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So, you want to build an R/C Race

Track for use in your location...

    I have often been asked advice about building R/C Tracks and getting racing going by people that visit my web site. Most start off with just questions on aspects of how to construct various tracks and what raw materials are to be needed. Knowing what I do now after all of the years I have been involved, I can only shake my head and think, "Wouldn't it be nice if building a track were the only thing one needs to do to get local R/C racing going near them!" In my experience, building the track itself is the least important thing to consider before getting started.

    In reading this section, one might start to think that I am trying to scare people off of building R/C Tracks and making places available to race at. This is not the case at all. I am all for promoting R/C Model Racing and organized activities for our patrons. What I am trying to do here is make sure all those innocent R/C Model Racers that are going to try to promote activities and in doing so are just trying to get some good clean fun started in their area do not end up as prey to the ignorant Fun Haters out there.

    There is actually a lot of things to go over here, so I will try to divide the various issues into their own separate sections to make this more organized. My goal in the end is to give people, both those in favor of and against the R/C Racing Hobby, a better understanding of everything involved. Some of the information I put in here is likely not going to make me more popular to certain people. All I can say is, the frustration is mutual and I will not let this stop me from openly speaking out on the subject. I will not hide and take pot-shots at people like some have done to me with nameless complaints to City Hall against my efforts to promote R/C. I will openly debate the subject anytime.

    Please read on if interested and keep an open mind. If you have any comments, PLEASE CLICK HERE to submit them to me. I will respond to them personally as time allows. Anonymous submissions I will not waste time with. Thanks for your support!

RACETRACK BUILDING RELATED ISSUES

TYPE OF TRACK:

• OUTDOOR ON-ROAD OR OVAL If you are just going to race Outdoor On-Road, any large smooth paved area can be utilized as long as it is large enough to have a decent layout and enough pit area by it is available for your racers to set up in. In most cases, these tracks are set up, put to use and then taken down after use daily. (Not Permanent) We have a TrackPac RoadRail System to use for this. The area should be clean and flat. It is best if there is electrical power on site for people to use for their equipment, but drivers can use the battery power of their automobiles if nothing else. A public bathroom is a must! A portable should be set if nothing else is nearby.

• OUTDOOR DIRT OFF-ROAD OR OVAL If you are going to build a decent outdoor dirt track, you must find a usable spot of property that the layout can be allowed to remain set up on after use. You obviously cannot easily lane up a dirt track, build in jumps and other features and expect to be able to strip in down again daily. The site needs to be large enough to hold your layout and pit area. A consideration that also needs to be made is fencing the track in if it is in a public area. This is because if you don't, BMX Bike riders and other non-R/C people will decide it is a spot open for them to use also and rut up the surface leaving you a mess on race day. It is pretty much a must to have a good running water supply for any dirt track. This can be from a public water system or be pumped from an available standing water source at the location. Without watering abilities there will be maintenance, traction and dust problems.  It is best if there is electrical power on site for people to use for their equipment, but drivers can use the battery power of their automobiles if nothing else. A public bathroom is a must! A portable should be set if nothing else is nearby.

TRACK LOCATION CONSIDERATIONS:

• RESIDENTIALLY ZONED PROPERTY IN CITY LIMITS: The first thing you need to consider before deciding to set up an R/C race place on residential property is who will be allowed to use the facility. If it will never be more than your family and a few friends, you can build a track on your home property. Make sure you go to City Hall and be sure there is not some local codes against this before you start though. Expect, no matter what, that there are going to be people that don't like your track and will complain to the City about anything they can dream up. I will go into more details with my experiences and thoughts on this later in this web topic section. For now, please be sure you realize chances are some of the people that live near you will always be looking for some legal reason to have you forced to remove your track. I will from now on refer to these individuals as Fun Haters. You will never be able have an openly advertised public gathering, collect any race fees or even ask for donations without risking some legal action against you from these people.

• RURAL PROPERTY THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED GOVERNED BY ANY TYPE OF CITY OR TOWNSHIP BOARD: You would think you would have some rights to build an R/C race facility legal for public use on rural property located outside the limits of any city or town, but believe me when I say to you that, YOU DON'T. You had better check into exactly what your legal rights are BEFORE you spend yourself under building a track and get your release or permissions to set up IN RIGHTING! Get a signed release from everyone that lives on and/or owns property within, at least, a 5 mile radius of your proposed track site also. You must protect yourself against the fun haters out there!

• COMMERCIALLY ZONED PROPERTY: Commercial property is the only place you can expect to be able to build an R/C race facility with activities open to the public. Even so, you still need to check with local codes and get permits if required. Area Fun Haters will still file complaints and shut you down if they can. Nitro Engine R/C Racing makes some noise, people having fun are noisy, participants cars are congesting the area, the PA system is too loud, etc... Things like these and any other issues they can dream up will be used against you. Know your rights and make certain you are safe from the Fun Haters before taking on the expense of setting up any site with an expensive R/C facility. Fun Haters don't care what happens to you and your family if you lose everything due to their success in shutting you down. If a commercial property owner welcomes you to build your track on their site, don't assume anything. Check into every aspect of your rights before diving in head first.

