DIECAST RACING REPORT April 8, 2021– Vol. 2 No. 6
Inside: Diecast GT Racing – Ryu Asada Memorial Races – Texture Painting – ADRC Event 10 & More…
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In This Issue
Table of Contents Editor’s Notes News Briefs Calendar Resources
4
QuickTips
7
5 6
Feature
8 7 10
15
Remembering Ryu Asada 8
Contest Tournaments
10
Diecast GT
11
Rust Belt
12
Sub4ra
15
WeRaceDiecast
17
Diecast 64
18
Indiana Diecast Racing
21
OnTheTrack
I Like Cheese
22
3DBotMaker
24
Flat Rabbit Racing Club 26 RTR
27
Monster Motorsports
28
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, DeeZaster Jakk, Christopher (Kit) Kidder-Mostrom, Ali Kidder-Mostrom, Steven King
April 8, 2021 | 3
Editor’s Note
O
ver the last year, I’ve entered a lot of diecast races. Not unlike many others, I saw 3DBotMaker’s races, and I set to building a couple of cars right away. Luckily for me, I got mine in relatively early, so we’ve now seen both of mine race. Tartan Titan was in the first KotM tournament, and The Kraken is in the third KotM tournament. Not bad for my first two cars. After sending those off, I sent a couple of cars to Rust Belt Diecast Racing. I also entered fantasy-style races at Chaos Canyon, Rust Belt, and Jackson Pass. That was all within a few weeks. After gathering up a little confidence, I was still filled with the exuberance of one who had very recently started in the sport. I entered all sorts of races; pretty much every one I could find. I currently have 43 cars out into the wild racing at various tracks. A good number of them have raced in more than one series, as I tweak them and try again with the ones
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that don’t fare as well as I’d hoped at their first stop. Over the past couple of months, I’ve shifted my approach. I no longer send my cars to every race I can find. At first I was really driven to do that. But now I am more selective in what I want to build for. I want to enjoy my builds. I don’t want to feel like I’m under too much pressure to get cars done and in the mail. And most importantly, I don’t like feeling as if I’m missing out on covering something cool because I’ve promised to send two cars out by the day after tomorrow. Much of the joy of putting out this magazine is getting to share the world of diecast racing with each reader. Sure, I enjoy participating in the races, but I don’t want that to take my time away from being able to find a new track, or a new format of race to share with you.
At first I felt that I needed my name, or the name of Diecast Racing Report to be seen everywhere in order to establish the brand.
Kit Kidder-Mostrom Editor-in-Chief
Now, I feel it’s less important to be competing myself, than to tell the stories of those who are competing at a high level, or those who are creating opportunities for other racers, or those who are teaching newer racers the tricks of the trade. You’ll certainly still see Kit Kayem on driver lists, but probably not as often as over the past year. There are quite a few really cool things coming in the next few months that we’ll be talking about here. I can’t wait to tell you about it all!
News in Brief
DRR Named Primary Sponsor of 2021 ADRC As the 2020 season of Sub4ra’s Adult Diecast Racing Cup starts to wind down with only a couple of events left, the start of the 2021 season is expected to take place in June. Primary sponsors for the ADRC and its sister series, the Liquid Ruuush! Racing Series, have been secured. “We’re thrilled to be the primary sponsor of the premier diecast NASCAR racing series,” announced Diecast Racing Report’s editor, Kit Kidder-Mostrom. “The best of the best race on the ADRC circuit, and we are quite happy to have our name associated with the biggest names in diecast racing.” Previously, the two series were linked, in that the Liquid Ruuush! Racing Series was used to determine the final qualifiers for the ADRC’s main events. In the 2021 season, the two series will be wholly autonomous. Team owners had to decide into which circuit they’d be entering their cars. Many entered four cars into one circuit or the other. Some split their allotted four vehicles so that top drivers would be
in the ADRC, while others will appear in the Liquid Ruuush! Series. The primary sponsor of the Liquid Ruuush! Racing Series from 2020 will be returning as the primary sponsor for 2021. Rorring Entertainment is once again bringing the junior circuit to viewers of the Sub4ra channel. The 2020 ADRC was sponsored by 3DBotMaker.
Nero 62 Returns With Video of Vairy 8 Build After a hiatus of over 6 months, famed diecast customizer/restoration artist Nero 62 has returned to the internet. His new video features tampo removal on a Vairy 8, which was modeled after the Chevy Corvair. For those who’ve seen Nero 62’s earlier efforts, you’ll know that in addition to great customizing advice, the videos often contain great background information on a casting’s history, and the background on the real life cars the diecast version is based.
It’s great to see Nero 62 back in action. For those who want to see some of his cars in action, you can check out four of them in Sub4ra’s most recent ADRC race, or on 3DBotMaker’s channel (the entire field of the classic stock cars series were modified by Nero 62 Custom Diecast).
Chaos Canyon Raises Money with Mustangs Chaos Canyon is a busy place these days. The New Zealand-based track has been racing Mustangs in a tournament that is raising money for Hospice New Zealand . The tournament has raised over $250 so far. The Mustang races can be seen on the Chaos Canyon YouTube channel. The field is closed, since racing action is in progress, but donations can still be made at the Hospice New Zealand website. Four rounds of competition have taken place thus far. If you make a donation as part of the tournament, make sure to send a copy of your receipt to Thom “Spanners” Watson on Facebook.
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Calendar
Mail-in Race Deadlines Stock:
weight limit. Entry Fee. More Info: RaceHotWheels.com
The NSH Rally – Deadline for Entry: April 21, 2021. Road Course. Cars can be any standard model, but must be Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Johnny Lightning, of Tomica (other manufactures not allowed). Custom paint allowed, but body must never have been taken apart. Entry Fee. More Info: DCR (DiecastRacerX)
May Mayhem: Builder’s Challenge: Gaslands – Deadline for Entry: May 1, 2021. Drag strip. 60 gram weight limit. Cars must have at least one “weapon”. Entry Fee. More Info: RaceHotWheels.com
th
May the 4 Be With You Race – Deadline for Entry: April 21, 2021. Road Course. 60 gram weight limit. Cars must be Star Wars-based (Star Wars castings, Star Wars paint job, or Star Wars-themed decals). Limit 2 entries per household. More Info: RedlineDerby.com
Ladder Wars – Deadline for Entry: rolling (open submissions). Road Course. 50 gram weight limit. More Info: RedlineDerby.com Friday Night Cheese– Deadline for Entry: rolling (open submissions). Road Course. 150 gram weight limit. More Info: ILC Race Series
May Mayhem: Feature Stock: Lightweights – Deadline for Entry: May 1, 2021. Drag strip. 40 gram weight limit. Entry Fee. More Info: RaceHotWheels.com
King of the 621– Deadline for Entry: rolling (open submissions). Drag strip. 100 gram weight limit. 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. Racing for pink slips. Submissions must be on original card. More Info: Rust Belt Diecast Racing
King of the Crest– Deadline for Entry: rolling (open submissions). Road course. 90 gram weight limit. More Info: TranSport Diecast Racing
Modifieds: City Connection – Deadline for Entry: April 15, 2021. Drag Strip. 57 gram weight limit. All entries must be HW ‘85 Honda City Turbo II casting. Limit 1 entry per household. More Info: RedlineDerby.com May the 4th Be With You Race – Deadline for Entry: April 21, 2021. Road Course. 60 gram weight limit. Cars must be Star Wars-based (Star Wars castings, Star Wars paint job, or Star Wars-themed decals). Limit 2 entries per household. More Info: RedlineDerby.com April Avante Garde Assault – Deadline for Entry: April 30, 2021. Drag Strip. 80 gram weight limit. Cars must be HW Avante Garde casting. Limit 1 car per racer. More Info: Orange Track Outlaws Canyon Outlaws – Deadline for Entry: April 30, 2021. 50 gram weight limit. Cars must be in rat rod style. Photos of finished cars must be submitted on Chaos Canyon website by deadline. Participants will be selected from submitted photos. More Info: ChaosCanyon.online May Mayhem: Modified Street & Open Modified – Deadline for Entry: May 1, 2021. Drag strip. 57 gram 6 | Diecast Racing Report
Resources
Quick Tips
A Touch of Paint: Adding Texture to Your Builds
G
etting started in Gaslands? Adding some decoration to your design? Or just want to stretch your creative muscles? The sky is the limit if you want to add some texture to your track! Just follow these quick tips to learn how. 1. Rust isn’t the only way to age metal. In the video “How To: Paint Old Corroded Steel”, MWG Studios layers on the paint to give a weathered oldmetal look, without any rust. What she does to a figurine would look beautiful on any car! 2. Washes bring rocks to life. Whether building rocks for your scenery or adding a unique texture to
your modded car, washes are a great way to bring out the detail underneath. This quickly becomes clear as The Brush and Boltgun takes you through how to paint stone in the video “How to Paint Stone”. 3. Getting furry isn’t just for costumed characters. If you’re painting a beastly figure or a monster truck, you may want to add fur. But can you really paint fur on a smooth surface? Yes, you can! And Epic Duck Studios shows you how in the video “Painting Fur on Smooth Minis | Texture Tutorials” 4. Add a touch of realism. Want that grocery getter to really stand out? Make your wood paneled station wagon a head above the rest by painting on a realistic wood effect!
