everything has its price. Motor performance enhancement leads to flat out, cynical rule breaking by folk being just too clever by half. What results are unhappy racers who feel they are being taken advantage when “motor improvements” are done in secret contrary to the spirit or the letter of a rule. Those who can’t afford $50-$100 motors are invariably relegated to the back of the pack with no equal or fair opportunity to ever be competitive.

Cheating or outspending others divides a group into happy haves and unhappy have-nots. Division seeps into the organization with the result that participation declines and the organization withers. Motor cheating, in my experience and from my observations, damages most any slot car racing program.

I’ve been racing at PPS since 1994 where we use stock 16D motors and only use stock Super 1D’s with NASCARs and Super Stock class cars (models of 1960’s cars). During 14 years we’ve suffered only one individual who wouldn’t accept the rules limiting motor performance. He’s gone.

I believe our vitality firmly rests on the idea that chassis design and building determines a winning car. What matters on the track i.e. what members are competing to determine... is who can build the fastest chassis.

Motor performance is not the issue. We've taken motors and their costs out of the equation. Everyone happily races with relatively equal cheap horsepower. The rules are very "limited" with respect to motors, and "unlimited" about chassis rules.

I think your call to boycotting races Super 16D motors is a dramatic, sharp call to focus everyone's attention on the issues of cheating. From my perspective the best racing is achieved with inexpensive stock motors. You are designing and providing chassis that level the playing field. The more equal the cars are, the more competative everyone has the opportunity to be- the more, the merrier, they say.

anonymous racer

Well said -- thank you,
David

David- I can understand your frustration about the temptation of cheating. There are other points of interest to think of:
1. The cost of buying $60.00 motors to be competitive. More if you race with your sons
2. The loss of racers who do not want to spend that kind of money.
Why not have the track owners buy the motors and have a hand out to the racers?
Kimm Marshall.........Heidelberg Raceway