Miniature Auto Race Club

Lenjet HO Raceway

280 Eliot Street

Ashland, Ma.

MARC ran its hard body G-Jet F1 class and its Open Weight class this past Saturday. The G-Jet F1 race was held on the refurbished historic six lane CAR MODEL MAGAZINE track that in the past hosted two National G-Jet Championship races. The second race was held on the Shamrock Glen track. Both tracks are original tracks to the Lenjet HO Raceway.

                                                                  F1 Hard Body G-Jets

PRO Class

Pro G-Jet Podium - Paul Ryer 1st, John Stezelecki 2nd, Tom Jahl 3rd and Peter Lentros 4th

 Paul Ryer really dominated this event taking an easy victory by 29 laps over second place finisher John Stez (3rd overall). Paul R. blasted out 73 laps on both the green lane and orange lane and helped him to secure a total of 429.18 laps. Those high lap totals really separated Paul from the rest of the field in the pro category. Congratulations is in order Paul’s fine victory.  Stez placed second and third overall in this event. The best high lap total that he could muster was 68 laps on the green lane. Stez’s 400.05 lap total allowed him to be one of only three drivers that would score 400 or more total laps in this event. Tom Jahl took the third position and ran really well on the red, green and blue lanes scoring a high 69 laps on each lane but a really tough yellow of 58 laps hurt his chances of a move up. Peter Lentros ran a good race but with only a high lap total of 67 on the yellow lane doomed his chances of placing higher in the standings. Hakim loves the fast cars with high down force and the G-Jets are the slowest with the least down force in the MARC classes that we race. In spite of all that, Hakim still managed to put up 382.17 laps to take the final position in the PRO G-Jet class.

Sportsman Class

Sportsman G-Jet Podium - Paul Crosby 1st, Jim Kostinden 2nd, Terry Ayer 3rd and Bruce Olsen 4th

WOW! Paul Crosby scored 73 laps on two lanes, green, yellow, and scored 70 laps or more on three other lanes. It was the white lane score of 65 laps that prevented Paul Crosby from winning the overall victory from Paul Ryer. I am sure that Paul Crosby was very happy taking his victory lap and winning the Sportsman G-Jet class. Jim Kostinden (389.09 laps) ran a good event. If I am not mistaken this may have been his first G-Jet event. Jim K and Terry Ayer were going neck and neck fighting for the second-place podium spot, but it was Jim K by just sections over Terry who settled for third. The fourth and final podium finish went to Bruce Olsen with 370.20 laps. Congratulations to Paul Crosby for a very nice G-Jet win.

PRO CLASS OPEN WEIGHT

Pro Open Weighted Podium - Paul Ryer 1st, Tom Jahl 2nd, John Stezelecki 3rd and Peter Lentros 4th

Paul Ryer took the checkered flag for the second time in the day with a big win in the Open Weight class. On this four-lane track Paul racked up 231 laps with a high lap total of 59 on the blue lane. Great racing Paul, Congratulations on your DOUBLE WIN against some great competition. Tommy Jahlwith 225 laps took the second podium position beating Stez by five laps. The blue lane was hot for the top two finishers since Tommy blasted out 58 laps on that lane. Peter Lentros grabbed the last podium spot with 218 laps.

Sportsman OPEN WEIGHT

Sportsman Open Weighted Podium - Paul Crosby 1st, Bruce Olsen 2nd, Terry Ayer 3rd, and Hal Pierce 4th

Paul Crosby had a wonderful day and like Paul Ryer, Paul Crosby also had a double victory. Paul ran up 222 laps with a high score of 57 on both the red and blue lane. Congratulations to Paul Crosby for his second win of the day. Bruce Olsen continued on the podium today by taking a second with 214 laps. He had a high lap total of 58 on the blue lane. Terry Ayer put up 210 laps and ran an impressive 53 laps on three of the four lanes, scoring a 51 only on the gutter red lane and giving our NH friend the Third podium position. Placing fourth and taking a podium spot with 194 laps, it went to another NH friend Hal Pierce. Congratulations gentleman for a fine race.

Our next race is at Catfish International. This will be a pre-1972 Can Am G-Jet race and a Spec Racer event.

Fast Five is Fast

Southampton, MA, March 9, 2024 – 13 drivers traveled to Ryan Archambault’s Fast Five Raceway for a day of fun filled racing.  Unfortunately there was a parking accident and a Snail planter was crushed.  He just couldn’t get out of the way fast enough…

First up were G-Jets on the Harley Davison track.  This is a smaller track that is has a great flow and is very well suited for G-Jets.

Sportsman G-Jet Podium

Sportsman G-Jet

Pro G-Jet Podium

Pro G-Jet

After lunch things got turned up a few notches with Super Stock on the Snake Bite Raceway.  This is a super smooth track with a great flow.

Sportsman Super Stock Podium

Sportsman Super Stock

Pro Super Stock Podium

Pro Super Stock

Thanks to everyone who made the trip.  See you at the next thing.

