Tradition on Tarmac: The 2018 Summer Sizzler.

A rained-out Saturday & a hazy, smoky Sunday. Perfect ingredients for an outdoor party.

    Over the years, I've attempted (unsuccessfully) to quit this hobby at least 926 times, and after a long break, I eventually find myself in the same spot: racing again. Not that I hate competing with my toy car, quite the contrary. I just have a terrible habit of over-cooking myself with a pastime that is meant to provide entertainment, not add stress to an already-stressful life. Not to mention that toy car racing and family life mix about as well as oil and water on a good day.

    So here I am, writing a race report that I didn't plan to write, about a hobby I didn’t plan to indulge in, involving a race I didn’t plan to attend. Why? Because I got hooked again, dammit. With each passing week, I view endless pictures of dialed track conditions, dialed race cars and smiling faces. I can only hold out for so long, and with a couple days already previously scheduled off for the weekend, it was decided.

    For the past 30 some-odd years, racers in the Pacific Northwest have gathered during the dog days of summer to partake in a longstanding rite of passage that has been in existence longer than many of us have been wheeling a toy car: The Summer Sizzler. What makes this particular version different from the scads of imitations across the United States, is that the northwest “Summer Sizzler” is quite possibly the longest-running on road race in the Puget Sound region, and yet, has been shared by at least three different clubs in the its three-decades of existence.

Fantasy World RC: Racing on "The Bus". 

First raced by the boys at SARCAR, then by Fantasy World and Burien RC, the annual Puget Sound summer tradition has now been passed on to the Seattle RC Racers club and the pristine SeaTac RC Raceway.

    I was fortunate enough in my early years to pick up a couple podiums at the 1999 and 2002 Burien RC Summer Sizzler races, as well as a double-win at the 2000 ‘Sizzler. You’ve never really lived this hobby until you spend two days under an EZ-UP in a parking lot in mid-August. Swamp-ass was (and still is) always included with every entry. Thinking about it now, a few days removed from the 2018 edition, it’s hard not to get a bit nostalgic about a hobby that I care so much for, and a race that has been a part of the northwest radio control on road landscape longer than a few of us young whipper snappers have been around (Looking at you, Stuart...). To have a chance to participate in this year’s event was like a trip back to past seasons and the grass-roots competition that made this all so addictive to me as a kid. I couldn't really pass it up.

Cheesing for the camera. Burien RC Summer Sizzler, circa 1999

My all-time, hands-down, favorite class ever: Tamiya stadium truck racing. FWD comes in a close second.

    But this wasn’t just some leasurely jaunt down memory lane, NOOO no. I’d inadvertently thrown back to my formative years and went into this race completely blind and unprepared. Full-on OG shit show, like the good old days. It was quite refreshing to be honest. Only three days prior to race day, I’d decided to give it a go and try to pull myself out of my hobby funk. I hadn’t touched my Schumacher Mi6 in over 4 months. What had been a solid A-Main machine at the indoor season-ending Emerald City Classic, had been reduced to a dust-covered pile of parts on my pit board. It was a sorry sight to behold, but I had only two days in which to piece together a race car, so cleanup and a meticulous setup was thrown out the window faster than screws unfasten themselves from my car at will.

Lit Pit. Lit car. Lit day.

*Shocks? Five months since a rebuild.
*Diff? Five months since a rebuild.
*Bearings? Five months since a cleaning.
*Tires?  Recycled from last year. (clapped out)
*Alignment rack? Too lazy.
*Loctite? Forgot. (There’s a good story here, ask me about it later.)

    I won’t bore you with the details, but the car was good. Really good. For a carpet setup, clapped out recycled tires, and a complete lack of recent driving, it was probably the best it had ever been in USGT form. I’m going to say that’s more of a compliment to the Mi6, and less of a knock on my shitty mechanic skills. Armed with a well-handling chassis, and less-than mediocre driving, I was fortunate enough to navigate the event's activities to a TQ and Double-A Main win. It was a damn good day. From the moment I set the car down in practice to the final tone of the second main, neither the setup nor the gearing was touched. Not that changes couldn’t have been made, but I was simply not in the mood to chase a setup, or stress about this adjustment, or that gear ratio. I was hell-bent on having a good time. There’s something wholly refreshing about just driving and bullshitting, and not playing my best imitation of a setup guru (I’m a terrible imitator).

