THIRTY YEARS IN THE GROOVE
(07/29/2008) As I finished the April 28 SCORE newsletter,I wrote that the season finale would fall "just two days shy of the 30th anniversary of the first MARA program that began the era of openwheel racing in this area".For a long moment,I sat and stared at the computer screen,then it hit me."Oh my God",I thought,"it's been 30 Years"!
Few things in life last 30 years and,believe me,I never expected to be racing slot cars for this length of time.Thirty years ago,I was 26.Since then,I've been through two marriages(and two divorces),raised three kids,changed addresses seven times,and rode this rollercoaster of life with its great ups and downs.Through it all,I've raced slot cars. If nothing else could make me feel like a dinosaur,it's the fact that I'm the only person who has raced every season during these 30 years.Yeah,there were times I missed a lot of races,but I always managed to make a few shows somehow.
For those who wonder what the big deal is,I have to say that we've been involved in something special.I've made numerous attempts trying to find other organizations that run 1/24th scale sprints or midgets or dirt champs and the results have been rare.Oh,there are clubs that race those openwheel divisions,but not to any recognized scale.Just look at the stuff you'd find on Ebay.Plop a body onto a frame with no cage or glue a wing on top and call it a sprint car.Real junk.We've been fortunate that,throughout the years,most of the competitors have had some concept of what we've been trying to do and,even before we had a rulebook,our cars were good replicas of real cars.The reason has been one,largely,of continuity.MARA(Miniature Auto Racing Association) set the standard long ago and the RSCA(Reading Slot Car Association) and SCORE have managed to maintain that ideal.Yes,it has been something special.Try to find another organization that races any of our openwheel divisions with as much class as SCORE.Good luck.
To put the MARA,RSCA,SCORE era in perspective,let me lay a few stats on you.Years ago,I counted 81 drivers who raced with MARA.Add another 13 or so that were rookies in RSCA and another 42 rookies in SCORE and you'll find that at least 136 different people have competed over the years.MARA recorded 501 feature events,the RSCA more than 110 and SCORE has held 339 mains.So,without doing one of my exhausting researches,its easy to say that there have been somewhere around 950 openwheel features since 1978.Though it's been what would be considered a "local" phenomena,we've raced at 20+ tracks in five counties(Berks,Northhampton,Lehigh,Lebanon,Montgomery)! Not too shabby.
Before anyone gets excited about the fact that there have been three separate organizations,let me say that, throughout the years,there's been an evolutionary process involving openwheel slot car racing in this area.MARA started it,but by 1982,Joe Perrotto,Roadie Weikel,and Steve Keller were racing with us.All three,eventually,ran the RSCA.When the RSCA decided to nix its openwheel divisions,Dana Marsden,who began running in the RSCA,and I founded SCORE.Overlapping membership in these organizations made it a relatively seemless transition from one club to another.Of the drivers who participated in SCORE last season,Dave Kurtz,Chris Hinz,Brion Hassler,Mike Lengel,Tim Musser,Kerry Breon, and myself have raced under all three banners.Add the fact that,since the 1984-85 season,the car specifications have remained virtually the same remains another significant factor in establishing the continuity among these entities.And don't forget that both Grill National Speedway(Heights National Speedway) and South Gate Speedrome have run with each sanctioning body!
So,again,what's the big deal? Simply put,we've been participants in something that is not only outstandingly unique,but has a long history of success!
See you at the races,
DB
