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From this...
to this... in eight years |
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Pro Racing Chassis Design
Foreword
By Steve Okeefe
This series of articles will attempt to trace the development, both evolutionary and revolutionary, of what has become known as the "pro racing" 1:24 scale scratch built slot car chassis. The time period covered in greatest detail extends from 1966 to 1973, about eight years total. During these eight short years, there was more significant development in, and better historical documentation of, the art and science of scratch building competition slot car chassis than in any other similar period, before or since.
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From this...
to this... in eight years |
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These articles do not, by any means, presume to recount everything that happened; there are far too many branches in the evolutionary tree. Instead, these articles will seek to describe and illustrate as many of the major developments and as many of the details as it takes to make a recognizable history.
By the early sixties, home tracks and club tracks, which were essentially small, semi-private and almost exclusively 1:32 scale, had been around for many years, but suddenly commercial slot car raceways, open to the public and intended primarily for larger 1:24 scale slot cars, became tremendously popular. Why did this happen?
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From a home track...
To a commercial raceway... Who could resist?... |
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It is doubtful there is any one reason, rather it is likely there are several: An abundance of young people (the "baby boom" generation were teenagers in the early sixties), a relatively affluent society that could afford these toys, no consumer electronics such as video games to divert attention, a fascination with cars in general, and the growing availability of suitable parts, such as motors, gears, wheels, tires and bodies, not to mention controllers. Remember, commercial slot track manufacturers generally did not also manufacture cars, controllers and parts, at least some of those things had to come first!
Why the popularity of 1:24 scale cars over their 1:32 scale predecessors? First, 1:24 scale cars are easier to build simply because they are bigger and parts, such as motors, fit better. Second, 1:24 scale cars are generally better proportioned for the use of those same motors; because they are wider and longer than a 1:32 scale car, they have a naturally lower center of gravity, and therefore better performance . Third, 1:24 scale cars are better proportioned for the commercial environment; the tracks are bigger, so the cars need to be bigger.
For about half a decade, commercial raceways were bright, colorful and clean (not to mention profitable), and the novelty alone was enough, but it wasn't long before the hard core types wanted hard core competition, and the manufacturers and hobby media were there to help them......
In 1966 serious organized competition, defined by published rules, supported by manufacturers, documented and promoted in the hobby media, really got started. Almost immediately scratch built cars completely dominated the racing, and we were all off on on a wild ride!