DIECAST RACING REPORT January 6, 2021– Vol. 2 No. 1
Inside: Looking Forward to a New Year – Daily Doses of Diecast – Quick Tips: How to Get Racing & More!
2 | Diecast Racing Report
In This Issue
Table of Contents Editor’s Notes News Briefs Calendar Resources
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QuickTips
9
5 6
Features
10
2020 in the Rear View Mirror, 2021 Straight Ahead 10 Daily Diecast
22
Columns Flying German
15
Tournaments Main Street Racers 17
15
Indiana Diecast Racing Sub4ra Redline Derby
OnTheTrack
18
9
18 19 20
3DBotmaker
23
Chaos Canyon
24
Flat Rabbit Racing Club 24
25
I Like Cheese Cover Art: Glenn Harding
Diecast Racing Report is a publication of Kit Kayem LLC, 7511 Greenwood Ave N #112, Seattle, WA 98103, USA Comments or letters to the editor: comments@diecastracingreport.com Are you a writer, photographer, artist, or other ne’er-do-well? Drop us a line: submissions@diecastracingreport.com Staff: Jim Desaulniers, Stefan Huwer, Christopher (Kit) Kidder-Mostrom, Ali Kidder-Mostrom, Steven King, Josh Paufler
January 6, 2021 | 3
Editor’s Note
O
n one hand, the year that came to a close a few days ago was really rough. On the other hand, in one regard it was amazing. I’m talking, naturally, about the expansion of diecast racing, which has become astronomically popular compared to where it was just a year prior. Much of that newfound popularity is due to an event that happened just over a year ago. A link to an internet story about 3DBotmaker started making its rounds on January 24th, 2020. And then in the ensuing months the coverage continued and spiked as we were all at home with no other sports (exempting marble racing). Just a couple of weeks ago Car And Driver magazine published a Top 10 list of automotive-themed YouTube channels to watch. You can guess who is second on the list. Despite the many other downsides of 2020, many of the sites and channels we follow got their start thanks to the pandemic and a primal need be a part of something big. This magazine that you’re reading right now got its start on June 15th, 2020. And new channels and content keep appearing almost on a daily basis. We interviewed or wrote about 45 different people in our main articles since we started (far more than that if
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you count the blurbs in Quick Tips, and special sidebars like the Halloween issue). As we’re looking forward to another great year in diecast racing, we can’t help but look back at the year that was. After all, most of reporting is telling what has already happened, to provide a record of where we’ve been and what we were doing there. What we were doing is racing diecast cars.
Kit Kidder-Mostrom Editor-in-Chief
We approached the 45 folks who we wrote about over the last 6+ months and have asked them to reminisce and to look to the future. We’ve got a few fewer track reports this issue because folks were not cranking out as much content as usual due to the holidays. Nevertheless, we feel this issue has a lot of cool stuff inside that we are quite happy to share with you. Now, let’s get on to talking about racing!
News in Brief
Funny Cars Dominate Birdco 1000 After 9 solid hours of racing, a champion was crowned by Hot Wheels Calgary as part of what may be the largest live-streamed racing event of the year. The Birdco 1000 was hosted by Aaron Bird of Hot Wheels Calgary on New Year’s Day, although some racing was conducted on January 2nd to sort out the places second and below. One hundred twenty-eight cars entered the race, which was held on two separate tracks. Rez Wheels emerged the overall winner of the event with the Hershey Funny Car as his ride. He took first place on both tracks. Among the top eight cars on the single slope track, only two cars were not funny cars of some persuasion. A Way 2 Fast (FTE) and a black F40 kept the top group of vehicles from all being funny cars. The same two cars were the only non-funny cars in the top eight entries again. Since Rez Wheels took the top spot on both tracks, he was the clear winner of the competition, with no need for a run-off event. This is the second major live event held by Hot Wheels Calgary, the first being the Birdco 500. The channel also hosts daily races. Although another installment in the Birdco series of races has yet to be scheduled, it would seem that submitting either a Firebird Funny Car or a Probe Funny Car (both from
Hot Wheels), would be the way to go. The Birdco 1000 was a winner-takeall contest, with winner Rez Wheels taking ownership of the other 127 cars in the field. The entire event is still available for viewing on the Hot Wheels Calgary YouTube channel.
Diecast 64 Launches Mod School Videos Just a few days after putting out a “How To” video on the topic of making a sanding station for wheel work, Robby Comeford’s second YouTube channel, D64E, has launched a new episodic video series Called “Mod School: D64 University”. The topic of the first video? “How to Take a Hot Wheels Car Apart”. This series seems to be a new approach to a mission that Comeford tackled last year in his “The Rookie”. Basically, he’s teaching the rudimentary skills you need to get started in the sport/ hobby of diecast customization for racing. A natural educator, Comeford has also released a pair of “Hot Wheels Race Science” videos over the last few months, tackling to topics of Graphite and Breaking In a new car. What seems to be the primary difference with the new video series it that it is a bare bones presentation with no commentary from Comeford. All instructions in the video are textbased.
As this first video is clearly labeled E1 (Episode 1), the expectation has been set for a continuing set of lessons to come. Hopefully, this does not mean the end of the Hot Wheels Science segments. One can assume that “The Rookie” has made a full run, but it is evident that Comeford isn’t done bringing new instructional content to racers and builders.
DRR to Host Charity Race for Feeding America As the Pinks for the Cure final rounds head to YouTube later this week, Diecast Racing Report is set to launch into a new charity race to benefit Feeding America, an organization that distributes resources to food banks across the USA in order to fight hunger. “So much attention is given to food shelves around the holidays, but they need support year ‘round,” says DRR editor-in-chief, Kit K-M. “We wanted to hold this race in the spring so that it could do some good when it is most needed.” As he is apt to do, Kit titled the contest with a drastically bad pun in mind. “We’re asking people’s help in restocking the shelves of the nation’s food banks.” Accordingly, the new tournament is entitled “Re-STOCKing The Shelves”, and it will feature NASCAR-style stock cars. “We really hope that we’ll get as much participation as we did for the Pinks races back in October,” K-M expressed, remembering that the earlier event raised $270 in entrance fees, all of which is being donated to Susan G. Komen for breast cancer awareness and research.
