The Viper Pit

General Rules

Please show respect:

Drivers & spectators are expected to show respect for others and display sportsmanship throughout the contest.
Abusive language or profanity will not be tolerated.
Horseplay which poses risk to contestants/spectators or the race facility will not be tolerated
No drinks or food allowed near the tracks

During racing:

Drivers must turn marshal during their sit-outs or otherwise when called upon by the race director. Drivers who either DNF or DQ are expected to turn marshal the remainder of their race.
During track call only guide or body straightening permitted

Track calls are permitted only for:

Track braid up

Track equipment failure

Debris on track

Un-marshalable car, i.e., a car de-slots and stops in an area not readily accessible to a turn marshal, including the control panel area. Note: a car landing on the floor does not necessarily constitute a track call.

Rider in lane

Weekly Racing General Technical Specifications

All weekly flexi-class cars must meet the following conditions:

Must use a 4" commercially-available two- or three-piece stamped metal flexi frame. The open-wheel F1 class must use the a JK Products C30 (narrow) 4" flexi frame; the Indy class requires a JK Products C35 (wide) 4" flexi frame.
A car must pass generally-accepted rules for max width (83 mm or ~3.26"), min rear clearance (0.047") including the motor, and front pan and center section clearance (0.010"), as measured with the entire car resting on a slotted tech plate.
3/32" solid metal rear axle required. Flatted axles are permitted. Bushings, oilites, or ball bearings permitted at rear axle.
No frame cutting allowed except a very small amount at pillow blocks, in order to fit rear bearings, oilites, or bushings. May solder motor in place, motor brace permitted. Pin tubes permitted.
Commercially available light pans, produced by the same manufacturer, are permitted.
May use lead weight as needed, attached to the top of the chassis.
Unless otherwise posted, weekly classes require the Chicagoland Stage 2 CR102 or Mid-America Road Runner or Eagle Retro motor. All Motors are factory sealed and therefore unopened. No internal motor modifications are allowed. The motor shaft may be shortened. All motors must bear the manufacturer's permanent etching on the motor can for identification purposes.

The CR102 & Road Runner motors require 14/36 64-pitch gears; and the Retro Eagle requires 13/37 64-pitch gears in all classes. The Mid-America Stomp motor (required 15/34 64-pitch) is also frequently used in some classes.

Other motors such as the more powerful Enforcer, Phoenix (not Phoenix Supra), Intimidator or RTR Raptor Pro motors, are used depending on the class. These motors are generally reserved for our fastest classes, such as LMP or GTP (high downforce bodies). Specific motors and any spec gearing for these classes are announced in advance of a race or series.
Front tires are optional except in open-wheel racing or as described in the following paragraph. If fronts are not used, a car must have front-wheel decals in place on the body. If front wheels are used, 3/8", 1/2", or 5/8" fronts are permitted, but not wing car thingies. Open-wheel racing must use JK F1 fronts, minimum diameter .750", with full solid axle. Open-wheel cars may use independently-turning front wheels, but the front axle must float and may not be fixed to the frame.

Effective June 22, 2024, ALL cars are required to have front tires when driving on the Daytona track. This is to preserve the track as well as your investment in a slot car. Each entry will be teched on the Daytona for touching O-ring cone-style or foam rolling front tires as well as .020" clearance under the frame at the front. Flexi chassis such as the JK C-21 or or Champion Turboflex already have front axle uprights incorporated.
Currently approved and commercially-available 4" body appropriate to body style being used in a class/series. The minimum unpainted body thickness shall be .010". No aero-effect modifications or add-ons permitted, except as announced, in which case a 1/2" rear air dam is permitted. Depending on the series, for example, NASCAR, a minimum 1/8" front bumper rule may be enforced [minimum 1/16" grille on retro-style bodies, unless this element is not on the original car]. The rear of the body must not be higher than 1-5/8".

Weekly Racing Format

We run a ten-week series using a specified class of slot car body. Furthermore, we race on a different track each week in a circuit series, with each series comprised of two circuits. We use an Engleman -> Daytona Tri-oval -> Blue King - > Orange -> Daytona road course circuit rotation for each series.

Each race driver must master the nuances of each body style used, including inherent aerodynamic/handling differences, which can be significant.

Each weekly entry will be considered a Pro or Pit Master, determined by each driver’s previous number of wins or overall experience. Current Pro drivers are

Ivan Rosenfeld
Wayne Thomas
Ben Cheney
Hugh Hampton
Aaron Scott
Tommy Davidson
Keith Bernstein

Pro drivers have demonstrated consistently superb slot car racing performance. They have won multiple times, including individual races or entire race series. These drivers may have also competed at regional or national events, and performed well. Select visiting entries will be held to the same standards. For example, recognized individuals such as Terry Kelly, Tony Powell, Brian Ambrose, and Felix Mueller, will be considered professionals.

Weekly racing allows ONE (1) car substitution in a race for each Pit Master. The potential substitute car must be entered and teched alongside the primary race car. The backup car will be impounded until needed and is to be used solely by the driver who entered the car. The backup car may be employed only when the primary race car has failed to perform as expected by the driver, regardless of reason (e.g., race damage, broken motor). Once used, the driver must finish the race with the backup car - no further substitutions or switching. If a driver substitutes his/her starting entry, then there will be a 5 lap penalty assessed. Replacing only a torn body with like is not considered using a backup. While using a backup car is an unusual race rule, we feel it promotes our primary objective of having fun, particularly for racers who drive long distances to participate on a weekly basis.

The only practical distinction between a Pro and Pit Master will be the professionals’ loss of privileges currently afforded all weekly drivers, such as race time-outs (other than to collect a stricken car) or replacement car. We intend to grow our professional class by having specific driving thresholds to meet, which will be developed in the future. Pros and Pit Masters shall have separate podiums.

Assignment to race mains will be done by qualifying. Each driver will have 45 seconds in which to qualify. This should allow each driver roughly 5 or 6 laps in which to qualify. Qualifying will take place in rapid succession in order to minimize the total time taken. Drivers not qualifying will be relegated to the lowest main.

The results of each main will be combined. There will be no move-ups allowed. The point system will be based upon the number of entries. The winner is awarded points equal to the number of race entries, with one point less awarded each subsequent place. One bonus point is awarded to the top qualifier.

We sometimes run two-person team mini-enduros to ensure an adequate number of turn marshals during each heat. Each driver uses his/her own car in the race. Teams are decided by drawing lots. However, if race turnout is sufficient, we will run as individuals. We run 2.5-minute heats in individual racing.

We use a European-style lane rotation: Red->Green->Blue->Purple->Black->Yellow->Orange->White->

Saturday Racing Technical Specifications

The Viper Pit offers scheduled Saturday racing; otherwise, Saturdays are used for testing and tuning. Saturday race classes differ from our weekly racing, and depending on the class, we may use national or international rules of racing. For example, we sometimes offer retro racing using IRRA rules. If we run using local rules, they are similar to our weekly rules (above).

See our Saturday Racing page for scheduled weekend racing news!

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