Slot Car Racing; Is It A Real Sport Or Just For Fun?

Column By: CARLY HENDRICKSON / RPW – READING, PA – Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of joining Tommy, Sheldon, and Shane Hiester in the Shillington, PA area at Tom’s H.O. Raceway for some slot car racing.

As mentioned in my vlog on my Facebook page, Ms. Racing Xtravaganza 2018, I was under the impression I was going to be taken back to the late 90’s early 2000’s when Hot Wheels had the big piece together tracks and the remote cars that all siblings used to fight over.

Upon arrival, I found that these cars were much lighter, much smaller, and have interchangeable body styles. Not only different bodies for modified night and then sprint car night, but also different names and numbers from the actual dirt racers we all love to watch.

Of course being a Hendrickson, the first car given to me was the 2w that my uncle, Wade, used to race. Next, I got to use the older paint style of the 19k Brett Kressley’s car. Lastly, since it was sprint car night, I got to use the 51 of Fred Rahmer.

After I practiced with “hot laps” and got used to the controller, I ended up being placed in the lineup for the race. Let me explain how practice works. The car is magnetic to the lane you place it on. The controller you can move to different lane numbers and hook it up. Everything is battery powered. The trick is to hammer down on the straightaways and feather the trigger coming in and out of the turns. Too fast for the turns and your car is going flying!

It’s finally my turn to race and I get all set up on lane 3, then 4, then 5, all the way to 8. This is good because the cars go so fast it makes it worthwhile to be able to race multiple times in multiple lanes for 20 laps each. This brings up the question “is slot car racing a real sport or just a game to bring people together and have fun?”

Well from my experience, I would have to say it’s both…just like dirt track racing. Not only did all the racers have their own cars and controller that they worked on during the week to have completely ready for race night every Thursday, but they also get loud and intense like the drivers and fans at the tracks. You can see the racers start to get extremely serious when their car is on the track and just like throwing the helmet when the car wrecks or someone hits you, the drivers here simulate throwing the controller.

The great thing about this racing is that the drivers all like each other and do make it something fun to talk about during the race and even after. Nothing but smiles and laughs the whole night, even Dakota who’s car kept losing the body every time it would fly out of a turn into the “dirt.”

This is the bringing people together part…the family feel we all experience at the track. Tom Hiester also hosts a Dash for Cash race with a sponsor who ends up giving out money, similar to the actual race at certain events. Thursday night just so happened to be ladies night with four women including myself. The winner got $10 and the rest got $5. No, I was not the winner, but I didn’t do too bad during the features and won $5.

Overall, I would have to say the best part is truly how happy everyone was that night which can be seen in the photos posted on Facebook, though that’s not only the best part. Believe it or not, food and drinks at the concession stand was not expensive as drinks are only 25 cents and food is grab and go. Now it’s chips and granola bars, but still perfect for a night together with friends.

If anyone is ever interested in slot car racing I recommend reaching out to Tommy Hiester or his two sons, Sheldon and Shane, in order to give it a shot. It’s a different type of racing, but it is still racing. It would also be an awesome fix for those that need to figure out what to do in the off season before they go insane from no racing. The Hiester’s only have a few races left before slot car racing season is over, but I personally cannot wait for my next slot car racing experience!