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Calendar
Mail-in Race Deadlines Stock: BlueLine Stock & Modified Car Tournament – Deadline for Entry: January 25, 2021. Drag strip. 65 gram weight limit for stock cars. Production cars only, no trucks, vans, concept cars, or fantasy castings. More Info: RedlineDerby.com Sunday Pinks – Deadline for Entry: Ongoing. Road course. No weight limit. No FTE/NPAs. Limit 2 vehicles per entrant. Weekly head-to-head races. Winners keep losing cars. Submissions must be on original card. More Info: Rust Belt Diecast Racing
Modifieds: Race to be the Alpha – Deadline for Entry: January 16, 2021. Drag strip. Multi-week series. Cars must have Real Rider wheels/tires. Dry lube only. 2 cars per team. Limit 1 entry per household. More Info: RedlineDerby.com Tuff-E-Nuff: Hard as Nails – Deadline for Entry: January 16, 2021. Road course. 95 gram weight limit (45 gram minimum). Any lubricants. Limit 2 cars per household. More Info: RedlineDerby.com Muscle Mania 2021 – Deadline for Entry: January 22, 2021. Drag strip. 65 gram weight limit. Three categories
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of muscle car drag racing. Cars must appear on approved lists. More Info: RedlineDerby.com BlueLine Stock & Modified Car Tournament – Deadline for Entry: January 25, 2021. Drag strip. 60 gram weight limit for modified cars. Production cars only, no trucks, vans, concept cars, or fantasy castings. More Info: RedlineDerby.com The Peg Clearing Brawl – Deadline for Entry: January 30, 2021. Drag strip. 80 gram weight limit. Cars must be on approved list of four models. More Info: Rust Belt Diecast Racing Rookie Rally 2001 – Deadline for Entry: January 30, 2021. Drag strip. 57 gram weight limit. No limits on axles or models. Participants must self-identify as a rookie at racing modified cars. New builds only. More Info: RedlineDerby.com Sub4ra’s ADRC (Adult Diecast Racing Cup) – Deadline for Entry: February 1, 2021. Multiple road courses. 65 gram weight limit. Up to 4 cars per team. Limit 4 drivers per entrant. Entrance fee. More Info: Sub4ra Racing Channel Micro Mods – Deadline for Entry:February 4, 2021. Road course. 1:150/1:144 scale (Micro Machines size). Racing for Charity. More Info: Rust Belt Diecast Racing
Calendar Friday Night Cheese– Deadline for Entry: rolling (open submissions). Road Course. 150 gram weight limit. More Info: ILC Race Series King of the 621– Deadline for Entry: rolling (open submissions). Drag strip. 100 gram weight limit. More Info: RedlineDerby.com TD Grudge Wars– Deadline for Entry: rolling (open submissions). Road course. 90 gram weight limit. More Info: TranSport Diecast Racing
Prize Pack! Diecast Racing Report and Flat Rabbit Racing Club have teamed up for an awesome give away. The winner gets the pace car from our upcoming Psychedelic Speedway Grand Opening Race Series (a Cory C Whyte custom 1970 Ford Escort RS1600 in Gulf livery) and a Flat Rabbit Racing Club T-shirt! Here’s what you need to know: Xanthippe’s racing team is called “Just Another Pop Culture Reference”, and every one of her builds has something to do with a movie, comic book, song, or piece of literature. One of her cars appears in the New Year’s Get Up Stay Up race at Flat Rabbit Racing Club. In order to win the Prize Pack, you need to be the first person to identify what character her car is an homage to, and from what book series that character comes. You’ll find hints in this month’s Flat Rabbit Racing Club “On The Track” article. To submit a guess, send an email to info@diecastracingreport.com with “Xanthippe Prize Pack” in the subject, and your guess in the body.
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Feature
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Resources
Quick Tips
New Year, New Hobby: How to Get Started
F
or those new to diecast racing, there is so much to explore and to experience. Perhaps you have spent time building your first track or building your first car, perusing the pegs or posting your first video. But for those who have not yet navigated the world of mailin race submission, here are some quick tips to get you (and your cars) on your way! 1. Check the Listings and Make a Plan! Every month we include a calendar of stock and modified tournaments right here in the Diecast Racing Report. This is a one-stop-shop to see the basic details and deadlines for upcoming races. Check the race calendar to plan out which races you want to build for or where you want to send your best stock vehicle. Just don’t forget the deadlines! Also, if you are looking for races further out, go where we go – redlinederby.com 2. Don’t Wait to Race. There are
options for those who don’t want to go through the trials of building and shipping to a mail-in race. In the Rust Best Diecast Racing group on Facebook, you’ll see weekly calls for drivers for the Midnight Shrub race, just comment on the car you want to drive and tune in for the live race. Or check out Sunday Pinks, where you can purchase cars (at the weekly Rust Belt swap meet) to build a team and manage it from afar.
4. Don’t forget the Paperwork! Most races have a form to fill out and include when you send your car. There are other details such as an entrance fee or return shipping to take care of as well. Be sure to double check the details and all requested paperwork, etc. before you seal up that package. Once you have everything ready to go, be sure to ship well before the deadline, to leave plenty of time for shipping delays.
3. Pack with Care. When you are wrapping up cars for mailing, be sure to pack with care. And don’t skimp on padding! Diecast 64 shows how to pack like a pro in his video “How to Ship Cars to Race: Safe and Economical”. You can also take his lessons and scale them down to a small box if you are sending fewer cars.
5. If you’re new, there’s a race just for you! Redline Derby is hosting the Rookie Rally 2021 this year. This is a race especially for novice modifiers and a great way to start out in the sport. Send your 57 gram or less modified car to the Redline Derby Speedway by January 30 in order to test your drag racing skills against other new builders.
January 6, 2021 | 9
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Looking in the Rear View Mirror Looking Straight Ahead As we all start this next trip around the sun together, we here at Diecast Racing Report asked a number of folks from around the diecast racing community three simple questions. Those questions were: 1.
What is your favorite memory within the world of diecast racing in 2020?
2. What are you most looking forward to in diecast racing in 2021? 3. What is one goal and/or resolution you’d like to set for yourself, your track, your channel, etc. in 2021? On the next few pages you’ll see a bunch of answers to those questions. We sorted them simply so you can tell who said what in response to which question. Without any further ado, here’s question #1:
What is your favorite memory within the world of diecast racing from this past year? Jason Chapman (Chapman Films/ILC) – “The Crazy Jimmy phenomenon over on 3DBotMaker racing series.” Nick Deavers (Nick Deavers Racing) – “My favorite thing is how many new people got involved this year. It’s great to see diecast racing growing as much as it has.” JD Elst (a.k.a The Zombie/The Cliff International Raceway) – “...when I was watching the race at ILC and was killed, subsequently racing again, and thus getting my nickname... The Zombie.” Luthrell Church (War on I4) – “My favorite memory would have to be from the 3DBotMaker Ferrari series and the massive following of Crazy Jimmy. It was an enjoyable series with a lot of excitement. It had the perfect storyline of an underdog competing and winning.” Brian Anderson (Flat Rabbit Racing Club) – “...the making of Get Up Stay Up Repossessed – when my son’s (Cross) idea to break the cars out of the SCAR compound was a success...and on the first try! Dale Johson (Silverback Racing Diecast) – Seeing my first charity race knowing that I can have fun enjoying my hobby and still be able to help people with something that I have a great passion for. 10 | Diecast Racing Report
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Favorite Memory of 2020: Jim Desaulniers (Indiana Diecast Racing) - “Just prior to the creation of my channel, I ran a Facebook live tournament for my son's Cub Scout pack......somehow the top 3 finishers all came from my family”
Warwick Rule (Chaos Canyon/DSPN) – “I actually have a couple of favourite memories. First was finding the world of diecast racing thanks to 3D’s DRC Rally. It was the first diecast racing I ever watched and I was hooked. Second is the success of Chaos Canyon. It has greatly surpassed where I was hoping to be by the end of this year and I’m absolutely loving doing it.”
