Bob Bianchi has raced cars in front of 2,000 people, with flashbulbs pocking the air from the overflowing grandstand as he whistled across the finish line.
Of course, the people were all made of plastic. And the flash bulbs were tiny blinking Christmas lights affixed to the rows of seats.
Welcome to the world of slot car racing, where aficionados like Bianchi can enjoy the rush of racing without the concerns over twisted metal or bodily harm. It's also the only world in which Bianchi can own somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 cars and in which participants can create and decorate their home tracks as they see fit, including full stands, natural scenery and plastic paparazzi.
Tweaking and servicing slot cars has never been easier, either, thanks to Slot Car Corner, a one-stop shop that opened in Penacook in October. Business partners Dickie Pearson and Steve Sawtelle moved an internet business that has been humming along since 2006 into the downtown storefront, and have welcomed Bianchi and other dedicated racers ever since.
“It's all about keeping it cheap and fun,” Pearson said. “As with anything, there is some cost. But we try to limit it somewhat.”
That cost depends on your level of interest and commitment. The cars – which are 1:32 models of real cars and are slotted onto grooves in the track and controlled electronically via remote – can be stripped and rebuilt to any specifications. And tracks are equally customizable. If you want bleachers and spectators, you can add them. If you want mountains or forests, you can add them. If you want a slot car ice cream man to deliver slot car ice cream to your slot car drivers, you can. (We'll take a Good Humor Bar when you get a chance.)
To that end, Pearson has created something of a Mecca for slot car enthusiasts. The store includes just about any part a veteran racer could need – from tires to axles to gears to motors – as well as cars and kits for newcomers to get started. It also has a circular wooden track for those just getting their feet wet and a massive, windy track – put together by Bianchi – that hosts races on some Saturday nights.
Slot cars range in price from $25 for a basic model to almost $100 for a more race-ready selection. But much of the fun comes from tinkering, Pearson said, and people will often replace just about every stock part with a more specialized one, which is where the store comes in.
Upgrading wheels and tires or internal mechanics can increase speed significantly, and the ability to personalize each vehicle is what appeals to most car enthusiasts.
“It emulates real racing pretty good,” Pearson said. “But the beauty of it is you can do it no matter what the weather is outside. As long as you have electricity, you can have fun.”
Electricity is a crucial element, but so is comfort with the mechanics. The more sophisticated controllers allow the user to increase the sensitivity when braking and accelerating depending on the car they are using. Competitive juices inevitably flow during races, but the focus of the competition is on entertainment and having fun.
“As far as hobbies go, it's not that expensive, especially if you look at real racing. And the guys here are a good bunch of guys. Most everybody just has fun with it,” Bianchi said. “We don't want to put the pressure on winning, because in racing when it matters who wins, people start spending money and people start cheating.”
“It's the camaraderie, more than anything,” Pearson said. “Sure, when you put the cars on the track we race hard, but as soon as the race is done we have a lot of fun. You don't do it for money or prizes, it's just strictly for fun.”
And for all ages. Bianchi's son, Jonathan, now 14, has been racing since he was 5, and has fine-tuned his ability with hundreds of laps around various tracks.
“It's a fun competition knowing that if you lose, you really don't have to worry,” Jonathan said. “You know you'll have days where you just aren't going to run very well, but you know you'll have days when you do. But you're just coming to have fun.”