The Brush and Boltgun takes us through what to do for this texture too in “How to paint Wood Effects”. 5. Let it Shine! Want your ride to eternally be shiny and chrome? There are tutorials which show how to fake a mirrored look and chrome spray paint fits the bill. However, if you want a true mirror shine (without actually plating your car), artist activist and professor of pigment, Stuart Semple released the mirroriest of mirror paint in 2020. See what he had to say about the new product in “Ready for a liquid mirror paint? We did it!!! The mirroriest mirror chrome paint!”.
April 8, 2021 | 7
Feature
Ryu A O
n March 23, 2021, the diecast world lost one of its driving forces. After a prolonged fight with cancer, Ryu Asada drove off into the sunset at the age of 42.
It’s difficult to sum-up the affect that Asada had on the lives of all diecast racers. Many fans of the sport probably just learned his name for the first time last year when a prototype model of a car he designed was given to 3DBotMaker to race in the DRC. For fans of the channel and the sport, that Lancia Delta Integrale, then still in its raw Zamac form, became synonymous with its creator in much the same way that the Escort Rally #8 became known as Steven King. Ryu Asada was far more than a character in 3D’s videos. Since 2004 he designed many of the castings that have populated the tracks of children, collectors, and racers alike. Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1978, Asada came to America to attend the University of Oregon, where he studied Physics. He furthered his education at ArtCenter College of Design. In 2004, after a short stint designing 1:1 cars for Peugeot in France, Asada returned to America and shifted his focus to 1:64 cars at Mattel. Originally a designer for Matchbox, Ryu was occasionally lent to the Hot Wheels side of the corporation starting in 2009. In 2012 he moved to Hot Wheels permanently, and in 2013 he became the lead designer for the main line $1 cars. Ryu Asada’s legacy at Hot Wheels will partly be defined by the rise in popularity of JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) castings. His affinity for Honda, especially made itself clear in the brand’s recent models. Reportedly, he drove a yellow S2000 to work every day. A photo of Asada as a child (upper left) features the exact car he patterned the
1978 - 2021 8 | Diecast Racing Report
Feature
Asada Hot Wheels Honda City Turbo II after. Ryu’s name will continue on in the diecast community for years to come. Early in his time with Hot Wheels, he designed a new type of wheel, dubbed the RA6 (Ryu Asada Six-Blade, seen above). He also designed the Ryura LX (bottom left, opposite), a luxury model that bears his name. Ryu Asada is survived by his wife, Hazel Diaz. He will be missed by hundreds of thousands of fans of his work.
Remembering Ryu on the Race Track • My Hot Wheels Collection hosted a “Tribute to Ryu Asada” race featuring eight Honda S2000s. • Redline Derby Racing is hosting a tournament of Honda City Turbo IIs, entitled “City Connection” and dedicated to the memory of Ryu Asada. • Wallside Diecast Racing is currently holding “The Asada Cup”. Group Stage rounds 1 & 2 have posted to date. • WCDC - World Cup of Diecast Cars is hosting a 64 car tournament entitled the “Ryu Asada Memorial”. The field is not yet full and will soon be calling for entries. • 3DBotMaker has two series in which Ryu Asada can be seen as a driver. His original appearance in the 2020 DRC Delta Integrale prototype, and the current 2021 DRC Event 1, in the finished white version of the same casting.
April 8, 2021 | 9
Contest
Contest for Artist’s Diecast Coloring Book Cover Art
Y
ou’ve seen his artwork. It has become a mainstay in the diecast racing community. Glenn Harding’s drawings of cars and league logos have appeared on Facebook groups, on Tshirts, 3DBotMaker videos, and the cover of this magazine. Normally, Harding’s work has been seen in full color, but his next major project will be simply black and white. Harding is releasing a coloring book filled with pages of his automotive art. It will now be up to you to add color to this renderings in your own signature style. And Harding is hoping that you’ll get in gear and start your coloring even before his book is launched. That’s because he’s holding a coloring contest. One lucky winner will have their coloring featured on the cover of the book. The contest was announced last month on Harding’s Facebook Group, but it is open to anyone of any age. How to enter: 1.
Click on the picture to the right.
2. When the full-sized picture loads on your screen, print it. 3. Color to your heart’s content. Make the picture special. 4. Take a photo or make a scan of your finished work. 5.
Post that picture to this discussion thread on Facebook.
6.
Cross your fingers! Good luck!
There is no hard deadline for this contest, so you’ll want to act fast. Glenn wants to see a whole lot of entries, so you can print them off for your friends, your kids, whomever! Just get them entered quickly, because the book comes out soon, and it needs a cover! 10 | Diecast Racing Report
Tournaments
Diecast GT by Ali Kidder-Mostrom
In 2021 here at Diecast Racing Report, we’re shining the spotlight on some lesserknown (or at least lesserfollowed) 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. This month’s featured track is Diecast GT. (https:// www.youtube.com/channel/ UCmS5YTibqK_THSknJmy4w Eg)
D
iecast GT is very new on the scene – only producing videos for about a month now, but they are putting out a lot of content and quickly gaining subscribers.
against one another in a four lap face-off. It was a battle of the blue cars, with only the Nissan Skyline S2000 GT standing out in gold. The race started off well for Japan, taking first and third. In lap two, the Shelby GT500 made a comeback for America; it took off in an impressive way and was the only car to finish – with the rest of the competitors piling up in the first turn. Japan responded with another great performance in lap three – swapping places, but again finishing first and third. On the American side, the Chevelle was repeatedly left behind, recording a DNF for laps two through four, and finishing with a disappointing 3 points overall. The Shelby, on the other hand, put up a good fight(and was the points leader going into lap four).
In a more traditional style, two weeks ago, “The Bet” aired. This race was a one-off race culmination of the (3DBotMaker mimic) two main characters’ earlier argument about which is better: Japanese or American muscle cars.
However, Japan was taking no prisoners and put up a first and second place finish for the final lap. Amazingly, when the points were tallied, Ron Elliot in the Nissan and Harper Penn in the Shelby were tied at 10 points and there was nothing left to do but a race off!
The race pitted four muscle cars – a Toyota Silva, ’64 Chevelle, Nissan S2000 GT, and Shelby GT500
Both cars seemed evenly matched out of
Since our last issue, they’ve held a one-off race and have begun their first tournament: Diecast Muscle Car Mania. They also posted two test drives, which highlight Diecast GT’s unique style: showing off cars not only on the track, but also in reels of video-game generated B-roll.
the gate, but then the Nissan pulled ahead and left the Mustang in its dust. Having landed on top, the Japanese muscle cars earned their own category in the Diecast Muscle Car Mania Tournament. This tournament will be four manufacturer-themed weeks of racing action. The first stage of the tournament series aired this weekend, starting with Chevy. Walt Lund brought an orange Corvette C7 Z06 to race, Stone Botterill came in a green 2012 Camaro ZL1 and Timothy Hirschel showed up in a classic, white ’86 Monte Carlo SS. Finally, standing out from the Chevy crowd, was Damon Barnett in a purple Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
April 8, 2021 | 11
Tournaments From the start of lap one, the Corvette led the pack and seemed set to win, but then Timothy Hirschel’s Monte Carlo pulled off an impressive pass in the curve and took the first lap win. Walt Lund followed close behind, though Stone Botterill nearly passed him right at the finish. The second lap was also full of order swaps. However, the manufacturer stand-alone Trans Am managed to maintain a lead and take first for the lap. The Monte Carlo, having again passed the competition, took second and the other two muscle cars stalled out just before the finish. For a bit of a half-time break, the Outlaw Pass was also hosting a car show of Hot Wheels favorites. In lap three, Timothy Hirschel’s white Chevy had a surprisingly slow start and finally flipped, recording a DNF (and opening up the point standing for other competitors). On the other side of things, the purple Pontiac once again gave a solid performance and tallied yet another lap win. With the points leaders starting in the back row, it was anybody’s race at the start of lap four.
