Professor's 4-Hour Enduro Scheduled for March Monday February 22, 2010 Once again it's time to head north for another of John Power's great events. It's the first in this years 4-hour Endurance Series. Scheduled for Saturday, March 13th, the Enduro
is an IROC style event and teams are based on qualifying times or assigned via known seeding. They
have a wonderful 4-lane routed track and race without magnets at 10-11v with a fuel
management system. It's a great event and well worth the drive. If you're lucky you'll even be able to slap plastic with Fantasy World Tony and other local racing legends.
The cars for this event will be Monogram Lola T-70's.
We'll be putting
together a group to go up to the next one in a few months so contact us if you'd like to come
along.
Third NASTE Race a Battle of the Screaming Midgets Saturday February 06, 2010 The third NASTE race of the 2010 season was held Saturday, January 23
on the Kodiak track in the stunning Brystal Barn of Bryan Henden. The
Kodiak is a high-speed HO track with continuous rail. A fabulous track
in a great location - it was a treat!
A great group of
twenty-one racers showed up to race the cars of the night - HO
something-Jets. All I know is that they had magnets and they were fast. Real fast - and
amazingly sturdy considering the NASTE beating they took. In fact once
a car did de-slot it was like a trip through pinball alley as other
cars would hit it tossing it a good two feet into the air only to be
smacked again by the next car by. Fast and very furious...
Second NASTE Race a Battle of the Nascars! Wednesday January 13, 2010 The second NASTE race of the 2010 season was held Saturday, January 9 at the Stummans' Marshall Field Raceway in Beaverton.
A great group of nineteen racers showed up to race the cars of the night - SCX Nascars. We've run the SCX Nascars plenty in the past and once again they showed to be excellent runners providing close competition. These cars are not only hard to pass in the turns they can be tough to pass in a straight line. And they're all just about the same speed.
NASTE Goes to the Enduro Sunday December 06, 2009 This past Saturday at 1 pm, the flag was once again dropped at the Auburn track of John Powers, aka, the Professor, sending four Slot.It Porsches hurtling into the future. For the next four hours, teams of drivers would speed their cars around the track stopping only for the occasional fuel refill and driver swap. Each hour, teams would trade lanes and take up with a different car.
Throughout the afternoon the race was tightly contested with the overall lead changing hands many times. The final results show the winning team ahead by a mere 18 laps. That's a difference of about one lap every 13 minutes!
Attending from the local area were Bill Bostic, Len Gillean, Greg Petrolati, Mike Lombardi and Monte and Victoria Saager and we all had a great time. Make your plans to come with us for the next one in about three months.
-- Team NASTE
NASTE 2009 Halloween Race Tuesday November 17, 2009 The annual NASTE Halloween race is always a fun event, and this year proved to be another great event! On Friday night October 30th, sixteen racers placed their exotic Halloween creations on the starting line at Hemi Heights Raceway Park. In addition to the sixteen racers were a number of spectators, who were there just for the show.
The race was run in two segments or rounds. The first round was run under the lights, with the second round run under "blacklight" lighting. NASTE Halloween races are typically............well, let's just say different, in an exciting kind of way!
Highlights included Dorothy "The Hammer" Abbott pounding her way to 13th, Lynette Spohn driving Speed Racer to a great 7th place finish, Larry Cockerham racing a Thong (NOT WEARING!), Victoria Saager showing the skull to most racers on her way to 5th place, and of course Bryan Trachsel taking the win! Thanks to Jeff Courtney for hosting yet another Halloween race!
Check out the "Gallery" for a photo recap of the race. -- Bill
NASTE IPS Car Returns Tuesday November 10, 2009 The extremely successful International Proxy Series entrant named The Red Rider has returned safely home. After a journey of many months that started in Australia, traveled to England, Canada and finally the US, our car earned 3rd place overall out of 29 entrants including some top proxy racers. Racing on a variety of tracks under the hand of numerous drivers, our car consistently placed near the top in most events and was always a good qualifier in the time trials.
Our top event was the 5th event, La Grande Dame in Canada, where our car blazed to a pole position qualifying first only to slide to third in the race results.
We now set our sites on the next IPS scheduled to start up in early spring.
Team NASTE Proxy Car Holding Strong Friday October 23, 2009 The NASTE team entry for the IPS has now made it successfully through 7 rounds of racing having recently finished the most recent race held in New York at the home club of SCX's Dave Kennedy.
Our car is still in 3rd place overall with one final event to go and that one is scheduled to run here in the US in the next few days. It's been a good run for the little red racer in a series that started some months ago in Australia, with stops in Europe and Canada. Along the way some rather famous slot car tracks were encountered. We're looking forward to seeing the traveler return home.
SCX Regional Qualifier Results Thursday September 24, 2009 Marshall Field was the site of the first of the Northwest qualifier races for the SCX National Championship this past Saturday, September 19 at Marshall Field in Beaverton, Oregon.
Leading the way with a smoking 10-lap lead on the rest of the field was Monte Saager followed by fellow qualifiers Byron Stumman, Rico Locati and Bill Bostic. Also qualifying for the finals as our area alternate was Greg Petrolati.
For those that still would like to try and qualify there is another opportunity. Round two is scheduled for October 3rd at Fantasy World Hobbies in Tacoma, Washington.
Complete details, requirements and further discussion for the SCX National Championship can be found in the forum here.
NASTE Goes to the Professor's Enduro Monday June 22, 2009 A great showing of 10 racers from Oregon joined 11 racers from the Tacoma area Saturday, June 13th in Auburn, Washingon for the second in the 2009 Professor's Enduro series.
And there was a new look to things - the Professor's new wood-routed track! And it was as smooth as it was pretty to look at. The cars were equally nice - non-magnet Racer Sideways Daytona Prototypes that ran fast and smooth all day.
After racing IROC-style for four hours, the final result showed Team One featuring AJ, the Professor, and Fantasy World Tony holding about a 50 lap lead over my second place team featuring Rico, Professor Lite (Derek) and Crikey among others.