The race report faithfully submitted this day,

March 30, 2024

Douglas C. Neidermeyer

Sergeant At Arms

The World-Famous East Coast Championships has returned! After years of absence the premier HO Slot Car race founded by Dan DeCosmo has started a new era.

Dan would hold this race every year at his Taj MaHO raceway in Suffield, Connecticut until 2012. It was always in collaboration with our local HO Slot Car Professional Racing club (MARC) with guests from all around the country.

On February 2^nd -4^th, 2024 we had 30 racers from all over the country, including one old time racer from Canada. We had representation from three HOPRA clubs: Our own MARC plus MAHOPRA (Mid Atlantic HOPRA), HOPRA (Ohio). We also had representatives from Tr-State in New Jersey.

The procedure was 3-minute Round Robin followed by a 5 minute main.  Racing was at the World Famous Lenjet Raceway in Ashland Massachusetts, racing the following classes:

• Super Stock on the vintage Dale Buck Scorpion, the first PVC version produced.
• Spec Racer on the HO Purple Mile, an exact replica of the 1/24^th Scale Purple Mile currently residing at Modelville Hobby, our sister raceway in the same facility.
• CMPM and Modified on the Viper Boomerang
• NEO on the Brystal Viper…The fastest HO track in the world.

Super Stock Racing

Super Stock Round Robin saw a full field of 28 racers braving the white Scorpion and it was a very close race for positions throughout the race. After the dust settled it was Cory Glover leading the field, a situation that played out for the whole event. Cory not only turned 375 laps but also had the best time of 2.466 seconds.  MARC member John Pileggi was next, turning 368 laps and an impressive fast lap of 2.500 seconds. Following in third, race originator Dan DeCosmo who finished with 356 laps and a fast time of 2.719. Fourth was another MARC member Greg Burstein who amassed 354 laps and a fast time of 2.607. Fifth was Victor Feliciano from New Jersey who finished with 348 laps and fast time of 2.588 seconds. Sith and in the final move up to Main was MARC member Hakim Harris whose 346 laps total and 2.736 fastest lap rounded out the last move up to the Main.  The Main started with Hakim running 2.508 second laps but difficulties moved him back.  The fine driving and consistency in turning the fastest laps earned Cory Glover the win. He improved his fastest lap from the RR figure of 2.466 to 2.408. Dan DeCosmo remarked that these times were faster than the open class run back in the day, so everybody was now faster.

Super Stock Results:

Spec Racer event well underway

Next up was the Spec Racer on The Purple Mile.  Again running 6 lanes we moved up 6 to the main. We had 25 entrants.  Now this was a very close race the amount separating 2^nd and 4^th was 5 laps!   Cory was once again a driving machine but pressed hard from the field.  His totals were 281 laps and a fast time on Blue of 3.297. Followed by Greg Burstein with 275 laps with a fastest time of 3.340. For 2^nd place Ryan Archambault was his usual fast self, right behind Greg with a 274 total and a fast time of 3.460. In 3^rd was Pete Barkley from Tri-State with an impressive total of 273 laps and the second fastest time of the day of 3.374. In 5^th was Dan DeCosmo   with totals of 270 and 3.461 fast time. Rounding out the field was our race coordinator Paul Ryer who finished with a total of 263 laps and a fast time of 3.566.

Spec Racer Results:

Modified Podium

It was originally planned to run Modified and CMPM on Saturday, but time soon ran late so we decided to run Modified on the Boomerang on Saturday and move CMPM to Sunday running before the NEO race.  This worked out very well as the Modified class ran very well on the Boomerang and we could end the night somewhat early on Saturday.  On to the Modified results.  The round robin qualifying race has 15 entrants.  Now this was a very close race for first and second with only one lap between the winners. Cory once again prevailed and finished with a total of 201. Closely followed by Ryan with a total of 200 laps. Johnathan Feliciano turned 192 laps for 3^rd. Roger Porcelli rounded out the field with 188 laps total.  The Modified class run exceptionally well on this track.  In the main, Jonathan was first to have issues, so he pulled out after the first heat and finished the heat with only 65 laps.  He worked hard on his car and returned for the last heat and turn a receptible 77 laps. Roger also had issues getting his car to run consistent laps and pulled out of the first heat.  He returned and turned a very good toral of 81 in his second heat but the car was just not right so the next two heats were not productive.  Cory and Ryan battled it out with Cory prevailing for his third straight Main win.

Modified Results:

CMPM Racing on the Boomerang

Next Up Was CMPM on the Boomerang.  So again, this race was on Sunday.  We had 17 entrants in this class with the top 4 moving up to the Main.  In the Round Robin it was a very close race for 4^th thru 6^th with just 3 laps separating everybody. But only four move-ups would make the main.  Cory and Ryan continued their close racing with Cory prevailing turning 228 laps and a fast time of 2.852. Ryan clocked in with 223 laps and an even faster time of 2.816.  For 3^rd Pete Barkley continuing competitive racing for the day finished with 202 laps and fast time of 3.037. Rounding out the field was Tom Kanan with 199 laps and a quick time of 2.993. Of the top 7 there were 5 of the new Ghost Cats and a Viper and BSRT.  The Main was quite an adventure.  Cory continued his winning ways once again in a battle with Ryan.

