Although it no longer exists, you can’t really talk about HO racing in So Cal without mentioning the infamous Big Shop. The Big Shop was owned and operated by custom bike and hot rod builder (among other things) Dennis “What da” Tate. It featured a 4-lane, 68 foot custom Tomy/AFX track, that was epoxy painted, with continuous rails, and LaneMaster timing. This track was designed and built by Gene "Rasta-Man" Bellegarde. The Big Shop played host to a number of very big races from around 1996 thru 2002 including the famous “Race a Rama”, and both SCHOR and Speed Merchants series races. Every class was run at the Big Shop at one time or another: Box Stocks, Super Stocks, Nas-Trucks, Modifieds, R/Os, and it hosted some incredible NEO races, we even raced T-jets on it. An who could forget Dennis’ famous pool parties. Fast HO racing, barbeque, and a dip in the pool - those really were the days...
FYI: The Big Shop’s "Banjo" track lives on to this day in Arizona as “The Glenn”.
It has been revitalized and is now owned by Glenn "Mr. Speed" Goodyear.
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