Races?

[LarryA]

Today I was going to go to a LSH (will remain un-named but is a Nation Chain franchise) to do some parking lot racing for the fun of it. I decided I didn't feel like being there all afternoon so I just went to take a look see. Well, I'm glad I didn't go to race. I only hung around to see two heats, if that's what they were? There were four electric cars and they lined up for the start. This guy from the hooby shop walks to the other side of the course, looks around then just says "Ok". The cars are just sitting there waiting. He raises his arms and says "Well?". I suppose this is how they start races because all the cars took off. A grand total of two people were marshalling, cars were cutting the course short. After about 10 laps I hear absolutely nothing and they start pulling off the track. No idea who won, I doubt even the drivers knew who won. The next race was even better. It amounted to a Nitro Stadium truck and a 2WD monster truck (what great pairing off of vehicle performance). This was about the only cool part of the day. The monster truck driver I guess got a little disgusted at what he had to race against and just started driving over the course marking tubes (some small PVC pipe). The stadium truck flamed out after about 5 laps and the monster truck drove right over top of him. That was funny. Again you heard no start command, there was no lap scoring or even tracking that I could tell. If anything the hobby shop guy took a good guess who was running first. I can understand that it was something for people to do but it was a joke that people actually paid money to do this. It looked like a couple guys out practicing on a parking lot more so than a race. They do this every week. I saw one early this year and there were quite a few people there. It has dwindled down to about 10 now. I'm sure the only reason they are doing it is because they want to draw customers from seeing the cars run and get replacement part sales. To each there own but if I want to race I'll drive the 45 minutes to another track, I used to run at, where they run respectable races.
People want to feel like they are racing, not just running in circles in a parking lot or dirt track. BTW: They do basically the same thing on Saturday's for dirt. The start is usually "Ok, go ahead" and the finish is "That's it, I guess you win". What a joke!

 

[Error401]

This is kind of the flipside to your story. A couple of weeks ago I went to the local track just to run with some folks. The track is kind of small, but it's challenging. Most of the sparky and nitro buggy guys were off at another race, so it was like 6 or 7 T/Maxxes and me with my Savage. Since there wasn't that many folks running, it was decided to hold some informal races and not bother with firing up the computer to score and time the laps. Since I don't race that much, I didn't know I was supposed to keep track on my standing. After the "race" the owner asked me "How'd ya do?", to which I replied "Got around the track a few times..." I was just having fun, but I don't think he saw the humor. I still go there, now that I have the Hyper and the beefy parts on my truck the locals don't rag on my savage. And I still don't keep up with my standing.

Whitt...

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Arent HobbyTown USA's just such a treat!

I go there for a backup in the event the LHS's dont have what I need and its crucial I have it that day. And even then, I've only been bailed out ONCE....

Not saying the stores suck, at all, but it all depends on who owns that franchise which determines who helps you. They usually just look at me confused when I talk and then, the one kid who knows his poop, always tries to tell me I could do better and faster. No??? Really???? But he never wants to say who would romp on who in a race..... Once I get my NTC3 skillz down I'm going to go and lay down the law!

 

[Error401]

Oh no, here comes another franchise horror show. Slumgates. I was in there once, looking for a body for my micro rs4. Standing there looking at a jumbled pile of plastic bagged lexan I started noticing the babbling of the storekeep and a customer. The customer was explaining that his battery pack (7.2v car pack) would run for all of 2 minutes on a full charge and wanted to know what pack to get since it used to run for 15. The store keep babbled some mumbo-jumbo and stared back at the other guy. The other guy then explained how it used to run, more babble from store keep, and then the customer said "well, I usually run the pack completewly dead before I recharge it". Then the store guy mumbo-jumbo'd again, and I snapped. I turned and said to the customer, "sounds like a cell flipped and your pack is screwed, and there's no easy way to fix the old one. How long do you want to run and do those packs (pointing at the ones behind the glass door) have the same plug as your old one?" The customer looked at me like I was God himself, the store guy looked embaresed. I just turned and resumed digging through the lexan. After the customer picked out a pack and left, the store guy offered me a job, I said no, of course. I do have standards to keep.

Also, they used to run parking lot races, and the same thing you outlined in the first post happened there as well.