Glenn Harding (Artist) - “Seeing my banner in corner 2 and 3 on 3DBotMaker during the KotM tournament.”
Robby Comeford (Diecast 64) – “The first Gaslands race at Diecast 64: vehicular mayhem at its finest.”
Rhyno Alexander (Sub4ra) – “My favorite memory is seeing it more accepted. There was a time when racing diecast wasn’t “cool”, but a lot of that changed during the Pandemic.”
Baines Kinnison (Live Young Die-Cast) – “My favorite diecast racing memory of 2020 would have to be a toss-up between Chaos Canyon’s Stunt Man Sam jumping onto a flatbed semi-truck and 3DBotMaker putting a Pontiac Fiero in a Ferrari tournament.”
Ali Kidder-Mostrom (Diecast Racing Report/Just Another Pop Culture Reference) – “It's hard to pick one memory. I was thinking I really enjoyed how my very first build (Edgar aka The Bug) got to be the heel of its KotM race or how exhilarating it was the weekend Kit and I cranked out builds for two sets of cars in under 3 days... but then Flat Rabbit Racing Club went and posted their NYE race and that was such an exciting surprise (and a lovely way to end the year) that I think it wins!” Mike Rader (Madness Motorsports/Rust Belt Diecast Racing) – “High Octane (Cheyenne Wheeler) destroying everyone in the Barbie Corvette at Rocket Dragway!” Romy Rivera (Rivera Racing) – “I think meeting so many new people and making new friends who love diecast racing. And, of course, getting to be a part of DRR... Thank you!” Jon L Soffa (Voxxer Racing) – “My favorite memory was my first race at Red Pill Racing. It was a DNF. So, I re-engineered my design of the car for RLDRL and set the track record.” Dave (We Race Diecast) – “Running our first event for King of the 621. I had the channel up for a few months at this point and it took a solid month to acquire the cars for the first event. It is a mail-in tournament, so I needed participation from others. When I finally got our first 6 cars for the tourney I was super excited to post it. I finished it a day early and I had planned to post it the next day, but a few of the participants were excited about it and convinced me to post it then and there. I was super hyped about it and I posted it. It did better than all prior videos on YouTube and just hearing how the participants were excited and had a good time watching it was just amazing to me. It was the first time I felt man, I really want to do this for a living (long journey to get there).”
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Steven King (Artist/DRC Legend) – “The first DRC Championship has to be my favorite race. My favorite version of the DRC track by 3DBotMaker has to be Event Two with the addition of the Max Air bonus.” Matt Allen (Mattman213) – “Favorite memory by far involves my now 3-year-old son Luke. Picking out builds, seeing them progress, testing them (he runs all my initial test runs for me), then mailing them out and participating in the race itself. The best part of all is when the video drops on YouTube and I say the magic words: “Hey Buddy... I got a race on my phone!” We really get excited for every race, from 3DBotMaker’s KotM, to the Builders Invite, and every RLDRL in between.”
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Loo David Currin (League of Speed) – “Lady of Speed winning the RLD Nationals, and myself winning the inaugural 8 Modders with the Marauder.” Frank Kline (Red Pill Racing) – “I’d say it was the overall success of Red Pill Racing. It was my fourth year of racing and I feel like I finally broke out as one of the top guys. I won 4 races at diecastracerx, multiple Redline Derby races, won my 2nd Diecast Games in a row, and about to win back to back championships at Sub4ra, and a lot of races at other places.” Mark Heisler (Jackson Pass Speedway) – “I have to say the first few hours of watching 3D’s channel with Jack. Binge watching.” Ivan Leung (Thunder Roo Raceway) – “Starting Thunder Roo Raceway, despite the madness due to my workload, we managed to continue!”
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Bird (Hot Wheels Calgary) – “Building a new track track type I’ve never used before (Crash Racers)”.
Mayes (RTR Diecast Racing) – “My favorite y was collaborating with Flat Rabbit, Jackson Pass, and Canyon on the 2020 DIRS. Oh, and a close second was the Mayes” song 3DBotMaker came up with.
Hanson (Silverback Racing) – “Coming in 3rd in the ld 500”
Davis (Photographer/Norm and Vern Racing) – g my first ‘like’ on my YouTube channel.”
y Jarusiewic (TFT Raceway/Rust Belt Diecast g) – “I became involved in the world of diecast racing in nd joined the Silverback Racing Team, I enjoyed the concept e first moment and have enjoyed meeting new people and g the TFT Raceway. My favorite memory would have to be down the first cars down my track for the first live race on elt Diecast Racing.”
n Huwer (High Forest Diecast Racing Germany) races in which my cars took part are far ahead in the ies. I also find the community around Rust Belt Diecast one of the highlights for me.
oking Forward to in 2021:
dder-Mostrom (Diecast Racing Report/Just her Pop Culture Reference) – “I'm looking forward overing some lesser-known new tracks and getting a chance e about them each month.”
o Alexander (Sub4ra) – “Seeing how far it will do. popularity spiked, or will it continue to grow?”
Harding (Artist) – “Seeing my first fully custom racer e in the 2021 DIRS”
esaulniers (Indiana Diecast Racing) – “Seeing all azing custom cars I hope folks will send to my IDR ments... The creativity we got to see in the Party Wagon ment was awesome!”