CMPM Results:

Neo Podium

The final Race of the event was the NEO on the Brystal Viper.  We had 15 racers who competed and 6 moved up to the Main.  In this class in the Round Robin there were 13 BSRT and two Viper Chassis.  Victor had issues with his motor reaching a point of temperature that just gave up the desire to live, but with quick action he replaced the arm and started back into the race. He ended up finishing in the last move up position by 3 laps over Brian Jones.  In the Main, Cory once again showed his remarkable resiliency and driving prowess and took the win for his clean sweep of the weekend. Cory consistently turned 100+ laps on every lane until Yellow where he lost a shoe and spring and only turned 76 laps. His final total was 618 laps. Victor turned the highest single lane total of 155 in Green and finished second with also an impressive run. Victor finished with 599 laps. Mark Heller was third and he said that this was the best day of racing that he has had in years. Mark finished with 578 laps. Bob Zelano finished 4 th only 10 laps behind Mark. Bob finished with 568 laps. Kris Keiper was next in 5 th place with 556 laps followed by Pete Barclay who finished with 545 laps.  Fast times were below 2 seconds…. Top best times were Cory with time of 1.910 and Victor with 1.959

Neo Results:

Cory Glover - Overall 2024 ECC Champion

All in, this was a great event that we will work out the kinks and next year will be a much bigger event since MARC will be celebrating its 40^th year.  Hope to see you all next year and happy racing.  Visit the New Lenjet website and click on the East Coast Championships tab for pictures.

http://www.lenjet-raceway.com/Lenjet_HO_Slot_Car_Raceway/Welcome.html

It’s Raining on Me!

Ashland, MA, January 13, 2024 – Nasty weather might have kept some people away but 13 adventurous drivers made it LenJet for a some racing on the Nuvolari and Viper tracks.

First up was Spec Racer on the Nuvolari.  I think this might have been the first time we have raced this class on the Nuvolari, but I could be wrong.  Given the light rail you needed to be low, but you also needed a car that would handle the esses.  Racing was fast with lap times in the low 3 second range.  Greg Burstein showed he can drive magnet cars with the best of them with a fast lap of 2.939.  He was the only driver to dip into the 2 second range.  We also had a new driver join us.  Bob Blanchette is a regular at Modelville racing 1/24 Retro and Flexis.  Read on to see how Bob handled the tiny cars.

Sportsman Spec Racer Podium - Bruce Olsen 1st, Jim Colligan 2nd, Tom Bussmann 4th and Bob Blanchette 3rd

Sportsman Spec Racer – As usual, the Sportsmen came ready to race and put up some impressive lap totals.  When the dust settled, Bruce Olsen was at the top of the field.  Jim Colligan rolled in four laps behind Bruce with newcomer Bob Blanchette just two laps back to take third.  Tom “Let me see what I have in my pit box” Bussmann rounded out the podium in fourth followed by Josh in fifth.  Great race guys!   Impressive finish by Bob for his first time racing H.O.  I think we’ll see him in the future.

* – Not MARC members

Pro Spec Racer Podium - John Pileggi 1st, Greg Burstein 2nd, Ryan Archambault 3rd and Peter Lentros 4th

Pro Spec Racer – The Pros have been on this track many times when the track was at the Nantasket Beach Raceway.  Many laps raced in enduros as well as MARC races, so these guys should know the track.  Leading the way, John Pilieggi showed he does know the track blasting out 503 laps to take the top spot.  Greg might have been too focused on fast laps, but he managed to come home second just sections ahead of team principal Ryan who finished 3^rd.  The Mayor of LenJet rounded out the podium in fourth.  Hakim, Paul, Jim Mac, and Tom Gray filled the rest of the field.

After lunch a few drivers had to leave but the racing continued with CMPM on the Viper.  Bruce and Tom Bussmann were the only remaining Sportsmen.  Checking his box, Tom did not find a Modified so he decided to run CMPM with the Pros.  Bruce decided to skip the race and sit in as Race Director.  Thanks Bruce!

CMPM Podium - Tom Bussmann 1st, Paul Ryer 2nd, Tom Gray 3rd and Hakim Harris 4th

CMPM – CMPM on the Viper is fast with lap times in the high 2 second range.  Ryan ripped off a 2.587 lap, but it’s the total laps that mean the most (A concept I am still trying to learn).  The top of the CMPM field was not made up of the usual cast of characters.  Tom Bussmann found some magic in his pit box and drove to the top of the podium.  Paul also found some goodness and rolled in 4 laps behind Tom for second.  Tom Gray also had a great drive just 6 laps behind Paul to take third.  Hakim just made the podium by sections over Ryan to take fourth.  John Pileggi, Jim Mac,  and Peter rounded out the field.