Stone Botterill once again showed that his green Camaro had what it takes to pass the competition and, this time, managed to convert that burst of power into a lap win. All cars finished and added points to their tally. Leaving the Chevy (and Pontiac) race, Damon Barnett was able to eek out a win for the week (with 10 points) and his Monte Carlo and Camaro competitors tied for second, with 9. Having started the competition at the front of the pack, Walt Lund’s Corvette had a disappointing (but close) finish at the back, with 8 points. Between the main racing events, Diecast GT aired test drive videos – a feature of the channel that stands out from others. Both recent videos featured Lamborghinis. First, they showed off the
We’d love to hear from you! To nominate a track for consideration, just drop a line to comments@dicastracingreport.com. The rules are simple: 1) the channel must have fewer than 500 subscribers 2) they must have some sort of demonstrated commitment to putting out content 3) it should be fun! Rule #3 is really Rule #1. Recommend whichever track makes you smile: narrative-style videos or just straight-up racing, new to the scene or a long-time track, high production quality or keeping it simple, drag strip or fat track or something else. Each month we’ll pick from the nominated tracks to bring you something new!
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Lamborghini Urus, taking it a little bit off road at the Outlaw Pass and then putting it through all the paces in both digital footage and closely followed track footage. Finally, we got to see all the up close and personal features of the beautiful yellow sports car. Most recently, the Lamborghini Huracan LP 620 got the same test drive treatment, running on both the Outlaw Pass track and through exotic (digital) locations. This channel is great for fans of: – Getting in on something new – Machanimation and video game graphics – The 3DBotMaker style of banter – Traditional downhill road courses
Tournaments
Rust Belt Diecast Racing by Jim Desaulniers
Rocket Dragway Another week has passed at Rocket Dragway with excellent crashes and history being made! "Cupcake" Josh Paufler broke the long-standing 6consecutive win record set by “High Octane" Chey Wheeler by grabbing win 7 on Friday night! During his record setting streak, Cupcake raced to a 15-3 record, never dropping more than one heat to a single racer. Also, the new format saw a nightly shootout. Following Monday's usual MOPAR or No Car race, we saw 16 GM, Ford, Fantasy, and Foreign models battle for supremacy. The week ended in a 2-win tie between the GM and the Fantasy cars. "Triple B" Barry Porter took a victory in the race off against a tough challenger in the Shadow Jet piloted by Jim Desaulniers.
Sunday Pinks The top 10 times following Easter Sunday Pinks 1. Mustang Boss 302 (black) 3.306 2. Camaro “Fire Chief” (red) 3.327 3. Custom Mustang “Art Series” (orange) 3.349 4. FF Monte Carlo (beige) 3.412 5. Monte Racer (grey) 3.412 6. Honda Prelude (yellow) 3.413 7. Mazda Pickup (zamac) 3.413
8. BMW Sport GT (white) 3.456 9. Corvette “Security” (yellow) 3.477 10. 1968 Mercury Cougar (orange) 3.477 11. Morris Mini “Mr. Bean” (neon green) 3.477 The track record continues to be held by Ryan in the yellow Shadow Jet at 3.241s.
Micro Mods & Friday Night Food Fights It was Anniversary Week at Rust Belt as they celebrated 365 consecutive days of live daily diecast racing in their Facebook group. In their first year, Rust Belt ran an estimated 800 races! They celebrated with themed nights at the Sky Drop, the original track where live racing began March 15, 2020. The RB team finished the week with the debut of Friday Night Food Fights Season 2 and the premiere of their custom Micro Machines series, Micro Mods. At the Sky Drop, rookie racer Shawn DeLong ran the table and took the weekly championship,
losing only once along the way and tying the track record for most consecutive podium wins.
Tecumseh Proving Grounds Rust Belt added another new track to their weekly rotation called the Tecumseh Proving Grounds, with some classic “drag track on the garage wall” competition run by the one and only Nick Deavers. In typical Rust Belt fashion, the races were run a little differently, with both a morning and evening group. Derek Riepe in a Jaguar I-Pace and Daniel Mercado in a Lancia Delta took wins on several days, only to be unseated at the end of the week by a pair of dragsters driven by Wheeler & McMain.
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Tournaments
Sub4ra by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
T
he Adult Diecast Racing Cup is back after a brief hiatus with the tenth event of the 2020 season. While it is now 2021, there is still some unfinished business when if comes to the ADRC. The year-long season delayed some of its events due to the pandemic, but the racing schedule is back in swing, and all events will be held. So, the 2020 season proceeds hence. The ADRC main event at the Pocono Straight featured six segments of six drivers, and while the course was completely straight-forward, the day’s racing was replete with twists and turns. The track was set up with a twoabreast starting grid, which opened on to a straight length of MagTrack that was over three cars wide. No turns, just a straight shot the whole length of the track. Normally a lot of the chaos in a NASCAR- style race occurs in the corners. The cars slow, and they trajectories change. If a good knockabout is going to occur, it’s in the corners where we expect it. But, that’s not the case at the Pocono Straight. Would there be any DNFs on this day? What would it take for a major crash, an “El Wrecko”? Karlee K took the pole in qualifying last month, and she led the field to the starting gate. In the #911, Karlee K was in one of many Frank Klinebuilt cars to take to the track in this event. Both Red Pill Racing and its sister team, Dragon Claw, were set to put some points on the board as Kline’s group has dominated the 14 | Diecast Racing Report
2020 season to date. In the first segment, it rapidly became clear that rough contact would be the name of the game at Pocono. And, we’re not talking love taps and drafting. If this were a hockey game, there would be hip checks aplenty. Karlee K wasn’t satisfied just smacking into her competitors. From the get-go she would take advantage of her superior speed and put her front end directly in front of her closest rival, while her tail end swung out to block whomever might be trying to move up through the
field. It was an effective strategy, until it suddenly wasn’t. Laps one and two consisted of Karlee K drift-blocking (that’s my new term for it) Harry Hoon all the way down the track. Hoon couldn’t pass, and even managed to push Karlee across the finish line on lap two. An often effective gambit when
Tournaments playing psychological games is to establish a pattern of behavior and then abandon it completely to throw off the opponent. Karlee K is clearly not new at this game, as her third lap was merely a straight stroll down the track, uninhibited by others, and not taking the time to hinder their paths, either. She zipped to an easy lap victory. The plan for the final lap was clearly to go back to the tried and true, but Jason had moved up to the front of the pack, and he wasn’t having any of Karlee K’s drift-blocking. He pushed back and the two cars knocked against each other the whole way down the track. In the end, Jason was able to eke out a win, and to move on to the Main Event. The drift-blocking strategy was effective when it was applied, and other drivers clearly took note. In Segment Two, Nero 62’s Golden Girl battled Cowboy Bill of Southern Most Graphite for every inch of lap one. Ken Castillo, the current ADRC points leader, was a bit further back in this group, but he was determined to have a productive day, and he started to employ Karlee K’s methods. Unfortunately for Castillo, jackknifing and blocking
the cars behind you only helps if you’re in the lead. Laps two and three ended with Golden Girl crossing the line first, and a significant part of the field blocked by Castillo, removing them all from contention. The second segment was all Golden Girl’s after she smashed into the side of Cowboy Bill and took off for her destination in a classic Bump and Run move. Segment three featured two Superbirds. Green Parrot held the group pole for Southern Most Graphite, and Rusty Nubbins (Dave Akers Customs) held the final spot in the group, functioning as the second Superbird bookend in Segment three. Of note in this segment, was the presence of Frank Kline in the Red Pill 33 car. Kline surged in the second half of the 2019 series and took the championship. This season’s arc has gone much the same for Kline. Although he was starting fifth out of six, moving to the front of the pack was his priority, so that he could keep climbing the season standings. It wasn’t to be, however. Kline did make a dramatic move into second on the first lap, but then took a trip to the back of the pack and stayed there for the rest of the race. Segment three was a battle April 8, 2021 | 15
Tournaments between Green Parrot and Dr. Paul of John, Jake, and Katie Racing. Dr. Paul has recently had some success in the ADRC, and it looked as if his good luck would continue at Pocono as he dashed to the front when Green Parrot tied up most of the field behind him. Green Parrot was not going to repeat what seemed like a bad move on the following laps, though. The Garish green number 5 car made its way back to the front of the pack, and the Southern Most Graphite driver didn’t let go of the first position again, securing his place in the Main Event. Nero 62’s Glitter Girl tried to do the Karlee K and Golden Girl move to block a few others, but that just made life easier for Geoff Bodine, who rapidly ascended through the field and took the first lap. Determined to have a more positive impact on the next lap, Glitter girl again tried to take a sharp right in front of her rivals, but managed to become airborne, spinning around atop both Maxilla and Bodine. The Sit-and-Spin tactics managed to work, and Glitter Girl, while not touching the ground, crossed the finish line in first place. Making a return to drift-blocking, Glitter Girl backed up most of the field in lap three, and then made her
