Racing on a different track

[Bubblegum]

If history repeats itself and there is a Council race we will be competing on a different track. Our District uses a best track and our cars are designed as 3 wheels touching for a center rail. The Council uses a Super Track without a center rail.
We raced on this track in 2016 and we finished mid pack. I did not know which track was being used and we were caught by surprise to say the least. There is a promo video on their website and all cars run down the track like going over cobblestones and wiggling.

What options do I have? I really don't want to alter our cars so could I build a reversed rail runner to drift to the outside of the lane? Other suggestions?

The other district ran on this track recently and I know their times but have no way of knowing how we compare. I know you cannot do that among different tracks.

Thanks.

 

[TRE]

Build new cars

 

[Wolfram Racing]

Petition your council to run on your districts Best Track. Not going to help this year, but if we had a pack/district that had a Best Track I would be asking them why we are using a 30+ year old wooden one instead. The answer to all my districts PWD questions is...well, that's the way we have always done it. Ugh. Be prepared for that answer.

 

[Bubblegum]

The race was run as part of the Scout Night at the local pro baseball stadium. The track was behind center field and no timer system was used. Instead there were four scout masters eyeballing the placements. You got so many points for each place during your heats. Hello 1980s racing.

I think that the whole outside placement is the reason behind track selection.

As far as building a new car my first consideration is not notching the DFW now. I don't think I could notch the rear wheel. How would I ensure the front wheel is steering and not the rear one?

Wheel gaps would be sloppy and too wide if I pulled the front wheel out.

Second is wheelbase. I have always run an extended base for stability. It has paid off at this level but am wondering if I should go to a shorter one for extra speed.

 

[TRE]

I have never built a super track car, but its my understanding you must narrow the rear of the car..maybe somebody else has done one could chime in

 

[Vitamin K]

If I were building a car for a Supertrack, I would build a 6' (or so) tuning board with side rails that approximate the width and height of the Supertrack lane. That way I could test the car's movement and drift and make sure the rear was staying off of the side rail.

 

[Bubblegum]

Thanks for the help. I searched here about this topic and it appears that this has come up once a season for each of the last five years.

So far the consensus is the track stinks because of the construction and is hard on cars because of the abrupt stop into a wall.

The car should be built to steer out and the dominate rear should be notched. There was one suggestion of reversing the wheel to prevent the lettering from rubbing.

I have a 5-ft mirror that I tune on and may add an outer rail to see what a car would do.

Right now this is a mental exercise because I don't know if there is even a race, which track, and the rules but I am using this to improve my build skills for next year regardless.

 

[Wolfram Racing]

John has a video about this in the premium content section of the forum...you should check that out.

 

[Bubblegum]

Thanks for reminding me. I will join the premium level at some point but it may have to wait a bit. I ordered supplies last month and sent in four cars for Mid America so my derby piggy bank is kind of empty right now.