A big thanks to the Professor and Crikey for hosting a splendid event. We're all looking forward to the next one.
-- Big Smooth
Team NASTE 3rd in Tasmania Tuesday May 26, 2009 Results are just in from the second round of the International Proxy Series (IPS) and the Team NASTE scratch-built Ferrari (pictured) has landed on the podium with a third place finish out of 25 cars. Coupled with the first event's 9th place finish our entry is currently in third place overall and in front of some pretty heavy hitters.
The IPS is a set of eight races. After the first two events, the series now leaves Australia and heads for jolly 'ol England for two races followed by a trip to Canada and finally ending with a pair of races in the US the last of which is scheduled for November.
-- Team NASTE
NASTE Season Finale Crowns Champ Monday May 25, 2009 The finale night of the 2009 NASTE season brought a field of 20 racers
to Bill Bostic's Too Bad Raceway in Fairview. Included in the group
were a few new racers. The cars for the evening's IROC entertainment
were Racer Ferrari 250 LM's graciously loaned to us by Tony of Fantasy
World fame. The Racer cars are well known for their stunning beauty
but that's not their only charm. The cars Tony sent us run like little
champs!
Since the rubber on the Racer's NSR tires was getting a
little thin the warm-ups were all done using the Carrera Aston Martins
we had previously raced in Eugene. And they proved to be slippery
little devils that were pretty hard to manage. But once the racing
started and the Racer cars took to the track it was night and day
different. The Racer's gripped the track perfectly and soon most
everyone was getting in the groove...
NASTE Season Finale and Professor's 4-Hour Enduro Friday May 15, 2009 We're down to the last race of the NASTE season to be held on Saturday, May 23 at the Bullring in Fairview. The cars for the evening are scheduled to be the 1/32 scale Racer Ferrari LM 250's that Fantasy World Tony has graciously sent around the country. They are fun, great looking and easy to drive. Everyone will enjoy the Racer cars.
A few weeks later will be the 2nd round of the 2009 Professor's Enduro series in Auburn, Washington. We've been to a few of these and they are a great time. It's a 4-hour team Enduro run IROC-style with a fuel management system. And for an added treat, this time there's even a new track! The Professor has been busy replacing the old Scaley Classic track with a new routed track. You can follow the progress here:
Contact Bill if you'd like to arrange to carpool to the event. We'll hope to see you at one of the other.
Truth in 24 Friday May 01, 2009 Thrills, chills and spills abound in this documentary featuring the 2008 Audi Racing Team's trials and tribulations as they prepare to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Starting with test days at Le Mans a few weeks prior to the race, the documentary follows the team all the way up to and including the day of the big race.
And for 24 grueling hours, the teams of Audi, Peugeot and others battle in the pits and across the French countryside through the darkness and the rain in a frantic race to the finish line.
It's available as a free download and well worth your time.
Smokey the Time Bandit Friday May 01, 2009 Bill Bostic and I made the trek south to Eugene to participate in the
ninth race of the NASTE 2009 season at Kimm Marshall's beautiful
Heidelberg Raceway. There we were joined by seven local racers to do
battle IROC-style in two different scales.
Since Kimm has both
1/24 and 1/32 scale tracks we decided to race on both and use the
full-Monte style where you could count whichever race you did best in
- thankfully!
Important News From SCX Thursday April 16, 2009
We asked for your help in getting SCX to change the standard motor from the low-rated RX-42 to the much peppier RX-42B by going to the SCX World Wide web site and making your thoughts known. We needed 500 "votes" to convince SCX to make the change and there was a time limit.
Amish Rocket Leads Team TBD to Victory Monday April 06, 2009 Sporting a flashy custom paint job, an angle winder setup and four coats of Future Floor Wax, the Slot.It 962 nicknamed the "Amish Rocket" pushed the 4 person TBD team led by Tim Booze to the winners circle in the Timba Classic Enduro this past Saturday at the Beaverton Slot Car Club.
It was a tight contest for much of the race as teams worked to get a lead. Any lead. In fact the lead changed hands constantly and with little more than an hour remaining the difference between the teams was a mere 3/10 of a lap!
It was at that point that Team TBD suspecting the car had slowed due to the rear tire wear (bringing the magnet too close to the rails) swapped front tires on the Rocket increasing both it's clearance and speed and proceeded to pull away from the field for a decisive 25 lap victory. Rocket designer Monte "Big Smooth" Saager commented: "The angle winder really seemed to be the car of choice today. When it was on the track, it was clearly the fastest car. And fastest is usually best. Changing the front tires, well that was the winning move."
SCX Unveils the Future of NASCAR! Wednesday April 01, 2009 SCX is just starting to announce the details of an exciting new COT they are about to release that will be based on the SCX Pro line of parts. By doing this, SCX is creating an entire new platform for the NASCAR fans as this car will be out of the box tune-able like no previous NASCAR offering from any manufacturer.
Featuring a pod-mounted motor, aluminum wheels at all four corners and fully adjustable ride-height, this baby is ready to rumble. They even designed the car so that the body does NOT touch the chassis. No trimming needed!
The Professor's 4-Hour Enduro Tuesday March 10, 2009 The Puget Sound Scale Racing Association held the first in
the 2009 Professor's 4-hour Enduro Series this past Saturday, March 7th. This one matched Slot.It Ferrari's vs. Slot.It McLaren's. It was quite the race!
After my miserable qualifying time - I couldn't stay on the track - it was pretty obvious I was going to be the ringer. And was I ever! I ended up on the Professor's team with Dwayne and Mike and we won every hour. For an added thrill, two of the hours were run in darkness.
The Enduro
is an IROC style event and teams are based on qualifying times. They
have a fun track and race without magnets at 10-11v with a fuel
management system. John and Chrissy Powers put on a great event and it's worth the drive. If you're lucky you'll even be able to trade paint with racing legend Fantasy World Tony!
We'll be putting together a group to go up to the next one in a few months so contact us if you'd like to come along.
