And so it begins………
It was Saturday evening, the night before the biggest race in the world – the 1974 Indy 500. I had just set up my first slot car track – a small AFX figure 8 set with a Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512. Once together I turned on the TV because there was nothing I didn’t do without having a television on. To my surprise ABC, one of only three channels available at the time, was airing the movie LeMans. I was absolutely sucked in. The race scenes and sound were fantastic. I had never seen anything like this before and here I was running a Porsche 917 slot car for the first time ever while watching the movie LeMans.
From that night on an 11 year old boy was a fan of slot cars, the Porsche 917, LeMans and endurance racing. That love grew and before long I was competing in Auto Worlds AFX 24 hour challenge – set up the same track, run a car that meets the rules and run for 24 hours. I tried this once with three friends of mine but by the 20 hour mark we knew we could not beat the record and my one 24 hour attempt came to an early end. Since then I have always wanted to try it again but have not had the opportunity.
Slot cars came back into my life about 13 years ago when I discovered a Fly Porsche 917 and could not believe how beautifully detailed it was. Since then I have been spent countless hours and dollars on a hobby that hooked me 27 years ago. This love of cars, racing and slot cars now includes the people I race with and against. There is not a better group of people I know.
Why bring all this up? It all plays a role in my decision along with the decision of some fellow Austin Slot Car Club members to take a team to Tacoma Washington for the BRM 24 Hour endurance race on November 12th to the 16th. This story will continue to be updated as the event draws near. I will share the teams ups, downs, preparations and everything else as we work to win the 24 hour race.
Stay tuned for more.