2012 ISF Review Movie Review

 Click the screen to play movie

The Samurai brothers of Bill Nakosaki, Mike Faruta, and Justin Satozaki again were tasked to produce the 2012 ISF Review Movie: Ev Don't Go.

This is the 7th review movie the trio has helmed.

Is it their best work like the six part homage to the 2009 season? Probably not. Is it their worst work like the 2005 debut? Probably not. What it lacks in quips and witty banter it makes up for with a fist pumping sound track.There is no video action from the season which is what gives me pause on how to rank this video. Sometimes the live action helps create a better feeling for the season and sometimes it is a distraction. I think this season needed some video footage. It might have helped and it might have hurt the movie, but it would have given it a soul and that is what this movie lacks.

Some great pictures and the soundtrack help give it back some magic and make it enjoyable.

Until next time when I'm in the pits and not the theater...

Steve The Wrench Ratchett

2013 ISF Rules

After lots of speculation the ISF released their rule book changes for 2013.

It should be a fun season of racing in the ISF this year!

Until next time...It's not bad being in the pits.

Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett

                                         Photo A

                                         Photo B

                                         Photo C

                                         Photo D

                                         Photo E

                                         Photo F

                                          Photo G

The ISF will race three classes of cars this year.
LMP, F1, GTP

After agonizing and many opinions I decided it is time to move to the Mega G chassis for 2013.

GTP will remain the super G+ however F1 and LMP will be the Mega G 1.7 chassis (Photo A)

LMP races will be the Mega G 1.7 narrow chassis cars.
These are the chassis with the fully sealed traction magnets (aka the “new” chassis, Photo A).
Tires will be stock Mega G tires only.
Tires can be the lettered or blackwall versions (photos B&C).
 
No modifications of any kind to anything on the car or chassis or motor except the following:
1. Paint for... the body
2. Glue to repair broken wings, drivers heads, etc.
Heat races 10 minutes in length.
Final races 16 minutes in length.
3 laps qualifying with fastest lap determining grid position.
Drivers can “represent” any manufacturer or team from the ALMS. ELMS, or LMS from the past 10 years.
 
The only restriction is if you are running a closed cockpit car you can’t represent a team that runs open cockpit cars (i.e. you can’t run the Peugot Mega G body and say you’re racing Porsche spyders for team Penske), with the exception of teams that have run both kinds of cars (i.e. Audi, Dyson, etc.).

F1 rules:
F1 races will be the Mega G 1.7 narrow chassis cars.
EITHER the old chassis OR the ones with the fully sealed traction magnets (aka the “new” chassis) are allowed (Photo A)

Tires will be stock Mega G tires only.
Tires can be the lettered or blackwall versions (Photos B&C)

No modifications of any kind to anything on the car or chassis or motor except the following:
1. Paint for the body
2. Glue to repair bro...ken wings, drivers heads, etc.

Heat races 10 minutes in length.
Final races 16 minutes in length.
3 laps qualifying with fastest lap determining grid position.
Drivers can “represent” any manufacturer or team from F1 in the history of F1.
 
Drivers with less than a full season of ISF experience cannot represent a present day F1 team who is one of the top three in construction points (aka Ferrari, Maclaren, Red Bull until they have completed a full ISF season or equivalent of 20 races). The exception is a new driver can be paired with a veteran driver on a top three team as long as the veteran driver has over 20 ISF starts.

During heat races and the final race drivers are required to complete a two tire change pit stop within one minute of either side of the halfway point.
Drivers must race one half of the race on stock Mega G tires and one half on the option tire (Photos B&C).
Option tire will be supplied by the league and chosen on race night after qualifying.
Drivers have the choice of changing the entire axle with the option tires attached-both supplied by the league, or just changing tires alone.

Qualifying is always on stock Mega G tires.

2013 ISF Schedule

The 2013 ISF season sees a condensation of the schedule from 18 events back to 12.