move to take the lap. Brian Kelly made a dash around the pack at the last moment, but it was too little too late. He finished the lap in fifth. The final lap was a head to head battle between Maxilla (Red Pill Racing) and Glitter Girl. Maxilla edged her at the line, and he moves on to the Main Event. Despite her death defying antics, Glitter Girl was relegated to the Seconds race. The fifth of the six six-car segments featured Nero 62, and B. Finn of Red Pill Racing. The two teams had been having a busy day thus far. But, while making Segment Five exciting, neither driver could keep Po’ Boy Racing’s Bama McCall from advancing to the Main Event. Segment Five was also notable for the day’s one and only “El Wrecko”. In lap three, Irish Kevin (Southern Most Graphite … another very active team on the day) launched himself off the left edge of the track in what seemed to be a mostly unassisted error on his part. McCall advanced to the Main Event, and B. Finn moved over the the Seconds race. The final segment was dominated by the shenanigans of Padookie (Tune Trax Racing) who couldn’t keep his vehicle under control. In the first lap he was spinning like a blender blade, whipping the field into a mass of
mayhem, allowing the 2020 ADRC series sponsor, 3DBotMaker to move into the lead from the middle of the pack. Padookie continued through the remaining laps doing his best Tom Cruise impression, hitting everything other than the pace car. But his recklessness may have been a bit of genius, because nobody was prepared for him to just zip straight ahead to claim lap four and the segment title. Padookie moved on to the Main Event. One last leg of the tournament had to be held before the Main Event. The Seconds race is a two-lap run-off between the six cars that placed second in their segments. Karlee K and Glitter Girl had some physical altercations down the track on the first last, which opened the door for Bobby Labonte to move into first place. Doubling down on her earlier driftblocking strategy, Karlee K spun out in a maneuver that brought the entire field to a crippling halt. Somehow, only one car managed to struggle free from the carnage, and puttered to a painfully slow finish. Glitter Girl was the only driver to complete the second lap. She was clutching at straws, but she managed to grasp just enough wisps to earn her way back into the Main Event. The seven cars that were competing for the top spot in this event lined up for the Main Event, and it was set to be a great race. Nero 62 had two cars in the remaining field, and among the seven competitors, they were the only two to have prior ADRC winning experience. Glitter Girl and Golden Girl were trying to add an additional notch to their belts. The others were trying for their first taste of victory.
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Tournaments Golden Girl had established herself as a hardcore basher in her segment earlier in the day, but it seems that her drift-blocking moves were more a result of a steady pull to the right, rather than strategy. Nevertheless, it still seemed to work for her. After hip checking Green Parrot, and subsequently slowing the entire field, she separated herself from the
crowd and zoomed to a first lap victory. Not to be outdone, Green Parrot flew toward the finish line on lap two. Golden Girl had to rely on sheer speed and determination to catch up, which she did at the very last moment, claiming the win again.
part saw him turning the tables on Golden Girl when he attempted to bash her out of the way, but in doing so, he ricocheted off and opened the door wide for Bama McCall and Glitter Girl to pass them by. Bama McCall took the win on lap four, and made his first appearance atop the ADRC podium.
A shift in strategy on Green Parrot’s
We Race Diecast by DeeZaster Jakk
I
t’s a new season with all new tournaments at We Race Diecast.
Builder Wars In this new tournament four builders faced off, each with four builds of the same casting. For the first installment of Builder Wars, Nick Deavers of NDRacing, Thomas Filipiak of FPD Racing, his cousin Keith Filipiak of Flip Racing, and BIG Romy Rivera of Rivera Racing would all take a crack at their "versions" of the Zoom In casting. The starting four groups comprised of one cast per builder, and they met on the 621, with the two winners advancing until only one builder was left. Group one was a pretty tight group and fast group, but Thomas and Keith stepped up their game, and advanced to the semi-finals. Group two wasn't as tight as Keith set out to try and get a flawless run as he dominated three of the four races to have his second casting advance to the next round. Thomas would join his cousin in advancing on, and now the pressure was on Deavers and Romy. In group three Romy didn't back off any to tie for second and force a three race "run-off" against Thomas, but Thomas' build had the speed to
advance on for the third time in a row with Keith. Big Romy's diligence paid off in group four as he found a spot in the finals with Keith, and although the mighty Nick Deavers’ colorful castings didn't see the semi-finals, they were the unique castings of this Builders Wars. In semi-final round one, odds were 50/50 between Keith and Thomas, and by the end each of the cousins would have one of their castings advance to the final four. Other than Keith having a three race "runoff" against himself, he and Thomas would each go into the final round to see who was the better builder. Thomas started the finals strong, winning the first two races, but Keith wasn't out, and came back in the last two races to clinch the victory, claim the title as Builder Wars’ first champion, and some personal family bragging rights.
King of the 621 With this final race before a break from Kot621, and Builder Wars in mid swing, it wasn't strange to see some of the competitors from Builder Wars and other track veterans on
the track to take a crack at the crown. The field soon took shape as Flip of Flips Racing, aka Keith Filipiak, ran a flawless heat and claimed a solid first place along with Thomas Henry of FPD Racing and RLo of R-Lo Racing to move on to the Kings Round. Current four time king Eli Storm wasn't about to lay down and give the crown away, but half way through the round Flip jumped ahead of Storm in points. Storm made a move in race three to get a win, but in the end the red hot focus of Flip tasted the ultimate victory and claimed the crown, now giving Flips Racing a King of the 621 title to go with the Builder Wars Champion title.
PICKS 4 PINKS!! After the new modifications to the There and Back Track, WeRace April 8, 2021 | 17
Tournaments announced another new tournament and called out to drivers for a Picks for Pinks Race, six drivers picked their ride and the winner gets all six cars! In the inaugural tournament, Jordan B, Mr. Darq, Grey Wizard, Leafar 12, Alex Payne and Scoupe ran six races for points, and a chance to pick up six new, fresh rides! From the first race it was clear that the new jump in the final straight, was gonna provide an additional challenge to a solid victory. After three races the difficulty of the jump was shown as the leader board shifted as Jordan B fell to second under Scoupe. Race after race the leader board shifted and moved around until in the end Mr. Draq had climbed back up to tie Scoupe and force a "sudden death"
best two of three, for the whole gumball. In race one Scoupe shot straight out the gate and Mr. Darq had a hard time catching up. In race two Scoupe once again flew out to a lead, but this time Mr. Darq didn't let him walk
away, and mid way through the corner, Scoupe was being pressed to hold the lead. Coming out of the corner, Scoupe almost got off track, but managed to correct and keep the car on the track, and in front of Mr. Dark to claim the best of three, and win all six new cars!
Diecast 64 by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
Unlike past years, 2021 brings a new schedule of races at Diecast 64. Traditionally, the races were held every month. Now, it’s an everyother-month thing. Which makes it a big deal when the races come around. March was the month for event two of this year’s racing, and plenty of
competitors sent their cars to Utah to be a part of the action. Races took place in four categories and on two tracks. Two of the races are standards that repeat with each event: Modified Street and Modified Open. There’s also a regular stock race, although the theme of the stock competition changes with each event. March was an “open” month, meaning anything was allowed on the track so long as it fit within parameters. The fourth race changes each event. The category is always the “Builders Challenge”, but what that entails can be just about anything. This month it was entitled the Drag ‘n’
18 | Diecast Racing Report
Fly, and it was on a specially designed track. More on that in a bit, when we get to coverage specifically of that race. When covering Diecast 64, it becomes difficult to do any sort of direct analysis, largely because of the sheer number of heats. In the Feature Stock: Open races there were 49 heats. There were 41 trips taken down the four-lane track during the Modified Street races. A mere 32 heats made up the Open Modified contest. And the entire Drag ‘N’ Fly bracket was comprised of head-to-head races of over 40 cars in a single-elimination format in which a car had to win two consecutive laps to officially beat its opponent. Basically, what I’m saying here is that I won’t hit you with play-byplay of this event. The racing itself is far better to watch, than to read
Tournaments about. Instead, I will mention a few things of note about each race category, and perhaps mention some statistical novelties along the way.