NASTE Thursday Visits Greg Hodges Track Friday March 06, 2009 This past Thursday a group of NASTE racers dropped in on Greg Hodges beautiful routed and copper taped track in Sandy. It's always a delight to drive on Greg's track. Not only is the landscaping and detailing simply awesome, the track surface works great for every tire and car we've thrown at it. The smooth turns in the lower section and the uphill climb to the back straight is my favorite part of the track. Or maybe the ponds... my goodness what detail. I think that comes from years of real-world experience.
Hitting the track were a variety of vintage cars from flying Ferrari GTO's to Formula cars from the 60's. There was also the inevitable bench racing as some of the NASTE members discussed their cars in preperation for the upcoming SCX Worldwide Proxy race. More on that later...
-- Team NASTE
Team NASTE Proxy Car Wednesday March 04, 2009 The proxy car is in the mail, on the boat, and taking a nice trip to Australia to participate in the International Proxy Series with 30+ other cars from around the world.
Two cars were developed in top secret by the NASTE design team and after testing, analysis and race tuning, the bright red Ferrari GTO was selected to represent the club.
Proxy races are events where spec cars are driven at various tracks by the assembled local drivers. Cars are then shipped on to the next track and so forth until all the scheduled events have completed. Afterward, results are totaled and prizes awarded. We probably won't see our car again for the good part of the next year providing it doesn't get eaten by a sheep or snatched by a wallaby.
-- Team NASTE
NASTE Goes Digital Monday March 02, 2009
February 28th will show in the record books as the day NASTE went Digital. Nine racers were on hand to give this new style of slot racing a go. And boy did we go.......off the track, over other cars, into the beautifully landscaped infield, etc., etc. But I was surprised at how well everyone started doing once we all had a little practice. Compared to the conventional type of slot car racing, this digital stuff seems to require a lot more strategy. One thing I learned early on was the "NASCAR" style of the "bump and run". OK, well maybe my version was more of a "BASH and run", but it did work when passing was a necessity, and a lane change was not an option!
As far as the racing went, at the end Bryan Trachsel came out on top. I swear this guy can win no matter what you're racing!
We all had a great time on Monte and Victoria's SCX Digital track. They have done a beautiful job of landscaping on their newest track! And as usual for a NASTE event at the Saager's, the treats, snacks, and pizza were excellent! Thank you guys for another fantastic time!
And a suggestion regarding digital racing.......I think you might want to move away from IROC races...............after another one your cars may end up Digi-totalled! -- Bill
(Actually, as it turns out, amazingly no cars were harmed in the process. Monte)
NASTE Thursday at TooBad Motorplex Friday February 20, 2009
This time around it was all Monte with the Fly cars! He showed us the fast way around the BullRing Thursday night. The only one who could come close to hangin' with The Smooth was Larry Cockerham, who was running the winning car from the last NASTE Thursday Fly race. Greg Petrolati was third running a Porsche this time around.
It was great to have Greg Hodges come and visit from Sandy. Greg has one of the most beautifully finished routed 1/32 tracks you have ever seen! Greg's track will be next up on the NASTE Thursday Tour.
Howie also stopped by with a prototype of the new 1/24 True Scale type cars. This class is being developed by Howie, Beau, and David. Howie's prototype was powered by a Falcon 7 motor, in a Scholer brass pan adjustable wheelbase chassis. These chassis as well as the Tofosi chassis are very cool in the fact that they require no soldering to build. They are adjustable, and all the modifications and adjustments are screws and nuts, totally bolt together! I got a chance to run Howie's car and it is a ROCKET! The acceleration really surprised me, and the handling was close to that of my 1/24 NASCAR hard body car! For more information and pictures of these new cars and chassis, look here: http://oregonmodelracing.com/oscar_forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=69
-- Bill
Another NASTE Thursday Night! Friday February 13, 2009 Howdy friends of the
slot! This week produced another NASTE Thursday - this time meeting at Bill Bostic's Too Bad Raceway in Fairview.
The evening started off with drivers getting ready for the hot and heavy Fly race while perusing the bargains at Greg's Used Car Lot. I'm happy to say the price on my new SCX Subie was excellent! However the early birds took ad-Vantage of my early absence to score some real bargains.
Once the racing started two things were clear:
1. Greg had the car to beat. He won 4 of the 6 heats giving us all a good whuppin'. 2. Len was able to marshal the entire track single-handedly! Ok, he did have a rake...
After Greg schooled us, some continued to track test while the rest of us settled down and got cranking on our proxy race entry. We're building a brass chassis Porsche 356 Speedster. Bill spent many hours working bits of brass with the goal of producing a fine-tuned racing machine.
We'll be back at it next Thursday night in Fairview with more Fly racing - yes, Greg, we'll be ready this time - and more Proxy Car building.
Sound like fun? Well then, come on out to Fairview for NASTE Thursday
night. We'll see you there.
NASTE Race No. 7 - Hemi-Heights Flexi's Monday January 26, 2009 For the second race in a row a large group of eighteen racers came out for the seventh race of the NASTE season on Saturday evening in Portland at Jeff Courtney's Hemi Heights Raceway Park.
Jeff had prepared a group of four semi-identical Flexi's for the group to race. They proved quite exciting with each having its own distinct personality something akin to driving your own private Christine.
NASTE Race No. 6 - the Battle of Autumn Hills Wednesday January 14, 2009 A fabulous crowd of eighteen racers and six spectators came out for the
first race of the New Year at Autumn Hills Raceway on Saturday evening
in Hillsboro.
Greeting the throng was a revamped Autumn Hills track
complete with fresh paint on the track and guard rails plus the copper
taping of the track rails.
The changes provided a great deal of
improvement over previous years. The power was now extremely smooth
with nary a ripple in the track surface. However, since the track had
not been run much, the early heats proved quite slippery for the Ninco
NC-1 powered Porsche 356A coupes - very reminiscent of the
tail-swinging ride of an actual 356A.
As the heats progressed and
the cars started laying down a little urethane, the surface improved
greatly and the lap counts showed it.
Drivers that were struggling to
get 16 laps were turning 20!
