# Sequoia Speedway build up (same project, different name)



## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

OK, in order to AVOID the Madera Fair Board from taking what little I have left I've fallen back on Mike's name for the track, Sequoia Speedway. I know this may seem like a trivial matter to some of you but I have had a very, very bad experience with the person currently running the MCFB, and I really don't want to deal with her anymore. Trust me, it's better this way, and I'll take the heat for starting a new string for an old project.

Here's a layout with the new main grandstand, the turn 1 curved bleachers and the small bleachers. Also included is the turn 1 concession stand.



















This is the backside of the main grandstands with the concession stand there and restrooms. 










I'm debating what color to paint them, I was thinking a nice green but then you get into the old superstition about green at race tracks. I'll probably settle on an off-white or something similar. 

The small bleachers between the grandstands and turn 4 will be replaced by a larger set of open bleachers and the smaller one shown will be moved closer to turn 4. I don't know about bleachers in turns 2 and 3, I guess it's going to depend on how they look elsewhere before I build anymore. I do need to build a bathroom building for turn 1. I was going to have them on the back of the concession stand but, well, you know. 

The main grandstand came out looking really nice, once painted and "populated" it'll look even better. The backs of the bleachers will have toothpicks with racing flags flying from them when completed. 

I'm enjoying making things from this foam board. My dollar store has it 2 sheets for a buck, so I went and got maybe 5 times more than I needed for this project. Once my track is done I may make a few for you folks out there, just because I love you all. 

All in all I'm pretty dang happy with things so far.


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## BKracer (Sep 25, 2005)

nice werk on the stands dude!!power to the pipples!!


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## ScottD961 (Jan 31, 2008)

Pete ! How did you make those grandstands and the bleachers and stuff. They are really nice,I can't wait to see them painted


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

I used something called foam board. It's a thin sheet of expanded foam sandwhiched between two pieces of cardboard. Mine is 1/8th" thick and the sheets are 24"X48". White glue works good in holding them together and they're easily cut and shaped with a hobby knife. I also use a matt cutter for doing 45 degree joints in some places. It's available at any decent craft store I would think, I'm fortunate my 99 cent store has it in stock 2 for a buck. Others here used it too, the Hilltop track for one. 

Greg Braun's website has printed crowd pictures that will be going on the grandstands and bleachers once they're painted. I was going to go with the individual figures but I'm concerned about things falling off this track.


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## PD2 (Feb 27, 2003)

Looking good Pete! Bummed about the S.A. track not being a go, but I understand about track data be scarce and what not.

As for the name issue - you could have done something a la Prince......."The Track Formerly Known As Madera Speedway." :lol::roll:

PD2:thumbsup:


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Here's a few other shots of the main stands and the bleachers.










This is the front (facing the track) with the announcers and scorers box on the right side. The grandstands are actually 24" long, I think I had said something else earlier. 










The back view, concession stand on the corner, bathrooms further to the right. The area under the stands could be used fo car display or something. The boxed in concession stand area is directly below the announcer and scorer section. 










How the bleachers will look with folks on them. Simple, but effective. This is what I wanted to do at LSMR, now I get my chance.


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*More than one way to skin a skunk....*

Madeira Speedway.... Madareya Speedway.... just say'in  nd


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Ohhh, you guys WANT me to raise the ire of that 350 lb., bad tempered Armenian....well, while she does fit within the human classification of "female" I'd stop short of labling her a woman. I'll pass, that woman could still squash my nuts in court. 










Here's the front stretch bleachers, sort of a double set with an exit in the middle. They will fit between the main grandstand and the turn 4 bleachers that are somewhat smaller (the ones in the layout picture.

The original Sequoia idea was for a dirt track, I'm not sure if i want a nice concrete track or a dirt one for this project. I need to examine what will be racers and I'm back to considering the RRR fairgrounds type cars again. The good thing about that class is there are so many stock bodies that can be modified into the same design. 

Off white seems like the paint choice so far, or maybe a flat white, I'm going to do a test and see which looks better.


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## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*Nice work!*

for paint color i vote for light gray.

you know, institutional unpainted concrete. then maybe a red stripe or two

mike


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

I'm thinking that too. I have a student in one of my computer classes I may give a sharpie to and let him "tag" a section to make it a little more real. I've been scouring the 'net for signs this afternoon while watching the truck race, seeing what they have and finding it for Sequoia.