Feature Stock: Open As mentioned previous, there were 49 heats of four-lane action in the Feature Stock division. It was great to see how many people submitted cars outside the regular favorites (i.e. Frontrunnin’ Fairmonts, Mirada Stockers, and ‘08 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions)
important to note that while the participants in this category had to be stock, they didn’t have to be new. Nor, for that matter did they have to be devoid of years’ worth of graphite layered on the axles. These are clearly two storied cars, and they added to their accomplishments by taking the tournament 1-2. One quick observation here: it is often said that Hot Wheels are by default faster than the Matchbox cars, but with three of the top ten
Rez Wheels entered the event with a Hersheybranded Probe Funnycar, the model that dominated the Birdco 1000 on New Years Day only a couple of months back. Granted, that was in a non-lubricated state, but that event is a pretty good pedigree on its own. Matt Allen (Mattman 213) submitted a black Johnny Lightning Camaro, a car often listed as one of the fastest out there, despite its unspectacular showing at 3DBotMaker last year. In the end, the top ten vehicles on the stock circuit were three Mirada Stockers, three Frontrunnin’ Fairmonts, one Johnny Lightning Camaro, and three Matchbox cars with Starburst and/or Laser Wheels. The top two cars came out of home track teams, G-Force Racing and 9.81 Racing (the name of which is a reference to the amount of acceleration an object gets from gravity – G-Force – when falling … 9.81 meters per second per second). Both top finishers were well-loved Frontrunnin’ Fairmonts. It is
car team consisting of a classic VW Beetle, and a “new” VW Beetle. They didn’t fare well compared to the faster builds, but they were fun to see in the competition. The top ten of this division was heavily made up of the aforementioned Evos, F-150s, and Fairmonts, although among the top performers, only the Fairmont made a showing. The top four cars on the day were two Jaguar XJ220s (a model that did really well this past fall in the 2020 Diecast Games), a Fairmont, and a Matchbox Ferrari 308 GTB. Mattman 213’s Ferrari showed its stylish Pioneer livery while zipping along at 415.97 scale miles per hour, posting a track time of 2.3078 seconds in his win.
Open Modified being pretty much even with the historically fastest Hot Wheels models, new racers may be wise to keep an eye out for Matchbox cars of the era that featured Laser Wheels and Starburst Wheels (1985-1989). The Datsun 280 Z was the fastest of that brand on this day.
Modified Street The rules of the Modified Street category allow for those of us who prefer to race cars that look like cars. They have to have four wheels that touch the track, and they have to look like a production model vehicle. The 41 heats were filled with Evos, F-150s, and Fairmonts. So many of each of those models! Before we talk results, I want to give a shout-out to Wyngmaster who submitted a two
The somewhat smaller division of Open Modified is mostly for builders to try new techniques to achieve as much speed as possible. Here bearing wheels are allowed, as are non-realistic chassis/body combos, and well, pretty much anything that fits within the parameters. This is the division that most often sees cars that look like aerodynamic bricks with large wheels, sort of akin to pinewood derby cars. It’s the arena where the Voxxer-style build makes its home. And, while he’s the style’s pioneer, no fewer than six builders submitted at least one car that was sculpted upon a Zoom-In chassis in the style we’ve all come to know so well. Three of the top ten finishers were April 8, 2021 | 19
Tournaments not Voxxer-style racers. A Rally Cat, a Honda, and a Hot Wheels T-Bird Stocker held their own in a fleet full of wide, flat speedsters. In fact, G-Force Racing cracked the top four with the T-Bird. Posting an impressive time of 2.3157 seconds. Second and third places were taken by Voxxer. The fast of his two cars posted a time of 2.3094 seconds. The first place finisher was from 9.81 Racing in a car that was not dissimilar to the concept of a Voxxer-style car, but seemed to veer into a building styles that used more flat surfaces, a base of indeterminate origin, and could potentially be a mostly, or completely, custom build from the ground up. Whatever the car started out as, it finished in first place.
Builder’s Challenge: Drag’n’Fly Yeehaw! Them Duke boys of Hazzard County have inspired a race. I imagine that they’ve inspired quite a few races over the last few decades, but the race that we’re talking about here is a two-lane drag strip that hits a pretty major jump partway down the track. On the other side of that jump is a Fat Track straightaway that progresses into a funnel-style finish line. This was another wide-open field when considering makes and models. There were quite a few Voxxer-style racers, as well as quite a few cars bedecked with the Confederate Battle Flag. Surprisingly, there was only one 1969 Dodge Charger in the entire field, and that was made by Ken Olsen who did paint his Charger orange, but didn’t put the Battle Flag on top. 20 | Diecast Racing Report
Instead he opted for the actual “Stars and Bars” national flag of the Confederacy. Going into the event, one might have expected that an awful lot of cars were going to flip onto their lids after one 1-foot long jump. And many did exactly that. In fact, a running tally of cars gone topsyturvy found 26 occurrences of upside-down-ness. A few fun entries: ATL R&D went with a Mario Kart-themed team. Luigi and the Red Shy Guy drove their Karts with style, if not speed or effectiveness. Two teams entered a Dukes-themed car and a cop car as its mate. 9.81 Racing did so, and MakersBox’s Charger was paired with a cop car that had his signature working lights. R-Lo sent in a pair of rally cars, including the famous Steven King #8 Ford Escort Rally.
(Voxxer-Style Racer) against a regular car, but there were so many of the low-slung Zoom-in cars that I was compelled to note how many times that type of car won a matchup. Twenty-eight times a head-tohead match-up went to a VSR car. Only one VSR car flipped and was unable to complete a time down the track. Another did flip, but was able to keep rolling in its upside-down posture. That car, submitted by Thunder!!!, held its own until it came up against JAC’s gray Zoom-inbased car, which also eventually went on to win the entire event. Up Next for Diecast 64 is the May Mayhem races. We’ll have a lot more about that in our next issue, when we feature Gaslands-themed races.
Not every match pitted a VSR
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Tournaments
Indiana Diecast Racing by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
A
t last count, Jim D of Indiana Diecast Racing had over 150 cars to race in what very well may be the largest single event (measured by number of cars involved) to hit the diecast racing YouTube-iverse (term coined by Xanthippe). The Sock Hop Slam is going to be something big. Indiana Diecast Racing’s Tricky Triangle track is only capable of racing four cars at a time, and Jim posts two groups per video. Even taking into account the breakneck pace that he’s currently cranking out videos, it’ll be 2033 before the event has concluded (not really, that’s hyperbole… mostly).
The one Hot Wheels in the group was a 57 Plymouth Fury. That didn’t bode well for Hot Wheels in this leg of the tournament. The Fury is notoriously bad on open road courses due to its narrow wheel base and its covered rear wheels. In the end, group one was won by a Johnny Lightning Corvette Nomad, who tied a 58 Plymouth Belvedere (also a Johnny Lightning casting). Group 2 was handily dominated by Daddy G in a ‘57 Chevy (post-1984 casting with the 8-cylinder through the hood). Group 3 featured the tournament’s first pickup truck entry, driven by Stephanie. Daddy G was back in a
‘57 Chevy, though this time it’s hood was unblemished by an engine block. This group was cursed with multiple DNFs, although no lap had a quadruple DNF, so there were always some first place points being scored, if no others. One car, a ridiculously jacked up Corvette (possibly a 56?) proved too awkward for the track and failed to finish a single lap. Matchbox made its first appearance in Group 4, although not as an entire vehicle. In the reverse of what most people do, Elliott put Matchbox wheels on a Hot Wheels casting. Granted, they were Laser Wheels, so
(SOCK HOP cont. on page 30)
Since we last reported on IDR’s activities, there have been seven racing videos (nine, if you count the ones released just as this magazine is going to press!). It’s a daunting task to cover 16 fourcar groups, but I’ll do my best. Really, I’ll do my best to sum it all up. The rules were simple for submitting to this contest. The cars had to be from the 1950s. A few close-enough exceptions were made for cars of the late 40s that were ubiquitous during the 50s, such as the Ford Shoebox. The cars were also supposed to be limited to American cars of that era, but it does seem that at least one or two European vehicles made it into the field. There are a lot of classic castings to choose from, and not just by Hot Wheels and Matchbox. In fact, the first group of racers included three Johnny Lightning castings, including two ‘54 Corvette Nomads. April 8, 2021 | 21
Tournaments
On The Track: I Like Cheese By Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
F
or those who have been following the Siesta Motel Racing Series on the Chapman Films YouTube Channel, the variety of tracks and events has to be one of the most appealing parts of this year’s ILC Championship series. Race 4 was a three heat event that took place in the latter half of March. Each heat was head-to-head with the winners of heats one and two going up against each other in heat three. Just as in the previous month’s Siesta Motel Racing Series event, this month’s heats were preceded by a pre-show race. This month, 2D and 3D stopped by from 3DBotMaker. In their first appearance prior to heat one, the Ds each got in the car that made Crazy Jimmy famous, the Pontiac Fiero. 2D was behind the wheel of a reasonable replica of the yellow car
that Jimmy drove in his first appearance on Race Mountain. It even had a Ferrari-style horse applique adhered to the hood. 3D took to the streets in a more traditionally decorated white Fiero. The one-and-done race was close up to the danger changer, but 3D’s superior behind-the-wheel skills made themselves evident, not only by his trouncing of 2D by the end of the race, but also in his ability to stop his car on a dime. He parked his front wheels on the center of the finish line and waited to see if 2D would make an appearance. He didn’t. 2D was stranded in the final turn. The track’s configuration was similar to one of the earlier series of races, but it was now longer, with more Fat Track at the end. The cars still plummet to an over-under exchange, then zip around a divided lane 180degree turn to the left. After that is the danger-changer, which leads into the fat track, open-laned segment which takes a sharp right 90 degrees into a short straight, then a 180-degree banked turn into a final short straightaway. Like the pre-show race, the first heat of Race 4 was a one-and-done setup. It would serve
22 | Diecast Racing Report
as a showdown between the reigning champion of the Drag Racing series, Mike Patterson in the car that made him great, the gray Honda Prelude. His opponent was Adysin Tanner, the first female driver to take to the ILC tracks in quite some time. Adysin’s ride was the Silver ‘65 Mustang Fastback with FTE wheels. Patterson had his work cut out for him. After all, he’d made it clear that his Honda could burn rubber and go really fast in a straight line for a short distance, but could it keep up with the casting that was the 2019 overall champion over at 3DBotMaker? Simply put… no. No, he couldn’t. Adysin was ahead by two car lengths by the time they reached the danger changer, and then she opened up the throttle and left Mike in the dust. At one point a 1:64 scale football field would have easily fit between the two cars. Clearly Adysin was moving on to Heat 3, while the Patterson’s winning days came to an abrupt end. Heat two was a big event even before the racing started. Dawn Cheddar was introduced as the new broadcast partner of Chapman Films. Dawn’s clipped and stilted delivery was surely due to nerves, as there is no way she could be a computer generated voice, right? Nevertheless, Dawn brought a sense of civility to the broadcast, although
On The Track that might just be the result of her British accent.
