Marshall Field Raceway started in the fall of 2006. The track was put in the garage of our family home. There was just one problem. How to put the track in the garage that was full of power tools, nik naks, storage shelves, and all kinds of things one puts in a garage including two cars. Well we have a very deep garage so keeping the cars in the garage wasn't really a problem, but all the other stuff had to moved. But where? Then it dawned on me, if instead of putting the stuff that was in shelves up against the wall, how about putting it under tables? That was the answer.
So Craig's list to the rescue and all evently got sold. Now with that out of the way it was time to build the tables. The size of our garage would allow for a 17 x 10 foot section of track and still allow people to get around the edges. This would require 4 - 4x8 tables with 2 feet between them on one side and 1 foot between the tables on the other side. Ahh, but what would my wife say about this grand adventure. She loved it because it allowed us to clean up the garage. We painted the walls, covered the floor with a cool looking rubber flooring, and generally make it another room for the house. We even hooked up posters and my wife made some awesome curtains to seperate the car area from the slot car track area.
My son and worked on building all the tables for about 3 months and on December 1, 2006, we had the tables and foundation done for the track. Then we spent the next month decorating, painting, ,laying out the track and building all the power stations and power for the track. Everything was designed to be controlled by computer. The lap counting is computer controlled and we even designed a pit section. This is used for endurance races so drivers can change to new drivers in this area. Basically, how this works is that the driver stops in the section of the track and if they stay there for 3 seconds, simiulated fuel gets added to the cars in about 15 sections which gives the new driver time to hook up their controllers and continue racing. The computer can even simulate changing tires if you want.
So by Christmas of 2006, the track was fully functioning and we starting racing. We held our first race season the following summer and have been racing all year long since then. We have been featured in Slot Car Magazine and local newspapers.
We have made many changes to the track. One of the great things with plastic track is that you can change the layouts. Here are some club members helping with that process.
Some specifics about the track. It is Scalextric Sport Track. I use Carrera buildings, Ninco concrete borders, Scalextric fences and road borders, 22 amp power supply running all 4 lanes, Active wire taps about every 15 feet or run. The layouts usually run about 82 to 90 feet in length. The lines are hand painted with a pin striping paint tool, 4 individual driver's stations that take plug in and alligator clip connections with brake controls on each controller and run direction switches. The lap counter is a dead strip using Trackmate hardware. There is a 4 lane light switch that is used to simiulate fuel and tire pit stops. There are many figures and vehicles to decorate the track as well as trees and bushes and much more.
The track is open to all people over the age of 12. The racing is always free. This is a private track and is used for club racing. We don't rent out the track. You just have to provide your own car, join up, and have some fun. Our moto is "Just for the Fun of It". And we try our bests to live up to that.
We run our seasons for 5 months twice a year. Usually we do a winter and summer season. Race days are on every other Tuesdays. Please check the "Events" section for the calendar of Events.
Doors open at 6pm and racing starts at 7pm. We usually get done by 10pm.
The track is located at: 15430 SW Gull Ct., Beaverton, OR 97007. My name is Randy and my email and phone are listed below.
