RIP Oscar Koveleski

[Dave Kennedy]

A short video tribute to Oscar. He was a local guy for those of us living in northeastern Pa.... sad to see him pass away.

[Vintage 1/24]

Sad to hear. Really is a reminder just how important the scale car model hobby was at a certain time.

AutoWorld offered a catalog that was studied entry by entry and page by page by kids of the time - I think there was so much interest and so many offerings at one point they had to do a '68 1/2 catalog for all the new product that was out there in the few months between the regular annual '68 and '69 catalogs.

I think the "Car 54" McLaren should maybe be the most important livery in the slot car world. It had a slot car track and slot cars on the actual car itself!

Here is a question: Did he ever use actual lexan slot car bodies as decoration on the painted-on track on the real car? I seem to remember a pic, but it was many decades ago, and it may have been just a staged promo or press photo?

[HomeRacingWorld]

There are a very small handful of people who have really impacted our hobby over the years.

This is one of them. RIP.

[chappyman66]

Indeed, a very impactful person in the hobby and actually in CanAm. Quite a personality.

RIP.

[WB2]

MG Vanquish

Waiting for the Thunderslot M6B to appear.

[BIG E]

Truly another great legend lost to the model/slot car world, and so much more in 1/1 scale racing, including the Kid Racer Project he brought to us later in his life. I bought my first mail order slot car from the original Auto World in Scranton PA, an HO scale Allard Le Mans slot car kit from Atlas. I still have the car, all the extra parts, and the box with that beautiful artwork. If memory serves it was $3.49, and I'm happy to say that the car remains in my recreational runner fleet to this day. Auto World was THE place to buy model/slot car stuff back in those days. Looking through those huge catalogs with page after page of the coolest stuff you ever saw, and then waiting for it to arrive in your mailbox was half the FUN!
Bob Beers promoted a one time only slot car show in Scranton, PA that Mr. Koveleski attended as the guest of honor, at about the time he was getting the Kid Racer Project going. Unfortunately, for some reason I wasn't able to attend. Many years earlier, a friend and I had attended a huge outdoor flea market style sale in the parking lot at the original Auto World, a good 3 to 4 hour ride from our homes out on Long Island. Even so, just to visit the original Auto World in person was exciting enough. Much of the inventory offered was for 1/1 scale racing, but I was able to buy some remaining loose Aurora Thunderjet 500 cars with mixed body styles, and whatever else I could find that would satisfy my model/slot car bug! There were big cardboard boxes laid out everywhere, so it was like a huge treasure hunt to see what you would find.
Thank you Mr. Koveleski, for inspiring so many young minds and making their dreams come true!
Rest in Peace, sir. -- Ernie

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I remember the Pol---- Racing Team from the magazines. And the original Auto World, of course. I suppose that with my generation of slot car guys getting older (I'll be 70 soon), we could expect to lose the guys who were young adults when we were teenagers. I know that. But every time we get news like this, it adds to the tally of loss. Rest in Peace... and the rest of you guys- stay healthy!

[slothead]

I went to the Polish Racing Drivers of America webpage and downloaded their banner. Here's a cropped version of it that I'll use for a billboard on my road course.



Hope others make use of this too.

[arroldn]

I remember my brother and I ordering model cars/parts from the AutoWorld catalogue in the '60s. We might have also order some 1/24 scale slot car parts.

[RichD]

I ordered things from Auto World in the '60s, I even had an Auto World patch sewn on my jacket. By 1970 Auto World was selling parts for 1:1 cars and I bought alloy wheels for my '70 Firebird Formula 400 from them.