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Looking Forward to in 2021: Brian Anderson (Flat Rabbit Racing Club) – “Reading the pages of DRR... Of course.” Stefan Huwer (High Forest Diecast Racing Germany) – “I’m looking forward to even more exciting, funny, and varied new tracks. To more friends in the community. But above all, I’m looking forward to every edition of DRR this year.” JD Elst (a.k.a The Zombie/The Cliff International Raceway) – “I’m most looking forward to finishing our track and getting racing going at The Cliff.” Luthrell Church (War on I4) – “For 2021, I'm looking forward to the a new Diecast Racing Complex at Harrison Speedway for War on I4. I believe this track will provide a unique experience like nowhere in diecast racing.” Daniel Johnson (Silverback Racing) – “Releasing my first Mail in race series video and hoping that it may help spark other people to become passionate about racing real riders.” Randy Jarusiewic (TFT Raceway/Rust Belt Diecast Racing) – “I can't wait to see where different race track owners take their races this year and the new records being set and broken between the individual diecast racers. I have enjoyed having Sunday Pinks races and add more and more drivers and filling their garages.” Vern Davis (Photographer/Norm and Vern Racing) – “I look forward to track and production improvement” John Hanson (Silverback Racing) – “Getting more mods into races to support Silverback Racing” Mike Mayes (RTR Diecast Racing) – “Continue to make friends and the 2021 DIRS” Aaron Bird (Hot Wheels Calgary) – “I’m most looking forward to seeing what happens in the world of diecasting racing. 2020 saw the huge growth of diecast racing, so I’m interested to see what 2021 brings... Another rise? A reduction? It’s anyone’s guess.
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Ivan Leung (Thunder Roo Raceway) – “There are plenty of races coming along! But most important one is the 2021 Championship: King Of Thunder Roo”
events tha haven’t se received.”
Mark Heisler (Jackson Pass Speedway) – “The new bigger, Diecast International Racing Series. I think it will be something special this year.”
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Frank Kline (Red Pill Racing) – “I am looking forward to seeing the diecast racing community continue to grow. There were quite a few guys who stepped up their game and became contenders in 2020. On a personal note, I'm anxious to see how fast my cars at 3DBotMaker are going to be.” David Currin (League of Speed) – “Building and launching my Diecast Racing website” Matt Allen (Mattman213) – “The RLDRL that I've grown to look forward to most in 2020 is ending, likely for good, so I’m most looking forward to branching out and joining other races outside of mostly Redline Derby. I’m especially looking forward to seeing my 2nd entry get a shot at KotM!” Jason Chapman (Chapman Films/ILC) – “I see a lot of newbie diecast channels with some great looking tracks. Can’t wait to see them in action.” Steven King (Artist/DRC Legend) – “I’m most looking forward to more DRC races by 3DBotMaker hands down, don’t get me wrong, there will be a ton of great racing from other tracks and I will be watching them all and follow them (I do), but the DRC track will always be a special place for me.” Baines Kinnison (Live Young Die-Cast) – “I am really looking forward to hosting and racing in the upcoming DIRS tournament. I received word today that my car not only finished the track over at Transport Racing but the lap time was pretty good. It may not go all the way, but it’s nice to have a “healthy horse” in the race. Hosting will be a blast and seeing how this whole thing ends up will be nothing short of epic.” Robby Comeford (Diecast 64) – “I’m looking forward to all the new people that I will meet through this fun and exciting hobby.”
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at we’re working on at the canyon, things that I een done like this before, so hopefully they will be well ”
We Race Diecast) – “I’m most excited about Clutch Mountain up and running (our custom diorama ). I wanted to start my YouTube journey with a fat t didn’t like the first one I had put together. So I tore it d started from scratch. It’s been a long time coming of work has been put into it. It looks great so far and hoping I can pull off what I’m envisioning in my head nally finish it up.”
offa (Voxxer Racing) – “The mail delivery etting back to normal.”
Rivera (Rivera Racing) – “Looking forward to n some of the new tracks out there and, of course, new tricks on how to make your diecast cars faster!”
Rader (Madness Motorsports/Rust Belt t Racing) – “Expanding the footprint of Rocket y with an updated Descent Into Madness and a new n course.”
eavers (Nick Deavers Racing) – “Opening my way and starting a monthly series.”
are the answers to the first two questions veryone who returned our little onnaire.
rd question was asking each of them about oals for the next year. Many spoke of more viewers for the channels. Others of wanting to win a specific event or title. er handful spoke of wanting to build a new r improve their current one.
be tracking all of these goals throughout r. Many of them will provide us with the rcs that we write about on these pages in r to come.
me to 2021!
January 6, 2021 | 15
Column
The Flying German: Diecast Races In Germany by Stefan Huwer
of life.
B
So... another point where the Americans are ahead of the Germans.
etween the USA and Germany lies not only the Atlantic, but also worlds if you look at the diecast racing scene. While diecast racing is booming in the States, thanks to Corona. Germans are still hunters and gatherers. But they can’t be blamed for this. Only overpriced parking garages and crash lanes from Hot Wheels are offered in retail, so that you never even get the idea of racing with the little speedsters. The US has a big advantage. They even have Hot Wheels outlets. But as already mentioned, here in the German shops, for a diecast racing fan, a sight of horror. Then there is the local society. You are looked at crookedly when you stand in front of a blister pack of small cars, turn it over and are happy about your findings. So you are more concerned about what others think of you. It's a shame, because it robs you of the joy
But how do you get the idea of running races? In my case, I came across this hobby through YouTube. I admit, I'm also a hunter and gatherer (laughs) and since some cars in my collection also looked like a barn find, my first custom work was created. In April 2020 I looked for suggestions on Youtube and after I found 3DBotmaker, I was hooked for diecast races. I founded a racing team "High Forest Diecast Racing Germany" with my sons and immediately started building racing cars. A new point of view for me. How do you make a car faster? How does a car behave when you change this and that? And the most important question for my sons and me was: "Are there also races here in Germany?" Questions upon questions! I found help in Josh Paufler's Facebook group. Rust Belt Diecast Racing and its community were able to give me some answers to my questions. The diecast racing
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community on Facebook is awesome, thank you for allowing me to be part of it. I have already organized smaller races with my sons, but not live. We want to change that this year. I have also founded a group on Facebook that is supposed to serve as a platform and point of contact for those interested in German-speaking countries. I hope that among the many hunters and collectors there will be some like-minded people and that there will be a diecast racing community here in Germany. The first event is the “Diecast Wars of Germany”. These have been announced since the middle of last year, but unfortunately Corona delayed the delivery of the participating vehicles and so we are still waiting for the modified racers from the USA. What's next after that? Information about diecast racing is posted on the newly established platform. Live races will also take place there. (For now only within the Facebook group, sorry!) In the distant future, weekly races will be held, these then also internationally. There is still a long way to go, step by step, until we are as far as the diecast racing scene in the States here in Germany. I will keep you up to date. Until then: "Let's race and have fun!"
Tournaments
Main Street Racers by Ali Kidder-Mostrom
In 2021 here at Diecast Racing Report, we’re shining the spotlight on some lesser-known (or at least lesser-followed) track channels. Each month, one channel will get a full month of race write-ups alongside our established tracks. With so many tracks, there is no way for anyone to catch all the racing action, but this should spread the net a little wider. Hopefully, one of these new channels will catch your eye and become a favorite worth following.