* Sportsman

Thanks to everyone who made the trip to LenJet.  Next up is the East Coast Championship at LenJet.  This will be a ffull race weekend starting with open practice on Friday Feb 2^nd from 4 PM – 10 PM.  Saturday will start with Super Stock followed by Spec Racer.  These 2 races will count towards the MARC season points.  We turn up the wick and finish Saturday with Modified and CMPM.  Sunday we’ll really speed things up Neo.  Hope to see you there!

The race report faithfully submitted this day,

January 27, 2024

Douglas C. Neidermeyer

Sergeant At Arms

Over the rivers and through the woods!

Hingham, MA, December 9, 2023 – To some, the drive to Hingham feels like a drive to the other side of country.  But hey, what do they know.  Everyone knows this is the center of the universe.  In any case, 16 intrepid travelers made the trip to South Shore Speedway for some racing on Elvis.

Racing at South Shore Speedway

First up was Open Weighted.  Given the downforce of MaxTrax, we run this at 13.5v to keep the cars peppy.  This was the first race where the RPMs Ghost Cat was legal.  A few guys tried them, but I’m not sure if anyone ran one in the race.  I found my G3 to be a bit faster so that is what I went with.  I think once I figure out the setup for the Ghost Cat, it will be quick.  In any case, we raced.

Sportsman Open Weighted –  As in other races, the Sportsman came ready to race.  A few are still getting the hang of the challenging green lane, but a good race overall.  Oh

Sportsman Open Weight Podium - Jimmy Colligan 1st, Terry Ayer 2nd, Hal Pierce 3rd and Bruce Olsen 4th

Jimmy has a few laps on Elvis and put it to go use taking down the top spot in Sportsman and finished in front of a few Pros as well.  Terry Ayer was just a few laps behind Jimmy to finish in second.  Hal took third and Bruce rounded out the podium in fourth.  This was Josh’s first time on Elvis and he did a good job picking up the track.  I’m sure we’ll see him on the podium soon.

Pro Open Weighted –The Pros have been on this track many times for the most part

P{ro Open Weight Podium - Greg Burstein 1st, John Pileggi 2nd, Peter Lentors 3rd and Dan Decosmo 4th

and put up some good totals.  Greg Burstein showed just how quick the Open Weighted car can be setting a new Open weighted lap record of 3.228 and lap total record of 314.22 to take the win (Yes Greg, I have updated the whiteboard with your record).  John Pileggi was quick and consistent to take second place.  The mayor of LenJet finished third, closely followed by Dan in fourth.  Track Owner Paul thought he was fast.  He wasn’t.  Hakim had some issues but brought the car home running.

Lunch Break

After lunch a few drivers had to leave but the racing continued.  Super Stock on Elvis has always been one of my favorite classes.  You need to balance handling against the MaxTrax downforce.  Set the car up too low and you’ll get a whiff of burning armature.  Too high and you’ll crush the main straight, but struggle in the twisty sections.

Sportsman SS Podium - Hal Pierce 1st, Bruce Olsen 2nd, Terry Ayer 3rd and Jimmy Colligan 4th

Sportsman Super Stock – Four drivers participated in the Sportsman race, so everybody was on the podium.  Hal got in a groove and couldn’t be caught taking down the top spot on the podium and finishing ahead of a few pros.  Bruce took the second step on the podium with a solid drive.  Terry took third and Jimmy came home fourth.

Pro Super Stock Podium - Peter Lentros 4th, Paul Ryer 3rd, John Pileggi 2nd and Greg Burstein 1st

Pro Super Stock – The back of the field was fighting heat issues, but all made the end of the race without letting the smoke out of their cars.  At the top of the field Greg Burstein took the win with another record setting run and sweeping the day.  Once again John was chasing Greg and ended a solid run in second.  Track owner Paul showed he does know the track and ended up on the podium after struggling on Green.  Peter Lentros rounded out the podium in fourth.

John Pileggi showing his dance moves

Thanks to everyone who made the trip to South Shore Speedway.  Next up, we will be at LenJet racing Spec Racer on the Nuvolari and CMPM/Modified on the Viper on January 13^th.  Hope to see you there!

The race report faithfully submitted this day,

December 25, 2023

Douglas C. Neidermeyer

Sergeant At Arms

November 11, 2023 – Hi Ya race fans.  This month we had 10 racers compete at the Ralph Spoilsport Speedway.  Once again, we had competing races.  Several MARC Pros were competing in the KSR Enduro in California.  Wishing them good fortune for their race.

Daunting Squiggles awaiting the uninitiated

For this month’s MARC race, there was an even split between Sportsman and Pros.  Open Weight practice started at 8:00 AM.  Once again, the MARC racers were introduced to the Ralph Spoilsport Speedway “Squiggle”.  Leaving the start line going through the first sweeper, the first straight way and first hairpin you face three feet of track with four left hand arcs about ¾” from center.  This is a unique feature to the tracks on the MARC circuit.  Mike Tiffany, having driven it in 2019, was lobbying to have it removed and replaced with a straight track before the race started.  Mike had to be convinced it would be more fun with it.

Technical note – a few weeks ago while practicing with a naked Fusion chassis, it was noted that the Trackmate lane counter was not always registering.  All four lanes behave the same, Debounce had no effect. The lane counter sensors are located between the pin slot and power rail.  The Fusion chassis has significant gaps on either side of the center to

Sportsman Open Weight Podium - Hal Pierce 3rd, Bruce Olsen 2nd, and Terry Ayer 1st

allow the light to get through, confusing the software.  Pushing the chassis very slowly by hand trips the lane counter three times in one pass.   Most of the time putting a body on the chassis alleviates the problem.  However, large windshields may still allow the light to pass through.  Viper, G3, T-jet, Magnatraction bare chassis do not show this problem.  We had a quick meeting explaining the problem before the race.  More on this later.

Open Weight was the first class we raced.  Power was set at 14 volts.  As

Pro Open Weight Podium - Tom Jahl 1st, Jim Macartney 2nd, Tom Gray 3rd and Paul Ryer 4th

with the Fiddlehead Race this was the first time running Open Weight cars on this track for a MARC event.

Results are as follows:

 Sportsman:

First               Terry Ayer               297 laps        best lap     3.376 seconds

Second          Bruce Olsen           291 laps        best lap     3.648 seconds

Third              Hal Pierce              266 laps         best lap     3.602 seconds

Fourth            Mike Tiffany            256 laps         best lap     3.756 seconds

Fifth               Jim Colligan            254 laps         best lap     3.710 seconds

Pros:

First             Tom Jahl                   288 laps         best lap     3.614 seconds

Second        Jim Macartney          281 laps         best lap     3.287 seconds  best time!

Third            Tom Gray                  279 laps         best lap     3.644 seconds

Fourth          Paul Ryer                 277 laps          best lap     3.632 seconds

Fifth              Hakim Harris            245 laps          best lap     3.646 seconds

In both Sportsman and Pros, the lap spread was 43 laps.  The best lap time spread was .334 seconds for the Sportsman and .359 seconds for the Pros.  A good difference in lap count and the best lap times.

With the first race in the record books, we broke for lunch.  It must have been good because it looked like someone licked the chili pot clean.  Hopefully no one left hungry.

Sportsman Open Weight Podium - Terry Ayer 1st, Bruce Olsen 2nd, Hal Pierce 3rd and Jimmy Colligan 4th

After changing the voltage on the track, we began practice for the SPEC racer class.  As is the tradition with the faster cars, we were keeping track of who hit the highest on the back wall after leaving the track.  The SPEC’s traction magnets made a huge difference in the dreaded “Squiggle”.  After a half hour of practice, the drivers seemed to be able to carry decent speed through this obstacle.

SPEC racer results:

Sportsman:

First               Terry Ayer               441 laps        best lap     2.460 seconds

Second          Bruce Olsen           421 laps        best lap     2.414 seconds  best time!

Third              Hal Pierce               404 laps        best lap     2.621 seconds

Fourth           Jim Colligan             389 laps        best lap     2.678 seconds

Fifth               Mike Tiffany             368 laps        best lap     2.932 seconds

Pros:

First             Tom Jahl                   417 laps         best lap     2.616 seconds

Second        Jim Macartney          409 laps         best lap     2.559 seconds

Third            Hakin Harris              404 laps         best lap     2.554 seconds

Fourth          Tom Gray                  398 laps         best lap     2.453 seconds

Fifth              Paul Ryer                 395 laps          best lap     2.556 seconds

Pro Spec Racer Podium - Tom Gray 4th, Hakim Harris 3rd, Jim Macartney 2nd and Tom Jahl 1st

This was an interesting race.  Bruce found a way to exit the track by launching his car from the turn before the “Squiggle” across two straight aways, across the driver’s station and onto the floor.  Not just once but multiple times.  We’re still trying to figure out how he did it.

Remember the lane counting issue?  During the race Paul noticed Mike only had registered 40 laps in blue and 58 in white.  Paying attention to the lap counter we noticed his car was not registering on every lap.  Yup – Mike was driving a Fusion with a semi-transparent body.  After changing bodies to one with a solid paint job – counting improved.   We had to cover the entire windshield with lane stickers to get each lap to count.   Next time we’ll do a quick check during practice on the Fusion chassis to make sure they are counting.

Racing Hard!

So for the race analysis.  Sportsman had a 52 lap span and a differential of .472 in best lap times, pretty big difference.  Pros had 22 lap spread and a difference of .163 in best lap times.  Much closer in spread and in best lap times compared to the Pros.

Terry wound up with a double win in Sportsman.  Home track does have its advantages as demonstrated by John Pileggi last month.  Tom Jahl took the double win for the Pros, negating the home track advantage theory.  Thanks to everyone for making the trip.  All in all a good day of racing.  Next month we meet at Paul Ryer’s.

