steve deiters cincinnati
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Let's get started with the coverage of this terrific event. Jay and I left Atlanta about 4:00 pm on Thursday (Jay continued to illustrate why I call him "the late Jay Guard"; we had hoped to get out of town by 2:30 or so... LOL!), which put into Columbus about 2:00 am Friday morning. Since Tom Thumb was opening Friday at 10:00 am, we did get a decent amount of shut-eye. We got to the track few minutes after 10:00, and there were already a fair number of racers already tweaking, testing, and tuning. It was immediately clear that the quality of retro racers showing up for this event is, if anything, exceeding the high standard set at the Sano. We'll start with some pictures of the racers in attendance.
If you were an official American Model Raceways franchisee, you got one of these emblems. It's made of vacuum-formed plastic with a masonite back. Mike has 4 of them! But when's the last time you saw one on the
wall at a raceway? And did it look this good? Too cool...
By Greg “Cheater” Wells Reporter At and Perceived to Be Large
Here's the original blue AMR King, resurfaced once. I thought it raced without flaw, but then I wasn't very fast. Some termed it a bit quirky, but if so, I didn't see it.
The guy in the deadman sure looks like Les Wright (Cedric) of Wright Way Products. One of the nicest guys in all of slot racing, as he proved to Jay Guard this weekend by using my pit and tools to dismantle Jay's power supply
to confirm the LED display is bad. He's sending Jay a new unit to replace the defective display.
The Rogue’s Gallery – Almost Everyone Tried but just didn’t get everyone
Garry Haworth, Noblesville, IN.
Jay Guard, Anniston, AL
Bill Fulmer, Canton, OH
Bill "BillyBob" Newland, Indianapolis, IN
Bob Oaks, Wauconda, IL
Front to back, Butch Dunaway, Oxford, OH;
Dennis Samson, Irvine, CA; and Joe “Noose” Neumeister, Denville, NJ.
Jack Beers, Hanover Park, IL
Ray Price, Rolling Meadows, IL in front, Basil Michael of Des Plaines, IL, in the rear.
Ken Green, Greenwood, IN.
Lou Cicconi, Aston, PA.
Malcolm Lovelace, South Vienna, OH.
Ron Hanson, Somonauk, IL.
Bob Kurkowski, Parma, OH.
Matt Bruce, Summerdale, NJ.
Dustin Morris, Birdsboro, PA.
Definitely not one of the rogues, this is the lovely Sharon Bruce, team-owner for Matt Bruce. LOL!!
Steve Deiters, former Car Model writer back in
the day.
Jay Kisling, who looks very pleased, probably thinking about something he snuck by the tech
inspectors.
Mike McMasters, owner of Tom Thumb
Hobbies. I asked Mike to smile when I was taking this picture, and he said, "I am smiling!"
Eric Balicki
Josh Crutchfield
Gary Echelbarger
Jason Echelbarger
Larry Mattingly
Paul "Pablo" Wolcott, sporting facial hair grown
especially for the R4. Mike Patterson
Dave Reed. This is the third of three attempts to take Dave's pic; the first two he closed his eyes at the exact moment I clicked the button. So I
said, "I'll snap this one on a count of three" and then clicked it on "two". Looks like he was
already closing his eyes; I shoulda clicked on "one"...
Rob Voska
Vince Del Viscio
Shannon Tewell, who only raced Flexi GT after I
had departed.
Who let this reprobate in the door?!?!?!
Greg “Cheater” Wells
“The Pits” Let's take a stroll in the pits. I'm always interested in seeing the various slot box designs and pit spaces. Most of these pit spaces and boxes are way too neat (how do these guys ever get any work done?), which is why you won't be seeing a pic of my messy workspace. Now I don't recall whose pits these are all, but we can figure some of them out pretty easily.
This is obviously Matt Bruce's pit... since that's
Matt in the picture.
And this is Brian McPherson's retro pit box.
Probably Ron Hershman's pit, but maybe not;
he has a lot of acolytes...
The helpful Jay Guard in his pit, kindly mounting my GT Coupe body so's I have time to hang
with the big dogs and bench race...
Not sure, but I think this is Bob Oaks pit. Or a
reasonable facsimile thereof.
Can't remember whose pit this is, but I'll
probably be able to tell when I get to the Can-Am pics.
Jack Beer's pit IIRC, and if I'm wrong please let
me know.