We start this month with Main Street Racers (https:// youtube.com/channel/ UCiihHXXDa7X9AyvPQC4XEu Q)
I
n mid-December, after wrapping the “There Can Be Only One” 16 car tournament of drivers from around the globe, Main Street Racers moved right on to more of what they do best: head to head race showcases. Right after our last issue, it was a battle of Volvo vs. Volvo (vs. Volvo), a match-up requested by Hot Wheels Hunter. This race saw three Volvo 850 Estates race in a best of 5 run down the track. As expected, the cars were well matched, but it was the simple red
car that took the first lap (and then the second) by a nose. With an early lead in the third lap, it looked like the white #14 was going to give the red car a run for its money, but after the white competitor lost a bit of control in the final stretch, it was – again – the red Volvo that walked away with the lap, and the overall win. In the battle of Bentley vs. Jaguar, the green 2018 Bentley Continental GT3 showed up and took no prisoners. It quickly out-matched its silver Jaguar competitor, taking each of 3 laps. So, the very next day Main Street moved on to a truck battle, where a black GMC Syclone faced off against a brilliant gold Ford F-150. Right out of the gate the trucks were in step, but the shiny Ford managed to pull ahead in the flat and take the first lap by a full car-length. The GMC wasn’t going to take this lying down and did its best down each incline, but the Ford’s consistent performance after the drop let it walk away with the overall win. In a couple of blast from the past races, Main Street Racers sent a pair of Barbie cars down the track and then pitted a full contingent of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) cars against each other (including the Party Wagon, of which there are a plethora at another track right now). It should probably come as no surprise that the Barbie sports car took the win when matched up with a Barbie Dream Camper. The wanna-be food truck gave the best it had, but it really shouldn’t have tested its mettle against a
Corvette. The TMNT race was far more varied and - with a line-up of six cars - was a race not to miss. The field of racers shifted places on each lap; Raphael, Donatello and the Party Wagon each performed quite well, leaving Michelangelo and the Surfin’ School Bus in their wake. However, it was Leonardo’s consistent ability to edge ahead of the rest which led to his ultimate win. There were three Hot Wheels vs. Matchbox battles over the last two weeks, starting with the match-up of Mazdas. The Hot Wheels RX-7 tried to keep pace with its competitor, but the red MX-5 from Matchbox proved that in this case the older sibling knows best. However, in the later races, it was Hot Wheels time to shine when the Hot Wheels’ green Lotus and blue Mini each took a clean sweep against their Matchbox rivals. In the new year, things have gotten a bit crazy when, this week, Main Street Racing add a cross-over to their otherwise perfectly normal sixlane orange drag strip. Two rally cars faced off against each other and the hazardous track. With the added cross-over, neither the Audi Sport Quattro nor the Honda CR-X were able to keep all wheels on the track throughout the competition. We won’t reveal which car managed to reign victorious, but – let’s just say – the real winner was carnage. This channel is great for fans of: - RTR’s “Grudgefest” themed head-to-head races - Short videos! - No-frills drag strip racing, like Diecast 64 - Not needing to wait for their next racing fix (frequent videos) January 6, 2021 | 17
Tournaments
Indiana Diecast Racing by Jim Desaulniers
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ince we last checked in, the remaining round 1 groups of the Plethora of Party Wagons have hit the track... sometimes quite literally! So far, the racing has been anything but typical. Each lap has been so fraught with “competitive chaos,” that “fastest” or “heaviest” has not necessarily translated to “first.” It has, however, resulted in some entertaining battles! To put the craziness into perspective, I totaled some statistics from the first round: ● Radical track departures: 20+ ● Bodacious passes on the final straight: 7 ● Wicked come from behind results: 2 ● Other bodacious passes: 10+ ● Shelltastic finish funnel jams: 9 ● Bogus quadruple DNFs: 3 ● Just above mediocre videos: 10 ● Scoring errors that led to an unnecessary but crazy run-off: 1 ● Wrecks-turned-into-miracle-wins: 1
To get a first-hand perspective of the racing, I reached out to two of the drivers with a couple questions, Josh Paufler of Rust Belt Diecast Racing and Brandon Murray of Durty Murray Racing. Q1: How did the first round results compare to your expectations entering the tournament (for your entries & the competitors)? Paufler: I was expecting some fast racing and lots of chaos at the Tricky Triangle. That’s exactly what we got. 18 | Diecast Racing Report
I thought I’d get a little more speed out of my wagons but I’m just happy they didn’t wreck every lap. I was really impressed with some of the high point wagons. There’s some serious speed out there. Murray: The Party Wagons ran better than I expected. I expected a large amount of roll overs but overall they seemed to run and handle great. Which led to some very exciting racing! Q2: If you had to predict the final 4, who's included & why? Paufler: Kirk Adams, Uncle Elvis [Ryan Kelly], Flip, and Durty Murray. They were all surprising and fun to watch. Murray: Ah man, I can't. I think it's anyone's race at this point. So much can happen in one heat. It's so unpredictable. That's what makes it so exciting. I'm just happy to be going to the next round. Anxious to see what happens. Q3: For folks planning on entering the Sock Hop Slam, what advice would you give them to succeed at the Tricky Triangle?
