LASCM Visit, February 2008

Some of the racers competing in the First Annual Checkpoint Cup retro races were offered a guided tour of the Los Angeles Slot Car Museum. Host Scott Bader and museum curator Philippe de Lespinay prepared a nice display for the visitors. Please CLICK HERE for a fully illustrated report by Keith Tanaka.

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East, West and South meet in Memphis

Going to Memphis…

The saga of a proud survivor of the first East-West confrontation in slot
car history.

By Philippe de Lespinay

After the Rod & Custom racing series of 1966, the Champion slot car racing Company of Chamblee, a suburb of Atlanta in Georgia, organized their first ARCO-series race in Memphis, Tennessee. This was suggested and partly financed by the United Fruit Company president Bruce Paschal, a man dedicated to the success of professional slot car racing.

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Mura “B” can motors, success or failure?

A part of the large Mura chapter in the new soon to be published “Electric Dreams” book addresses the success and failures of one of the most controversial slot car motors ever, the infamous B-can motor.

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Rebuilding a survivor: Rick Durkee’s Team Russkit Chaparral 2

Rick Durkee Chaparral brought back to life

By Philippe de Lespinay

When Jim Russell created the world’s first professional slot car racing team in 1965, he trusted Mike Morrissey to find the “right stuff” within the So-Cal racers. Mike selected Len Vucci, Ron Quintana, and Rick Durkee as the original team members. Fred “Kenny” Larimer was later added as well as many others.
The aim was of course to showcase the Russkit products, and that, they did for a while. But the competition began using evolved home-built brass tubing and wire frames and rewound motors based on the… Russkit “23″ motor!

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First-Ever Angle-Winder Slot Car Revisited

The World’s Most Important Slot Car?

Gene Husting built his (and pro-racing’s) first angle-winder car in late 1967, after he saw a picture of a 1/32 scale car built by Midwest racer Roy Moody. When he showed up at Gallagher’s J&J Raceway in California, the car, fitted with a Lancer McLaren MK6 body, was improperly geared but showed great speed. To the great surprise of all present, Gene actually finished in 3rd place in the weekly race with the car, humbling serious racers such as John Cukras and John Anderson. The locals pros tried to find every and all reasons why the car was so fast, but centered about its “rocket” motor, ignoring that the speed of the car came form its faster speed while cornering, allowing it to reach a greater top speed sooner than other cars.

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CHAMPION of CHAMBLEE Revisited

Please CLICK HERE for the fully illustrated story!

The Art of Keiji Kanegawa

Artistry on a different canvas…

How to Clean your Vintage Magnesium Parts

. . . or when Lemon juice is a lemon.

My Favorite Lady

The restoration of the last surviving 1972 Western States race Team Checkpoint car

Billy’s Steel Car

Restoring Pro-Racing’s forgotten treasures, one at a time.

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