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