Paufler: Keep your weight as low in the car as possible and grease up those wheels to win the race into turn one. And don’t forget to make it look awesome! Murray: I would tell them to polish and graphite the axles, make sure the axles are straight and keep the weight as low as possible. If your build is top heavy it's going to tip over. If the axles aren't straight the straights will haunt you! Round 2 will look a little different. With 20 advancing wagons placed into 5 groups, not only will the top 2 from each group move on to round 3, but 2 of the “losing” wagons with the highest total cumulative points through round 2 will advance as well. This will produce a full 3 groups of 4 wagons in round 3. What do all those numbers mean? I’m not sure, but I guarantee it’ll be a lot of fun! Plethora of Party Wagons continues throughout January, and will be followed up by a single elimination head-to-head bonus tournament! Catch the Plethora of Party Wagons action at: https://www.youtube.com/ playlist?list=PLtiOAjebRCx0cHdxHrmclxgfvUmXTJmk
Tournaments
Sub4ra by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
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n the 2020 ADRC (Adult Diecast Racing Cup) season, each event is split into three parts. In the upcoming 2021 season the main ADRC events and the junior circuit Liquid Ruuush series will be separate tours with separately qualifying fields. While the calendar year has concluded, the NOT THE BEST START – Harry ADRC 2020 season is still Hoon, the presumptive Rookiein full swing, so those new of-the-Year for the ADRC 2020 season, failed to make it to the divisions are still in the second turn during qualifying at future. So, the action at Australia Tasmanian Speedway. Australia Tasmanian Speedway proceeded according to the past pattern: qualifying, followed by the Liquid Ruuush event which doubles as a second chance for those drivers who were closest to qualifying, but didn’t make it into the main event at Australia Tasmanian Speedway. In the past two weeks, the qualifying round and the Liquid Ruuush were held. The main event has yet to air. The JLH Krafts Truck series will also be seeing action on the Down Under track in the not-too-distant future. The track is a new one for the league. It shares the “paperclip” shape of the previous race at Martinsville, but rather than separated lanes, the track is comprised of Magtrack (coroplast), and 3D-printed fat track from beginning to end. Also, the turns go to the right, rather than the left, against the norm of NASCAR style ovals. After watching last month’s Martinsville races one might think that it was the single-lane structure that prevented so many in the field from finishing. However, even with wide open pavement many of the cars handled this course in much the same fashion. Qualifying made it clear that just a select few were going to have a shot at making the field of the main event. Ken Castillo started off the day of qualifying with a 5.771-second time. He wasn’t blazing fast, but given his season-long qualifying ups and downs, it was good to see him cross the finish line. The cars that have the top 20 scores for the season get into the main event by default, which is a good thing for
(SUB4RA cont. on page 21) January 6, 2021 | 19
Tournaments
Redline Derby by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
R
edline Derby Racing hosted two events since our last issue. The first was the final installment of the year-old Redline Derby Racing League, or RLDRL for short. The series traveled from track to track throughout the year with each month’s winners getting points for each race won. So, even if a car only won one race and then lost in the next round, the car scored a point. Each racer had to submit a new car each month, and mods run against stocks (if there are any). Some racers weren’t able to participate in this first event due to the fact that their cars were caught up in December’s postal delays. But those cars were treated to a rumblestyle event that also featured the cars eliminated from the RLDRL event. Coming into the RLDRL December event, Voxxer had already secured enough points that no one could challenge him for the title of 2020 Champion. So, on this occasion, the races were entirely for bragging rights.
Due to the number of cars sent in, the bracket was set up to include a race-in between Penguin (son of Nick Deavers) and Alfred the Canadian. Penguin’s light blue Disney’s Cars vehicle was cute as all get-out as he wiped the floor with Alfred. Spy Dude probably expected that he would get pretty far through the bracket since he came to play in the famously fast Clue Escalade from Johnny Lightning. However, even as a relatively fast stock vehicle, it could not compete with some of the best modders in the sport. RLO moved on to the second round by putting the Clue Caddy away. Most of the first round went as followers of the diecast world would expect. Mattman213, Voxxer, Blueline Racing, G4 Racing, and Nick Deavers all moved on to the second round, as did Penguin with his second win of the night. Penguin immediately had to turn around an face RLO in the second round, wherein he exited the competition
20 | Diecast Racing Report
after many heats in a back and forth battle that had an actual tie at one point. However, RLO eked out a win and advanced. Mattman bumped Blueline out of the show, and Voxxer made G4’s very fast Ford F150 look like it was standing still. Nick Deavers faced Romy Rivera in what could have been a final or semifinal, at least, in any other meeting. However, it wasn’t that far into the tournament that Rivera Racing took out NDR. In a bit of a surprise the overall champion of the season finished this last event in fourth place. The final match featured Mattman213 and Rivera Racing. Boba Fett ruled the racetrack on this day. Mattman213 won the final RLDRL event of 2020. The 2020 Holiday Rumble featured many of the same cars as the previous RLDRL tournament. Two cars were in the mix as well, because they arrived at Redline HQ too late (REDLINE cont. on page 22)
Tournaments (SUB4RA cont. from page 19) them, because most would not have qualified if these runs counted for anything other than starting order. A notable exception is Rusty Nubbins who early on in the day put in a 3.962-second time and temporarily held the pole. A position he would eventually lose to Nero 62. Nero 62 held onto the pole for the remainder of the day, although Kathy Lisa Kim nearly got to him, failing by just .007 of a second. Once the qualifying round was over, the Liquid Ruuush race was up next. This series is made up of the 8 cars that came closest to qualifying. Points are kept for the season, so it is scored as a separate league, but the primary purpose of the races is to advance one of the cars into the main event. And in this particular race, that was especially the idea, because only one of the participants could score points enough to help their team standing in the series. Seven of the cars had not been in the Liquid Ruuush race before. Dave Akers sat on the pole and was set to lead the field of eight into their first lap, but once the gate dropped, Lil Bit pushed ahead. Mayhem ensued as the cars plowed through the first turn, and when the lap came to a close, Lil Bit had been pushed off the track (but remained upright, allowing him to remain in the race), AJ Gray was on his roof, and not one car crossed the finish line. Chris
THE FIRST LAP – Lil Bit of Dirty Deeb Racing edges his way to an early lead in the Liquid Ruuush race at Australia Tasmanian Speedway/
Moskell of Trade Mark Racing was the closest to the end point, so he would lead the field into lap 2. Lil Bit moved from the front row to the back of the pack. And the field was down to seven cars. Dave Akers, from the number two spot decided to keep himself from being passed again, and put a sideways block on the entire field coming down the first straightaway. His Mirada Stocker did a fine job of blocking everyone other than Ryder Knightly who drove his McDonald’s Batman car hard through turn one and flipped over, ending his day prematurely. Akers’s move paid off as he retook the top spot, and the rest of the cars lined up behind him, coming to a rest in turn two. Not a single lap had been completed through lap two, but the field order had done a good amount of shuffling. The good news is that despite the field chalking up complete DNFs in the early laps, only the final lap required a finisher to be official. So, Dave Akers took to the pole again headed into lap 3. The lead changed a handful of times in lap 3. Lil Bit even
moved from last place to the front of the pack for a brief moment, but in the end, only Stella Beans and Bug Assassin finished the lap. The rest of the field lines up in turn two again, with the original polesitter, Dave Akers, now in last place. Lining up for the fourth and final lap, Stella Beans of Dragon Claw Racing (satellite team of Red Pill Racing) was in the best position to join the main ADRC event, and to score points for Dragon Claw. Beans took a page from Akers’s playbook and went sideways in front of everyone, then righted herself to put a sizable distance between herself and everyone else. And yet, she didn’t finish the lap, and as mentioned previously, the final lap of the race must end with a car crossing the finish line. So, what was scheduled to be a 4-lap race, become five. Stella Beans and Bug Assassin reprised their roles on the front row. And with the pressure on, racing got dirty. Stella Beans and Bug Assassin fought hard for the front position, and the fighting got rough. Beans gave Bug Assassin a good knock and he flew off the track, leaving the course wide open for Beans who took a trip across the finish line and won. The right to move on up to the big show.