booth.
The guys from 3DBotMaker were back again for another pre-show race. And this time viewers were treated to some of the classic 3DBotMaker banter between the guys.
The race set-up was the same as before: one-anddone. Not surprisingly, the car that was King of last year’s DRC trounced the white Fiero, although 3D did stop that car on a dime again, just to show off for the fans. Sadly, at that moment, 2D backed into the Fiero, and breaking glass was heard.
2D brought Steven King’s car to the races this time, sure that it would beat 3D who was again in the Fiero in which he won their first match.
Once the collision’s detritus was cleared away, the racing could get going. Which Honda would reign supreme?
Susan joined Dawn and Chapman Films briefly in what had to be an ever-increasingly crowded broadcast
Kevin’s Prelude made quick work of the CRX. This race was never really a contest. So, in race three it was set
Dawn got the party started on the second day of race four by introducing the drivers. Kevin Fairbarin found himself in the driver’s seat of a yellow Honda Prelude, while Chris Smith was driving a white Honda CRX.
to be the Mustang against another Prelude. Could Adysin occlude another prelude from winning at the Siesta Motel track? The fellas from 3DBotMaker were back for one last pre-show race, and in this video, 3D brought out one of the cars he gifted to the ILC back in the day, a Honda Civic Type R. It is a lovely car in stark white with black orange/red 3D decals on it.
April 8, 2021 | 23
On The Track 2D was still in Steven King’s Escort Rally. The heat was called by Dawn and Chapman Films together, and the tension in the booth was palpable. What kind of tension? I can’t say. The cars met up in the danger changer and they collided with enough force that one car flew off the track, and the other was on its roof. 2D emerged first from his vehicle, but given his post-crash babble, he
may have sustained a head injury. Anyway… on to the racing! Heat 3 of Race 4 would send its winner to the end of the year ILC Championship race. Adysin Tanner had the inside lane, and Kevin Fairbairn the outside lane. The two cars were pretty evenly matched through the first turn. So closely matched, in fact, that they collided in the danger changer. The Mustang flew so far from their
collision that it landed next to the Siesta Motel swimming pool. For those unfamiliar with the ILC rules, a double DNF by way of the Danger Changer, results in a “No Winner” being declared. There’s no resetting for another go-’round. It’s just done. So, nobody advanced to the finals, and it was all for naught. When will another car get to move on to the year-end finals? Maybe next time, fans…maybe next time.
On The Track: 3DBotMaker By Ali Kidder-Mostrom
A
fter a slow (see what I did there) start to the DRC, part two of the qualifiers was anything but. “Superman” Steven King kicked things off with a solid, if unimpressive run. He also knocked over a second off his time from the first half. When Angi Stigg pulled out a pace-setting 15.884 second run, it looked like she was set to move forward in the top four, but things just kept speeding up from there. Ryu Asada and Dylan both pulled off a crazy (Jimmy) stunt and ran down the rally track backwards. Ryu Asada’s time was enough to qualify him for the championship (at 15.604), but it was Dylan who wowed the crowd – pulling off not only a reverse big air, but also an amazing 14.520 time.
their famous Ford Escorts), Angi Stig and Crazy Jimmy all fell to the bottom half of the pack. Which left Dylan, Ryu Asada and rookie drivers Pedro Penduko and Bobby Roberts to move on in this rally championship race.
In the end, fan favorite familiar faces Steven King and Kid DuKnott (in
We didn’t know at the time that Ryu Asada wouldn’t be with us any longer in real life, so it was a bit of a
24 | Diecast Racing Report
joy to see his Lancia Delta Integrale make its paces around the rally track. Event 1 Round 1 began with Ryu Asada facing off against top qualifier Dylan (in a yellow Lancer Evo). In lap one, Dylan decided to stick with what works and again took to the track in reverse. Ryu Asada couldn’t finish the first lap, but came
On The Track back in the second, though after his yellow competitor. Up next, was a round of rookie Porsche drivers, seeing Bobby Roberts in a yellow Porsche 914 Safari pitted against Pedro Penduko’s Porsche 911 Rally. The cars were neck and neck, until Pedro Panduko flipped after the first checkpoint and let Bobby Roberts take off uncontested. In the second lap, the drivers again started off close, but this time it was the Porsche 911 that pulled away and finished nearly a second ahead of Bobby Roberts. Pedro Panduko’s time was a record for the round, but his competitor Bobby Roberts had the most impressive jump of the day. Once all the bonus points were tallied, Ryu Asada sat at the bottom with 6 points, a tough position to try to come back from moving into
future rounds. In round two it was the battle of experience vs. rookies, beginning with a Ryu Asada and Bobby Roberts match-up. Perhaps he was trying to show that he still had what it takes, but olddog Ryu Asada ran away from the Porsche-driving pup, in a run that shows experience can lead to a smooth (and fast) run. Lap two was much the same, leading Ryu Asada to put up two wins into the standings. Dylan and Pedro Penduko raced next. The first lap didn’t go so well for the yellow Evo, when Dylan flipped over and allowed Pedro Penduko to run away. Dylan came back with a vengeance in the second lap, however, flying through the turns and, finally, flying through the air in a gymnastic final jump which took out the DRC bus. All this while setting a new track record 13.274 second time. Dylan came out of the qualifiers on top and, after round two, he once again stood head and shoulders above the rest. It’s hardly newsworthy to say
that that yellow Evo is the one to watch out for. Especially if you are a heavy vehicle parked on the sidelines. The last two weeks also saw two (very different) qualifying races for King of the Mountain. Race 11 was a American muscle vs JDM face-off and race 12 was a battle of the vans. Anthony Woodley’s Nissan took off from the start and had a solid performance throughout, but this race was really a tale of one car. Throughout race 11, Dee Dee (a Nissan Skyline H/T 200-GT-X by Big Al’s Customs) was clearly the fastest car on the track. Unfortunately, she also had handling that was all over the place. Providentially, perhaps, a side-swipe from competitor Tanner Williams at the end of lap two must have knocked something back into alignment, because Dee Dee ran straight for the remaining three laps and easily ran away with the qualifying spot for KoTM. If Dee Dee was the winner, American muscle was the loser, with Brandon Padgett’s blue Fort GT and Tanner Williams’ Chevy Camaro each finishing in single digits - well behind their JDM counterparts. It’s hard to watch vans head down Race Mountain without thinking of McClyde (race in peace). It was April 8, 2021 | 25
On The Track therefore a bit of a nail-biter to watch four vans face off for the most recent KoTM qualifier. Racing were Jake in an orange Chevy, Ian McKlosky in a meteorological Super Van, Pickle Rick in a green Super Van and MCgee in a Honda Odyssey. MCgee had a solid performance throughout, taking wins in the first and third lap. He did so well, in fact, that he went into lap five with a full 5 point lead. Ian McKlosky, despite his off-road tires and a number of close calls at the perilous edge where McClyde
fell, had lady luck on his side and managed to tie MCgee (after a major crash led to two vans impounded and MCgee with a disappoint 0 point final lap). So, it was a tie-breaker race between MCgee and McKlosky. This was a close race at the start… and then things got weird. McKlosky’s Thunderwind once again nearly took a dive off the cliff, but – instead – it was MCgee’s van which ended up crashing (in the final turn), so it was
Ian McKlosky who drove away (in reverse) with the win.
