Well, in slot car news, the battle for Ohio "hardbody" (meaning, using a hard styrene or resin model car body) oval supremacy has begun with the annual six-week intertrack challenge between Route 93 Raceway in Akron, and Shifters Raceway in Eastlake.

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A total of 24 racers in three mains made the opening round, ranging in age and experience from wily veterans to 8 year old Heather, running her first ever slot car race. It was an absolutely packed field and it made for fun and competitive times.

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I'm preparing individual pictures of each of the field's entrants, but first have to properly identify some cars.

Big winners of the evening were Mark Simon, who was given for his contributions to Shifters Raceway (his carpentry skills have made our road course raceable again!) the Shifters Racer of the Year award, and all around good-eggs Adam "Showtime" Sullivan and the always fun "Carwash" were awarded top honors in the pre-race Concours for their very stylish entrants.

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But, when all is said and done, what really counts is what happens on track. While complete results are on the way (along with the complete field gallery) the night's podium (Right to Left) belonged to Showtime Sullivan in 3rd with his AMT 74 'Cuda bodied entrant, Rt93 Don in 2nd with his AMT 1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator racer, and Overall Winner Joe "Flash" Cuhar with his Revell 1969 Chevy Camaro slot car.

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I myself ended up 3rd in the B-main and 10th overall, but more importantly I was able to photograph the event and share it with all of you. This Sunday the Challenge moves from the flat tri-oval at Shifters to Route 93's high banked and fast egg-oval. See you there!

sweet. I wish I had something like that local

yeah, I would like this locally too, but better yet that track would be great in my living room. thanks for sharing this, looks like it would be a blast.

Jason and Michelle from The Parts Box have a four lane 18 meter oval in the living room of the house they rent.Lots of fun!

Thats awesome! Shame that slotcar racing died here in Hobart a long time ago - it would be a great home for those abandoned projects and so forth....

Its a shame you can't get a D21 Nissan kit - you could build a Nissan Hardbody hardbody for the hardbody challenge, haha.