Preppin' & flexin'. Zero changes = loads of fun.

As for the rest of the day's events? I can best describe it as: Predictable winners, unpredictable podiums.

    In Stock Touring, it was Maclan driver Sam Forbes' day.... all day. TQ across all three qualifying rounds, and a dominating Double-A Main win to seal the deal. The true battle though, was a scrap for the final two podium spots. With Todd Mason having the faster car, but making some costly mistakes, it would be the elder statesman Mike Crosier driving clean and mistake free to a second overall spot, with Todd settling for a hard-fought third.

Your Stock TC Winner, Mr. Sam Forbes. Photo credit: Dean Forbes

    F1 was the usual Mark Tveten run-away, but a new face emerged in local fast guy Brian Shook. While Mark would eventually take the overall win, there were flashes of brilliance from Brian's car, and one could only hope that a new challenge could emerge within what was one of the biggest classes of the event. this year's trophy designer Jeff Glossip would round out the podium.

    Modified Touring in the Northwest is as much a spectator sport as it is the most popular class available. To watch the likes of Korey Harbke, Weylin Rose, Jake Danilchik (Your podium, btw), Stuart Mason and others rip up the SeaTac asphalt with ease, is a treat. It's also a testament to the strength of the local touring car scene. We are unequivocally spoiled here. No doubt.

Modified Podium. Photo credit: Dean Forbes/Weylin Rose

    Mod 12th Scale on asphalt just looks fun, and I'm surprised that more racers don't partake in the shenanigans. I keep thinking of giving pan cars a try, and I still might for indoors. Todd Mason would pip his son Stuart for the overall win, and no doubt will be hanging this achievement over the Mini-Mason for a long time.

    At a time when not only society, but also the RC Racing community in general seem to be stuck in a proverbial rut, it's a breath of fresh air to be able to share such an amazing facility with such good people. Unfortunately, positive experiences just don't get the publicity that they deserve, which is a shame, as these are the moments, races, and people that I believe we as a hobby need more of.

    So, in the spirit of good positive press, I’d like to thank Mike Clifton and Mike Crosier for the good clean racing all day long. It was a privilege racing with two racers that have attended the better part of three decades of Summer on road racing in the Pacific Northwest. I’d also like to thank Jeff Johnson for the shade of not only the canopy variety, but the off-color jokes as well. It was good to have a little slice of “shitshow island” for the day. Also to Weylin for the sweet tunes that were supplied for all to enjoy! Lastly, I'd like to thank Todd, Jake, Alex, Korey, Jeff, and the rest of the club for all their efforts to not only create such an unreal track to race on, but also for keeping a northwest tradition alive. It was a much appreciated and much needed day out, nerding-out on toy cars, and hanging with good friends. The trophies were just the icing on the day.

Full disclosure here, I was having so much fun during the event, that I kind of forgot to take pictures. Sometimes reconnecting with those you haven's seen in months and well, racing.. come first. Here's a few that I did take.

Our resident Canadian and "Gripworks RC" owner Alex Pate
came down to throw down for the day,
as did eventual Mod winner, Korey Harbke

Sam's Maclan-powered XRAY T4 Stock rocket.

My Schumacher Mi6evo USGT beauty, pre-main.

The "Lit Kit" award goes to Weylin Rose,
with paint by none other than Travis Schreven.

All smiles in '99

All smiles in '18

    Thanks as always to those read and enjoy the blog. I had an absolute blast at this year's Summer Sizzler. While there were a few elements out of the club's control that contributed to the lower car counts (weather, traffic, etc.), those that did come out, no doubt were treated to another bitchin' day by the Seattle RC Racers club. It was one of those days where it just felt good to be a toy car racer. That does it for me for outdoors, see ya on the rug!


-JRoy