DFW 1RC Club Races Monthly
What do Phil Wallace and his friends do in their spare time? He is race director for the DFW 1RC club and they race at Spare Time Slot Cars on the Mansfield/Kennedale line.
The club, which formed about a half a year back, can be found racing on the 11 feet by 21 feet carpet oval track every first and third Sunday of each month beginning at 2 p.m. (registration starts at 1:30).
They run several classes, including late models, modifieds, winged sprint cars, and now a custom class is part of the group, The Texas Winged Modifieds. It’s an Eastern Dirt Modified by 1RC-Racing.com with a Sprint car wing that mimics the well-known winged modifieds that were popular between the 1970s and 1990s on dirt tracks around Texas.
Custom Cars Are Part Of The Fun
The cars they use are 1:18 in scale. This means 18 units on the original is represented by one unit on the model.
“These cars are absolutely spec to the full size cars you see in The World Of Outlaws, Lucas Oil Series and your local dirt tracks,” Wallace said. “From the tread on the tires down to every curve in the body, these cars are just cool to look at on the shelf.
“For a novice RC Racer the standard 1:10 scale racing can be very intimidating, so if anything, this is good prep work for anybody who wants to move up to bigger RC cars. They are just as hard to manage due to their dartiness, but like the big cars a good set up and few tricks up your sleeve makes these cars fun to handle.”
Most people buy their own cars and customize them based on the rules set for each class.
“Most everyone orders a custom wrap, and the cars are just really awesome. For me, part of the fun is working on the cars,” Wallace said.
Wallace noted that not all tracks are alike across the 1RC world
“Most tracks are just like ours, but across the country 1RC clubs are using everything from a foam track to textured concrete paint to tightly packed red clay,” he said. “All are indoors. We use a low pile carpet from Home Depot with a mild tire prep, and just like a real dirt track the surface comes and goes throughout the event.”
Wallace said there is a plethora of remote-controlled car drivers in the Metroplex. In fact, it’s quite popular across the nation, with Colorado being the mecca for the sport.
Also, it’s quite common for RC drivers to also compete in bigger cars on bigger tracks.
“There are tons of RC racers in DFW, and RC racing is making a huge comeback even in drag racing,” he said. “For us it’s been a fast growth and then a plateau lately, but most of our drivers are dirt track racers and big cars keep them busy, plus summer keeps people on the move so we expect a surge of new members around fall.
Cost to participate is a $5 club fee and $10 per-class registration. The club even has an Ice Breaker Class for ages 11 and under.
“It’s $5 total and we find you a car to drive from a club member,” he said.
every age as long as they are competent enough to control a car.
Wallace said the regulars can get a little rowdy at times taunting and teasing each other, but all in fun.
“We maintain a PG-13 – circa 1992- atmosphere,” he said, chuckling.
Confidence Builder For Kids
He added that the club can be a good learning tool for youngsters. It can also be a confidence builder.
“I have seen kids who couldn’t make the car turn develop into racers competing at the top of our league, and we are only six months into the chapter. We had an 11-year-old boy who recently lost his right hand come to our track. I gave him the controller and watched him build a new skill right in front of me,” he said.
“All of our kids are competing at the top of our group and learning to work on cars, compete – win or lose – and come back with more.”
As the club grows, Wallace said at some point they will establish an annual “big” race that draws racers from other chapters to compete.
To find out more, follow them on Facebook at DFW 1RC RACING for updates and opportunities to buy cars or even win one.