January 6, 2021 | 21
Tournaments (REDLINE cont. from page 20) to race in the monthly series finale. Now, remembering that Rivera Racing was the runner-up in the RLDRL, having him in the first race seemed to bode ill for the remainder of the line-up. In a Rumble structure, the car that wins the first race is then pitted against the next chanllenger, and just keeps going until he is defeated. One might expect that the second-
best finisher of the month’s main event would start winning in the very first race and keep anyone else from having even a one-race victory. And that is how things went for the first 8 match-ups. Rivera Racing tore through the rest of the drivers like a chainsaw does to tissue paper. But, the many races led to an eventual slowing of Romy’s car, and Scale Racing was able to beat him in two back to back laps, earning the right to move on and take on the
next challenger. Scale Racing stayed o top for one more race, but then ran into Ghostdriver in a silver HW Gov’ner. Ghostdriver was the second to last car in the line-up, so he merely had to win his next race to become the Rumble champ. And, he did beat Golden Owl to take the title. And so the end comes to the RLDRL. 2021 will have a variety of other events to replace the monthly series.
A Diecast Race a Day Keeps Doldrums At Bay By Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
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ost of the online racing that can be consumed on YouTube is produced on a periodic, and often erratic schedule. Some of the more organized sites put out one or two race videos per week. For many, there is a larger and more variable space between each production. But, there are a few leagues that specialize in making sure that there is something to be seen every single day of the week. The pages of this magazine have often held information on Rust Belt Diecast Racing. This Facebook-based community has been growing rapidly ever since Josh Paufler’s first Quarantine 500 event, which grew into daily races at his own track, and then expanded further to daily races hosted by a collection of four hosts throughout the USA’s rust belt states (oddly enough, given the group’s name). The group runs its daily races live on Facebook, as well as special events on the weekend which 22 | Diecast Racing Report
amount to racing 7 day per week. The races are often, but not always, drag strip races run in a head-to-head tournament format. And newcomers are always invited to become part of the action through a random selection of drivers done daily in the Facebook group. Nick Deavers has recently been holding additional daily live races via the Rust Belt group, so there’s more racing there than ever before. Elsewhere, Hot Wheels Calgary posts a single head-to-head video every day. Stock vehicles, often straight out of the package, are pitted against each other on a small, but complex track made from Crash Racers sets. This isn’t how it all started for Hot Wheels Calgary. Aaron Bird used to host daily drag races, too. And he did it before it was mainstream. So, basically, he’s a daily racing hipster! – Just joking, Aaron! – Bird’s daily videos from as far back as March of 2018 are posted on Redline Derby. There was a period of time when
Bird was between tracks, but his recent efforts have been like clock work. While the videos are curated into one thread on Redline Derby, they can also be found directly on the Hot Wheels Calgary YouTube channel. The newest addition to the list of daily live race hosts is Peter Bee Racing. His races are are coming from “The Hive”, and since the new year has begun a new 4-car race has been posted every day. This is refreshingly new content from a channel that has previously specialized in repackaging content from other channels. Peter has been making an impact on the racing scene as a participant. Now, it seems that he’s going to make an impact on the daily hosting scene, as well. A quick visit to Peter Bee’s channel will reveal that his racing videos haven’t garnered the attention that his channel’s reaction videos do. Daily racing may gather a following and get his viewership back up.
On The Track
On The Track: 3DBotMaker By Ali Kidder-Mostrom
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o kick things off for the 3DBotmaker Diecast Racing League 2021 season, a group of vans gathered over the weekend to pay tribute, and to race. It was a beautiful, sunny day at Race Mountain, unlike the day McClyde fell. It was also the first phase of the First Annual McClyde Memorial Race and featured an impressive lineup of vans each designed by Dave Akers customs. Lap one made it look like this battle of the vans might contain surprisingly few spills, as all competitors made it out of turn two and past the straight where McClyde took his tragic fall. TikkiBox, in a red Nissan NV van, took a quick and commanding lead in this one, pulling ahead of the pack. The red Nissan even made it past the finish line before all competitors were out of the final turn. Tyler Witt, in a awkwardly tall silver Mercedes-Benz 307D, pulled in a clean second. Though everyone ended the lap on their wheels, not everyone crossed the finish line. In probably the most impressive move of the entire race, James Thomas – driving a blue Dodge which had flipped coming out of the final turn – got an assist from Mizerlou (in a Herby the Love Bug inspired VW), who put him back on his wheels. Unfortunately, the two vans quickly came to a stop, with the VW Deluxe Microbus’ moment of
kindness sadly costing the pair the necessary momentum to finish the lap. Mizerlou and Tyler Witt started in front for the second lap, and it quickly become of tale of two lanes. The tall Mercedes-Benz pulled ahead, followed by TikkiBox’s Nissan, while in the other lane Mizerlou’s Microbus took a more leisurely path and also held back the blue Dodge Van. It looked like TikkiBox was gunning to pass Tyler Witt and put another lap victory on the board, but the tall beast of a Benz was taking no prisoners and leaving no opening for the smaller van to pass. Then the lap took a more tragic turn as Tyler Witt flipped, blocking TikkiBox. The other two vans had each taken a spill earlier on the track and, so, the quadruple DNF led to a lap two restart.
In that first run, Tyler Witt’s silver beast seemed to lose balance at the wall coming out of the turn and was just unable to recover. It’s the kind of performance you would expect from such a tall vehicle, but thankfully - wasn’t repeated in the restart. Again, Tyler Witt pulled ahead, but this time TikkiBox wasn’t keeping it as close. When the red Nissan took a spill in turn two, he held back the rest of the pack and Tyler Witt was able to cross the finish line uncontested. Lap three started out with each car battling it out to pass and stay in play. When the VW Microbus blocked the tall Mercedes-Benz, it ended badly for both and the lap quickly became a race with two drivers. James Thomas pulled ahead of TikkiBox and pulled off a lap win and his first recorded points.
(3DBotMaker cont. on page 27) January 6, 2021 | 23
On The Track
On The Track: Chaos Canyon By Jim Desaulniers
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ike many channels, the boys at Chaos Canyon took some welldeserved time off. Despite that, we were still treated to a pair of videos. The first, which aired on Christmas Day, featured Stuntman Sam teaming up with Max Havoc & Grandma to reenact the classic train drag race scene from The Fast & the Furious. Sam would play the role of Dom, while Grandma portrayed Brian. Max got to drive the train! In typical
Chaos Canyon fashion, they upped the ante, so be sure to check this one out (and stay till the end for some hilarious outtakes)! On New Year’s Day we were treated to a New Zealand beach visit, where the boys set up some entertaining off-road runs. I particularly enjoyed the music in this one, and it was nice to
be reminded that it’s summertime in that part of the world! Viewers be warned, cars do get wet!
