Recently, Fresno HO has started taking off. Bob Carey, Brian Rush, Brad Johnson and others have rekindled the fire in that area and have linked a half dozed tracks together.

They have already started a series that boasts a strong turn out. Bob Carey has recently set up part of his website to post Fresno/Clovis race results and information at http://mr2bob.com/f_c_h_o_.htm. The Fresno group races Box Stock Life Likes, Tjets, and have recently dabbled in a new Patriot class.

A few northern California racers have joined the Fresno group for a few races, partly due to the Yahoo California Slot Car Message Board at http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/centralcaslotcarclub. This club has really helped connect racers throughout the west coast. With a membership closing in on 100, we are looking forward to helping California slot car tracks pull in even bigger crowds.

Sacramento is in its infancy for race organization. A web site has been set up to attract new racers in the area at http://www.geocities.com/sacramentoho. In December, the first full service HO slot car dealer sprouted up. Billy Bowerman from Roseville owns his own RC shop and track, and has dedicated some of his resources to help the HO hobby in the Sacramento area. His RC track is online at http://www.speedworldraceway.com. Billy bought Todd Hinton’s Bonzai BuxTrack and will be holding regular races this spring. Todd is looking to replace his track with an even bigger 16’ track. A second track is now ready for action. Curt Vanzandt has installed Trakmate on his 13’ x 7’ layout. Racing should start there any time now! Curts track can be found at http://www.geocities.com/curtstracks.

One more track is in the works, the Spyder Speedway. This track should be finished this spring, and progress can be seen at http://www.geocities.com/spyderspeedway.

With all of these tracks opening up in the Sacramento area, momentum is starting to pick up! There are already talks of a possible Northern California HO series. This would join racers in the bay area who frequently race at the Shaunadega (Shaunadega 500), Skjerbergring (SYSO), and Slot Car Bob’s in Petaluma with the racers in the central valley. Several other tracks are under construction in the bay area as well, so when the series materializes expect some great racing!