Keep the shiny side up,

Terry

MARC 2023-2024 Season – Race Two, Saturday October 14, 2023

 Fiddlehead Raceway, Rochester NH

Attendance was a little light this year, as there were some racers that chose to run in a 1/24 retro race at Modelville on this date. Still, we had 10 racers on hand, six pros and four sportsmen.

Sportsman Open Weight Podium - Terry Ayer 1st, Bruce Olsen 2nd, Hal Pierce 3rd, and Mike Tiffany 4th

The first race of the day was Open Weight, which was run at 13 volts. This was the first time Open Weight was run on this track, so we didn’t have any previously established benchmarks. The stout Max rail provided great grip for the low downforce cars. After a couple hours of practice, sportsmen and pros jointly took to the track to test their set-ups.

When the dust settled in the Sportsman class, only one lap separated first and second place. Terry Ayer took the checkered flag with 211 laps, nipping Bruce Olsen with 210. Hal Pierce followed in third place with 200, and Mike Tiffany rounded out the podium only one lap behind Hal with 199. Only 12 laps separated the field!

Pro Open Weight Podium

Since Paul Ryer was running the retros at Modelville, the club briefcase didn’t make it to Fiddlehead. So having no ribbons to pass out, the podium drivers used their fingers to indicate their finishing position.

On the Pro side, track owner John Pileggi took the win with 267 laps followed by Rya Archambault with 239.  Jim Macartney pulled down third place with 219, Halim Harris was only two laps back in fourth with 217, Tom Gray was fifth with 205, and Tom Jahl finished sixth with 203.

Next up was Super Stock. About a half hour into practice, the pizzas arrived. After two hours of practice, we were ready to race.

Sportsman Super Stock Podium

Last year, Bruce Olsen won the super stock race with 292 laps. This year he would once again take down the win, but with 322 laps. Quite an improvement! Terry finished second with 315 laps. Mike Tiffany took third with 281, and Hal Pierce fourth with 275.

The Pros race saw John complete the double with a convincing win, turning 383 laps. Tom Gray finished second with 338 laps. Ryan tried the Viper Maxi traction magnets and took third with 326 laps. He would have done much better except for a green fuzz ball that was wrapped around his armature, causing heat and other problems. Disclaimer – Ryan brought this gem from home (not acquired at the race).

Pro Super Stock Podium

Hakim rounded out the podium in fourth with 325 laps, Jim was fifth with 320, and Tom Jahl sixth with 318 laps. Only 20 laps separated second through sixth place.

The festivities were over by 4 PM since we had a smaller group. Thanks to all who came! Unfortunately, Ryan and I will miss Terry’s race due to our attending the KSR enduro in CA. Hope to see you in December!

JP

Death to Pumpkin Spice!

Ashland, MA, September 9, 2023 – Once again we start to transition into the Fall season even though it was hot. Damn hot.  Luckily our host Peter Lentros had the LenJet

Back at LenJet Raceway for the start of a new season

Facility nice and cool like an early Fall day.  15 drivers entered the building with nary a scent of pumpkin spice.  Gotta avoid that stuff, it makes you slow and crave for attending fall festivals that eat the funds intended for slot car racing, but I digress.  Every proceed to knock the dust off their equipment and the rust off their driving skills as we dove into practice.  We could have started out with slower classes, but we dove into the speed with Spec Racer on the Purple Mile and CMPM for the Pros and Modified for the Sportsmen on the Boomerang.

You gotta have rhythm.  The Purple Mile like it’s 1/24 scale big brother is all about establishing a driving rhythm to match the track.  Do so and you can crank the laps out.  Don’t and it’s going to be a long race.  We ran the Sportsman and Pro groups together.

Sportsman Spec Racer –   Some of these guys are getting quick and finished in front of some of the Pros.  Dave Muse encountered a mechanical issue that forced an extended pitstop while he was in the Blue lane and greatly impacted his lap total.  Meanwhile at the top of the field Bruce Olsen quietly cranked out 405 laps to take the top spot over Terry Ayer.  Hal Pierce followed Terry home to take third and Cedric Prevoe took the last podium spot coming home fourth.

Sportsman SPec Racer Podium - Cedric Prevoe 4th, Hal Pierce 3rd, Terry Ayer 2nd and Bruce Olsen 1st

Pro Spec Racer – Hakim Harris’ Pro debut started a bit shaking but then Hakim got in the groove in the middle lanes.  I’m sure we’ll see Hakim at the top of the field soon.  Ryan Archambault picked up where he left off last season taking the top spot followed by John Pileggi 4 laps back in second.  Victor Feliciano made the trip up from New York by taking the third spot on the podium.  Jim Macartney showed he’s got the speed and took the fourth spot on the podium just 4 laps behind Vic.