 

[LarryA]

It just amazes me! It didn't take long for a bullseye on the "fanchise" HA. Anyway, this place just totally amazes me. For the most part I can't say how much one or two of the guys in there know, but I too have had little choice but to overhear the store people with customers. At these times I really wish these people would have gone to a real R/C shop with people who actually care. I can only remember going there once that they actually had exactly what I went for. Then it was a body, and I think the only reason they had it was because the week before I said to the guy that I thought it looked cool. Heck, there was the owner one day, talking to a lady there to buy her son a truck. This guy wasn't giving her any good advise at all. Finally he just said, "Go out and talk to some of the guys racing, they know more about this stuff than I do." Huhhhhh! Maybe this guy should have gone the Burger King route instead. They do manage to get stuff occasionally but after it is sold they never seem to replace it. Today all I wanted was a hobby battery for my glow starter. They had none. Go to the paint, half the colors are empty. The funny part is that just recently they bought the empty store next to them and removed the wall to expand. Expand what? All they did was spread thigs out, there is no more stuff. There service bench is the end of the sales counter. The guy today actually starts up a gas truck inside the store and is reving it up dumping all these fumes in the store with a bunch of customers in. That's abou the point where I just left. I too only go there because it is close and on the slim chance they might have what I'm looking for but that is starting to grow real old fast.
It must be a rule with these places, this one also has a "pile of lexan" that is supposed to be the body section. Mostly junk but definetly in total disorganization. I just don't understand the whole bussiness thinking of these people. But then who am I to say?

 

[FlyinRazorback]

Larry,
I would look at it from a different point of view. I see that you already have some "racers" there that apparently want to race. Sounds to me that you just need some more people. I believe if more people see you guys racing, then they will get interested too. The more they race, the better they will get. Lap counting systems are expensive, so you can't blame them if they don't have one. Maybe with a little more organization one day you guys can have some good racing.

 

[militarymaxx]

Similiar story to everyone elses, the poor managment of starts and stops except the racers talked the LHS (yes, same franchise) into having a race for all vehicles. They sorted out the frequencies and they had a race of about 25 machines, gas and electric, buggies, MT, and stadiums. The buggy guys were soon out front but ran up on lapped traffic and that's when it got ugly. Too many on the track. Many, many wrecks and not nearly enough marshalls for that many machines. At the end of the race, and many broken parts later the racers could only blame themselves for buying into something like that. (Was fun to watch though !!)

 

[Error401]

Hey Larry, if you were in town, why didn't you call me? Cause I can't believe what you said about firing up a nitro car IN THE FREAKIN STORE! I was at the aforementioned establishment here in my town and the "owner" was telling one of the employees to put a rag under the exhause tip when he's "testing" an engine in the store.... Is that some kind of company policy? Gas the customers...

 

[LarryA]

First I will agree that at least there are some races around here. It would be better if they would just get a little more organized and clean up the act. The problem is you can't tell them anything. They have everything under controll......? They don't really need a lap counter / transponders but some realiable system and AT LEAST a respectable start finish would be nice.
As for the running an engine indoors, it appears that most come from the same mold... Oh well, my pickup only has 20K miles on it and will easily get back and forth to a real R/C shop.

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Errr, wellll, uhhhhh, almost any LHS I have ever been to does the same thing. Firing up trucks/cars/buggies inside. Just to make sure they start. Then, they take them outside to run the snot of them to tune.

:mex:

 

[Error401]

The good shops usually have their own building. The good one here does, and has a garage in the back. But they don't fire up the nitro on the counter in the customer area. The place I mentioned (probably the one Larry mentioned as well) is in a mall. That's not really the right place to be doing that kind of thing IMO.

About the "races", I say have the baddest Mofo of a MT there (savage with a picco and 40 series tires) and scare the piss outa the other racers. Oh yeah, that'd be a bash session, my bad.

