NC Track Survey

[Russ Winn]

I've been seriously exploring opportunities to open a track when I retire from the military. I'm looking to settle in central North Carolina, and I'd like to hear from anyone in the area...What kind of RC following is around there (tracks, people, car types, etc.)?...I'd like to gather as much info as possible, maybe consider other areas (SC, Tenn, Va)....Thanx.

 

[1meathead]

I would check this site out http://www.carolinasrc.com/

 

[T-MAXX WINNING]

hey whats up man i would put a track in charlotte area because there isnt nothin here to race at and there is alot of racers that have been asking about where to race at but we all have to go all the way to rock hill, SC and that sucks.

 

[NCNitro]

Rock hill is only like a half hour from Charlotte.

 

[Russ Winn]

Thanx for the input...I still have a couple of years to go, but I'm trying to research it now.

 

[T-MAXX WINNING]

rock hill is about 45 mins from me cuz i really live in mint hill

 

[Digital Liquid]

There are a couple of tracks in NC. I have been to two of them. However, I am surprised that aren't any in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area. It is hard to find a decent off-road track. There is one in Goldsboro and one in Sands Hill. There is one in Durham, but it is very very small and not much jumps. There is also a drag-strip that several people run at, (but I'm just not into drag racing).

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Here are a list of tracks in NC:

- Inside Line Performance - (Goldsboro)
http://www.insidelineperformance.com/

- The Wood - (Goldsboro)
http://www.glennshobbycorner.com/page7.html

- RC Speedway - (Durham)
http://www.thercspeedway.com/

- Sandhills Raceway - (Vass)
www.sandhillsraceway.com/shr/New

- Piedmont RC Dragway - (Piedmont)
http://www.piedmontrcdragway.com/

There are a couple of other tracks, but they don't have any websites and they are way out in the rural parts of the state.

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If you are serious about doing something, then central NC would be a good place. I think there is a good following in the area. The main problem around here is that there isn't a decent track to run at.

Seriously, I think that if you have an all-in-one place, then you will do good as a business. I would suggest:
--Off-road track
--On-road track
--Drag Strip
Plus, don't forget about a hobby shop where you should things like porting and polishing. You can even advertise it to the professional circuit and have some of the big national races held there.

Let me know if I can help out any.

 

[GilBeQuick]

The LHS hobby business in general isn't doing too good...the internet and eBay are really putting a hurting on the LHS's. A couple of hobby stores in the surrounding Charlotte areas that had tracks have now closed down.

There is a good high-banked tri-oval track in Rock Hill at the Hobby Stop. They also have an offroad track there, but it's pretty small...good for 1/10 scale, but IMO still too small to race on. Their onroad road track is a joke....VERY small.

A guy name Lance Nordick (I'm pretty sure that's his last name. He used to race in the Craftsman Truck Series and now owns Victory Lane Indoor Karting center.) had a huge offroad track he ran next to his house off of Hambright Rd (off of Statesville Rd in Huntersvill). He held some pretty big national races there, but a little bit back decided that it was too close to his house (right next door) and got tired of random people knocking on his door at all hours of the day and decided to move the track.

He's building a track at Metrolina Fairgrounds in hopes to bring the World's races there. The track he's building is MASSIVE and the guy is supposedly pretty wealthy so it'll probably happen.

There is an indoor track in China Grove, but I forget what the name of the place is.

So, as far as the Charlotte area goes, there really isn't anything right now...the closest is Rock Hill, SC....which is only 20 minutes out of Charlotte. But like I said the track there is pretty small, so IMO it's a "fun" track, not a "race" track.

 

[Russ Winn]

Hey guys, I appreciate the input...like I said, it's still a couple of years down the road. I wanted to get a little feedback on what's in the area, because that's where I'm planning to settle down at....several years ago (1988), I ran the race program at 2 LHS in Houston, Texas with pretty good results. After seeing the face of the hobby change over the years, I think I could do pretty well for the local scene. Just wanted to see what kind of following there was in the area...Thanx again.
-Russ

 

[GilBeQuick]

The biggest problem in the area IMO is having an all in one setup: hobby store and adequate track(s) in the same location, while being very customer friendly. There just isn't anywhere around here like that.

 

[Digital Liquid]

I agree w/ GBQ, I think an all-in-one type of place will probably keep you in business and will get the best results. True, you won't get rich, but I'm sure you will at least be able to pay the bills + relax and do something that you like doing. That's what retirement is supposed to be about.

You can offer services such as:
--Porting
--Polishing
--Resizing
--Custom Painting
--Tuning
--Doing set ups
--Building kits
--Installing hop-ups
--General mechanical work

It's the services that you offer which will keep your business going. You don't necessarilly have to actually do all the services yourself. You can get some of your employees to do it, or you can even send it out to have some of the delicate work done (porting, etc...)

Then if you hold sanctioned / organized races you should be able to bring in the crowd w/ no problems. As they say "If you build it, they will come."

Here is a great article to read from RC Car Action. They have some good points to consider and also have some good suggestions. Check it out...

http://www.rccaraction.com/articles/howto_track.asp#Org

 

[Russ Winn]

That's the reason I was asking....I'm looking at not only location, but what type of interest there is. It would be pointless to build an onroad track and stock parts for TCs when everyone runs 1/8 buggies on dirt..who knows, in a couple of years it may be totally different than what it is now. I don't expect this to be my means of support, and I can't start big, so I wanted to get a feel for the market in NC/SC.
DL- Thanx for the link to the article.
-Russ

 

[Digital Liquid]

So far all I have seen is Monster Trucks, Stadium Trucks, and Touring cars. From what I've seen it's been about a 70-30 mix of Nitro vs Electric around here. Also, most of the LHS don't even stock buggies around here (raleigh, durham, chapel hill).

 

[T-MAXX WINNING]

yeah this would be great if there was a track near the charlotte area i was thinking about a year back about building this track back up for rc people its right here in charlotte, matthews to be exact and i just thought i could gather a couple of people to go and bring a shovel (thats all you need) and just put some time in and make the track back to normal and its a great track. but if yall are interested in doing something then tell me.

oh yeah sorry for the double post but there is a new hobby shop in charlotte its over here in mint hill, they have all the basic stuff you would need. hmmmmmmmm i wonder if they would take over that track and put it back to normal and hold some races there. do yall think i should ask them if they would do that.