Woodland Trace Raceway

[Fast Co.]

Here are some pics of Woodland Trace Raceway (aka Laguna Trace or simply, The Trace). This is my second routed track. It's inspired by my many trips to Laguna Seca but altered to fit my long, narrow basement. It has a footprint of 25.5' L x 9' W on one end and 5' W on the other. Average lap length is approximately 80'. Power is supplied by a Pyramid PS26K 22 Amp unit. We run at 10v for most classes of cars. Copper tape carries ample current to the cars and has the added benefit of reducing wear to the cars' braids. There are two electrical taps into the track. Driver's stations were built by the good folks at Slot Car Corner. Polarity switches allow the cars to be run in either direction but we usually run them counter-clockwise. As always, it's a work in progress. More pics later...

The corkscrew:



An overview (from Andretti Hairpin):



The view from Turn 11:



Turn 11:

[goosenapper]

That track just screams FUN! I love the elevation changes and, of course, the corkscrew. I'd imagine that it's difficult to set aside landscaping time. I could see myself dropping a car in the slot and constantly saying "just one more lap, just one more lap..," killing my evenings running the circuit instead of modeling the scenery.

Is that a slight downhill leading in to the Tiki turn? That looks killer.

[Scatman1]

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

[reel55]

Allway,s interesting to see the path of the cars travel through the rubber put down!!!!!!
I would say that there is a lot of dialing in a brake set up on your track
Verne

[Fast Co.]

Thanks for the comments guys. The track is a blast to drive. I think everyone's favorite is turn 1 - a slight 2" rise but with a slight left-hand bend at the peak of the hill. It comes at the end of the long front straight and the cars will get light and sideways in it as they head into Andretti Hairpin. Of course, the Corkscrew is another favorite part of the track.

Goosenapper - there is a slight descent into Tiki Turn. It wasn't intentional - it's where two tables join together one just slightly higher than the other - but I like it. If I were to build the track again (I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon - this is my second routed track in two years) I would add lots more minor elevation changes like the one at Tiki Turn. It adds interest to the circuit. It has been difficult to work on the scenery. Running the cars always seems to take precedence. :roll:

Verne - finding a proper braking point is tricky in some spots especially into the hairpin after turn 1 and descending into the Corkscrew.

Steve

[dreinecke]

One of my favorite tracks! Love the size and corners on this thing. Just a great all-around driver's track it looks like.

Oh, the C6 in the background doesn't suck either ;)

[Fast Co.]

Thanks David. Your Palmer Divide Raceway is one of the very best tracks on the web. If you ever have reason to come to North Carolina drop me a line - you're always welcome at Laguna Trace.
Steve

[Fast Co.]

[acmost]

Awesome track!

[Fast Co.]

Hi Mike,
I don't have one single photograph that shows the entire track - the track is large and in a rather confined space and it's almost impossible to get a good photograph that shows the whole thing. The fourth and fifth pics above are the best I have. I do have this Illustrator drawing that I used to plan it's construction and also some driver's notes (with my comments in parenthesis) of the actual 1:1 circuit that Marcus Antilles was gracious enough to share on another forum. The finished track differs only slightly from the drawing.



Turn 1 - Blind turn taken at full speed. Slight elevation at apex. (3" elevation at apex, descends into hairpin).
Turn 2 - Single apex for most approaches - long turn to reach apex. (Rout decreasing radius).
Turn 3 - Racing line is at left at exit of T2. Apex is late in corner. (Rout decreasing radius).
Turn 4 - Fast radius, no banking, not uncommon to slide at exit. (Broader turn than T3, flat, zero elevation)
Turn 5 - Begins to go uphill at apex. Slight banking mid corner. (Incline begins here).
Turn 6 - Dips into apex. (Keep flat).
Turn 7 - Turn in is at left just after the hill just past the end of curbing. Go straight over blind crest so the car is on the right as it approaches the Corkscrew. Brake just before crest and continue until just pass turn in. (Squeeze will begin here, carry through T8 and open up again at T9, elevation at T7 - 16").
Turn 8 - Corkscrew - Turn-in is late so car goes straight down the hill. (Lanes will follow racing line, spaced 1" apart through Corkscrew).
Turn 8A - Apply throttle down toward 8A. (Bank turn 8A, descends to 8" at exit. 5" drop to T9).
Turn 9 - Fast, downhill sweeper - one car width from the right edge. (Lanes will open up before this turn. Right hand lane one car width from right edge of track, 3" drop to T10).
Turn 10 - Comes quickly. Braking is harder than it looks. Drops into a bowl. (Routed lanes will be tighter radius than that of turn, maybe slight dip?).
Turn 11 - Slowest corner on the track. Brake early. Slow in, Fast out. (Rout increasing radius, zero elevation).

[Ember]

Great track. Would love to be set loose on this one for a few days.

Cheers
Embs

[HomeRacingWorld]

Wow, sorry I am late to this one. Fantastic layout!

Nice Jalopies too :)

Looks like you have a great race place and group going. That is always good to see.

[Fast Co.]

Thanks for the positive comments guys! Harry - there are about 2 dozen guys here locally that are into 1/32 slots in one way or another - about 8 of us are regular racers and 6 to 8 will show for most racing events - Eight is a perfect sized group for my track, giving us 4 racers and 4 marshals. We call ourselves SCANC (Slot Car Addicts of North Carolina) and here is more information about our tracks and who we are: http://homeracingworld.us/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=265
I think 2 or 3 of us may be interested in hosting other groups - maybe some proxy racing?
Best regards,
Steve

[Fast Co.]

A few more recent pics:

[Ember]

Looks great. Definitely a track to be proud of.