On The Track: Flat Rabbit Racing Club By Ali Kidder-Mostrom
W
e recently got our first peak inside the Burrow at Flat Rabbit Racing Club (FRRC) HQ. From the original rabbit hole, there is now a whole new stretch of underground racetrack, leading to the familiar FRRC gate.
To give the new track a test, Glitch and Knuckles faced off in a best out of five race, where the stakes were who would be paying for pizza. Glitch was racing in a shiny, new green Plymouth Superbird against Knuckles’ much less shiny Jack Hammer. However, it was Knuckles who started things off with some flashy moves (and a lap one win). Glitch managed to overtake the competition in lap two and tie it up, all while placing a… unique pizza order. Thankfully, his taste in cars is less questionable than his taste in pizza.
26 | Diecast Racing Report
The pair continued to swap victories and paint for laps three and four. Though Knuckles did his best to overtake Glitch, in one fourth lap maneuver he ended up landing right on the bright green spoiler of Glitch’s Superbird rather than jumping over the competitor. So, it all came down to lap five. The cars were neck and neck out of the gate, until Knuckles took a lead in the first turn. It looked like Knuckles had it in the bag, but Glitch put pedal to the metal going into the Burrow and ended up sideby-side with Knuckles once again. However, Knuckles clearly wanted the win (and the free pizza) so he cut the FRRC leader off and rolled his way right over the finish line.
On The Track Unfortunately, the new underground digs of our friendly neighborhood rabbits was a bit too much for the Pinks pizza delivery driver to handle. And so, Pinks needs to find a new driver. 16 familiar faces from the world of diecast racing have heeded the call. Between that job listing and a recent call for truck drivers, it seems like New Westrock has some exciting new action ahead.
On The Track: RTR Diecast Racing League By DeeZaster Jakk
T
he second part of the Special Deluxe Edition of the Grudgefest kicked off with the two losing Dodge Chargers from part 1. Rubber Tow was reppin’ the fan favorite team Hot Wheels, in a white 2015 Dodge Charger SRT, while Jason Paul, in his green 2018 Dodge Charger, was driving for team Matchbox. From the start Jason Paul dominated the first race to claim a victory, while Rubber tow seemed to have some issues with his not-so hot SRT. Race two was much the same, as Paul jumped out to an early lead and Rubber Tow just couldn't catch up, giving Matchbox the victory. The second "round" saw the victors of part 1 take to Mayes Mountain. In the first race Johnny Boost, in his red 2015 Charger R/T, jumped out to a quick lead and DJ, in his blue 2018 Dodge Charger, just couldn't find a
way to catch him. In the second race, DJ got the lead, and held it to send it to sudden death. In a turn of events, as Boost had spun around during the second race, "lost control" coming over the jump at the finish line and rammed the DSPN booth at the finish line claiming three lives. The writers and staff at DRR send out their deepest condolences to the families of the "fallen" at Mayes Mountain Motor Speedway. Unfazed by his finish of the second race, Boost got the lead over DJ in the first corner and maintained control to take the victory for team Hot Wheels. In the last race of the Special Deluxe Grudgefest Johnny Boost would face off against Jason Paul. In race one Paul had the jump out of the gate,
but the speed of Boost's red hot R/T was able to overtake Paul and gain the lead through turn one. Boost held on for the win. In race two, Boost flew outta the starting gates and didn't look back. Jason Paul gave it his best, but in the end his stock Dodge Charger was no match for the speed of Boost's R/T. Along with the announcement of the Nissan Tournament coming to Mayes Mountain, RTR decided to have the Sunday Night Grudgefest feature NissanZ's. Team Hot Wheel sent a beautiful yellow Nissan 370 Z, while team Matchbox was being April 8, 2021 | 27
On The Track represented by white hot Nissan 350 Z. In race one the white Matchbox Z barely got in front of its yellow competitor going through the first turn, and held on to claim the win. The second race seemed like the Hot Wheels Z might have gotten a good jump out of the gate, but the white Matchbox quickly made its way to the lead before entering turn one, and hit the gas to claim the Grudgefest victory of the Dominating Team Matchbox. RTR decided to hold a very special, and very unusual, 1/87 scale NASCAR Tournament. 16 different NASCAR cars were brought to Mayes Mountain, volunteer drivers were assigned cars and randomly paired in a head to head, best of three races, tournament. Group one would have Phil Fury against John Receveur, and due to John spinning out in turn one of race one, Phil was able to make a clean pass for a clean win. Once again John had issues in this smaller scale getting hung up and losing traction off the start and once again Phil got by John to win the second race, allowing the grey number one of Phil Fury to move on to the nextround.
In race one of Group 2 Darell Alexander popped off the starting blocks to get the lead over Enoch El and hold on to get the win. In the second race Alexander wasn't so hot at the start but managed to keep up with El though turn one until El jumped out to a lead before turn two, moving towards a fast victory, stopping only for the finish line. El and Alexander were neck and neck going into turn one, in the third race, but El slid in front of Alexander heading right past the finish this time, headed straight for the next round. Glenn Harding and Bolo Brown were matched up in group three, and in race one both drivers got an even start out of the gate, and were evenly matched going into turn one, but Brown got progressively faster, Harding seemed to be slowing, even stopping short of the finish. Brown's sweet victory was capped with a "burn out" style spin at the finish line. Bolo Brown blew out the gate and left Glenn Harding in the rear view mirror, looking only towards
the win, and that next round. In the last match of the night Robert Wolff and Crazy Canuck, in group 4, lined up for race one. Canuck got crazy and went high in turn one to move around Wolff for the lead and continued by blocking Wolff's attempts to pass in turn two, holding out for the win. Wolff shot out to the lead in the second race, coming out of the first turn Wolff lost control and his car began to barrel roll down the track, but Wolf skillfully recovered to maintain the lead going into turn two. Canuck caught Wolf mid turn two, and Wolff began to spin letting Canuck to gain the lead and capture his spot in the next round. As this tiny scale NASCAR Tournament continues, look for some really big action to come.
On The Track: Monster Motorsports By Ali Kidder-Mostrom
T
he second destination of the Diecast International Racing Series (DIRS) was full of new
28 | Diecast Racing Report
dangers for the group of 32 racers from around the world. That’s right, Pacific Rim Speedway was crawling with monsters.
Group 1 was made up of a group of high-scorers from the first DIRS race. Though for this leg, Piggy 2 Lil’ stepped in to race for Monster Motorsports (since Rubber Tow was
On The Track in the announcer’s booth). Home field advantage seemed clear for the pretty purple pig. Not only did this guest driver represent the host track in solid points earning (gathering 11), she also set a new track record time of 9.850 in lap three. Unfortunately, lap four wasn’t as auspicious as the others for the home team. The new track record was quickly lost to an amazing 9.744 run by Oliver James (out of Transport Diecast Racing). And, when Piggy 2 Lil’ recorded fourth place for the lap, it meant that Monster Motorsports fell slightly in the overall DIRS standings. This was a group of impressive competitors, but it was Eli Storm who walked away with the win for the group. At a whopping two wins and 15 points, he goes to RTR (and leg three of the DIRS) right at the top of the pack. Unfortunately for Sneaky Bob, every group has a loser and this time he was it. After one DNF and three rather disappointing runs, he earned only four points and fell (far) from grace.
