Wanna race? What to consider when transitioning from bashing to the track.

One of the appealing aspects of the radio-controlled car hobby is that it allows me to get back into the technical and mechanical workings that I dealt with during my two summers racing karts. Granted this is on a smaller scale, literally, but the concepts are the same. I've had thoughts of taking my short course truck to the track, but I need to make some more runs in the front yard first, and with winter finally arriving to Wisconsin, I'll have to wait for a few more months. While the transition seems simple, I'm finding there's more than meets the eye.

When you get a new r/c vehicle, the first thing you want to do is rip the box open and rip around the yard. For those conditions, box stock is perfectly fine, but as with any level of racing, updates and improvements are needed to be competitive. Another truism from full-scale racing is the phrase: "speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?". You can put a lot of money into this hobby just to. Get up and running and you can put a lot more in if you want to go racing, and even more if you want to be competitive.

Again, since I've not yet hit the track with my own r/c, I'm speaking from research rather than experience, but my research has been quite intensive. If you're looking to try your hand at racing, find your local track and payit a visit. There are different types of tracks and layouts, so you'll want to do some research of your own before you start turning laps. Do you want to run on carpet or dirt, indoor track or outdoor, off-road or on-road? Once you square that away, head to your local track and see what you can do. Don't be afraid to ask other folks what they're running and what upgrades they've done. Also check out forums and see where folks are running and what advice they might have.

After that, have a blast! My kart racing days led me to meet some great people who where always willing to help out and give advice and from what I've heard, r/c racers are no different. Depending on how your first few trips to the track go, you may want to ramp up your track visits and even start running in local leagues.