It also sees a switch to a winter/spring series as opposed to spring/summer season as in the past.

All the traditional tracks appear with the exception of Walczy World which is unconfirmed at the time of this printing as construction on a new track is being debated by the owners.

A potential return of the 2.4 hour race is also a potential event.

The events will feature the popular F1 series and a revamps LMP series as the league switches to the Mega G chassis. GTP will still have two events continuing the premier category's appearance on the calendar.

ISF 2013 Schedule
December 27                 Rapids Invitational                                                             F1/LMP
January 10                     Brookfield Grand Prix-Raven                                            F1/LMP
February 7                     Waukesha Grand Prix-Decketring                                     F1/LMP
Feb 21                           Maxim GP-Southshore                                                      F1/LMP
March 21                      XtraLaps.com West Bend GrandPrix-Lack Track             F1/LMP
April 4                          Turtle Trot-Turtle Creek                                                     F1/LMP
April 18th                     St. Francis GP                                                                     F1/LMP
May 2                           XTraLaps.com It's Nacho Cheese It's My Cheese GP        F1/LMP
May 9                           Walczy World ?? or additional race                                    F1/LMP 

May 16                         Muskego Grand Prix - Badger Raceway                            F1/LMP
May 23                         Rapids Grand Prix                                                              F1/GTP
May 30                         ISF Finale Deckertring Finale Deckertring                        LMP/GTP

June 6 or June 8th        2.4 Hour race of Suzuka in Johnson Creek       

LMP need a minimum of 8 participants

I'll see you in the pits at one of these events!

Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett

Racing's Mount Rushmore

THis article was origianlly published several years ago. It is reprinted here as a reference for an updated version...SR

RACING'S MOUNT RUSHMORE

Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt are the faces on Mount Rushmore.
If one were to build a "Mount Rushmore of American Motorsports" who would be on it?
Andretti, Foyt, and Petty are locks. Who would be the fourth? Some would say Earnhardt, maybe Steve Kinser, John Force, or Dan Gurney.
If we were to build a Mount Rushmore of Milwaukee slot car racing who would be the four faces on it?

Phil Cianciola has to be one the faces. There are two arguments some would use to try and keep him off the mountain. One is that he never tried his hand in other series, much like Dale Ernhardt never ran Indycars or dragsters. The other is that four of his titles came in the early years of the series when the competition was still learning the trade or not involved yet. 
The facts remain if he hadn't built the first track in the series and had the idea to have a birthday party with a bunch of friends coming over and racing none of what has followed over the last 16 years would have happened.
He ran Champ Car for 12 seasons and was the first to get the series on TV and attract several sponsors.
His 36 wins and 5 championships are nothing to sneeze at either.
 
John Shea would have to be the next face on the mountain. The knock against him is that he never won the Champ Car title despite having the talent to do so. He also does not race a full Champ Car season.
Still he does have 16 champ car wins in 81 starts to give him a healthy 20% winning percentage. He has three consecutive titles in the now defunct SlotIRL, and seven ISF titles and also has an incredible 27 ARA championships!
More importantly he founded the ARA (American Racing Alliance) which was based on NASCAR but had the unique signature of using metal bodied cars. He is also the co-founder of the ISF (International Sportscar Federation).
Shea has also researched many technical and car design/distribution issues.

After Shea and Cianciola the choices are not as clear cut. Besides their racing records, it is my opinion that it is the driver’s off-track contribution to the betterment of the sport that should take equal weight with the racing record on whether or not they would get their faces immortalized in stone.
Who would be some of other contenders for the final two spots on the mountain?


A likely candidate would be Everet Kamikawa. The negatives against him are that he retired for four years from the Champ Car series and he has never won the title in the ARA top division, the Heavy Metal Challenge series.
Co-founder of the ISF with seven championships, he also has 8 ARA titles and is second all-time in Champ Car wins with 26 and two titles.
Kamikawa was also the first to build a home made lap counter and pioneered the use of reed switches. He and Shea also contributed to the design of several track layouts during their time in the various series.
His long time role as ISF commissioner can also be a positive in his favor.

Larry Rotter would also be a good candidate. The bad thing is that he never won in the ARA. He has two ISF championships and three Champ Car titles to go with his 23 wins.
He also participated in the ARA. A huge plus for Rotter is that without him over half of the tracks in all three leagues would have power problems and be wired wrong.
Rotter has also created various power switching systems and also built the photo-sensors that almost all tracks
now use for timing and scoring. A class act that I'm sure no one would object to on the mountain.

Mike Kristof would also have to be considered. His racing record is not impressive as he has never competed in the ARA or ISF (much like Cianciola) and has only 2 Champ Car wins to his credit.
It is his contributions made back to racing where Kristof shines. He was the first to take up the production of the Champ Car videos and get them on cable TV. He has also made sure the broadcasts have grown with the time and are now also seen on Google video and YouTube.
He took over Champ Car when Cianciola retired and kept the series going after it had lost almost all of the original members. He breathed new life into the series by recruiting new talent and allowing back some old names in the persons of Shea and Kamikawa.
He also did the unthinkable in obtaining actual cash and prize sponsorship from an actual sanctioning body for two years, getting named the official slot car series of the actual Champ Car.

Tom Spehert would also be a name to consider. He also has been an exclusive Champ Car racer (with the exception of two ISF starts), with a non-impressive win record.
What makes Spehert a likely candidate is his unrelenting pursuit of a perfect custom made scoring system for Champ Car. Over the years there have been various qualifying and race formats, gimmicks,
and procedure changes. Through it all he as created a program to keep track of it all and to correct any mistakes along the way. While I'm sure he'd like a break from the computer once-in-awhile, it is this pursuit that keeps him motivated when it would be easier to use an off the shelf scoring system and creating racing rules within the parameters of that system.

Ned Wicker would also need some consideration. A lousy race record, however he gave the leagues and more importantly the people in them, a level of publicity and credibility.
When running Champ Car magazine he published articles and pictures of the drivers and cars. He also introduced several of the drivers to VIP's in Champ Car, or gave them the opportunity to work in some capacity with Champ Car during a race.
His broadcasting talents, both humorous and serious, also made an impact on the broadcasts as the other announcers raised their game in terms of style and creativity.
A former wrestler, CART Ministries Chaplin, publisher, writer, I would be interested in reading what he has to say about slot car racing in his autobiography. It is a book I would buy.

Dave Austin is another person to consider. He had starts in all three series; some might say his lone Champ Car title is a disappointing result.
Austin is another person that brought more to the table than racing. His comedic talents were such that thee is an award named after him.
More importantly, Austin was instrumental in getting members of the league access to partake in their favorite sport in various ways. It was thru Austin that drivers got photo and pit passes, jobs as track announcers, radio hosts, driver interviews, souvenirs, and even media announcers.
Like Cianciola's contribution of starting the league, Austin opening the door for so many drivers to participate in the real sport should not be overlooked.
***Editors note: no pictures of Dave Austin found in Champ Car archives***

Jim Iverson would also be considered. Maybe not as many championships to be had here as probably should, however he is also the only one to be able to say that they have raced in three decades as he was a racer in the 1960's doing many of the same media friendly things that Champ Car has done since 1993. Iverson was also responsible for getting Shea, Kamikawa, and Sorce to be accepted back into Champ Car. Iverson's technical knowledge in setting up his ISF cars and maintaining the fleet of "club cars" used in Champ Car is also worth noting, as is his enthusiasm for the sport.

At some point in history the creators of Mount Rushmore had to decide which presidents to put on the mountain. I wonder if they went through a similar process?

Until next time, it's not bad being in the pits...
Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett

Grey Fox's Retirement

Grey Fox's Retirement

On a familiar race track it is a silent night.
The race cars were packed in their haulers and the fans have gone home long ago.
Littered bench seats and chairs are dark in the moonlight.
It is still…

…except for the faint sounds of a man’s footsteps.
The Grey Fox walks alone in the moonlight.
He is proud and humbled by his accomplishments as he searches the empty paddock and pit lane.

Suddenly the screaming wail of 10,000 rpm shriek in the night.
The Grey Fox looks toward the end of the pit lane and sees the flash of a red taillight.
Silent as his shadow, the Grey Fox quickens his pace and strides toward the light.

An Indycar sits revving in the moonlight.
The Grey Fox hops in and hits the accelerator roaring onto the track.
Once again the Grey Fox is alone, but he is doing what he does best.
Lap after lap.
Each just a little faster than the last one.
Left turn. Right turn. Punch it! Brake. Stop.

The Grey Fox is on a part of the track he has never seen before.
All around him are giant video screens.
On each a still image.
One is an Indy 500 win.
Two others are championships.
Another is broken up into 17 smaller images, all of the Grey Fox holding a trophy.
The last video screen shows a montage of 30 faces.
The Grey Fox closes his eyes and sees the heat races. Pole positions. Fast laps. The wins.
He remembers each of the faces.
Friends. Rivals. Competitors. But never enemies.

But when he opens his eyes the screens are gone.
The track is still and the night is quiet.
The Grey Fox is still alone in the empty pit lane.
With one last look around the Grey Fox walks on down the pit lane and onto the track for one last lap.</o:p>

Little by little the night sky grows brighter and turns into sunrise.
The Grey Fox sees something in the final turn.
It is retirement.

On a familiar race track it is a bright sunny morning.
The track is still. No people are about except…

…Jim Iverson standing on the main straightaway.
Quietly smiling about past accomplishments, and future racing glories yet to come.

Based and adapted from the book Fox’s Dream by Keizaburo Tejima, Philomel Books, 1987

From the pits...

Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett

De-Slot for SlotIRL

SlotIRL Race #12 Fitzlaff Champion

SlotIRL Race #11 Fitzlaff Closes on Title

SlotIRL Race #10 Iverson Wins!

SlotIRL Race #9 Walczak Wins

SlotIRL Races #5-6 Fitzlaff Stomps Field

SlotIRL Races 1-4

George Lucas to Buy Indyslotcar

George Lucas sold his Star Wars franchise and said he was moving into retirement to make hobby movies.

“I’m moving away from the company, I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres.” (http://blogs.artinfo.com/cuttingroom/2012/10/31/what-does-the-future-hold-for-george-lucas/)

Now we know what "hobby movies" he plans to create.
This reporter has it on good authority that Lucas has struck a deal with MIKE TV to acquire the rights to the Indyslotcar Racing League and all previous media from the history of the league.
Lucas, who sold Star Wars for $4.05 billion, is reportedly to pay $40.05 dollars for the league and all the previous broadcasts of Indyslotcar, HO Champ Car, PPPG, and all other monikers of the league over the last 20 years. When asked why such a high price for the league, my source told me that "the league played hardball pointing out the cost of buying all the video tapes and blank DVD discs over the years. Lucas offered $40 but the league stuck to its guns about the extra 5 cents."

MIKE TV is the leading producer of slotcar videos and it comes as no surprise that Lucas would be interested in using his touch for special effects to make the broadcasts even more spectacular than they are.
"If Lucus has indeed bought our videos that is an exciting thing," commented long time driver Everet Kamikawa. "He made Greedo shoot first in the second version of Star Wars. I'll be lobbying him to make me finish first in all the races I didn't win!"

Current Indyslotcar Commissioner Mike Kristof, former commissioner Phil Cianciola, and Lucas had no comment on the matter when we didn't try to reach them, however other characters associated with the league and broadcasts were happy to comment on the proposed takeover:

"Happy was I. Thought never work with Lucas again did I," said frequent race commentator Yoda.

"As a professor of science...who ha...I'm always interested in seeing how he makes the cars go into hyperspace. None of the tracks have long enough straight aways to do that," stated broadcast technical analyst Professor Rex Karz. "Who needs wheel guards when we will have deflector shields to prevent cars from crashing into each other and to things. Cars can go into walls...yes...and not be hurt!"

"I don't appear on the broadcast much anymore," said former broadcaster Everet Bell. "But I'd be interested if he overdubs my parts with James Earl Jones."

"He'll be able to digitize my can of Bud into any beer or drink on future broadcasts," said Harry Carey, a newcomer to the race broadcasts.

"I wonder if all of us on the podium will appear in the broadcasts with a blueish green glow around us," mused Kamikawa. "Instead of sponsors we'll all have Red Squadron logos on our helmets. Just as long as he doesn't make all the bad guys in the history of the league turn out to be good guys like he did with Vader. I mean, why kill the goose that laid the golden egg?"

My source confirmed that Lucas does not have plans to make prequels to the league races that began in 1993.
"What would he do? Make movies about Everet playing with Hot Wheels in his sandbox? Lucas isn't interested in making movies about things existing before 1993 Shrine Cup."

"Maybe in the new digital versions Lucas can color our hair back to more youthful shades and trim some pounds off of us," Kamikawa quipped.

One fan I talked to, Mike Faruta, summed up his hopes when he said:
"Maybe Kitty Bo Peep and Amy will get a bunch of hot sisters added to the broadcasts as racers. Maybe a few shower scenes of them?"

If Lucas can create Jar Jar Binks, why not make Mike's comment turn true. IT would cause Lucas less controversy than Jar Jar Binks, unless the newly created girls talk like Jar Jar.

Until Next Time...
It's not bad being In The Pits
Steve "the wrench" Ratchett

Slot IRL Origins

John Wiedemann Profile

Larry Rotter Profile

 

2012 IndySlotcar Silly Season

IN THE PITS: The Silly Season
by
Steve “The Wrench” Ratchett

It has been a little while since I had to write one of these dog and pony columns about the silly season as I've been in Europe covering the HO Bundesliga in Germany for the last few seasons.

The 19th season of the IndySlotCar Series is in the books. 16 races. 14 different tracks. A four time defending champion and a four time Indy 500 winner. So where will the drivers that made up the season of competition and controversy be in season 20?
Here are my thoughts based on my own observations and the quotes of one driver who talked on the record.

Lets start with the four time champ Mark Walczak. There is a rumor he will retire or be severely penalized for next year. I say neither will happen because Mark wants six championships and the all time lead for wins to knock Phil Cianciola from the top of the record books. Target likes the idea. Mark and Target did find a solid partner in Dean Strom who will carry some of his water and not be too serious of a title challenger. Mark stays at Target with Dean for at least one more season. Don't expect this pairing to stay together for long though. Dean's improvement will make him more of a threat at any race and pretty soon he will get tired of the being the #2 at Target and want to go where he will get more respect, maybe Lotus.

Speaking of Lotus, John Wiedemann, Mike Lack, and Mike Fitzlaff are the Penske team of 1994. Three stars. Three title contenders. Three drivers that seem to get along and work together well. Three drivers ticked they didn't do better in 2011-12. John wants to win after a winless season. Mike Lack really wants to take a title. He will be a new father next season so his participation might be limited, however "The Machine" will always be a threat. Mike Fitzlaff is always one of the fastest but has some bad luck. The speed will still be there next season and I've played enough craps to know that eventually the dice will hit the point or come up 7-11 on the come out roll. HIs luck will change too.

"Did I hear someone mention craps?"
Yes, Everet Kamikawa. I did. When you roll the dice where will you land for season 20?
"This season didn't have the sponsorship to race a full season for a team so I had to scramble for rides like so many other drivers. I raced for Ferrari, three races for Penske, five for Spehert Autosport, one for Target, and six for Super Kamikawa Racing sponsored by Too Clean Laundry. I still had a pretty good season with three wins. I've gotten one offer from Spehert Autosport and I've heard that there was maybe one other team that might be interested in maybe starting a rumor that they might be interested in me. I won't make any decision until later this summer. I'll be somewhere."

