DRIFT or DIEcast 1:64 Racing Story
I wanted to do a short write up of my diecast racing journey so people have a little better understanding of what diecast racing means to me!
My real names Chris, often known to others in the community as Drift (and my significant other as Ms. Drift) Around year or so ago my son who was turning 5 had requested a Hot Wheels birthday theme so as a dad I knew I had to give him the absolute best Hot Wheels birthday ever!
I didn't really collect or race much prior to my son's request of a Hot Wheels birthday but as a kid growing up I can remember racing our hot wheels at the park down the metal slide.
I knew I wanted to host a Hot Wheels Tournament with a track the kids (and adults) could race on but had little to no experience track building. With a hope and a prayer I made my first track with a make shift starting gate and a few boards I found in my garage.
This was my very first track I ever built. But once I started messing with this start gate I didn't like it so I scrapped the starting gate and designed a pivotal starting gate that had a rod inserted between two blocks that when twisted lifted two pegs releasing the cars down the hill.
Needless to say my Hot Wheels Drag Racing Track was an absolute hit and I even set up a Hot Wheels Prize Shop for the participants to pick their prizes!
After this track I built a really simple makeshift track in my kitchen for the kids which we had a lot of family night tournaments through the winter! It was so simple but we had a ton of fun on it!
Once spring came around I found a 6 Lane Hot Wheels track on Facebook Marketplace and built my first more reliable track for diecast racing, something with an actual starting gate and finish gate. I ran thousands of track trials finding out which cars were my fastest but it lacked being able to determine definitive speed recordings and wasn't exactly what I wanted for a real drag track.
So after months and months of contemplating about it I finally just pulled the trigger and bought a Pro Timing system from Play Robotics and got started building my first REAL drag track!
This is where we are now, with a fully functional timed drag strip track which will be an ongoing process refining, detailing and decorating it as time goes on.
The journey from weekend warrior dad building his 5 Year old son a janky makeshift Hot Wheels track for his ultimate birthday to building from the ground up a very well designed track complete with a real timing system. It's been a hell of a journey and if it wasn't for my 5 year old son asking dad to build a track I'm not sure I'd be here as part of one of the coolest and most exciting hobbies I've ever had the privilege of being a part of!
-Drift-
Discussion
Very nice write-up. I enjoyed reading it showing how you started. I am just starting my journey and I hope to have a decent track to play with soon.
- It takes time, I definitely started with what I had but eventually over time I built a reliable track that is worthy of being raced on by real diecast enthusiasts! — DRIFT_or_DIEcast_Racing
Ohhhh yeah, I think I read your post in the r/HotWheels subreddit when the birthday was in the planning process. Nice to have accompanying photos. Good clean setup in the final set. I'd recommend another cushion at the stop though. You could get a lot of bounce from the foam pool noodle, perhaps look into fabric covered bean bags
Welcome to RLD and your new addiction
- Yeah I just put that there so it wouldn't run into the plywood, that's not the finished design for the end of track haha. I appreciate your idea! — DRIFT_or_DIEcast_Racing
Welcome to RLD, thanks for sharing your journey so far, it's a great story! Love how you evolved from kitchen to garage to driveway and beyond. Very similar to when I started years ago too! Where you at in Ohio? I'm on southside of Columbus.
A wonderful journey, thanks for sharing!
Special to be able to do and share time with family.
I shall look at your rules etc, and see what I can didg up.
Wish you the best! Cheers.
Marc D
- It's a family affair! My girlfriend and kids all love diecast as much as I do so it makes it really enjoyable being able to share my passion with the entire family! — DRIFT_or_DIEcast_Racing
To Cool beginnings and memories that last a lifetime with kids!! Congratulations on your journey...
- Thank you! I love that my entire family is just as involved and love diecast like I do! — DRIFT_or_DIEcast_Racing
What a great story! I love it how other kids involved racing in the driveway! PlayRobotics is a great choice as well! Do you have a link to your YouTube channel?
Jourdan
- Yeah I just started my YouTube Channel but I will start uploading some videos soon plus the entire Fast Bash Tournament will be recorded and uploaded! — DRIFT_or_DIEcast_Racing
- https://youtube.com/@driftordiecast164racing?feature=shared — DRIFT_or_DIEcast_Racing
Very cool story! I love that you in love your children and significant other! It's so enjoyable when you get your family involved just as much as you! My son and I loved going to toy shows and now my grandson loves playing with grandpa with his hot wheels!
- It's all about the journey, even better when the whole family gets involved! — DRIFT_or_DIEcast_Racing
Thanks for sharing.
Looks very neat and tidy.
Good luck with the rest of your journey!
Cheers, Lee
Nice! Nice Dad...Nice Track...Nice all round. Great job.
Sounds like you got the bug just like so many of us. That is a deep hole my friend. I started out with my son as well. This is a great hobby with a lot of really good guys. Track looks good as well. See ya out there!! Dale
- Thanks I appreciate it, it's been a fun hobby to dive into that's for certain. — DRIFT_or_DIEcast_Racing
Great story to share, so thanks for that. I'm still in my early stages of being involved and am currently planning to expand my track and keep advancing my involvement and skills! Great for the kiddies to be involved and not stuck behind a computer screen!
Great story! My 4 cars got sent off to you today.
Dutch