NASTE Logo Gear Now On Sale! Monday January 05, 2009 What better way to start a cold, dreary morning than with a hot and NASTE cup of mocha java served up fresh in a bright NASTE coffee mug. Why, it's bound to make you perk right up.
Feel the worries of the world fade away as you show those around you that slot cars aren't just a hobby but a way of life.
Head on over to the NASTE store now where you can choose your coffee cup from a variety of styles and colors as well as other fabulous NASTE merchandise.
NASTE Race No.5 - The Battle to get to Hemi Height Sunday December 21, 2008 For the six racers that braved the elements to get to Hemi Heights on Saturday, the real battle was on the track! The hardcore slot racers fought the extreme cold, wind, snow, and freezing rain to get their fix of electrically motorized competition. Hemi Heights is a very fast track that provides opportunities for a lot of action! From the wide open throttle action in the bank, to the gotta-get-'er-slowed-down-in-a-hurry hairpin, this track is a riot! The competition was very intense and close, as was the contact between cars.
Jeff Courtney had prepared four Dodge Daytona IROC cars based on 4 inch flexi type chassis. NASTE employeed the "yellow flag" type racing format as used at TooBad Motorplex last season. This format allows the use of a minimal amount of turn marshalls, in fact as little as none! Along with this format comes the one main rule, the Too Bad rule! This rule is pretty much self explanatory.
It was good to see Jake Courtney return to race with the NASTE group. Jake is one of the original NASTE members and was there at the beginning. But on this cold wintry day it was all Flyin' Bryan! Even my efforts at punting and nerfing him at every opportunity did not keep Bryan from posting an impressive win! How do you stop this guy?
So it was cold, but man was it a great time! Thanks Jeff for a great race, it was definately a BLAST! -- Bill
NASTE Thursday: December 18th at Hemi Heights Race Saturday December 20, 2008
Due to the extreme weather conditions we had a rather small turnout for NASTE Thursday this week at Hemi Heights Raceway Park. Dave and his son Scott, new slot enthusiasts, Terry and Bryan T. showed up. Some test and tune runs were made as well as some spirited bench racing. Jeff was busy giving advice to Dave and Scott as he did some last minute tweaking on the IROC Dodges for this Saturdays NASTE race. Bryan and Terry ran several practice laps with some close grudge races and a couple good "Nerfs" made for a good time. We made it an early night due to the impending cold weather and snow falling.
-- Jeff
Subaru to Quit World Rally Championship Tuesday December 16, 2008
Another one bites the dust. Yes, it's disappointing news to us rally fans but do to the economic downturn Subaru is pulling out of the WRC. You can read the announcement here.
Revell cancels NASCAR model lines Monday December 15, 2008 Citing the increased cost of doing business with NASCAR, Revell announced last week that they would discontinue all NASCAR models by February. You can read the official announcement here.
Fantasy World Hobbies Warehouse Tour Monday December 08, 2008 My name is
Bill..... and I am an addict!.......a slot car addict to be exact....
I have seen heaven; its name is Fantasy World Hobbies!!!!
After racing at The
Professor's four hour enduro, Tony Kuljis from Fantasy World Hobbies was nice
enough to give us a tour of their warehouse. We were like kids on a field trip
to a candy store! Everywhere you looked, MORE CANDY!
We were treated to first
hand, up close views of every trick car and part currently available! Tony gave
out so many speed and tuning secrets I could not keep track.
We saw the new Fantasy
World 4 lane Scalextric Sport Track setup Tony built in the warehouse. It looks
to be a very fast track. We were told Fantasy World will soon be holding races
on this new track.
I have personally
purchased cars and parts from Fantasy World through their website. I can say I
have never been disappointed with their service or merchandise. They ship very
quickly and everything is well packed for safe transport. They have a great
selection and inventory. If there is something you need or want, they probably
have it in stock.
With all that said,
Thank You again Tony! You definitely made my day!...........Now if I can just
get a hold of that fat guy in the red suit before the 25th...
-- Bill
The Professor's Enduro Series - Round 4 Monday December 08, 2008 On Saturday, December 6th, NASTE sent six brothers of the slot to the 4th and final installment of the 2008 Professor's 4-hour IROC Enduro Series sponsored by
the Puget Sound Scale Racing Association and hosted by John and Chrissy Powers in Auburn, Washingon.
There they were joined by another nine racers from the local area. The cars for the event were non-magnet Slot.It Porsche's specially prepared by The Professor. Teams were based on qualifying times and during the race each team would run each lane/car for a continuous hour only stopping for fuel/driver changes and as it tuned out, the occasional tire de-bounce. Through nothing but bad luck the Professor had switched from the normal Slot.It tires to a different brand and they started picking up any debris left on the track. So after an off you would typically start to get a bouncy car. A quick stop and a slight massage of the tires usually fixed everything until the next off. Or until another car went off and dragged them into your lane and your car picked them up.
And for the next four hours, teams worked hard to keep pace. Driving the occasionally bouncy cars became tricky in close quarters and cries of "nerf" were not uncommon. However, I doubt much of it was deliberate. Then again, it's not wise to get caught on the outside in the turn and some drivers would politely give way, others wouldn't and occasionally paid the price...
After four hours of tight racing, the 4 teams were separated by less than 100 laps. Talk about tight racing - that's a difference of about 1 lap every 10 minutes! Coming in first was the first-rate team of Bruce, Corina, Derek "Professor Lite", and the extremely fast and consistent Victor. About 25 laps behind was the second place team with third about another 25 laps behind them.
And that pretty well wraps up this year's Enduro series. As for NASTE, we sent a group up to each of the events totaling twelve different racers. All the events were top notch and the local racers were all friendly and made us feel right at home. We'll be looking forward to attending another series next year.
-- Team NASTE
Not Just Another Thursday Night Sunday December 07, 2008
It all started with a few of us getting together to prepare cars for the Rapid Raceway Enduro back in October. But we had so much fun that we decided to move it to a more regular format and that brings us to NASTE Thursdays!
Our plan is to meet just about every other Thursday night somewhere around town with the basic agenda of getting together to enjoy our hobby. We'll play with our cars, improve our driving skills, work on our tracks, whatever feels like fun. More like a guys-and-their-slot-cars-night-out, but the gals are invited too.
This past Thursday we met at Monte and Victoria's in Hillsboro. The evening started off with a group of us racing on the SCX Digital track. It was quite an experience to finally get a large group racing. We had 5 and 6 cars running on a two lane track. And happily, no cars were damaged in the process. After some track time, Greg "Greenman" Petrolati gave us a demonstration of his method for casting a resin body. And finally to finish the evening up we started laying down the copper tape on the Autumn Hills track. Check the gallery for the NASTE Thursday night pictures. All in all, a fun time and nothing at all like a dull, boring Thursday night!
We'll see you at the next one scheduled for December 18 at Jeff Courtney's.
NASTE Race No. 4 - from Karts to Saleens Monday November 24, 2008 The fourth NASTE race of the 2009 season was held Saturday, November
22, at the recently renovated Marshall Field Raceway in Beaverton,
Oregon.
Twelve racers showed up to hit the track with a pair
of IROC offerings that Randy and Byron Stumman had prepared. The first
heat offered a special treat - Ninco Karts. Slow? Yes!
However, it did provide for close competition as the girls kept pace
with those hard-charging guys. And after battling it out over a set of
two-minute heats, Monte 'Big Smooth' Saager proved to be the Kart
Master barely beating out Flyin' Bryan Trachsel by a mere tenth! But
the competition was so close that a mere 4 laps separated the entire
field.
It would be down to the second set of heats to bring out
the winner...
NASTE goes to Cape Horn Speedway Monday November 10, 2008 The third NASTE race of the 2009 season was held Saturday, November 8,
at the Cape Horn Speedway in Washougal, Washington. A group of 7
hearty racers braved the crossing of the mighty Columbia to do battle
with another 4 members of the local Cape Horn group, basically the hot
shoes , on the tight and fast 6-lane 1/24 scale track referred to as a
red bow-tie . Racing would prove to be both fast AND furious!
Next up for NASTE, a trip to Marshall Field Raceway in Beaverton on November 22.
NASTE Halloween Race at Hemi Heights Raceway Park Saturday November 01, 2008 Jeff Courtney's newly assembled 1/24 track was host to the NASTE Halloween Race for 2008. The Halloween race has been an annual event for NASTE since 1996. Jeff has hosted the majority of the events over the 12 years.
This year's race featured entries like; a Dodge Challenger covered with spiders, driven by a pumpkin. A '55 Chevy driven by two skeletons. The possessed Plymouth, Christine. A very fast moving coffin. Speed Racer's Mach 5. Some kind of really scarey looking face, that moved very quickly. A Super Bee (the car) that was possessed by some lit up skeleton head. A blue Chevron car. And a mini sized something driven by a monster of some sorts. And from the movie Cars, a frontwards racing Mater, as well as a backwards racing Mater!
As usual it was a very fun event! Thanks to Jeff and Cathy for a great time, the pizza, and all the snacks!
OSCAR Porsche 962 Enduro Monday October 27, 2008 NASTE sponsored two teams this year at Howie's Annual Porsche 962 Enduro. The enduro is officially an OSCAR event, and 10, three man teams showed up to race. For the record this is a grueling event for racers and equipment.
This years event was won by Team Skid Marks, with the Pork Swords close behind (no pun intended). Team Rapid finished in third place. The two NASTE sponsored teams, Two Old Goats and a Kid, and Team Motor Frye had a very good showing for their first times out.
Thanks to Bob McFarland for loaning us a chassis, and to John Gill for loaning us a ready-to-run competetive car! And most of all thanks to Howie and his wife for great food and another great event! We NASTE racers had a great time! -- Bill
NASTE Racers Schooled at Pelican Park Monday October 06, 2008 The second NASTE race of the 2009 season was held Saturday, October 4, at the Pelican Park Speedway in Eugene. A group of 6 local racers made the trip south and were joined by 13 local racers to form a great field of 19. We were not only treated to some great racing but also some excellent food prepared by members of the Eugene group.
Using our standard IROC format, the Pelicaneers wasted no time showing us the value of their years of experience and promptly took us to task.
By the end of the afternoon the 6 local racers occupied the 6 bottom slots. Leading the blitz was dancin' Todd Messinger, with Doug Haynes in second and the legendary Bob Hanna in third.
Of the locals, Bill Bostic was the head of the class with Jeff Courtney right behind and Monte Saager a close third. And that's about all we're going to say about that. We'll see if they offer us a rematch next season.
Upcoming Cape Horn Enduro Wednesday October 01, 2008
Rick Branum has announced he will have a car available for the upcoming Cape Horn Enduro on Saturday October 18th. Rick will loan his own Falcon 7 powered 1/24 scale car, to any two NASTE racers who would like to participate as a team. This is a great opportunity to race some really fast "flexi-chassis" type cars, with a great group of guys, on a really fast 6 lane routed track! Let Rick or I know if you are interested! -- Bill
The 2009 NASTE Season Opener Tuesday September 23, 2008 A good showing of sixteen racers turned out for the 2009 NASTE Season
opener. The IROC styled race was hosted by Bryan Trachsel at his Butterdish
Speedway in Portland, Oregon. The cars of the night were HO T-Jets specially prepared by
race-master Bryan.
And with cars flying all over the fast course it would prove to be a close race from start to finish. Could Bryan retain his firm grip on the home course or would another driver be able to take the top spot? After two sets of heats, the results were clear...
Proposed IROC series from Tifosi Racing Wednesday September 17, 2008 Tifosi Racing would like to offer, for free, an IROC series of champs between clubs. Perhaps a 4 race series that would include Five
identically prepared race cars, Tifosi Viking Chassis with a Ferrari 430 body, with spares for a Race Of Champions. With a small entry fee to cover the consumables costs, all can test their skill.