I've been looking at a main class and I'd like ASA type racing, which means pavement. Before I sold off my Empire I had several of the pushback "90's Stockers" that I'm now trying to find again. Cars could have ASA or NASCAR decals, and with some of the sets available I could do the WSC series cars that do race at Madera. If anyone has a line where I can pick up a dozen or so, let me know, my sources aren't listing them.

A sad note. two weeks after LSMR was taken apart my landlord came by with someone who wanted to see it. After I showed them the few pics of the demo the guy told me too bad, he would have given me $350 for it. In the end taking it apart has cost me more than if I would have kept it. Sequoia is half the size but will be a much better track in the end.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

I haven't posted much about the track this week because I needed some supplies, which I got yesterday. I have the foam laid down now but it hasn't been carved yet. 























































Grandstands and bleachers are populated, concession stands are open and have workers inside them, I have a scoreboard and some other signage along the back of the main grandstand. The glue on the foam should be dry by Friday and I will start grading this weekend. The height of the banks will be about 2", just enough to allow for some decent speeds. The bleachers and grandstands will sit higher than the rest of the track. 

The corners have been epoxied and I'm using Squadron Green putty to fill in all the gaps, joints and nail holes. This track will be smooth everywhere except the front two 9" straights, which I'm making so they can be removed at a later date for an optical lap counter. The track will be painted to match a concrete track once laid down. 

Still a lot of work to do.


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

Lookin' good Pete!

Couple of questions:

Is that the same type of foam you used on LSMR? It looks to be more like the styrofoam stuff my local HD carries, and not the finer type of foam that I thought was reccommended. But, could just be the photos and/or my eyes.

Please post more pics and tips and stuff on the putty process you are doing, as you start sanding, paint prepping and such.

Thanks!


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## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

Looking great, Pete!
Racing will be fast and furious! :thumbsup:


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

Pete McKay said:


>


Looks like ya got some weeds growin' up through those seams and holes in yer blacktop.  Better get the assfalt company out there :lol:

Nice start!


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Scafremon, that's the same foam, and it is pretty coarse, that's why I did the paper mache coating over it at LSMR and will do it here too. The putty is a lacquer based and sands really easily.


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## PD2 (Feb 27, 2003)

Definitely looking good Pete! I love how you are doing both the finer details and the course details. I think it helps to pull the track together very quickly! Looks like racing will soon be on the agenda!

Keep up the awesome work!
PD2:thumbsup:


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Well the track pieces were in pretty bad shape, the only real way to smooth it out (without buying new track) is to just glue it together and putty in the cracks. 



















As all of you know TOMY track is notorious about gaps between the 9" and 12" corners when laying them next to each other. I went ahead and filled the gap with putty to allow the cars a smoother surface. This is where most of my attention is being spent; getting the racing surface right. Later down the road I'll rebuild the coarse things like the grandstands and bleachers. Those were my first attempts, I just need a lot more experience building them. 

The 45 degree banking of the TOMY track is 4" high, mine will be about 1 1/2" so it will be in between those and a flat track. Call it semi banked I guess. I still need to glue in and putty the back straights, like I said the front ones will not be glued in (or down) and not be puttyed into the rest of the track surface so I can install a race management system later. All of the trees from LSMR will be used in the layout as well.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Ran into two problems last night.

The first was with trying to bank flat corners to the height I was trying, about 2". I got it to 1 1/2" but still had some problems. I think once it's all planed out that height will work, in my tests it was just difficult. So gone is the second height of 1" foam. 

The second was with the putty. Once I started bending the corners the putty began to crack inplaces as I expected. But since I glued everything together it cracked just about everywhere. Once the paint goes down those cracks will pretty much be filled in but I wasn't happy with the surface. 

I have written my boss at Parks and Rec about having the Mini Indy this year at my center, no reply so far. I still have some of my vacuformed Eagle XT bodies, I think this time though we're going to have one car per lane and rotate the kids through the lanes. Last year we (I mean you guys that donated stuff) gave away so much stuff to kids that didn't appreciate it, I don't want to deal with that again.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Pete Im in the process of filling in those curve gaps as you are.Didnt see it in the thread,what kind of putty are you using????

I made a pretty cool knife to shave down the track where the two edges meet where the gap is.
I had a real small wood plane here,the blade is probably 1.5" wide.