*Not MARC Members

After lunch and some practice on the Boomerang it was time to race.  Once again Sportsman and Pros would run together.  We have found there is not a significant speed difference between CMPM and Modified so the classes were run together.  Trackmate wasn’t happy and we had to restart after the first heat.  After that, it still wasn’t happy, and the file saved with best laps was unusable.  The author has determined that the fast guys are still fast.

Sportsman Modified – Four drivers participated in the Sportsman race, so everybody was on the podium and the racing was close.  Unfortunately, Cedic suffered a mechanical in Red that hurt his total.  It was all Bruce all day as he took his second podium.  Hal was hot on his heels in second with Terry just behind him in third.  Cedric took the last spot on the podium.

Pro CMPM – The back of the field was a war of attrition with Jim, Hakim, and Paul fighting mechanical issues.  At the top of the field Jonathan Feliciano showed his need for speed by taking down the top spot.  Ryan kept it from being a Feliciano one, two, by taking second closely followed by Vic.  John Pileggi rounded out the podium in fourth.

*Not MARC Members

CMPM Pro Podium - John Pileggi 4th, Victor Feliciano 3rd, Ryan Archambault 2nd and Jonathan Feliciano 1st

Thanks to everyone who made it to the kickoff event for the MARC 2023 – 2024 season.  As always, it was a great day of racing and I look forward to a fun competitive season.  Next up, we will be at Fiddlehead Raceway racing Open Weighted and Super Stock on October 14^th.  Hope to see you there!

The race report faithfully submitted this day,

September 17, 2023

Douglas C. Neidermeyer

Sergeant At Arms

Catfish25!  MARC Turns Out to Mark 

a Quarter-Century of Fun

Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 8, 2023 – Plenty of doughnuts, pizza, and dessert pie were on hand for our long-delayed 25th Anniversary celebration for Catfish International Speedway.  I mean, let’s eat!  Who cares about racing?  8-).

Catfish International is named for our son, Henry Catfish Hayes, an avid racer himself as a pre-teen.  Henry will turn 30 this fall! The raceway was supposed to get its quarter-century, star turn three years ago, but, well you know; something crazy and horrible happened in our world.

Through the miracle of vaccines, developed largely right here in Cambridge, the planet is on its way to regaining some semblance of normalcy.  And now we are feeling safe, or safe enough, to gather for racing in our homes once again.  The vibe was excellent, and we were glad to be together here, finally!

I decided to dedicate this Catfish25 race to the creator of our Brystal Catfish road course, Bryan Henden, who died in the fall, way before his time.  Bryan was a pillar of the Pacific NW racing scene, and with his Brystal Trax, one of the very best HO slot track builders there has ever been.  There will never be another like him.

Enjoying the racing - Hakim Harris and Mike Tiffany

Mood up!  Voted America’s Top Slot Car Spouse multiple times, Gretchen Adams made magic happen for Catfish25 with donuts, fruit, and lots of smiles.  She loves what this hobby does for me, the friends I’ve made, and what it was for Henry and me together, in the early years.  She looks forward to our race date at CIS every year, and has missed seeing everyone these last few, weird trips around the sun.

Our first class of the day was G-Jets with vintage Can-Am bodies.  There were some sharp looking cars entered, and then some schmendricks trying to run one-dimensional, paper drivers!

Sad.  But we got everyone through tech, and Dave Muse put our round robin together.

Many thanks go to Dave, who wrestled our computer printer throughout practice, as I had, without much success, for the preceding two days!  After the best of five falls, Dave finally pinned the sucker, and we had printouts when we needed them.

And, longtime MARC member, and now denizen of Lewes, Delaware, the estimable Vince Tamburo, our overnight guest at Chez Catfish, ran the computer for most of the day.  Thank you, Dave and Vince!

We ran the G-Jet Can-Am round robin, 16 racers, with the Sportsmen and Pros together.  Five minutes per lane.  Some very quick cars, and the second, third and fourth spots overall were covered by less than two laps!

Pro G-Jet Podium - Rob Hayes 1st, Erik Eckhardt 2nd, Ryan Archambault 3rd and John Pileggi 4th

Catfish Sr. took the checkered flag first, setting new single-lap and total lap track records with his long-wheelbase, Dan Gurney #48 McLaren. He was 13 laps ahead of the zoomin’ Erik Eckhardt, who was bunched closely together with Ryan Archambault, and Dr. John Pileggi.

Our top Sportsman in G-Jet Can-Am was Dave Muse, racing out of the Catfish stable this day.  He bested seven other Sportsmen, with a darn fine drive, some 14 laps over Bruce Olson, and 16 over Hakim Harris.

After post-race tech, we began practice for our second programme of the day, Open Weight, also known in some quarters as Spec Jet.  Open hearth pizza from Stoked arrived, and practice continued.

Halftime entertainment

At about 2:00, our musicians, the Tyson Jackson Trio, performed Thelonious Monk’s classic “Ask Me Now,” “The Sunny Side of the Street,” and of course the U.S. national anthem.  Gregory Groover on tenor saxophone, Max Ridley on upright bass, and Tyson Jackson, playing a tiny, raceway-appropriate drum kit.  These guys are truly amazing players, and have become great friends of mine.

