Hardyway Racing
RC Pitstop Raceway is a new spot in Newton, KS dedicated to the hobby of carpet remote control cars. I’ve purchased two car kits to race on the weekends there. I’m new to racing but excited to give it a try. I’m going to document my builds and racing as I go along.
RC10B74 Carpet RC Car 13.5 Engine
The RC10B74 division really caught my eye. The racers who run in this class seem very competitive. I kind of like the competition since I used to play a lot of sports when I was a kid. There’s currently only one group of about eight drivers in this category.
RC10B6.2 Carpet RC Car 17.5 Engine
The buggy division seems to be the most common and everyone pretty much runs an RC10B6; there are two guys with Losi. There are ten racers per group and there are about three groups. I plan on practicing for a little while and just jumping right in. Even if I come in last every time it’s fine with me.
One of the most important things to me about building the Hardyway Racing team is being within budget. To be efficient and win at the same time is to have money for parts. To do that I’ll be building an Excel spreadsheet called the “Hardyway Racing Budget” to track all parts and costs of the car kits.
I need to know weekly but even better daily about what I’m spending on this hobby. I’ll be able to understand where all of my money is going. Sometimes I’m under the impression that buying cheap parts is best. My budget will help me understand if those cheap parts are breaking every week and if it would have been better to purchase the more expensive parts that last longer.
After one day of building my budget document, I realized that I purchased a Spektrum programmer that I didn’t need. All of my ESCs are Reedy and the only Spektrum electronics I have are the SR2100 race receivers. Without the document, I really wouldn’t have paid much attention to the mistake.
High Voltage Garage Racer
I’ve had the privilege to get my hands on a Kyosho Fazer Mk2. I’m using this as my time trial car at my local mall carpet track. It’s quick and the traction and control are great. This would be a good beginner car for anyone.
If you are just starting out in toy car hobbies I suggest always finding something that’s not really expensive. That way if you don’t stick with it, you aren’t stuck with something that you are going to take a loss on. I’ve seen people trying to sell used cars for $20 to $50 less than a new one. I understand that you only played with it two or three times but it’s still used. At that price point, there’s no reason not to buy new.
Why I like Indoor Carpet Racing
The weather in Wichita gets pretty cold and it’s way too chilly to be outside. Indoor road tracks give you the ability to drive all year round. The only thing is that tracks are all starting to follow race rules that can be really complicated. For someone like me who just wants to show up and drive it’s a little annoying. Regardless I’m appreciative to just have a place to hang out.
Indoor tracks don’t seem to be as large, which can be a little more challenging to get up to speed. It’s really critical to be a good driver. Indoor carpet tracks can really be slippery, increasing the chances of a crash. The track truly is like its own challenge not even taking into account the other racers out there with you.
What’s so interesting is that all of the cars that I run are all-wheel drive. I believe it’s tough running these cars so I’m sure two-wheel drive is just as difficult. My cars have a plastic shaft that runs down the middle of the frame that connects to both axles. It’s a pretty easy-to-understand setup if maintenance is needed.
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