The bodies tell me this is Jim Bostrom's pit.
And this one's Ken Swanson's pit. Too bad he's not Matt Bruce's size, as he coulda saved some money on a hotel room and just slept in his pit boxes. But wait, maybe he has another use for
a hotel room...
And here's why Ken Swanson needed a hotel
room: for an after-hours pit, not for sleep... This snap was taken about 1:15 AM and I'm told Ken
didn't quit working for more than three hours.
Building a chassis at the hotel the night before the race: now that's serious RETRO!!!
Special Awards Time!
To honor the memory of R. H. "Mac" McMasters, the original owner of Tom Thumb Hobbies, an annual "Mac" Award has been created to recognize person(s) who have contributed to the growth of the IRRA and/or Retro
racing. This award will be presented each year at the annual R4 race at Tom Thumb Hobbies.
The IRRA is pleased and proud to recognize Dennis Samson as the 2008 (and first) recipent of the annual "Mac" Award for his many contributions to our growing segment of the 1/24 slot racing hobby.
Dennis is one of the key figures in the promotion of retro racing and in the creation and operation of the IRRA. Without Dennis's enthusiasm, assistance, and sage advice, it is unlikely that the IRRA would exist today. He is
active in the IRRA management as a board member, and is well-known as one of the hobby's premier builders of great-handling retro chassis. He is also a top-tier retro racer, and a contender in concours at every event he
enters.
Dennis holds the 2008 Mac plaque he gets to keep and Mike McMasters displays the perpertual Mac Award plaque, which will be inscribed with each winner's name and hang in a place of honor at Tom Thumb. In the background is Steve Deiters, who presented this award to Dennis on the IRRA's behalf.
Tech Time!
Paul "Pablo" Wolcott trying to sneak something past the vigilant tech inspectors, while Rob Hanson either looks on or awaits his turn under the microscope. Dunno what it says when the main tech guy needs glasses AND a
light to see... Joe "Noose" Neumeister on the left and Dennis "The Colorado Cowboy" Samson on the right under the hat.
Race Time!
First up was Concours For the GT Coupe Class, it was:
1st Place - Joe “ Noose” Neumeister
2nd Place – Jack Beers
3rd Place – Dennis Samson
By lucky happenstance, we have 32 entries for GT Coupe,
which means a tidy four full mains.
Race director Lou Cicconi moved the show along so quickly that I couldn't get too many pre-race driver line-ups, but that is NOT a complaint! That's Ken Green marshalling the chute.
GT Coupe, Combined Results
1) Ron Hershman - 270 laps
2) Matt Bruce - 267 3) Dave Fiedler - 265* 4) Jay Kisling - 265*
5) Rande Marshall - 263 6) Bob Kurkowski - 259
7) Josh Crutchfield - 258 8) Ken Green - 253
9) Rob Hanson - 252 10) Butch Dunaway - 251
11) Bob Oaks - 246* 12) Joe Neumeister - 246*
13) Greg Wells - 246* 14) Mike Patterson - 245
15) Paul "Pablo" Wolcott - 244 16) Ray Price - 240
17) Jim Bostrum - 238 18) Malcolm Lovelace - 236
19) Basil Michael - 235 20) Larry Mattingly - 233* 21) Dennis Samson - 233* 22) Rick Bennardo - 232
23) Jay Guard - 228 24) Jack Beers - 227*
25) Brian McPherson - 227* 26) Garry Haworth - 226
27) Dave Reed - 225 28) Bill "BillyBob" Newland - 216
29) Bill Fulmer - 185 30) Lou Cicconi - 177
31) Ken Swanson - 114 32) Vince Del Viscio - 19
* Sections were not recorded; finishing positions were determined by markers placed on the track wall.
As da Chicago boys say, da winners o' da GT Coupe race, l-to-r: Bruce, Hershman, Fiedler. Wonder if they're having fun?
Warmack chassis kit built by Rande "RPM" Marshall, oilite bushings. Pro Slot 4002B motor. ARP 7t pinion, Parma 27 T crown (shoulda used a 28t), JK Fronts, JK Big Daddy natural rears. O/S Chevron B16 body. 121.4 grams.
