Two tenths of a second doesn’t seem like a long time but in the world of slot car racing at the Austin Slot Car Club track two tenths of a second per lap can be the difference between first and last.
Why do I bring up two tenths of a second? That is the difference between the winning times of the cars in last years the fourth quarter round of the Slot It Group C races and the times people are running in practice for the upcoming round of the 2012 Slot It Group C Challenge. Six months of time and two tenths of a second – that is a fantastic rate of development on what if effectively the same car.
Here is what it looks like if you want to know what that looks like in terms of distance. If you use last years fastest lap time in Group C of 3.908 and divide that by the lane length of 54 feet you realize that the cars are traveling at 13.82 feet per second or 2.75 feet in two tenths of a second. Two tenths of a second is 2.75 feet! That is a staggering amount of space in one lap. Take that into consideration for a five minute heat and that is almost one and a half additional laps. We could potentially see our first 78 lap heat.
It will be interesting to see who can harness that extra speed and keep it under control for three five minute heats. We all know it’s not always the fastest car that wins but the one that keeps the car in the slot and drives the most consistent race. Don’t forget that we have some new club members-drivers joining us for this round of the series. It will be interesting to see how they do against the far more experienced club racers. And for all you fast racer types that have done this before, I suggest you take it easy on the new drivers and try to remember what it was like when you were competing in your first race. Let’s not forget that we are all here to have fun while playing with our toy cars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXu6lQqhieA&feature=related
Good luck to everyone.