Circuit of the Americas taking steps in the right direction

Many of you who follow my blog or social media are aware that I have been critical of Circuit of the Americas.  I am very glad to see that they are coming around and listening to their critics and racing fans.  I commend CotA on reconciling with Kevin Schwantz.  This was something that was long overdue, and I am happy to see Kevin back as part of the CotA family.  Another recent development which I am very happy to see is the release of Circuit of the Americas for iRacing.  Being that CotA is one of the world’s premier racing facilities, and iRacing is one of the top racing simulation companies, it is another good move to have them on board.  Finally, I was very happy to see that their marketers have taken the time to survey fans about what they would like to see at the track.  It seems to me that Jason Dial is turning things around at CotA, and I am really looking forward to see what other changes may be coming.  Maybe more track days, reasonable parking fees, better vendor relations, and coolers?  Who knows what’s next, but at least things are moving in the right direction.

Circuit of the Americas taking steps in the right direction

Cars for Research

Looking for something to do in Austin this weekend?  Come out to the Oasis for a special car show benefiting Cars for Research.  This is the 5th year of this car show, and it goes to benefit Parkinsons and Dystonia research.  Please visit the website for more information.

Cars for Research

Flyslot cars are here!

Races2U is now an official vendor of Flyslot 1:32 scale slot cars. These cars are known for their incredible attention to detail as well as their lightning fast motors. FlySlot is also known for their trucks. Yes, that’s right- slot TRUCKS- as in Tractor-Trailer type. We now have them in stock, along with other awesome cars such as the Dodge Viper, BMW M1, and the Lotus 78 John Player Special Formula car driven by Mario Andretti.

If you want one of these, act quickly, as we recently purchased much of the manufacturer’s remaining inventory of these models, and when they’re gone, you won’t see them again. Call, email, or come into our store in Austin and check these out for yourself.

Flyslot cars are here!

Slot.it Oxigen radio frequency slot car system

Races2U now has the first and only commercial slot car track in the United States running the Slot.it Oxigen system.  Not only that, but it’s portable and available for corporate events such as team building and trade shows anywhere in the continental United States.

This modern technology goes as far beyond ordinary digital slot car racing as digital racing went beyond analog.  With Oxigen, microprocessors in the cars and the controllers are paired using radio frequency, rather than using cabled controllers where the digital signals are passed through the track  to the cars.  Even though several other digital systems have the option for wireless remote controls, the signal to the car still goes through the track, and most digital systems are currently limited to running only six or 8 cars simultaneously on a track.  With Oxigen, it is possible to run 20 independently controlled cars on the track.  With all the cars transmitting their information via RF, it is also possible to have features like anti-collision built in.  Perhaps one of the most useful and interesting features is that when set up properly, these cars can run on many types of digital tracks, including Carrera, Scalextric, and Ninco.  Another interesting feature is that the Slot.it control can be tweaked to tailor the response of the car’s braking, acceleration, and speed.  To make the best use of the Slot.It Oxigen system requires a USB dongle which reads the information from the cars and controls, and can be used to feed the data into a race management program such as Slot.It’s own chronometer or PC Lapcounter.  This system is not for the faint of heart, or light of wallet, as every piece may require firmware updates, which can be a laborious process and a typical controller/cartridge/decoder/car set may cost $300 or more.  However, if you want to take digital racing to the next level, this is a great option.  To learn more about the system, visit the Slot.It website here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Slot.it Oxigen radio frequency slot car system

Snake and Mongoose DVD/Blu-Ray release tomorrow

I remember having these toy cars as a kid.  This movie is not just for drag racing fans, but for anyone who likes a good nostalgic movie.  This is family friendly, though rated PG-13 because of smoking.  A good historical drama along the lines of “Rush”, though without the big star power behind it.  Very well done, and fun for all.

Snake and Mongoose DVD/Blu-Ray release tomorrow