Open Weight practice showed that some very fast cars were in the house.  There would be no cruising for Catfish Sr. this time around!  Our round robin began, Sportsmen and Pros running together once more.

Hakim Harris led the Sportsmen across the line, with a 14-lap cushion over Bruce Olson (160.21), and Mike Tiffany (160.14).

Dave Muse was 4th, just edging Cedric Prevoe.  Tom Bussmann completed the Sportsman field.

Racing at Catfish

In the Pro column, Paul Ryer made Catfish Sr. work like mad to re-ascend the top step, totaling 202.18 (2nd) to Hayes’s 208.04 (1st).  Dr. John Pileggi came third, closely pursued by Ryan Archambault, who was a mere 2/3 of a lap behind.  Ryan did improve his single-lap Open Weight track record, by a few hundredths of a second.

When the smoking controllers were laid aside, a procession brought the candle-adorned Apple, Cherry Crumb, and Strawberry Rhubarb pies down the stairs, to a lusty rendition of Happy Birthday, to Catfish.  As JP often says, “Good pie!”

Thanks to everyone for making the trip, the great racing, and the laughs.  And thanks to several of our friends who weren’t able to be with us for this, for one reason or another.  You’re still our friends, but maybe just a little less so. 

Saturday, May 6 will be the return of the Nuvolari Enduro, on the famed Brad’s Tracks Nuvolari race course.  The event returns after a three-year absence, now held at LenJet, and hosted by Peter Lentros.  Six team captains will be appointed, and teams chosen, that day.  Please PM or email Ryan Archambault with any questions.

Our final MARC championship race of the 2022-23 season will be

the following weekend, on Saturday, May 13, also at LenJet.  First race of the day will be Open Weight on the Python.  Then the programme will split:  Sportsmen will race Super Stock on the Bear, and the Pros will be racing Neo on the Brystal Viper.

Thanks to everyone for coming to Catfish25!

Rob Hayes

“SPORTSMAN MARC RACER TAKES HIS FIRST WIN AND AN OLD PRO GETS DISQUALIFIED DUE TO NON ATTENDANCE” 

March 25, 2023

Various Pro Drivers - Looks like everyone got a ribbon for something

Thirteen racers descended upon the Lenjet empire looking to compete in spec racer on the Purple Mile. The mile is a favorite of HO racers. The sound the cars make buzzing through the banking is something to behold. Add it to your bucket list if you have not already.

The spec racer battle was shortened to 3-Minute per lane versus our usual 5 minute round Robin due to nasty computer gremlins. A big thanks goes out to Dave Muse and Rich Payne for getting us racing.

In the combined round Robin …

Pro division finishing order Ryan 262, John P 255, Tom J with a stout 253, Peter L 240, Tom G 234.

Sportsman order (hope I get this right as top 3 all on same lap ! And I don’t have the sections recorded my apology if incorrect) tied for first Bruce O and Tom B 239 both on same section ! Terry A close behind for 3rd also with a 239 , Mike T 236, Hakim H 234,Josh G 217,Cedric 215, Hal 201.

It was decided as we only had 5 pro drivers destined to race cmpm on the boomerang, pros would run super stock on the champion along with the sportsman and also only 3 minute heats.

Sportsman Podium - Hakim 4th, Terry Ayer 3rd, Tom Bussmann 2nd and Josh G 1st

We had one phone in entry by Dan Decosmo who was up north finishing a job in New Hampshire. He had timed his commute to make the last race for 5 minutes heats …would he get there in time to make the last entry for super stock seeing we shortened the day slightly to 3 minutes per lane ?

With Dan entered as the last driver in the rotation we figured if he didn’t make it we would let another racer unofficially run under his name To keep the lanes clean.

This set up an interesting event.

Dan was ultimately disqualified for not being at the event. His stand in “Dankim” unofficially won the event overall ! The real Dan arrived just a few minuets too late.

Pro finishing order Ryan 209,John P 203, Tom G 197,Peter 196,Tom J 192 , Dan D (Dankim aka Hakim DSQ @ 211!)

Sportsman order …Josh G with his FIRST marc win at 193 just sections ahead of Tom B 193, Terry A 186, Hakim (racing as himself) 183, Bruce o 175, Cedric 167, Hal p 160.

With the shortened second race the action completed a little early several racers stuck around to chat for a while. If we had had enough interest an Iroc would have ensued. Iroc racing is becoming very popular and perhaps the club should continue to consider its inclusion or perhaps a “hand out car format “ of some type at every event. Thoughts always welcome as want to keep interest up and encourage more racers to join in. Keep discussing over next few weeks and the rules meeting.

Again thanks to Peter Lentros for the greatest Slot car playground on earth Tom Gray for leading us this season and everyone that help keep the racing moving and enjoyable.

Keep racin’

Ryan