I ground down the sides enough so that I wouldnt hit the track rails when shaved the track to even it out.

Then I put the filler in the cracks,smoothed it out with a plastic spatula I cut down,then sand smooth.

My goal is to have my 4 lane sectional Tomy track look like a routed track when Im done.

Mike


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Mike I used something called Squadron Green. It's lacquer based which means it can be thinned. Also it's very soft after initial cure and can be sanded easily. I also use red automotove spot putty. 

I'll have some pics tonight, laid the track into the recess in the foam and used expanding foam to fill in the gaps under it and glue it down. Right now it's weighted (remember all the VCR tapes?) to form to the grading in the foam. If my measurements are correct I'll have a really nice 6 degree banking in the corners. That don't sound like much but believe me it's better than a flat track.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Pete,sorry for the late response.Thanks for the info.I have a few things I have come up with lately as far as track mounting that I'll share with everyone when I have a few minutes to snap some pics.

On the other thread I saw you building bleachers with the foam board and Elmers glue.
I use a hot glue gun for that stuff.Works great,and dries fast,so you can knock stuff like that out relatively fast.
And also,you can load up on the hot glue on any of the joints too.Some of the stuff Ive done,the foam board will break way before the hot glue gives out.

There was an article I read recently,where a guy who was doing a 1:32 track wanted to make banks with sectional flat track.

He had a pretty slick way of going about it.He actually took slices out of the track,in sort of a pie shaped piece,and reglued the track and shortened the rails.
I'll be damned if I can remember where I saw it,as I read a lot of slot boards on a regular basis.

Im still looking.AS soon as I find it I'll post it.

Mike


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Here's some pictures of the expanding foam portion of the tracks building.



















The smiling foam worm in the second picture is now the track mascot. 

After the foam dried it was trimmed with a knife and sanded smooth. Over the foam will be drift curbing out to about 1/2" outside the 4th lane, and at least that far on the infield lanes. The wall will sit about 3/4" outside the corner and will be just over an inch high, with another two inches of mesh fence above that. I still need to plane down the infield a bit.










The corners are banked 8 degrees in turns 1 and 2, 12 degrees in 3 and 4, and the back stretch is banked 5 degrees. The front stretch is banked only 3 degrees. There are some bumps in the corners, the worst is between 3 and 4. It's going to be a fast but rough track, like Eldora during an Outlaw show.


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## Scafremon (Dec 11, 2006)

Definetly need an "after" pic of the expanding foam situation. :thumbsup:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanx Pete! No need to chain up.

I just learned how to model a freshly snow plowed road. Dig it!


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Ask and ye shall get 'em.










The foam has about the consistance of balsa wood, it shapes easily, sands quick and is still pretty solid. 










It's still full of tiny air holes but that will only help to hold the putty I'm using to build up the outside drift curbing. It also works well as an adhesive to hold the track down but allows it to be removed if necessary with a little prying. You do have to be careful not to put too much under the track or it will lift it as it expands. This is one of those cases where too little is just right. 

I ran some laps to test the electrical and the track makes a very unique racing sound. Imagine a track nailed quite securly to a hollow door, you have something very similar. The turns are pretty smooth but there are two bumps in turns 3 and 4 that could potentially cause problems with very low riding cars. I ran T-Jets and XT's without any problems. 

There's still a lot of work to do, right now it's leaning against the wall until I get the energy to get back into it sometime this weekend. Warmer weather is coming and that'll help dry the putty and the landscaping yet to come.


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

VERY nice pete! 

Cant wait to see it finished..I really liked the short track you had before....was seriously thinking about using my old tyco to build one....

Ohhhhh....hmm....maybe I'll build a track as bait....er...a gift...to get someone interested in racing...

Keep up the good work!:thumbsup:


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Here's some of the outer banking done. This putty goes on pink and dries white so I can tell when it is cured. It will make up the entire outer area of the banks and about 1/2" wide down the straights. 



















I had enough to do all of the outsides and about half the infield. Over this will be a white glue/paper towel mache that will give it a pretty hard, smooth shell. 










Drying time for the putty...who knows. It's pretty thick in a few places so I'm going to say a week.


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## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

Nice job Petey, don't break this one up I'm still not over the last track!


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

T-Jet Racer said:


> Nice job Petey, don't break this one up I'm still not over the last track!