Ron's First Place car
Matt's Second place car
Dave's Third Place car
Now it's time for F1 and we have twenty-nine (29) entries for the class, including some of the nicest open wheel slot cars seen in many a year. Pics will be posted later, so make sure to check 'em out after I find the time to post them. As an aside, I wonder when the last F1 race that attracted 29 entries was held? Not for many years, I'm betting. The results of concours judging were Dennis Samson in first place, Joe Neumeister in second, and Jack Beers in third. (Note: All Noose painted bodies!)
!st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
F1, Combined Results
1) Jay Kisling - 266 laps 2) Ron Hershman - 260 3) Dave Fiedler - 260 4) Matt Bruce - 257
5) Bob Kurkowski - 257 6) Ken Green - 253
7) Rande Marshall - 253 8) Dennis Samson - 251
9) Rob Voska - 250 10) Joe Neumeister - 244
11) Jack Beers - 241 12) Jay Guard - 240
13) Butch Dunaway - 232 14) Malcolm Lovelace - 229 15) Brian McPherson - 228
16) Ray Price - 228 17) Jason Echelbarger - 225
18) Paul Wolcott - 221 19) Larry Mattingly - 218
20) Vince Del Viscio - 217 21) Bill Fulmer - 207
22) Basil Michael - 206 23) Bill Newland - 205
24) Gary Echelbarger - 204 25) Dustin Morris - 193
26) Rick Bennardo - 118 27) Lou Cicconi - 87 28) Bob Oaks - 80
29) Ken Swanson - 74
l-to-r, Hershman, Kisling, Fiedler
It's Sunday and that means Retro Can-Am, IRRA's premier class. A total of 34 entries have made their way
through the excellent and efficient tech inspection conducted by Dennis Samson and Joe Neumeister, with some guy taking pictures with his Brownie camera.
Here's an overall shot of the most impressive group of scratchbuilt Can-Ams I've ever seen:
As trying to include all the Can-Ams in a single shot doesn't give much detail, here are some shots giving more detail:
Concours was won by, who else?, Joe "Noose" Neumeister, with second place going to Ray Price (L) and third to Ken Swanson.
Retro Can-Am, Combined Results 1) Matt Bruce - 273 2) Ron Hershman - 271 3) Jay Kisling - 269 4) Mike McMasters - 269 5) Dustin Morris - 267 6) Dave Fiedler - 266 7) Josh Crutchfield - 264 8) Jay Guard - 263 9) Ken Green - 263 10) Rande Marshall - 261 11) Greg Wells - 260 12) Rob Hanson - 258 13) Ken Swanson - 255 14) Garry Haworth - 253 15) Bob Oaks - 248 16) Malcolm Lovelace - 247 17) Jack Beers - 247 18) Paul Wolcott - 246 19) Butch Dunaway - 246 20) Dennis Samson - 245 21) Larry Mattingly - 245 22) Joe Neumeister - 243 23) Rick Bennardo - 239 24) Ray Price - 238 25) Eric Balicki - 234 26) Vince Del Viscio - 229 27) Bill Fulmer - 214 28) Bill Newland - 213 29) Jim Bostrom - 206 30) Mike Patterson - 200 31) Dave Reed - 161 32) Gary Echelbarger - 160 33) Jason Echelbarger - 120 34) Basil Michael - 12
Flexi GT Concours winners for Flexi GT were 1st Place - Ken Swanson, 2nd Place - Joe Neumeister and ???? in third. (If the third place winner will identify himself, I'll add his name here.) 1) Dave Fielder - 287 laps 2) Dustin Morris - 278 3) Ken Swanson - 273 4) Rande Marshall - 268 5) Shannon Tewell - 263 6) Jason Blackburn - 262 7) Paul Wolcott - 258 8) Malcolm Lovelace - 253 9) Jessica McMasters - 246 10) Mike Patterson - 237 11) Joe Neumeister - 233 12) Eric Balicki - 183 13) Bob Oaks - 176 14) Garry Haworth - 173 15) Jason Vicars - 168 16) Ron Hershman – 79
l-to-r, Hershman, Bruce, Kisling
L-to-R, Ken Swnason, Dave Fiedler, Dustin Morris
Dave Fiedler's First Place car
Dustin Morris's Second Place car
Ken Swanson's Third Place car
Sure looks like the JK Cheetah 11 chassis is now the chassis of choice, for a King track at least.
I was pretty impressed with Tom Thumb's inventory for slot cars, as it clearly isn't their main business (yet... heheheh). They had Warmack nosepieces by themselves for $24.95 (IIRC), a terrific idea. I could only find some Koford flux brushes to buy, but that's because I made Jay give me a pair of Kelly tires I used for both Coupe and Can-Am.