On The Track: Flat Rabbit Racing Club By Ali Kidder-Mostrom
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ecently, to celebrate the Holiday season, a special broadcast aired on the Flat Rabbit Racing Club feed. It seems that some bad actors had taken control of the Nakatomi building. Thankfully, there was a “cowboy” in the tower ready to save the day. From the outside, we could only see the shadows cast on the tower’s glowing windows, but the stand-off 24 | Diecast Racing Report
did end with a bang, when a taxi (driven by Argyle) went flying into the helicopter parked atop the building. To celebrate winning the day, in the only way the Flat Rabbit Racing Club knows how, Glitch and Argyle raced. It was a short lap, with Argyle closing the gap along the way, but not quite catching Glitch before the photo finish.
As the new year approached, a new face drove into New Westrock. Xanthippe rolled up in Murph (a deep blue Ferrari F512M), aiming to topple the giant: current Get Up Stay Up (GUSU) champion, T Lamont. T Lamont’s black ’69 Camaro (Reaper) was ready to go and the two faced off in a quick best of five race. Out of the gate the two cars were a perfect match, emerging from the first building side by side. But, after
On The Track cutting Reaper off just before the first turn, Murph took off like a silver bullet, claiming an easy victory for lap 1. Reaper had a solid lead at the start of lap 2, but the race followed a similar trajectory as the first run, with the blue Ferrari passing the Camaro and then speeding ahead. With two wins in her holster, it looked like Xanthippe would take an easy overall victory; then everything changed. T Lamont claimed the lead early in lap 3 and never let it go. The competitors raced straight through and straight to a T Lamont lap victory. Now with some skin in the game, T Lamont gave it his all and pulled off a similar win for lap 4. So, the battle ground was set for the fifth and final lap, whichever warrior won this lap won the race and GUSU title. Again, T Lamont’s Reaper took an early lead. He then blocked Xanthippe’s attempt to pass and only widened his (now) commanding lead. Until the very last moment when the blue Ferrari
ODIN’S KNOT! – Newcomer Xanthippe gets tangled up behind T Lamont’s blocking maneuver. The Reaper attempts to snare Murph.
showed back up, as if by magic, and caught up to the Camaro mid-jump, to pass and claim the hard-fought victory. It was a photo finish, to be sure.
soldier fell – T Lamont took a tumble fleeing the scene and was picked up by SCAR. Hopefully, he will rise again to fight another day. But for now, Reaper’s grim fate is unknown.
The competitors didn’t seem to have hard feelings, however, as they could next be seen fleeing the Steel Corp Auto Repo (SCAR) and setting some explosives together. In an unfortunate and unexpected turn, a
The SCAR pursuit vehicles chasing Xanthippe, at least, could not catch her as she drove in to claim her carrot (and the title of GUSU Champion) in glittery, new year’s style.
On The Track: I Like Cheese By Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
C
hapman Films gave everyone a lovely Christmas gift by starting the 2021 season of Friday Night Cheese on Christmas Day. In this premier edition of the regular one-on-one customs race
series, an unusual host took to the play-by-play booth. Santa Claus called the action in a jolly manner.
Cooper that once reigned at Race Mountain Speedway as the King of the Mountain back in 2019.
In this first match-up of the season, Nick Deavers returned from his 2020 season-closing win, to defend his place as the reigning Big Cheese. His opponent was Harwood in a cheese-topped Mini
The car formerly know as “Sudden Cheese” is a James Kleman build, but in this race it would be driven by minor Slapout, Oklahoma celebrity Harwood.
January 6, 2021 | 25
On The Track Nick Deaver’s truck was the heavier vehicle, but in two back-to-back laps the little cheddar bedecked Mini made its way to the winner’s circle. There was some mayhem at the finish line when Deavers plowed through the flagman’s stand, and the properly positioned flagman. The result of the race was unaffected, but hearing Santa declare “This is the worst ever” to a chorus of panicked screams was something special to behold. And, in this new season, Harwood is now the first winner and the Big Cheese. Fans of the ILC will remember that the final Baja Track race of 2020 was the final race on that course ever, so the new 2021 ILC season had to debut a new track and track series to replace it. The new series is the Siesta Motel Racing Series, and it has thus far been comprised of two different track layouts, but each contained a danger-changer section or a merge track section on the approach to the finish line. So, a new aspect of this league is the possibility of a DNF as the final result, which proceeded to be the outcome of the first episode. There was no winner, as the two cars collided in the danger-changer and nobody finished. Wolfe74 and Gene Coombs faced off in the inaugural race. Wolfe74 took the first lap in his Impala after Coombs went sideways through the
(ILC cont. on page 27)
26 | Diecast Racing Report
On The Track (3DBotMaker cont. from page 23) Perhaps James Thomas just liked being unencumbered at the start, because in lap four he again cruised to a first-place finish. This placed him atop the competitors and moving on to the next round. It was a well-deserved win, if only for the blue Dodge’s impressive performance passing high to dodge his crashing competitors in turn two. If he can keep up those skills in the next round, he may just be the first McClyde Memorial Race champion. However, the lap four carnage wreaked between Tyler Witt, in the silver Mercedes, and TikkiBox, in the red Nissan, meant that the two once again had to face-off. This time, in a race-off for second place and a second spot moving forward in the competition. It was best two out of three and both vans came to play. The race was close at the start, both competitors were well-matched and demonstrated there was a good
reason for their race-off. But, after the Nissan took a spill in turn two, Tyler Witt kept on his wheels, kept going and passed the finish cleanly, claiming one win. After a lane change, Tyler Witt proved he was determined to take his silver van on to the next level and – in basically a repeat of lap one – pulled ahead and across the finish, leaving TikkiBox in the turn two dust. Against all odds and expectations, the big van proved his mettle. It was a fitting tribute to McClyde and a hopeful start to the New Year.
The First Annual McClyde Memorial Competition continues this upcoming week, when we’ll see four more vans battle it out to join Tyler Witt and James Thomas in the next round.
(ILC cont. from page 26) 180 turn. The second lap saw the cars collide in the merge track, and neither one stayed on the track, nor their wheels. So the race ended in a no-win situation. In the second episode of the ILC Siesta Motel Race Series, John Hanson took to the track in a Honda Prelude. Justin Aboga brought a Ford Focus to compete in his first appearance in an ILC race. A new course layout featured a danger changer after a hilly elevated segment and a 180 turn. After the criss-cross, a sharp left turn took the drivers to the finish line. Unlike the first episode, this edition led to a clear and decisive victory for Justin Aboga. In his first race on the channel, he had a bit of beginner’s
luck. He will be seen in the 2021 finals. In the meantime the track will likely not change for the next race, but it will still see other configurations throughout the season.
Up next for Chapman Films and the ILC: Harwood gets a chance to try to defend his spot at the top of the Friday Night Cheese leaders board this Friday. January 6, 2021 | 27
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