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The strangest thing happened in our region.  The region 6 Off-Road 1/10th Scale Championships were scheduled to be held at Nitro Toys and Hobbies in Flowood, Mississippi.  Lee Collins, the owner of this racing facility, had voiced concern about rain.  Here in Mississippi the “normal” annual average rain fall is 60 inches.  Sometimes it’s more, but seldom it is less.  When Lee found that there was warehouse space coming available in his complex, he grabbed it.  The next thing you know there were many truck loads of high quality clay being delivered to the building.  Nitro Toys now has a small but very technical “blue groove” indoor off-road track.  But, I digress, as to the strange part – when the Region 6 Off-Road 1/10th Scale Championships drew near, Lee began to receive a lot of pressure, not to race on the large outdoor track as expected, but to race on the new smaller but much more technical indoor track.  A vote was taken and the results were unanimous.  All wanted to try the new track.

The day of the FIRST EVER Region 6 INDOOR Off-Road 1/10th Scale Championships arrived.  Although the day was beautiful, no one cared because we were racing under roof!  Lee Collins, Rocky Burney and Terry Vaughn put on a great event and played to a packed house.  I was surprised to see so many wives and kids in attendance.  Speaking of kids, a “Novice” class was held with the only restriction being age.  A ceiling of 12 years old was made.  The youngest driver was 6 years old.  All drivers except 1 stood on chairs to drive.  Let me tell you, this was the most serious class of the entire event.  There was no giggling, cutting up, or even trash talk.  These kids had something to prove.  If nothing else, they wanted to prove that they were truly “big enough” to race.  When the kids raced, everyone stopped what they were doing and came to cheer them on.  It was almost as bad as parents at a Little League baseball game.

“Novice Class” – notice the high level of concentration.

Final results for the day were as follows:

Novice – “the pros of tomorrow”
TQ – G. Gatewood (the son); 1st – G. Gatewood (the son); 2nd – R. Hulett; 3rd – C. Copley; 4th – K. Irvin; 5th – E. Childers; 6th – S. Sawaya

Stock Short Course Truck
TQ – E. Hill; 1st – E. Hill; 2nd – K. McCoy; 3rd – T. Camp; 4th – M. Harmon

10.5 Stadium Truck
TQ – E. Hill; 1st – E. Hill; 2nd – K. McCoy; 3rd – E. Irvin; 4th – P. Ables; 5th – J.D. Thomas; 6th – S. Childers

10.5 Buggy B Main
1st – D. Pendarvis; 2nd – M. Knox; 3rd – G. Evans; 4th – J. Lutz; 5th – T. Camp; 6th – E. Irvin

10.5 Buggy A Main
TQ – D. Bates; 1st E. Hill; 2nd – J. Masse; 3rd – D. Bates; 4th – W. Ables; 5th – R. Burney; 6th – K. Hawkinson; 7th – G. Gatewood (the father)

Mod 4wd Buggy
TQ – E. Hill; 1st – E. Hill; 2nd – K. McCoy; 3rd – S. Small; 4th – J.D. Thomas; 5th – S. Childers; 6th – E. Irvin; 7th – J. Lutz

One thing that I noticed was that throughout most of the races, the majority of racers were on the lead lap or very close to it at the finish.  This kind of competitiveness made for a much more exciting race to watch.  You were never quite sure who would win until the very last moment.  A racer commented to me that he needed to find more speed.  I told him to slow down and make fewer mistakes.  In his next race he did just that and picked up almost 2 laps.

All in all I enjoyed the day very much.  My congratulations to Lee Collins of Nitro Toys and Hobbies along with Rocky Burney and Terry Vaughn for an event well run.

A portion of “The Biggest Little Track in the South”

That’s all for now.

Yours in racing, Ed Hill

2011 has started off great for our region.  Although we think the weather has been cold, every prediction for smow has not occurred.

Recently I had an incident occur that was both a pleasure as well as a shock.  Mike Morris, of Clinton, Mississippi is a racer that I have have known long before he had his drivers license.  Mike gave me a copy of a Rev-Up magazine that contained the very first item written by yours truly (me).  It was very pleasant to see that he had kept this copy and it brought back some fond memories.  The shocking part was the date on the magazine – SEPTEMBER, 1987.  Wow, that was a long time ago.  Have I really been reporting about ROAR activities for almost 23 years?  Well in my defense, let me say that I am still having fun.

March 26, 2011 I was invited to attend the first official race at the Riverside R/C Racing Complex in Petal Mississippi.  William Sharp and associates have been working for four years in order to bring this facility to life.  At this time there is only one off-road track.  However, they will race any scale vehicle from 1/18th to 1/5th.  They have plans for a larger off-road track as well as a large scale dirt oval track.  The race day went smoothly with no problems that I could see.  Mrs. Sharp did a great job counting as well as keeping the grill hot – she fed us very well.  Parking and room to build and expand will never be a problem here as they have a very large piece of property.  The City of Petal had two representatives attend this race.  It would appear that they were very impressed with the event.  I was told that the City Parks and Recreation Department would support R/C Racing in their town.  It was very rewarding for me to learn that the Mayor of Petal, Mississippi and the City Fathers were so forward thinking and supportive of our sport of R/C Racing.