Body Post Repair Made Easy Tuesday September 16, 2008 Here's a new product from Slot Car Corner to help fix those broken body posts so you can repair damaged bodies and get them back on the track. These specially designed inserts and accompanying mounting
sleeves offer a fresh approach to repairing body posts. I've actually been looking for something like this for a while now. You can glue the inserts into a plastic post or solder them into a brass post. The kit even includes the screws. Click here for a guided tutorial
The Professor's Enduro Series - Round 3 Monday September 15, 2008 On Saturday, September 13th a group of five local racers attended the third round of the Professor's 4-hour IROC Enduro Series sponsored by the Puget Sound Scale Racing Associationand hosted by John and Chrissy Powers in Auburn, Washingon.
Split among three of the four teams were Monte and Victoria Saager, Byron and Randy Stumman and Mike Lombardi. The cars ran great with the Vette being the crowd favorite followed by a Ferrari and two Porsches.
After three one-hour heats darkness descended on the track for the final segment. At that point team Three with Dwayne, Corina, Mike and Monte had pulled into the lead by a single lap! And that would be as close as it got as team Three started to steadily pull away and expand on that one lap lead to finish with a commanding lead.
On a humorous note, at one point I "accidently" nerfed Fantasy World Tony off the track - two off's and you replace the driver. As he pulled into the pits he remarked "next time you're just getting a box full of peanuts".
And speaking of next time, the 4th and final event is already scheduled for December. Contact us if you'd like to come along. It's a full day commitment but you'll have a great time. Guaranteed.
AJ Locati Wins at the All British Field Meet Monday September 01, 2008
Today AJ and I went to the All British Field Meet at Portland International Raceway to enjoy some classic cars and
vintage racing. Alan Smith from slotcars132.us was there again with a track to
race on. Last year AJ won the race and received the grand prize of a Scalextric
Opel V8. This year the stakes were even higher, a complete Scalextric Sport
"Ultimate Endurance" set with two cars. We both entered and I set fast
qualifying lap and AJ was third fastest. When it came time to race I completely
bombed and failed to transfer to the final round. AJ made it in quite easily
and managed to win two heats and second in the other two to win the grand prize
for the second year in a row. I think there might be pictures in the near
future on the Scalextric USA website. Rico Locati
NEW Tracks added to NASTE 2009 Race Schedule! Sunday August 31, 2008
Two new tracks have been added to the upcoming NASTE race season. Kimm Marshall has offered to host a race on March 21st '09. Kimm's Heidelberg Raceway is home to 2 routed tracks, a 4 lane 1/24 track, and a 4 lane 1/32 featuring magnetic braid. Kimm's tracks are located in Eugene, so car pools will be set up for Portland and Washington area racers. ----------------------------Bill
Racing at Cape Horn Sunday August 24, 2008
Yesterday John Gill and I ventured up the gorge to Rick Branum's Cape Horn Speedway, located just east of Washougal Washington. Cape Horn racers compete in 1/24 flexi-style chassis, Falcon motored classes. These guys are extremely fast on the very smooth Cape Horn six lane track. Lap times under the 3 second mark were posted on this 60 foot track (but not by me). The racing was quite fun as the Cape Horn racers are a friendly group. They were all very helpful in trying to get us "new guys" up to speed. One thing John and I noticed immediately was the Falcon motors have gotten much better! The cars these guys are racing are really quick, and have much better brakes than the cars we used to race with the older Falcon and Plafit motors. There were two races Saturday, one for retro-style bodies, and one for NASCAR "Car of Tomorrow" style cars. So if you'd like to try some fast paced racing, dig out those flexi chassis, dust 'em off and head up to Cape Horn. You'll enjoy some great racing on a very nice track, with a bunch of great people! Oh, just one more suggestion.......be sure you have a Falcon 7 motor in that chassis! ----------------------Bill
NASTE Halloween Race Sunday August 17, 2008
The NASTE 2008 Halloween Race is scheduled for November 1st at TooBad Motorplex in Fairview. It will be run on the 1/24 BullRing Track. Get ready!!! -------------------Bill
NASTE 2009 Racing Season Sunday August 17, 2008
NASTE members met on Saturday August 16th to finalize the race dates for the 2009 season. For the 2009 season all the NASTE Point Series Races will be IROC style races. NASTE's main objective is to promote slot car racing, and we have found that one of the best ways of giving new racers a great first experience is by holding IROC style races. Members also discussed the overall theme of NASTE races, and the intent to keep the racing simple and appealing to new racers. In addition to the race dates members agreed upon some general rules for the upcoming season.
In addition to IROC cars, IROC controllers will be used. Racers will volunteer to provide controllers at each race. One controller will be assigned to each lane, same as cars. In the event of damage to a controller, the owner will be reimbursed for the parts necessary to make the repairs by the NASTE treasurer from NASTE club funds.
Each race event will be two Rounds of racing. A Round consists of each racer racing one "Heat Race" on each the track's lanes. "Heat Race" laps and fractions of a lap are totalled to determine finish positions for the Round (i.e. on a four lane track, 1 Round = each racer completing 4 Heat Races, one on each of the track's lanes).
To simplify lane rotation, Heat Races will start at the track's Start/Finish line. Fractions of a lap will be scored on a tally sheet, and be added to the racer's lap totals. The heat race length will be determined at each race depending upon the number of entries.
Races will be run in one of two types of race formats. One format is the standard racing format (best of two) NASTE has used for years. This format will be referred to as The "Big NASTE" Format. In this format there are two Rounds of racing with each racers best finish of the two rounds determining their overall finish position. Championship Series Points will be awarded to each racer based on their overall finish position. Track owners or Race Hosts will decide what format they wish to use.
The other available format will be called The Full Monte. In this format the two Rounds of racing are completed with two different types of cars. The first round will be raced with one type or style of car, and the second round will be raced with a different type of car. The Rounds will be run and scored in the same manner, but for each Round each racer will have a separate finish position. Simply put, each Round is a separate race. Championship Series Points will be awarded to each racer based on their best finish in either Race/Round. In this format it is quite possible for two racers to earn the same amount of Championship Series Points at the same race. This is in step with the scoring system NASTE used in the late 90s when racing multiple classes at the same event.
Racer's final Championship Series Point totals will be based on their best 8 race finishes.
Thanks to everyone that came out to the BBQ! The racing schedule should be finalized within a week or two. So buckle up and get ready for a great season! -- Bill
Vote for your favorite Track Friday August 01, 2008
The designs are in and it's up to you to pick a winner. You can review all the entries and then return here to cast your vote. You have until August 4th to decide and then we'll tally the votes and announce the winners.
BREAKING NEWS Results of the Track Design contest were announced last night at the Beaverton Slot Car Club race and prizes were awarded. Complete details are in the forum.
PASER Race Schedule added to calendar Saturday July 19, 2008
The schedule for PASER's upcoming race season has been added to our calendar. The schedule includes a Swap Meet at Rapid Raceway to start out the season. Along with the swap meet will be track cleaning and preparation for the upcoming annual Porsche 962 Enduro.
Also, there is one NASTE race scheduled so far, and it is on the calendar. I will be contacting the track owners on my list to schedule the rest of the dates for NASTE races within the next two weeks.
So take a look at our calendar and prepare yourself. There are going to be many opportunities to get your race fix in the latter part of 2008, and all of 2009! -- Bill
Easy Race Management and more for the PC Friday July 18, 2008 Here's a great tool for track owners, it's Ultimate Racer 3.0. It includes a number of great features including power control, fuel management and some useful presets for racing events from Tournament styles to IROC and more. There's also a spiffy track layout tool including a 3D view of your track once you get it designed. (If you stroll down the page a notch you'll see we're currently having a DESIGN CONTEST!)
I've switched over to it here at Autumn Hills. It only took a few minutes to configure and get running using my current hardware.
NEW 1/24 Tracks Added for NASTE 2009 Season! Monday July 14, 2008 A pair of new 1/24 scale tracks have been added to the list of tracks hosting races in the 2009 NASTE Racing Season! Rick Branum has signed up his Cape Horn Speedway, a six lane routed 1/24 scale track, located in Washougal, Washington. And also on the list this year is the Pelican Park Speedway in Eugene courtesy of Doug Haynes. Pelican Park is a four lane 1/24 scale routed track.
The 2009 season is scheduled to kick off in September. To date we have:
WANTED: Tracks for NASTE 2009 Season Thursday July 03, 2008
Track owners, I have started a list of tracks interested in hosting a NASTE Point Series race for the 2009 season. To date I have 5 tracks listed and verified. If you are a track owner and are interested in hosting a NASTE race, please drop us a note via email or on the Forum here at NASTE.org. I would like to start scheduling the races by the first of August. -- Bill
NASTE On the Road at The Professor's 4 Hour Enduro Monday June 30, 2008 A total of 7 racers from the local area joined 12 racers from the
Tacoma area in Auburn, Washington this past Saturday. The event was
the second in the Professor's 4-hour Enduro Series sponsored by the Puget Sound Scale Racing Association
and hosted by John and Chrissy Powers. The racing was extremely close
with the winning margin after 4 hours being about 20 laps. We all had
a great time driving the Racer Ferrari 250LM's that Fantasy World Tony
had specially prepared with NSR boxer motors and light kits. And once
again the queen of the Enduro's, Victoria, showed her skill by landing
on the winning team while the rest of us were left behind. The third
event in the series is scheduled for September. It's an event you
won't want to miss.
Once again it's time to head north for another of John Power's great events. It's the first in this years 4-hour Endurance Series. Scheduled for Saturday, March 13th, the Enduro
is an IROC style event and teams are based on qualifying times or assigned via known seeding. They
have a wonderful 4-lane routed track and race without magnets at 10-11v with a fuel
management system. It's a great event and well worth the drive. If you're lucky you'll even be able to slap plastic with Fantasy World Tony and other local racing legends.
The third NASTE race of the 2010 season was held Saturday, January 23
on the Kodiak track in the stunning Brystal Barn of Bryan Henden. The
Kodiak is a high-speed HO track with continuous rail. A fabulous track
in a great location - it was a treat!
The second NASTE race of the 2010 season was held Saturday, January 9 at the Stummans' Marshall Field Raceway in Beaverton. 
This past Saturday at 1 pm, the flag was once again dropped at the Auburn track of John Powers, aka, the Professor, sending four Slot.It Porsches hurtling into the future. For the next four hours, teams of drivers would speed their cars around the track stopping only for the occasional fuel refill and driver swap. Each hour, teams would trade lanes and take up with a different car.
The annual NASTE Halloween race is always a fun event, and this year proved to be another great event! On Friday night October 30th, sixteen racers placed their exotic Halloween creations on the starting line at Hemi Heights Raceway Park. In addition to the sixteen racers were a number of spectators, who were there just for the show.
The extremely successful International Proxy Series entrant named The Red Rider has returned safely home. After a journey of many months that started in Australia, traveled to England, Canada and finally the US, our car earned 3rd place overall out of 29 entrants including some top proxy racers. Racing on a variety of tracks under the hand of numerous drivers, our car consistently placed near the top in most events and was always a good qualifier in the time trials.
The NASTE team entry for the 
Marshall Field was the site of the first of the Northwest qualifier races for the SCX National Championship this past Saturday, September 19 at Marshall Field in Beaverton, Oregon. 
A great showing of 10 racers from Oregon joined 11 racers from the Tacoma area Saturday, June 13th in Auburn, Washingon for the second in the 2009 Professor's Enduro series.
Results are just in from the second round of the International Proxy Series (IPS) and the Team NASTE scratch-built Ferrari (pictured) has landed on the podium with a third place finish out of 25 cars. Coupled with the first event's 9th place finish our entry is currently in third place overall and in front of some pretty heavy hitters. 