 

[LarryA]

Nitro fumes can be pretty nasty to sinuses, I know because I just went through two majoer sinus sugeries and it actually burns my nose. To stat something like this up at the sales counter in a store with customers in, is just plain stupid. Will a car dealer let you fire up a showroom car and sit there reving it during opened hours? I don't think so. Anyway, any respectable Hobby Shop has at least an area with a work bench for repairs and such, not the main sales counter within a few feet of the registers. Outside is the place to start one of these engines up, not inside. Nirto fuel is highly toxic, so it stands to say the byproducts in the fumes can't be very good for you to breath in an unventilated store. This think made quite a bit of noise being inside also. It just said to me that these people are a bunch of losers. This place will only see me for last resort items. They have a dirt track that is open for practice weeknights between 5 - 8PM for $3. They have you fill out a line of a register/release form and include your freqency to be used. You would think that they would chek each entry to watch for duplicate frequencies, but Nooooo. They just take the peoples money and let them worry about it. One time I couldn't figure out why my Losi was going nuts. Turned out another guy showed up and started running with the same channel. I suppose to soe this place is good but I'm not at all impressed and will take my business elsewhere. These are just my opinions, maybe I'm just an grump but I'm too old to worry about changing now

 

[marcoze]

LarryA, Are you talking about the Hobbytown on baltimore pike in Springfield?

I race there.


But not last week. Or the week before.

 

[Team 17]

My LHS also fire-up the cars inside then take them outside to test run. Meanwhile the customers are coughing and run outside.

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

Originally posted by error401
Hey Larry, if you were in town, why didn't you call me? Cause I can't believe what you said about firing up a nitro car IN THE FREAKIN STORE!

At the Shop Ed and I go to they fire up nitros almost everytime I am in there. If the door is open it gets closed because we all like the smell

 

[Error401]

I like the smell also, don't get me wrong. I wish someone made aftershave that smelled like differnt flavors of fuel "The nitro line from calvin cline." That would be the poop.

The folks I would be worried about are the little old ladies shoping for craft goods in these franchise places. It could piss them off, then they tell two friends and they tell two friends and so on and so on. Suddenly alot of people that have never had any experience with R/C have this idea that they're bad and shouldn't exist cause grandma caligula got choked up looking for a train set for little Jr. Personally, I couldn't care less, but flying and driving sites have been lost for alot less than firing up a nitro engine indoors. Some hobby shops it's perfectly ok (like the hardcore hobby shops where the owner/employees know their poop), while others it's a bad idea (like the franchises).

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

The only old ladies in my LHS smoke cigars, have tattoo's and can drink me under the table!

Our LHS is predominantly a bunch of nitro junkies hanging out, drinking coffee, sharing ideas, tuning rides and telling stories of 'how they broke it'.

We really dont seem to mind that ever once in a while fire up of the engine. Its not like they run it for any more than a few seconds just to make sure it starts. Granted, its not good for you, but neither are half the chemicals or paints we use on these things either :trashed:

I can see what you mean about the franchise stores though. Your right on there. If its a 'family' place, then they should have a thoroughly ventilated area to fire them up.

 

[SilentGTboy]

Originally posted by Çh®i§tiªñ
Arent HobbyTown USA's just such a treat!

I go there for a backup in the event the LHS's dont have what I need and its crucial I have it that day. And even then, I've only been bailed out ONCE....

Not saying the stores suck, at all, but it all depends on who owns that franchise which determines who helps you.

Oh god I thought it was only my hobby town that sucked. I hate their phone service too. Everytime I call I have to hold for 5 minutes. When I called about prices for a HPI NMT they said $250 and I came in that day and it was on the shelf, big number $330. Then they say they will any time special order parts. I came in to order JR AM 75.830 ground crystals so I could run my car on my vacation. I come in a week later to get some tires and check on it and they wrote in the book they they didn't know what brand so they didn't order. I took the notebook from the guy at the the counter spun it around and put my finger on JR and he replied, "We thought that was your name." I ordered some slingshot tires from them and I called and checked three times in a week to see when they came in and the guy said not to call, we will call you! They sat there for a week before I came in an picked them up and they never called. Same thing too me friend two days ago. I hate Hobby town soo much!!

 

[HumboldtBlazer]

This hobby shop is not your local Hobbytown. Jake's is a hardcore shop to say the least.

 

[GilBeQuick]

My LHS of my choice is a Hobby Town USA. It's by far the best store around, here in Charlotte, NC. The people there are extremely knowledgeable and very helpfull. They stock TONS of parts, stock and hop-ups. Very rarely do they not have what I need. It's a very well organized, neatly kept store. Like said in a previous post, it just all depends on the franchise owner. :thumbsup: