[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8GgMrIBT70?rel=0]
Slot Car Racing at Extreme Hobby in Little Falls, NJ posted by wdamiano
Recently I had a few flashbacks to the slot car racing set that I had when I was a kid. I don’t remember owning it for too long because I used to get frustrated that the cars popped off the track a lot, but it was still a really cool set. Plus, it usually took more time to set up and get it working correctly than it did playing with it. Regardless, I feel like playing with it right now just to get that feeling back! Want to join me? If you haven’t ever played with or raced slot cars, the feeling it gives you is way more realistic than playing with a typical die cast model car.
At one time slot car racing was a huge deal, and people were into it as a local competitive sport.
Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson were even racing slot cars in Wayne Manor in “The Duo Defy” episode of the ’60s Batman show. Nowadays, it’s not as prominent, especially in the toy stores. As always, toy aisles are crammed with
Hot Wheels and
Matchbox cars, which is not too different from when I was growing up, but we also had more slot cars back then. The racing sets made by those companies aren’t nearly as fun because unlike slots, you don’t have control over your car.
This flashback that I had got me all nostalgic and prompted me to look up slot cars on YouTube. I found a couple of places in New Jersey that offer slot car racing for enthusiasts. In the videos you can see how insanely fast these cars go whizzing by (especially in the video below). I think I’d lose sight of my car if I was racing on one of those big tracks. The set I had only included 2 cars and I specifically recall them being Ford GT-40 models which I always thought were so badass! The GT-40 is one of my favorite model cars ever and I’d love to own a real one! Of course, that will never happen, but I’ll always have my memories of my short lived slot car set.
Apparently, my sudden jolt slot car memories aren’t out of the ordinary. Slot car racing is clearly still alive and well. There’s a huge fan base in New Jersey and after the video I listed several places all around Jersey where you can go race slot cars yourself or just go and watch.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIVV4_spycg?rel=0]
Video from Speedzone Raceway and Hobbies in Mount Holly, NJ
Speed Zone Slot Car Raceway in Mount Holly, NJ:
NJ Slot Spot in Neptune City, NJ
Dom’s Slot Car Raceway in Cream Ridge, NJ:
The Race Place in Farmingdale, NJ:
