San Diego's Finest, and Fastest...

 

Tim Bunch, Bob Thurman, Leroy Vega, Art Tarver, Tom Snedon and Neil Kuhns.

Not too long ago there was a gathering of some of San Diego's finest, fastest, and okay oldest (LOL) slot racers. This rare group of real fast guys from the gold era of San Diego slot racing got together to trade stories and reminisce about past slot car adventures.  I remember racing Group 20 way back in 73 and 74 with Rene Romero, Bob Johannes, Dennis "Foamy" Hill and all of these guys on the big Engleman at the old Armed Services YMCA in downtown San Diego.  These were the fast guys, and many a weekend they'd jump into a car or two and make the 100+ mile trek up to LA for some real hard-core racing against the slot car legends in Long Beach, LA, and the OC.  It's kinda funny now because I never rode up with them to race way back then (I did go up once see the Can-Am cars at Riverside in 74), but now - many years later I find myself driving to LA almost once a month for that very same reason - except now I'm going to race Super-Fast HO cars with one of their old rivals - John "The Jet" Cukras and batch of other fast HO racers in LA.

Oscar "Big O" Morales - R.I.P.

It is with great sadness that I bring this news.  Our longtime SCHOR racing buddy, Oscar Morales aka: "Big O" and "Bugman" passed away at his home this past Wednesday evening.  Oscar was a true character, a little gruff on the outside, but a genuine friend and a truly nice and very funny man. He grew up slot racing in L.A. and could talk for hours about the cars, tracks, racers and history of both the HO and 24th scale So Cal slot car scene.  He was at the "Big Shot" race just two weeks ago laughing, racing, and having a good time. SCHOR and all of slot racing just won't be the same without him.

R.I.P.  Oscar

Gary Cleverley - R.I.P.

It is with great sadness that I write this post.  I recently learned that Gary Cleverley passed away on December 10, 2011 which was his 59th birthday.  Gary was a one of a kind guy who lived life at a speed that most of us can only imagine.  To his friends he was a wild and crazy fun guy who love to go fast!   

Gary was a pioneer in the San Diego County slot car racing scene.  He first had "LeMan's Raceway" (photos here), a big 24th scale commercial raceway in the Vista/San Marcos area.  Later, in 1993 he introduce everyone in San Diego County to serious HO magnet racing when he opened "HO Racing and Hobbies" (see video below) in Sorrento Valley.  He brought in 3 custom Bucktrax from Scale Auto in Seattle, installed an HO dragstrip on one wall, and taught many of us the nuances of real HO slot racing.  Gary C. was friendly and helpful to his customers, and fun and generous to his friends. 



Cleverley's Prowler

He was always laughing and joking about something, and he always had a cool fast car including a couple of Plymouth/Chrysler Powlers.  After he got out of slot racing he became a very active member of The Prowler Owners Association (a lot more info here) .   Gary Cleverley will be missed.

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Jim Williams: SCHOR's "Mister Concours"

Aston Martin LMP LeMans



SCHOR is fortunate to count a lot of very talented racers on it's roster.  Not only are there a lot of good drivers and racers, but over the years there have been a number of members who have made significant contributions to the overall HO racing scene, and there have also been some seriously talented individuals  In this case I am referring to Jim "Mr. Concours" Williams.  Jim is a fast and serious HO slot racer who is almost always in contention for the win, but his true claim to fame are his talents when it comes to taking a clear lexan body and adding decals, paint and a good airbrush. 



Jim is all about the details

We don't call him "Mr Coucours" for nothin'.  Jim is a multi National Concours Champion.  He has won numerous national awards at HOPRA, UFHORA, HOPAC, and SCHOR Championships.  We here at SCHOR are very proud to have such a talented artist on our crew.  So in an effort to spruce up this blog a bit, there will a number of future postings of Jim's work, so that the rest of the Slot car world can get a glimpse of some of the amazing "Slot Car Art" that we see at every SCHOR race.   Cheers to Mr. Coucours!  

Audi R8 LeMans



 

John "The Jet" Cukras - SCHOR's "Legend"

The other day I came across this article on the Slot Car Museum website.  It's about The Legend himself, SCHOR's own - Mr. John Cukras.  A lot of racers (especially younger ones) don't realize it, but John "The Jet" Cukras, our SCHOR buddy who we race with all the time is a true legend in the overall slot car racing world.  Not only did he design the recently released and very popular Tomy/AFX MEGA-G car,  he also designed the original Aurora G-Plus car, and tons of other slotcar stuff.  But he is even more famous in the 24th scale world for kickin' serious butt "back in the day" on slot tracks nationwide.  And for his amazing hand-built chassis and the signature Mura Motors that he developed.

Check it out...

Slot Car Museum