Derby Talk

My sons went to Districts this year for the first time. It turns out they use a wooden track with a stop section that is a car cruncher:


https://youtu.be/iCRWaOTIt0g

Any suggestions on how to improve this stop section so that it is less of a demolition derby at the end of each heat?

The film is Great but the Stop Section is useless. Check the "Search" function for ideas.
My stop section is made from 3/8" Plywood, 1/4" X 1 1/2" Pine Lattice strip ( stock size) and the lanes covered with Walmart drawer liner. The section is 8' long and I do not send the cars up a hill. I think an easy way is to remove whatever is running the cars up a hill and simply extend the existing brake track.

DCDAD wrote: ↑Mon May 13, 2019 11:54 amAny suggestions on how to improve this stop section so that it is less of a demolition derby at the end of each heat?

Yeah, our old track had a stop section like that. We solved the problem by building a new track with a completely different type of stop section. Go and do likewise.

Okay, you don't necessarily need a new track. But you do need a new stop section. Use the current one as scrap wood (but only after the new one is ready).

The best kind of stop section I've seen (and the kind we have now) is the kind where the center rail rubs against the bottom of the car. The easiest way to build such a stop section is to build another section of track that attaches past the finish gate, except the center rail starts at the normal height, but is then raised with spacers to a height that is greater than the radius of your wheels.

High friction material on the center rail of the stop section helps, but it needs to be high friction when rubbing against wood, metal, and/or paint. Non-skid safety tape for stairs is designed to be high friction against the rubber and leather soles of boots and shoes, which isn't the same thing at all.

But a lot of stop sections aren't long enough, and the fastest cars still hit the end of the stop section with too much momentum remaining. The quick fix is to add padding at the end of the too-short stop section. A better approach is to simply buy/make a stop section that is twice as long as normal. That will be long enough to stop even the fastest cars.

Wow, that is brutal of a stop section. I would certainly build a new stop section, the type like Darin mentioned. Being of sufficient length is important for the fastest cars and since the rubber friction material can get worn over time, losing its stopping power.

Very helpful, thanks everyone. Will work on getting a new stop section together by next year. It's unacceptable to have cards losing fenders/wheels/axles through no fault of the scouts.

If you cannot find that foam rubber friction material, you can purchase strips of it from either Best Track or Micro Wizard. I prefer that stuff to the sandpaper type of non-skid tape.

The friction material can be had at McMaster Carr in 10 or 50ft lengths.

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