The finale night of the 2009 NASTE season brought a field of 20 racers
to Bill Bostic's Too Bad Raceway in Fairview. Included in the group
were a few new racers. The cars for the evening's IROC entertainment
were Racer Ferrari 250 LM's graciously loaned to us by Tony of Fantasy
World fame. The Racer cars are well known for their stunning beauty
but that's not their only charm. The cars Tony sent us run like little
champs!
We're down to the last race of the NASTE season to be held on Saturday, May 23 at the Bullring in Fairview. The cars for the evening are scheduled to be the 1/32 scale Racer Ferrari LM 250's that Fantasy World Tony has graciously sent around the country. They are fun, great looking and easy to drive. Everyone will enjoy the Racer cars.
Thrills, chills and spills abound in this documentary featuring the 2008 Audi Racing Team's trials and tribulations as they prepare to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 
Bill Bostic and I made the trek south to Eugene to participate in the
ninth race of the NASTE 2009 season at Kimm Marshall's beautiful
Heidelberg Raceway. There we were joined by seven local racers to do
battle IROC-style in two different scales.
Sporting a flashy custom paint job, an angle winder setup and four coats of Future Floor Wax, the Slot.It 962 nicknamed the "Amish Rocket" pushed the 4 person TBD team led by Tim Booze to the winners circle in the Timba Classic Enduro this past Saturday at the Beaverton Slot Car Club.
SCX is just starting to announce the details of an exciting new COT they are about to release that will be based on the SCX Pro line of parts. By doing this, SCX is creating an entire new platform for the NASCAR fans as this car will be out of the box tune-able like no previous NASCAR offering from any manufacturer.
The Puget Sound Scale Racing Association held the first in
the 2009 Professor's 4-hour Enduro Series this past Saturday, March 7th. This one matched Slot.It Ferrari's vs. Slot.It McLaren's. It was quite the race! 
This past Thursday a group of NASTE racers dropped in on Greg Hodges beautiful routed and copper taped track in Sandy. It's always a delight to drive on Greg's track. Not only is the landscaping and detailing simply awesome, the track surface works great for every tire and car we've thrown at it. The smooth turns in the lower section and the uphill climb to the back straight is my favorite part of the track. Or maybe the ponds... my goodness what detail. I think that comes from years of real-world experience. 
For the second race in a row a large group of eighteen racers came out for the seventh race of the NASTE season on Saturday evening in Portland at Jeff Courtney's Hemi Heights Raceway Park. 
A fabulous crowd of eighteen racers and six spectators came out for the
first race of the New Year at Autumn Hills Raceway on Saturday evening
in Hillsboro. 
What better way to start a cold, dreary morning than with a hot and NASTE cup of mocha java served up fresh in a bright NASTE coffee mug. Why, it's bound to make you perk right up. 
For the six racers that braved the elements to get to Hemi Heights on Saturday, the real battle was on the track! The hardcore slot racers fought the extreme cold, wind, snow, and freezing rain to get their fix of electrically motorized competition. Hemi Heights is a very fast track that provides opportunities for a lot of action! From the wide open throttle action in the bank, to the gotta-get-'er-slowed-down-in-a-hurry hairpin, this track is a riot! The competition was very intense and close, as was the contact between cars. 
On Saturday, December 6th, NASTE sent six brothers of the slot to the 4th and final installment of the 2008 Professor's 4-hour IROC Enduro Series sponsored by
the 
Our plan is to meet just about every other Thursday night somewhere around town with the basic agenda of getting together to enjoy our hobby. We'll play with our cars, improve our driving skills, work on our tracks, whatever feels like fun. More like a guys-and-their-slot-cars-night-out, but the gals are invited too.
The fourth NASTE race of the 2009 season was held Saturday, November
22, at the recently renovated Marshall Field Raceway in Beaverton,
Oregon. 
The third NASTE race of the 2009 season was held Saturday, November 8,
at the Cape Horn Speedway in Washougal, Washington. A group of 7
hearty racers braved the crossing of the mighty Columbia to do battle
with another 4 members of the local Cape Horn group, basically the hot
shoes , on the tight and fast 6-lane 1/24 scale track referred to as a
red bow-tie . Racing would prove to be both fast AND furious!
Jeff Courtney's newly assembled 1/24 track was host to the NASTE Halloween Race for 2008. The Halloween race has been an annual event for NASTE since 1996. Jeff has hosted the majority of the events over the 12 years. 
NASTE sponsored two teams this year at Howie's Annual Porsche 962 Enduro. The enduro is officially an OSCAR event, and 10, three man teams showed up to race. For the record this is a grueling event for racers and equipment.
The second NASTE race of the 2009 season was held Saturday, October 4, at the Pelican Park Speedway in Eugene. A group of 6 local racers made the trip south and were joined by 13 local racers to form a great field of 19. We were not only treated to some great racing but also some excellent food prepared by members of the Eugene group.
A good showing of sixteen racers turned out for the 2009 NASTE Season
opener. The IROC styled race was hosted by Bryan Trachsel at his Butterdish
Speedway in Portland, Oregon. The cars of the night were HO T-Jets specially prepared by
race-master Bryan.
Tifosi Racing would like to offer, for free, an IROC series of champs between clubs. Perhaps a 4 race series that would include Five
identically prepared race cars, Tifosi Viking Chassis with a Ferrari 430 body, with spares for a Race Of Champions. With a small entry fee to cover the consumables costs, all can test their skill.
Here's a new product from Slot Car Corner to help fix those broken body posts so you can repair damaged bodies and get them back on the track. These specially designed inserts and accompanying mounting
sleeves offer a fresh approach to repairing body posts. I've actually been looking for something like this for a while now. You can glue the inserts into a plastic post or solder them into a brass post. The kit even includes the screws. 
On Saturday, September 13th a group of five local racers attended the third round of the Professor's 4-hour IROC Enduro Series sponsored by the 
Here's a great tool for track owners, it's Ultimate Racer 3.0. It includes a number of great features including power control, fuel management and some useful presets for racing events from Tournament styles to IROC and more. There's also a spiffy track layout tool including a 3D view of your track once you get it designed. (If you stroll down the page a notch you'll see we're currently having a DESIGN CONTEST!)