That brings us to Spehert Autosport. It was a frustrating season for the team with brothers Tom and Andy and son/nephew Chris missing several races. No one has heard from Andy in several races so there is the possibility that he may have called it quits, hence the interest in Kamikawa. For this coming season Chris and Tom will stay together. Since blood is thicker than sponsorship contracts they will maybe be joined by Andy for some races and possibly Kamikawa in case that doesn't happen. Chris has said that he is also entertaining other drivers in addition to Kamikawa for the opening. Is it a bluff to get Kamikawa signed or is it a hotter seat than most believe?

[Editor's Note: Andy Spehert's contract has been allowed to expire by Spehert Autosport and will not race in 2012-13]

John Shea retired to race stock cars in the south. I can’t see him making any other starts on the series. Amy Butler is another racer who looks to be winding down her career. A welcome presence on the track, she had a couple of decent runs to top 10's, but nothing close to her wins from a few years ago. Team management sold the testing track so that definitely hurts her preparation for the coming season. Is IndySlotCar losing their version of Danica? Lets hope not. If she does hang it up, maybe a career in broadcasting is in order as she does look a lot like Kitty BoPeep. Our over under on races she will run is six. It would be fun if she teamed back up with Larry Rotter!

Larry Rotter ran a few races. The three time champion's over under appearances in the next season is four. He retired at the end of season 18. He even cut back on ISF competition. Now that he has mostly been away for a season will the siren song of racing lure him back? Not yet I think.

Mike Kristoff’s 11^th season seems to be the same as the previous 10…nothing spectacular. Having said that he is partnered probably again with Matt Hayek. Matt took two Indy 500 wins in a row but this year only had a couple of final four appearances. That didn’t sit well with him and I think his drive to get more finals and wins will pull Kristof up as well. Kristof is good for at least one final a year. His commissioner duties keep him from fully concentrating on his driving, however I’m going to go on a limb and say both he and Hayek have a win in the upcoming season.

Dan Margetta is the other wild card in the off season. Bounced from or quit from the Butler, Margetta, Walczak team a couple of years ago, then dumped by Wiedemann and Lack the day before the season started he had been teamed back up with Butler for this year in a loose partnership. Was it a strong pairing? No. He took one win to keep his streak intact of wins but still no championships in 19 seasons. Will he be champion in season 20? I doubt it.

So the 20^th Indyslotcar season will have surprises and more than four winners, but in terms of drivers changing teams, I doubt there will be much movement. Here is some ideas that are interesting talk for the off season:
1. What if Margetta and Kamikawa teamed up? They were briefly teammates (for one race) in 1998 and again for a few races in 2002 when Kamikawa famously gave up the Indy 500 pole to get Margetta closer to Rotter in the championship fight which Margetta ultimately lost by one point. If either of these two drivers had a top notch teammate that would be a force Walczak would have to reckon with.

2. Even though they are rivals, a Margetta-Strom pairing would also be entertaining.

3. They teamed up for one race in season 19, but Walczak-Kamikawa would be another Senna-Prost as the two don’t have respect on the track for each other judging from comments made in the paddock and press. This pairing would help Walczak as Kamikawa’s mouth would deflect some of the attention that is solely having to be dealt with by Walczak. That being said I doubt it will happen until after Walczak breaks Cianciola’s records.

4. Hayek-Strom-Kristof would be a good solid mid-pack team.

5. Hayek-Kristof-Margetta is a good bet or even Kamikawa in some capacity would add instant credibility and an additional threat to this team.

There is a long way to go this off season. Anything can happen. In terms of an interesting silly season…lets hope it does!

Until next time…It’s not bad being in the pits!

Steve “The Wrench” Ratchett