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| The 2007 HO Product of the Year Award |
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| By Bill Kurtz |
The origin of this award was driven after I re-entered the hobby in 2005 and realized how many cottage industry items were now available to the HO racer. It is obvious that none of these dedicated suppliers was going to get rich from their efforts and had to be driven by the love of the hobby to develop and produce the variety of tools and parts they offered. This award was not only my way to say thank you but also all those who benefit from their labors.
All nominations for the HOPOY are that of the racers and final voting is limited to the top five in nominations received, which occurs over a two-week period at the end of each January.
In 2005, the award went to Dash Motorsports for their introduction of the Tjet Modified body, which re-ignited many a vintage slot head’s interest in this classic body.
Shortly after Thanksgiving 2006 the posts alerting HO enthusiasts that nominations would open on January 1, 2007 for the second annual award began to appear on several of the yahoo group sites, primarily HO World and the sanctioning group, Slot Stockers.
2006 was a year that saw quite a few new products introduced to the hobby and I was not alone in my anticipation of who and what would top this years voting. From the opening day of nominations, the Gjet from BRST/Scale Auto was getting a lot of interest, overall they almost doubled their fellow nominees
The Gjet was an interesting concept that BSRT introduced to the HO hobby in 2006, an adapted or re-fabricated magnet car chassis that now used well placed and extremely well tooled weights to improve handling. Even the necessity of a reduced or variable power supply did not curb the enthusiasm of the racers who tested the Gjet waters
On race day there is one component of a successful event that none of us take for granted, the computerized scoring and timing system. Too many of us have attended organized events and have heard the dreaded “uh-oh” out of the race directors mouth so it was great to see the nomination of Moonstones SlotTrak.
The SlotTrak program functions as a lap counter and lap timer for any scale slotcar track. It will operate on any 1 to 8 lane track. In addition to simple counting and timing, it will run various types of races complete with lane rotations and optional power control to the track. The timing resolution is 1 millisecond. Results are saved, and can be recalled for viewing and race report generation. The parallel, serial, joystick port and now the TrakMate Windows hardware may be used for lane input. SlotTrak is also compatible with Scalextric's RMS hardware and Scalextric's Sport Digital System. The parallel port, serial port, or TMW hardware may be used for track calls. The parallel port, serial port, TMW hardware (track power) or phidget cards (individual lane or track power) may be used for power control. Runs on all versions of Windows from 95 up - including XP.
If your impressed with what you may think I know about timing systems, don’t be as that information is verbatim from the Slot Trak website. I do know this though, at the 2008 Fray it will be the exclusive timing system used on all of the tracks, so there.
This year’s third nomination was one that truly represented the heart of the award, as it does not get anymore “Cottage” than a guy on Cape Cod making resin bodies one by one in his basement.
That would be Dave Howarth of Acme Slot Carz and his “Clip on Coupe” body that has taken the East Coast A/FX and JL X/Traction Racers by storm. These resin Willy’s bodies come in three styles that include a standard modified with an air cleaner, a dual quad carburetor and a Rumble Coupe.
Our final 2006 nominee was not only one I nominated but also voted for, the BRP Pitpal.
This break-in box can be set up for any chassis and runs on both 9-volt battery and a external power source making it a race day and bench top resource.
On the evening of January 31st as midnight approached I posted one last “get your vote in now” on the boards and waited for the clock to strike 12 and as it did the voting came to a close in the 2007 HOPOY with the Gjet finishing what it had started and capturing a well deserved trophy.
Both the nominations and the voting were up from the first year so I considered the 2007 award a success in racer participation and most importantly I believe it was a success in letting the guys who work in their basement, or workshop and even those that saved a HO line know that we appreciate what they do to make our hobby more enjoyable.
Remember racers, it’s never to early to start think about the 2007 HO Product of the Year Award and what break through product you think deserves it!
Keep on Racing,
Bill Kurtz Charlotte, NC
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