Cindy and Kyle Snyder (Jessica’s boyfriend) at the doorway of their very small kitchen, which Cindy admitted used to be a bathroom. I had a sloppy joe on Saturday and it was great! Pablo was raving about the pulled chicken sandwiches. The prices were so cheap as to be embarrassing, 16-oz sodas for $1, the same for either sandwiches. I'da put that much in the tip jar, but there wasn't one... The McMasters took a well-deserved vacation to Gatlinburg, TN, after the R4, and are not home as I write this AFAIK. They could not have been more gracious hosts, as I well know. The earlier part of this race coverage would not have been possible without Mike loaning me a laptop and his wireless connection.
The story Mike tells is this: after an unremembered race some years ago, he was approached by a turn marshall who apologized for a fumble that he felt had cost Mike a place. He wanted to give Mike something in atonement for his error. Mike doesn't remember being upset about any such marshalling incident and started to tell the guy not to worry about it, until the apologetic turn marshall showed him what he wanted to pass along: the pictured interior. You bet he took it. Do you blame him? I believe Mike said this interior was packed away for many years (in a safe!) and that he only recently stumbled took it out. The plastic box was incredibly dusty and the tape holding it shut had to nearly be chiseled in half. Does anyone know who could have painted this interior?
Jay Guard brought this crazy toy. As one shifts the gears, the guy vibrates, leans, and makes the kind of noises three-year-olds do with their toy trucks, getting louder and louder as higher gears are reached. What a hoot! Jay says he's gonna re-label it "Retro Racer".
I call this one "Concentration" and I hope I don't have to explain why. Looks like there's some pretty intense racing happening here. L-to-R, Rick Bennardo, Lou Cicconi, Jay Kisling, Jim Bostrom, Butch Dunaway, da cheater, and Basil Michael. That's Jay Guard corner marshalling in the "hole".
I wanted to post a better picture of cute-as-a-button Jessica McMasters, who worked like a slave during the entire event. Here she's drawing the chits for lane assignments prior to a race. Mike McMasters is on the left, Ron Hershman in the foreground (showing off his best side... LOL!)
GT Coupes
Jack Beers
Rick Bennardo
Bill "Billibob" Newland
Jim Bostrom
Matt Bruce
Lou Cicconi
Josh Crutchfield
Butch Dunaway
Dave Fiedler
Bill Fulmer
Ken Green
Jay Guard
Rob Hanson
Garry Haworth
Ron Hershman
Jay Kisling
Bob Kurkowski
Malcolm Lovelace
Rande Marshall
Larry Mattingly
Brian McPherson
Basil Michael
Joe "Noose" Neumeister
Bob Oaks
Paul "Pablo" Wolcott
Mike Patterson
Ray Price
Dave Reed
Dennis Samson
Ken Swanson
Vince Del Viscio
Greg Wells
Here are the cars that competed in F1 at the R4:
Jack Beers
Rick Bennardo
Matt Bruce
Lou Cicconi
Butch Dunaway
Dave Fiedler
Bill Fulmer
Gary Echelbarger
Ken Green
Jay Guard
Ron Hershman
Jason Echelbarger
Jay Kisling
Bob Kurkowski
Malcolm Lovelace (painted by Malcolm's daughter)
Larry Mattingly
Basil Michael
Dustin Morris
Bill Newland
Joe Neumeister
Brian McPherson
Bob Oaks
Paul Wolcott
Ray Price
Rande Marshall
Dennis Samson
Ken Swanson
Vince Del Viscio
Rob Voska
Here are the cars that competed in Can-Am at the R4:
Erick Balicki
Jack Beers
Rick Bennardo
Jim Bostrom
Matt Bruce
Josh Crutchfield
Vince Del Viscio
Butch Dunaway
Gary Echelbarger
Jason Echelbarger
Dave Fiedler
Bill Fulmer
Ken Green
Jay Guard
Rob Hanson
Garry Haworth
Ron Hershman
Jay Kisling
Malcolm Lovelace
Rande Marshall
Larry Mattingly
Mike McMasters
Basil Michael
Dustin Morris
Joe Neumeister
Bill Newland
Bob Oaks
Mike Patterson
Ray Price
Dave Reed
Dennis Samson
Ken Swanson
Greg Wells
Paul "Pablo" Wolcott
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