Riverside R/C Track

Two years ago we lost a local racer.  Leighton Dillard passed away while driving in a R/C race.  Last year Lee Collins owner of Nitro Toys and Hobbies in Flowood, Mississippi held a memorial and benefit race for Leighton and his family.  This year I was invited to attend the Leighton Dillard Second Annual Moeorial and Benefit Race held at Nitro Toys and Hobbies April 2nd and 3rd, 2011.  Leighton’s family attended the event and Leighton’s son Chris drove in a class as well.  The driver turnout was great.  Of course the local drivers attended, but there were entrants from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas.  Lee collins along with Rocky Burney and Terry Vaughn hosted a great event.  They even asked me to “guest” commentate a race.  The Bar - B – Q and Hot Wings kept folks coming back for seconds.  I have been assured that there will be a 3rd annual event.  If you want to be assured of a good time, watch for it.

Nitro Toys On-Road Track

The Winners - Leighton Dillard 2nd Annual Memorial Race at Nitro Toys

That’s all for now.

Yours in racing,

Ed Hill

“Yours in racing” Ed Hill

     2010 has been a great year in Region 6.  We now have two new racing facilities to welcome to our ROAR family of racing.

     T & T Speedway in Shreveport, LA has opened their doors as a full service racing facility.  Just check out their features.  Inside you will find a paved On-Road course that can be quickly converted to a Flat Oval Track.  There is a Rock Crawling area as well as a “Little Tykes” Track for birthday parties.  Last but not least you will find a large pit area.  Spectators have an unobstructed view of the action on three sides of the track.

     Outside of the T & T building you will find a well built Dirt Oval Track.  Next to the Dirt Oval Track is an Off-Road Track that is large enough to handle all Off-Road classes, from the largest to the smallest.  Now, talk about parking, there is paved parking “for days”.

     Lap counting is done by AMB.  While there are snack and drinks available in the hobby shop, orders for box lunches are taken and are catered by a local restaurant.  I tried a box lunch and will be sure to order another the next time that I visit T & T Speedway.

Inside T & T On-Road; Oval; etc.

T & T Pit area

T & T Off-Road

     Last summer disaster hit Flowood, MS when the City Fathers “in their divine wisdom” revoked the permit for the Trackseeker’s R/C/ Car Club racing facility.  But, did that stop Bubba Barham and the Trackseeker’s Club?  Heck no!!!!!  With Bull Dog tenacity, an R/C racing campaign seldon seen was launched.  Politics were played, favors were called in and some arms were twisted, but not in public.  What was the result?  The City of Flowood, Mississippi, a rather unique community, that borders Jackson, the Mississippi State Capitol to the east, with the Trackseeker’s R/C Club managing, has opened what is believed to be the only city owned R/C track in the United States of America.  What we have now is an 1/8th scale Off-Road Track with ventilation to safely run all of the nitro classes your heart desires.  Did I say ventilation?  There is such ventilation that the flags are always in motion.  I for one like the smell of Nitro, but you won’t smell it here.  This facility, now known as “Flowood R/C/ Racing Center”", is counted with AMB.  There is a small track for the “little ones” as well as a “Birthday Party Room”.  There is a unique “loft” above the race track with bleachers for spectators.  The view is so spectacular that I like it better than the drivers stand.  At most tracks you will have a problem with photographers wanting to be on the drivers stand as well as kids who just want to see better.  Here that will never be a problem.  Parking is a little tight, but there are plans to expand the parking area.  Last but not least, there is indoor plumbing.

     The opening day race at Flowood R/C Racing Center was a special event because not only was it the 1st official race held here, but it was also a “Toys for ToTs” event held in conjunction with the United States Marine Corps.  Bubba Barham and the Trackseeker”s R/C/ Car Club have every right to be proud of the results.  The race was well attended and over 100 toys were donated.  Not wanting to be left out, I brought a big blue bear to be added to the toy collection.  So that no one went hungry, Bubba arranged for a local restaurant to set up in the building and serve hot food.  What a treat!

Flowood R/C/ Racing Center - check out the 3 huge fans on the far wall. Note: this photo was taken from the spectators "loft".

Yours truly with the First Sergeant

     Many thanks to Steve Pond, 2011 ROAR President, for teaching me how to get stuff posted to our web site.  From what we have seen so far, I know that he will have a good term of office.

That’s all for now.  Yours in racing,  Ed Hill

Carpet On Road

Nitro Toys & Hobbies

2311 Flowood Dr.

Flowood, MS 39232

(601) 664-9002

Here we are in the middle of winter. Very little racing because “Baby it’s COLD outside”. That doesn’t mean that we are not making plans for when warmer weather gets here.

Many Clubs and Tracks need to be reminded that it is past time to renew ROAR Affiliation. Get those dues in to ROAR quickly people. Ed is already making plans for State and Regional Championships. You don’t want to be left out.

I would like to welcome Trackseekers R/C Club in Flowood, MS the newest member track to Region 6. This group has a very competitive off road track for nitro as well as electric vehicles. They have just completed a very nice dirt oval track that will use the same drivers stand. It was my pleasure to attend their last off road race. The racing was fast and furious. With racing as competitive as it was I was very pleased to note that the race director did not have an occasion to reprimand anyone’s conduct. By the way, the on site food concession was great!

I was very pleased to be invited to Destrehan, LA to attend the St. Charles Racers Charity Race. Unfortunately I had a prior commitment and could not attend. I do understand that they had a good turnout and raised a goodly amount of money for the charity. I do hope that I will be invited to attend the next event.

That’s all for now. Please let me hear from you. Don’t forget 2009 dues!!!!!

As always,
Yours in racing,
Ed Hill