Me either. That was a very expensive lesson. I could have built this track and bought all 18 cars I have my eye on for what that other track costs. The sad thing was that it really wasn't that hard to drive, people just made it hard by trying to go faster than the circuit allowed. This one is half that size and very portable.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

OK, due to 90 degree weather here in Fresno the putty I applied two days ago has dried. This morning it was all sanded down and shaped. 










This gives you an idea of how wide the run off area for lane 4 is. 










My Matt Kenseth O-Chassis car came out of the collectors case to run some test laps, all lanes were run with the 12V G-Jet power pack. Once the lanes were scrubbed clean I could almost run wide open, just having to breath it into the corners before jumping back onto it. The T-Chassis cars will be a bit looser I think. Fastest lap time using my Micro-sizers timer was 1.25 seconds in lane 2. The banking is just enough to make this track exciting and very forgiving to drive. 

I ran a new XT in the same lane and did well with a 2.10 lap. I had to brake into the corners deeper but I could get a good drive out, especially coming out of turn 4. 

From here I do the paper mache, I'm counting on two layers but I'll see how it goes. White glue will be used for durability this time. In less than two weeks the track should be ready to race on, I'll have at least half a dozen T-Chassis cars and three lanes working. I haven't designed the drivers stations yet but they will be very simple. 

The California 100 is scheduled for May 23rd, I have 8 kids already signed up and more coming. The field will be set at 12 cars and 12 kids. Every kid signed up will qualify with the same car in the same lane, the top 9 kids and 3 adults (over 18) will race. Meyers Trophy has donated 3 trophies for the kids, and I have a $25 gift certificate from Hooters for the winning adult. This won't be to the level of the Mini-Indy last year but it still should be really, really good.


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## coach61 (Sep 6, 2004)

Looking good Pete, but I hate Kenseth, track is coming along great though even if ya do cheer for the wrong guy...


Dave


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

All the paper is down now (was just missing the back straight here), and I brushed the extra coat of thinned Elmers over the 2 layers of paper towels. 


***image was removed by me, not sure where it went***

Once this dries (more than likely 24-36 hours) I'll be ready for landscaping. First the track will be painted and detailed, then the grass, gravel and dirt. After nature is put down I'll put in the buildings.

Now, Master Dave, I have to let you know that I wasn't always a Kenseth fan. I was once a fan of Fred Lorenzen as a kid as most of you may remember. I went to being a Pearson fan, a Petty fan, then a Labonte fan for more than 20 years. In 2001 I became a Stewart fan but in 2002 when Tony put on the bad boy image I went over to Jarrett. 2002 was the year Tony won the Cup I believe and i sort of regretted my choice for a while. When Dale went to Toyota I naturally took the highest placing Ford, which was Kenseth.

I have now some 200 pieces of Kenseth memoribelia . I have a full set of Aero wheels with Goodyear Eagles on them, purchased at Sears Point in 2003. I have various body parts including a complete hood, destroyed at Martinsville in 2004. I have more than 100 diecasts from both the Busch/Nationwide series and Nextel/Sprint. I have slot cars in every scale, and I have the Preferred 1/24th diecasts from every series and every year I've been a fan. The CoT Preferred just arrived not too long ago, a gift from the owner of the dealership I worked for for 15 years. To say I'm a Kenseth fan....well, you be the judge...










..this is just what I keep on my entertainment center. 

I have other NASCAR stuff too....Pearson, Petty, Labonte and even Lorenzen. Even some Stewart stuff somewhere. No Jeff Gordon stuff though, and no Jimmy Johnson either. But everything else I'm pretty much open to.

The smallest here is a 1/87th, the largest is the 1/24th Preffered from 2006.


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## Slott V (Feb 3, 2005)

Pete- Fred Lorenzen lives one town away from me. I met him once a few years ago. He is a great guy. One of my friends does home maintenance work for him and said he has amazing stories and photos.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

I met Dick Brooks a few times when I lived in Porterville, about an hour and a half south of here. He would come out to Rocky Hill Speedway, the local dirt track, and sign autographs. He died not too long ago and I brought out all my stuff for a few days. I've got a grip of stuff from Mario too, he owns a string of Firestone stores and visits at least once a year to the one in Clovis. 

