WHY

[QARAD4]

Why proxy races? It seems the cars get all the fun by traveling around and racing on different tracks, but the owner/drivers don't.

[Mikeinclover]

It is a way of testing your setup skills and a way to test on different tracks. Quite a few people don't get to run with anyone else so it is a way to get to actually run your car on a track.
Mike

[Fathead59]

I can only give you an outsiders opinion on this . The way I see it is it is cheaper to send the cars to be ran by the host tracks . You could ask a host that might live close to you , to be a driver . And the reason I say an outsider is because I I do not have a track to run on as of yet . I have track but not the table to set it up on .

[arroldn]

Well as one who has no one to race against it provides a challenge to build a car that is competitive against others. Sometimes you build a good car sometimes you have a slug. It also gives you a way to meet others in the hobby exchange ideas and just have a little fun. 11 pm calls from Hawaii are always a treat. Through proxies relationships I've been to SEMO, Memphis. Also it is cheaper to mail a car than drive to Louisville, Mufreesboro, White House, Layfette or any other close track. Most 1/24 tracks are an hour away minimum.

[ra7c7er]

Some don't have the space for a great track in their house or don't have locals to race with. Some of the best proxy racers out there don't have anything more then a setup track at their house.

[mattb]

I don't do it, but I can see that it gives a guy a reason to build car to match up with cars other guys build. Not just a car to do laps at home or put on a shelf. It gives us good fodder for the forum to see what guys are doing.

[ZackM]

Here is my reasons:

1. Best way to learn if you car is actually good is to put it up against others that are known to be so.

2. As stated-some don't have any other form of competition.

3. It is fun to follow online, on top of whatever racing you might be involved with. It's just one car, and most of us have many!

4. Community, I wouldn't know any of the guys on here by name if it weren't for proxies. I have had phone conversations with many of them.

5.Clubs. Proxies are fun to run! Our club always has a great time running proxies, and most of the drivers usually learn a thing or two about setting up cars.

Nothing better than working on your car for months on your own track, and someone sends one in from Australia and blows away a track record? How else are you going to know?

Is it a substitute for driving or club racing, for me not really. But it is a heck of a lot of fun on its own.

Zack

[slothead]

I totally get the odd but real social aspect of proxies. Some people would think "what fun is it to have someone else race your car?", but there is fun camaraderie on HRW that goes along with it. I've only done solo proxies (where the host puts up cars for others to claim, then races them on his track and posts the results) and enjoy it very much. I just hosted a Solo International Proxy round where I ran 2 races with 7 Can Am cars and posted individual race and summary race reports - a lot of work but more than worth it for fun factor.

I have not yet done the type of proxy others have been discussing on this thread, where you build and send a car off to be raced on a series of tracks to see how it does. The reason I haven't done this is because I tune my mostly RTR cars to be competitive with each other and not for best overall speed. If I were to build a car for all out speed and handling it wouldn't fit in with all the others I use for simulated races based on lap times and would end up being a shelf queen. Plus, I lost my desire to be competitive with slot cars long ago and primarily enjoy the realistic cars and seeing how they do. The car type (Chevron, Lola, Porsche, etc.) and historic driver (Lauda, Gurney, Donohue, etc.) matters more to me than who is holding the controller or built the car.

[bov]

Because a little part of me has been travelling all around the world ( in various guises ) for the better part of 17 years.... Without jet-lag, dodgy meals etc....Through proxy racing I have made great friendships with like minded lunatics around the world - how cool is that!

So - I've been sending cars all around the world from Australia, and like all good boomerangs - they've all come back.... ( Fun fact - do you know what you call a boomerang that doesn't come back ? A stick... )

But when you host an event - that's even better! There's no better learning environment than looking at other entries and saying "Now, that's a good idea" or "Hmm, not sure I'd do that..." and then that entry is faster than your's - on your own track......

[Aloha]

Ditto...Ditto...Ditto!

[QARAD4]

Very good responses, which as a forum lurker, I had picked up on. I am saddened that not everyone has a track or club to race with tho. It seems that most if not all the proxy races are on wood tracks, are there races on plastic tracks? And im not trying to start a wood vs plastic debate, I happen to only have plastic at my disposal currently.

[lance]

As a proxy racer, i do it because there are no other slot car tracks where i live. So i race with others by setting up a proxy car and send it off. I get to watch it as it races other proxy racers and other different tracks for 10 or 12 rounds. Results of the race are posted soon after the race. Sometimes the races are live and sometimes they are recorded so we can watch later.
Yes most proxy races are analog and on wood tracks. 1 exception is nascar proxy, it has couple of plastic tracks. There was 1 digital proxy race series and only done once. i think it was hosted by the guys in upper Washington, the proxy was WWD proxy or something like that.(world wide digital)
I/we have hosted 3 proxy races on our wood roadcourse/oval track and it is fun, but takes lot of time and organization.

[Fathead59]

I am with you QARAD4 , I have Scaletrix track that I plan on building in a road course , the digital set up where I can run six cars at once wirelessly . Right now it is more or less in the planning stages

[Cgyracer]

It gets the competitive juices flowing I think. Building a car that can run on various tracks against others is a ton of fun and a learning experience.

Rob

[slothead]

As best I can recall the typical proxies have been 1:32 scale cars on routed wood tracks. The solo proxies have used various scale cars and also plastic as well as wood tracks.

I'd think the issue with a typical proxy being on plastic track is the variety of tracks available and differences between them - slot dimensions, track surface, lane spacing and track width issues. But I think the biggest issue would be managing magnet issues. What would the limit be for magnetic force? Everyone would need a magnet marshal to ensure their car met the specs when shipped, but what if a car reads over spec at a host track? How might tire wear over time effect this? Plus, doesn't amperage draw increase with magnetic downforce of a car? What would this mean regarding power supplies used?

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I have been in about a dozen proxies or proxy-like deals, and it was all about the fun to me. I never do them anymore for other reasons, but I don't think trying them is a bad idea at all. Until I had the experience that took proxy fun away, I had a ball.

[arroldn]

Helps you build a better car, you hope I have been hosting the Forums Cup Proxy for over 10 years. Last year a new comer to the series blow away my track record for this class car by 4 seconds. Now overall when the season was over he didn't fair to well. But on my short oval he was the king of the hill. So cars perform different on different tracks. So what a guy to do? Try and try harder. Think and think some more. Test, test,test and more test.