Myke Maze was the stand out for Group 2. He had an amazing first three laps, including some acrobatic maneuvers in lap three to avoid a collision with Mary Death and still go on to a first place finish. Some impressive driving (and blocking) by Crazy Canuck in lap four was the only thing that kept him from a perfect run. That said, it was still enough for him to win the group race and go from 10th to first in the overall standings (headed to his home track). Doc came into Group 3 as the favorite, having landed on top of the leaderboard in the DIRS first leg. However, the monstrous mountain at Pacific Rim Speedway took its toll on this driver out of Reagaroo Racing. He did have a noteworthy first lap run, when he went a good distance down the track… on his roof. “On his roof” should really have been the motto for the group, because rooftop maneuvers quickly overshadowed the racing. In lap two, “The Big Romy” was born, when the trick’s namesake went through the turn performing a 360 degree roof spin on a competitor’s
car before landing on his wheels and going on to win the lap. This one has to be seen to be believed. Sadly, Group 4 seemed to be put together of also-rans. Though some big names in diecast racing overall, they did not come out of Transport very highly and their performance at Monster Motorsports could do little to improve the situation. At the end of things, Chips Maghee, Fractal Panda and Todd Owen all held the dubious honor of being in the bottom five of DIRS standings. Nick Deavers (who won two laps and walked away with 13 points) was higher than the rest of his group; he goes into leg three of the DIRS journey as the last driver in the top half of competitors (with 21 cumulative points). If there was ever doubt, Group 5 proved that each destination of the DIRS can really shake up the standings. Wobbly Bob came to Monster Motorsports only one point behind standings leader (and fellow group member) Erik Slan. However, after four laps of action-packed racing he only earned 5 points at the Rim and fell far in the DIRS standings, to the bottom half of competitors. This, after falling off the track (and trying to take some buildings with him)… it wasn’t a good day to be Wobbly Bob. April 8, 2021 | 29
On The Track Meanwhile, Lily the Dog and Josh Paufler each put in four solid laps and climbed through the rankings. However, it was Erik Slan who won the group and kept his place among the DIRS’ best competitors. Seeing how Paufler’s rockets had set fire to a local auto shop may have helped inspire Slan to pull ahead of the pack (and away from the rockets). New Westrock racer, Glitch, kept things interesting for Group 6. It may be due to the bullet damage his car sustained at some point before joining the DIRS, but for the first two laps out of the gate, Glitch’s handling was a bit loose. In lap three Glitch and Daddy G had probably the closest true photo finish of this DIRS leg. However, it was Daddy G who pulled out the win, by a bumper. Daddy G has been making a name for himself in the diecast community and will definitely be one to watch for the rest of this series. Both Daddy G and Glitch ended the day in the DIRS overall top 10. However, lap three wasn’t the only place Daddy G edged out the rabbit racer – winning the group (with 16
(SOCK HOP cont. from page 21) it wasn’t a bad idea on his part. Another pickup truck was in this group, as well as a the first of the European cars, and an Anglia Panel Truck, driven by Josh Miller. Artemis Lancaster’s Ford truck had a rough time, and that is the second group that saw trucks have difficulties. After Elliott claimed the group win, DJ, in a Chevy Nomad, and Miller in his Anglia had a headto-head run-off to take the other advancing spot. Rightly, the American car won its spot in the tournament in honor of the American 30 | Diecast Racing Report
points) means that Daddy G hopped over Glitch in the overall standings as well (posting 26 points to Glitch’s 24). Could this be a rivalry in the making? Dom Woodley – thanks to a final lap DNF by Mopar Mac – came from behind to take the win for Group 7 (at 12 points). This puts him in a great position (7th) moving on to RTR. He was followed closely by both Gnocchi Jack and Mopar Mac (each with 11). You would think that the worst of Iron Man’s luck would be ending the race upside down and under a kaiju, but it was actually walking away from this round of the DIRS only putting 6 points on the board (bringing him up to a cumulative 15 points for the tournament). Though, in a recent video posted at RTR, he is listed as coming in with 20 points, so there seems to be some discrepancy in points reporting from track to
track. Hopefully, this can be rectified before the tournament proceeds further. Group 8 was full of middle of the pack racers who seemed to want to share the love. Clutch, Paladin and Flip each took a turn winning a lap (and 5 points). By all rights lap four should have belonged to Khei, but instead the group’s DNF-free streak ended with a crash by Khei in lap four and Flip winning the lap. Khei’s three competitors left the race tied with 12 points apiece, this worked to raise Clutch (who came to Monster Motorsports with only 5 points) from the bottom five in standings and placed Paladin at an impressive 5th place overall.
cars of the 1950s. In group five a 55 Corvette, a 55 Chevy, and a 56 Thunderbird were joined by the tournament’s second British car, an Austin Healey. The T-Bird was a Matchbox casting. Griffin Cross led all comers in his 1955 Chevy. Despite being decided largely due to DNFs in the middle laps, this group was notable for having two laps with all four cars
crossing the finish line. Group six was the first to feature a fantasy casting. Dribbly Bob submitted a HW Lead Sled, which looks like it might belong in the Batman Animated Series. The car was only made by Hot Wheels in
Tournaments refreshing change.
1999, and distributed by McDonalds. It was a surprising entry in this tournament. The other cars were two ‘57 T-Birds, and a Corvette. Dribbly Bob’s fuchsia Lead Sled won the group, while R-Lo’s 57 T-Bird with Decepticon decals and hogged front wheel wells, came in second. Group seven saw two 57 Chevys as well as a Big Air Bel-Air (a jacked up 55 Chevy), and a ‘57 Chrysler 300 (for which I couldn’t find any manufacturer information). This was a particularly bad group full of DNFs. But, in the end, two of the cars had to move on. Dawn took yet another ‘57 Chevy on to the next round. And, surprisingly, the the top-heavy Big-Air car moved on, too. Group eight went a little anachronistic with a Neet Streeter, which is a model based on a 1936 Ford Coupe, driven by Fast Frank. A ‘59 Bel Air, a ‘57 T-Bird, and another truck, driven by Randal Ferocious. Sadly, the truck followed the pattern of all non-cars in this tourney. It didn’t post a single point. The 1930’s hot rod won the group, and the Plymouth was able to move on because the other two vehicles were just plain terrible. A Chevy Nomad, a ‘57 Chevy, a ‘57 TBird, and a ‘59 Cadillac made group nine a group of all American, nonfantasy cars from the 1950s for a
In a round that had a couple of the bigger names in diecast racing represented, it’s not a huge surprise that Daddy G (‘57 Chevy) and Nick Deavers (‘59 Cadillac) moved on to round two. Three Chevys (‘57.’55. And Nomad) were joined by the tournament’s first Hudson Hornet in group 10. Some of these cars apparently wanted to grow up to be airplanes, because they kept launching themselves off the track. Maureen took the group win with a perfect score of 16. Her red, white, and blue faded paint job looked pretty snazzy on all her winning laps. Terrie of Poverty hollow managed to move on despite her multiple trips to the carpet well below the Tricky Triangle. It took all the way until group 11 for there to be a completely Chevy group. This groups was a ‘55, a ‘57, a Nomad, and a ‘55 Gasser making it technically three ‘55s and a ‘57. Gassers don’t often do well on road courses due to odd weight distribution, and this one was no different. Not a point was scored, nor a lap finished by the Chevy with a lifted front end. The Nomad with a Decepticon motif, however, would move on, as would the ‘57 Chevy. Those two being the only cars to taste victory at the end of a lap. Group 12 consisted of regular heavyhitters, Nick Deavers, Ken Olsen (MakersBox), and Crazy Canuck.
Lady May in her black Chevy Nomad was a bit of a wild card going into the round. On the first lap, Lady May was the only finisher as the big names all failed to finish. And, although Nick Deavers and Crazy Canuck each won a lap, Lady May put the boys down one by one and came out on top. Crazy Canuck’s Shoebox did well enough to advance as well. Group 13 was all about fins of varied heights. A ‘55 Chevy, two ‘57s and a ‘57 T-Bird were on display. As they have proven themselves through most of the tournament, the two ‘57 Chevys took the group’s top spots and moved on to round two. A bit of a novelty showed up in the form of a ‘57 Ford Fairlane in group 14. The first of a number of 8 Crate (1955 Ford Ranch Wagon) castings in the tournament also made its debut in the group. A ‘57 Chevy and a ‘56 Chevy Truck rounded out the group. The Ford Fairlane, an M2 casting with Hot Wheels gold lace wheels, took the group title. Despite a lot of sloppy driving, Cherry Doubt, the 8 Crate made the two advancing cars in this group both Fords. Groups fifteen through eighteen were on videos that were released publicly after our deadline for this issue. They will be covered in the next issue. Due to our inability to give more space to this epic set of races, it really does behoove the reader to make an effort to check out all of the races, as well as the four-part auto show featuring the scores of cars that were submitted to this tournament. Here’s the link to the Sock Hop Slam playlist.
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