I'm setting up a myspace for Sequoia like I did at LSMR, the url is http://www.myspace.com/sequoiaspeedway. If you would like to join the list I'll be posting the racing schedule in the blog section. I already have two special events lined up and a minimum of a 4 race series planned. One of them is even sponsored by Meyers Trophy, the guys who donated the kids awards for the California 100 on May 23rd. I'm crossing my fingers that Manager Paul at Home Depot gets in the game too. I gave him a nicely built Tony Stewart car and he said if I needed anything to let him know, so of course I asked him to sponsor an event. He smiled and took my number. I tell ya, being a slot car racing promoter can be great sometimes.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

So... you're a Kenseth fan. Me too. You should get one of those cheesehead hats and paint a 17 on the side of it and wear it while racing.

I still remember a few years back going to the fly-in in Oshkosh. Stopped by a Wal-Mart to get one of those folding lawn chair in a bag things. Walking along the front of the store and out of the corner of my eye, suddenly, the yellow glow... the store had an entire cheesehead aisle! Nothing but cheeseheads as far as the eye could see. Amazing.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

ROFL!!! I may get confused as a Green Bay fan without the styled 17.

I had a railroad layout friend over and he showed me a couple of cool landscaping tricks. So with his recommendation all of the buildings, fences, etc. have been put in place. All of the grass, gravel and other enhancements will be put in place after everything else ahs been done. Now this sounded weird to me too until he showed me how a real race track loks up close.

Grass grows up in between things, if I were to put my buildings on top of the landscaping it wouldn't look real. I can also do the gravel and grass as I go along and start racing as soon as the electrical gets done.

Right now Sequoia is looking like this:










I'll have some better detail pictures once all the construction equipment is removed and cleaned up, possibly tomorrow. At this point all that is missing is nature; rocks, grass and gravel.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

*Sequoia Speedway Unveiling*

OK gentlemen, here it is. 










From over turn two looking back towards the main grandstand, the spectator fence ends between turn one and two. The flagstand is from LSMR and will have officials on it shortly.










Scoreboard. Non-working but a pretty effective static display non the less. Based on the Madera Speedway sign to an extent, below the scoreboard will be place temporary race sponsor signage. You see the two black lines, one in turn 3, the other in turn 4. We do rolling starts and restarts and if all the cars are within that blocked area then it's a restart. Most of the time we'll do 3 of the 4 cars if someone is a lap or more down. 










Back of the main grandstand with snack bar and restrooms. Parking for speedway officials....the Porsche is mine. This shows the 45 degree edge bevel that won't have grass growing on it. Since there is no perimeter boards this makes up the permanent edge of the layout. I'm going to have some picnic tables and a static car show display among the trees.










Looking back over turn three towards the grandstand, you can see the spectator fence and flagstand. I'll have to see if I saved the flagmen from LSMR, I think the cat scattered them somewhere. If not 1/72nd scale figures will be placed in a week or two.

I have not done the grass but everything else is here. There will be gravel between the outside edge of the track to the guard rail, burnt grass out from there. Same with the infield but the rest of the infield will be pretty green. Various grass colors where spectators walk to the restrooms and snack bars will be used. The back straight will have billboards placed as time goes on from sponsors. I can do a total of five 3"X5" billboards between the pit-to-track entrance in turn 2 and the first tree in turn 3. I have one paramedic unit already and two more on lay-a-way at Wal-Mart (with a few other static cars). 

Timing is via magnetic reed switches under the 9" straights in the front stretch. The switches are there and work, I only need Greg Braun's wiring loom from there. For now I'm using the Microsizers timer to time cars. I have three really nasty pot holes in the back straight that I need to fill but the rest of the track molding can be done as I go along. I'll also have to buy some new controllers, I have 2 very old Auroura and one Tomy controller, my goal is to have 4 new Parma 75 ohm controllers by mid May for the first event.

The first "official" event will be the Saturday before Memorial Day at Dan Rouit's Flat Track Museum near here in Clovis. Dan is a paraplegic buddy of mine I've known more than 20 years, and he has a world class flat track motorcycle museum. His open house is amazing, I've been going every year since 2000, and if you're ever in the area it just cannot be missed. Check out the website at http://www.vft.org/rouit.html. The next Friday will be the California 100 for the kids at the Mosqueda Center, so this track will be getting around very soon.


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

*Kewl man!*

Pete,

Your track looks Great! What a nice build up and you posted a fun to watch & highly detailed how you did it also. Been watching from the start of this build & now just want to say Kewl man! 