• PUBLIC LAND LIKE PARKS AND RECREATION AREAS: If you are lucky enough to have a Park Board or other public group of official that have a suitable spot where you can put up a public track and would be willing to allow you to use it, wonderful! This is a great way to start. Generally, the Park and Recreation Departments will welcome your efforts in promoting R/C Racing as a new public activity and help you if they can without charging you fees. Setting up a track will cost you enough money without having to shell out a bunch more in rent. There is also usually going to be a requirement that you ensure your activities, which you can expect to need to shell out at least $500 a season. The nice thing about Park land is it has some legal immunity to Fun Haters in that YOU CAN BE NOISY THERE, at least during hours designated in local codes. Getting free land use will not add to the several thousands of dollars you will need to put into race management equipment, software and other equipment costs needed to have professional events, if that is going to be the case.

• SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND OTHER SIMILAR PROPERTIES: The board members of schools and colleges will sometimes agree to let you use their facilities for R/C. If this is going to be inside the building like rolling out a carpet track on their gym floor, you should have no real concerns aside from making sure everyone behaves themselves and takes care of the place properly. You can expect insurance coverage will be required generally. If the activities are to take place outside the building, make sure the location has rights to have public events on the property. If not, there will be no protection for you if any Fun Haters decide to attack you for any reason like noise created by the events.

LET'S TALK SOME ABOUT THIS

    By now, you should have a much better understanding of what a pile of hooey it can be just to set up a place to have some fun racing R/C models. R/C Model Racing is such a harmless thing, yet it is condemned by some people out there as if we were a gathering of Devil worshipers. We are just a bunch of good people trying to have some fun. Is that so bad?

    I live in a small city (Crookston, MN) that has serious lack of fun things to do. Some of us have come to view the whole city as a huge retirement home. One of the activities I picked up years ago to keep me from going insane here is the Remote Control Model Racing Hobby. For most of the years I have been involved, I needed to travel to other cities to race my models. There was some racing that did OK here several years ago, but without a decent Off-Road track and Professional Race Management Equipment available, it fizzled out.

    I decided to go into a side business to promote R/C Racing in this area. To do this, I needed to make products available locally. I did this by setting up a web based shop. I also build a nice off-road track on my home property to give local racers (My Friends) a place to race at, which will naturally promote the hobby here by allowing people to see us having fun racing. The reason I put the track on my home property is because I could not afford to do it elsewhere. I knew there might be some dislike for my track being here, but not to the degree I have seen. This harmless, well contained and maintained play area that is no less bad to look at than the average garden has been complained about to such a degree it is unbelievable. Though our using the track, even with my glow engine models, is less noisy than the lawn mowers around here, some seem to view it like I am having open keg parties with live bands or something. At this point, I am certain that if I instead had a volley ball net up here and a dozen friends came by once a week to play, it would be just as bad to these Fun Haters. I am really sorry I purchased this home now, but I am stuck here financially, unfortunately. My only hope now is to find a way to keep organized racing going somewhere out there year-round to dig myself out of the debt I got into with my trying to promote R/C Racing and buy my way out of here. Either that or file bankrupt leaving me with nothing but this house and be stuck here forever.

    I have had some successes, but not enough to cover expenses. The East Grand Forks MN American Legion Club has allowed me weekly use of their party room to hold organized Carpet Oval Racing in the winter months. This has gone very well and I am very thankful to them for their contribution and support. We have yet to get anything going in the summer months though. I have set up portable systems capable of running huge, high-level racing events anywhere out of a 6' x 12' trailer with an awning, but we have not been able to get regular races going. The East Grand Forks City Hall let me use their parking lot on Sundays, but the guys did not like to run on the concrete there. The lack of participation forced me to abandon that site. There has been people gathering at the Grand Forks Alerus Center lot for the last three or more years to run without permission without any interference. I was asked if I would run some races there and I said I would, but needed to ask for permission to do so first. After I asked them, they got back to me with this insanity: $500 a day plus $150 a day for a rider on their insurance. Do the math on that for yourself. If I was lucky enough to get at least 20 entries to show up, what I would need to charge to make anything? I guess they thought we were somehow associated with NASCAR or something and were rolling in money.

    Here is what we need to happen to get things rolling, a decent spot we can use to legally hold Parking Lot Racing Events and a second spot we can legally set up to have Off-Road Racing Events. These would need to be immune of prosecution from the Fun Haters and be suitable to support the action. Anyone know of a place that may work? If you have any comments, PLEASE CLICK HERE to submit them to me.