Bob...zilla


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## PD2 (Feb 27, 2003)

Fantastic work Pete!! Top notch as always! Congratulations on another successful build up!!

Keep us posted on the racing results and schedule!

PD2:thumbsup:


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Thanks guys. I did safety testing last night; intentionally trying to crash into the crowd, etc. I got over the rail a few times with an X-Traction car but only from the inner most lanes. I did a very hard crash running side-by-side in lane two with a car running in lae three and got over the rail and against the fence in turn 4. I'm sure eventually someone will get into the bleachers. 

I wanted to see how long it would take to run a long race, and I have a Tomy Turbo without the traction magnet that runs pretty close to what the T-Chassis should. I set up the timer to run for 500 laps and set sail. I crashed twice, well crashed once and spun once, and ran 500 laps in lane 3 in 11:13.98 seconds. Fast lap was a 1.28 which was .03 short of the track record with an O-Chassis car. The car did have silicones however, the T-Chassis class will not be allowed to have them. Average lap time was 1.34 seconds for you "rain-man" fans. "Yeah, he ran fast, yeah, Woopner in 15 minutes, yeah..."

Tomorrow I will get the rest of the landscaping and order 10 cars. By next weekend (I hope) I'll have everything in place to have Yoshi and a few others over to run some laps. Since I won't have the electronic counter in place I'll run the old CCRA program of qualifying, heats and main, this will work well and keep the races short. This should work out any final details.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Well, except for the boring electrical details the track is done.










Overall view, this shows all the different grass colors pretty well, and the gravel inside and outside of the track.










Looking over 3 towards the grandstands...










Picnic and playground area outside of turn 4. The track is located (virtually speaking of course) in the Sequoia National Park so a picnic at the track is not out of the question. I actually have two vehicles with National Parks markings parked under the main grandstands.










Close racing with the first T-Chassis arrivals. Well...maybe not, but you get the idea. 

The only problem we had in racing tonight was a few "debris cautions" when gravel came loose and got into the slots. I plan to seal the gravel tomorrow and stop that from happening. It happened at LSMR as well so I know how to fix it. This is gonna be great!


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## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

Nice Pete, what size is it?


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*There ya go Pete.*

Looking good. I'm sure fun will be had by all when you start the races. WTG nd


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

T-Jet Racer said:


> Nice Pete, what size is it?



Total size is 6' long and 3' wide. Half the size of LSMR and about 1/4th the weight! 

We raced last night into the wee hours of the morning and everythign worked pretty good. The reed switch on lane 4 is a little off but it's hot glued into place and can be fixed easily. We ran a 500 lap XT race in 35 minutes with about 15 cautions, mostly for crashes (2 cars off throws a yellow). Open wheel cars (sprinters) and more than once touching tires caused tumbles. Yoshi got out of the park once going into 3 side by side with me...bad Yoshi, you should know I'm going to lean on you in the corners. I got out of the park solo in turn 1, almost got to the bleachers. It's great how the cars don't overheat so much on 12v too. I don't remember who won, I don't think it mattered since we all had fun.


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## PD2 (Feb 27, 2003)

Looks awesome Pete! As always, the best details to make the layout look like a real place! Sequoia National Park and Speedway definitely sounds like a great place to take the family! Outdoor scenery and the sounds of horsepower screaming through the mountains - what more could be better?!?

Awesome work! Keep us posted on the races and results!

PD2:thumbsup:


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## Yoshi Nagura (Feb 9, 2008)

Interestingly enough Pete knows how to lean on cars INSIDE of him as well. Seriously, this track is very nice. SHORT, but nice. Things happen fast even with T-Jets, we ran magnet cars but with 4 cars running it gets pretty hard to keep track of you own car. XT's are better, especially with winged sprinters. There is no one lane that is better than the others and other than a couple of rough spots the track is really smooth all the way around. The bumps in turn two and four aren't even a factor. And the portability factor is very nice, easily carred by two people it can be set up anywhere. No complaints other than I want one lane between me and Pete.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Naw, what I do is get beside you, suck you deep into the corner then brake early and as you shoot by you forget to brake and viola! You're in the rail. Old Scott Green trick I learned after a full season of falling for it. Scott was also the Master of the Bump and Run, something I used against him the last time we raced, some 12 years ago now. 

I got into testing the two donated T-Chassis cars tonight a bit, sanded the tires, did some careful oiling and they're perfect for the job. You have to drive these cars, back out in the corners, watch how hard you jump back on in the straights. This is what I wanted. Once the others arrive I sent to getting them ready as well.


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## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

Pete McKay said:


> Total size is 6' long and 3' wide. Half the size of LSMR and about 1/4th the weight!
> 
> We raced last night into the wee hours of the morning and everythign worked pretty good. The reed switch on lane 4 is a little off but it's hot glued into place and can be fixed easily. We ran a 500 lap XT race in 35 minutes with about 15 cautions, mostly for crashes (2 cars off throws a yellow). Open wheel cars (sprinters) and more than once touching tires caused tumbles. Yoshi got out of the park once going into 3 side by side with me...bad Yoshi, you should know I'm going to lean on you in the corners. I got out of the park solo in turn 1, almost got to the bleachers. It's great how the cars don't overheat so much on 12v too. I don't remember who won, I don't think it mattered since we all had fun.


Thats a nice size portable track! :thumbsup:


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Finished up the electrical this morning, a very simple design. I spent a total of $6 on all 4 lanes...










It's basically two 3 1/2" bolts through the 2X4 framing, two jam nuts with washers sandwhich the wires under the track and you just clip your controllers to the ends sticking out the other side. Each station took two bolts, four jam nuts and four washers to complete. This also allows me to upgrade later on if desired but this is quick and easy and all that was needed here.

There will be a few more things added in the next couple of weeks. One will be trees and billboards outside of turn 2 and down the first part of the back stretch. The track entrance on the back straight will be the only place cars may be able to get out of the park. I still have some more vehicles to buy, a wrecker truck and another EMS vehicle. I have three billboards for use that will go up from sponsors, thanks go out to Home Depot #4440 and Best Buy-River Park. Each contributed $50 to the series that will start next month, and for the track to be completed, and Scale Auto has pledged a couple of cars to the kids race coming up. 

Not as exciting as LSMR to be sure but this track has been a lot of fun to race on. And it seems pretty popular with the local guys as well.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Post Script: My daughter from my first marriage is 26 and a math whizz, she just did some cool figuring for me. She took what would be the average area a human being in 1/64th scale would occupy and multiplied it by the total area of my grandstands and bleachers at the speedway to come up with how big of a crowd the track would have on a good race night. The turn 1 bleachers would hold a maximum of 300 spectators, the smaller bleachers between them and the grandstand would hold another 175. The turn 4 bleachers would hold 280 spectators. The main grandstands would hold a maximum of 2,550 spectators, which would give me a grand total of 3,305 seats on my little 1/5th mile oval. Now, if I charged $10 a seat for the 755 spectators in the bleachers, and $25 a seat for the 2,550 reserved seats in the grandstands I could gross $71,300 just in the gate revenues!! Man, I need to hire an HO CPA now!

Oh yeah, forgot to mention my cool little homemade Sunoco sign...










I had to make the reverse side of it since the slant of the sign wouldn't work on both sides. it was so much easier when Unical supplied racing fuel, I still have some of those balls somewhere. Anyway, those of you wanting a Sunoco sign, here's the graphic.


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## Wildstar (Jan 8, 2008)

Dude, that's HO dollars...you forgot to divide by 64!!!  Is that like saying I'm 4 in dog years?

Seriously, though, nice looking track! I imagine it's trickier than it looks. It's got me thinking about a small oval for my next track.


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## Ragnar (Aug 22, 2006)

Great Work! Looks real good.:thumbsup:

Tom


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Hey even in HO dollars that's $1,114.06!!!! Heheheh.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

This Saturday we will be racing with 28 cars!!! 

Over last weekend Tornado Smokey (aka my Russian Gray tomcat) roared through the track, the worst victims were some of the trees that were virtually stripped of foilage and my Sunoco sign that was pretty well chewed up. All repairable. The track will be covered from this point on. I'm also adding the new signage outside of turn 1 and 2 this week.


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

*Woooooooooooooooooosh...round and round...Tornado*

Pete,

Smokey sounds like he needs a little ride on the Ceiling fan Tornado ride...Whooooooooooooosh round and round....Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooooooow!

Just kidding...well kinda. Easy fix and cover so, Smokey got lucky. LOL

Bob...has no pets...zilla


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

The track made it to it's new home yesterday just in time for racing. Good thing the new home was only about 15' from the old one, it fit through the door of my spare bedroom with no problem, away from playful kittys. We raced all 28 cars, painted or not, report on the race elsewhere. I erected a few billboards outside of turn 2 to keep the cars in the park, good thing I did because a few made hard contact during qualifying. Here's a couple of pics of the latest improvements.










I also put racing flags atop the bleachers for a little bit more of a real race track look.










"The Big One" did happen, a tangle in turn 4 wound up carrying over to the main straight and a car wound up over the fence and into the main grandstands. Thankfully it was just practice and most spectators were enjoying 50 cent hot dog night at the concession stands.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Ummmmm yummy!*

A car coming over the fence into the stands ....or ....eating fiddy cent hot dogs = certain death regardless!


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## PD2 (Feb 27, 2003)

The more I look at the cars on the track the more I like the light grey as a background for the cars. The cars seem to show up better - almost pop out at you. This has to be better when racing and trying to watch the car, right? At least to me it means you can go with darker color cars and not so much the lighter and brighter colors on cars just so you can keep track of the car.

Can't wait to hear about the first kid's race! Good luck with the first event Pete!

PD2:thumbsup:


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## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

PD2 said:


> The more I look at the cars on the track the more I like the light grey as a background for the cars. The cars seem to show up better - almost pop out at you. This has to be better when racing and trying to watch the car, right? At least to me it means you can go with darker color cars and not so much the lighter and brighter colors on cars just so you can keep track of the car.
> 
> Can't wait to hear about the first kid's race! Good luck with the first event Pete!
> 
> PD2:thumbsup:


I guess your eyes are shot too? LOL


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Pete,
Looks great so far. Nice build up of the stand! :thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


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## PD2 (Feb 27, 2003)

T-Jet Racer said:


> I guess your eyes are shot too? LOL


Well, let's put it this way....about two or three years ago I went for my first eye appointment EVER! The Dr. would not let me drive myself home unless I bought some glasses! I never realized how bad my sight was for seeing things far away until I put those glasses on. It's not that I could not see anything at all, it just had ZERO focus to it. But now, things are a lot more clear and crisp! So yeah, having a 1/64th scale car pop out against a light colored background helps even more.

I know that was total side bar - sorry Pete.....back to Sequoia Speedway......

PD2:thumbsup:


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

S'Ok PD, computers actually ruined my eyes. I had great eyesight until 12 years ago when I got my first one. An AST with 16 mb of RAM, a 1.2 gig hard drive and a Pentium 75mhz processor!!! At least it would run Microsofts Flight Simulator. Weird thing is that comp cost more than the dual core Pentium with 1 gig of RAM and 100 gig hard drive I have now. Last time I tried to rebuild a Tyco car I had to get magnifying glasses for it.

The cars are pretty fats here, just over a second per lap. Having them stand out helps and I have black cars in the field, imagine them on a black track. I wanted to use the Fleck-Stone paint but I couldn't find it at my local Home Depot. This worked out well.


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## PD2 (Feb 27, 2003)

Pete McKay said:


> S'Ok PD, computers actually ruined my eyes. I had great eyesight until 12 years ago when I got my first one. An AST with 16 mb of RAM, a 1.2 gig hard drive and a Pentium 75mhz processor!!! At least it would run Microsofts Flight Simulator. Weird thing is that comp cost more than the dual core Pentium with 1 gig of RAM and 100 gig hard drive I have now. Last time I tried to rebuild a Tyco car I had to get magnifying glasses for it.
> 
> The cars are pretty fats here, just over a second per lap. Having them stand out helps and I have black cars in the field, imagine them on a black track. I wanted to use the Fleck-Stone paint but I couldn't find it at my local Home Depot. This worked out well.


Thanks for the grace Pete! Yeah, I've been sitting behind some sort of PC since the Apple IIc came out (which I think was in the 80's if I'm not mistaken). So needless to say I never realized how messed up the eyes got.

Of course now I start thinking back over my years in R/C or hunting and other sports and hobbies that required some decent hand-eye coordination. Heck, even back to when I played youth baseball I remember I used to smack the heck out of a ball and knock in some home runs. Then all of a sudden, one season, I kept missing the ball and not connecting with it right. I guess that should have been my indication - I just took it that I need to step away from the sport, hobby, etc. 

Lesson learned for me. And yes, having black cars is great, till you stick them against a black background, especially when they are turning laps at close to 1 sec or less!

PD2:thumbsup:


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