Finally, here it is, the latest and greatest news from the best little R/C car club in Ocala! I skipped a newsletter month, again! Sorry, gang, but I’m learning some baaaad habits. A clever member mentioned going to quarterly newsletters and dang, it sounds good since that’s about the schedule I’ve sunk to! No news is good news and we got gobs of good news, so stay tuned!

We had a meeting at A2Z Race Park on February 15^th attended by Carl Ross, Mike Gitchell, Christian Ginter, Mason McCombs, Fletcher Grosz, Tom Hitchcock, Jim Stearns, Bill Hamilton and myself. We had a meeting on March 16^th that was attended by Tom Hitchcock, Scott Monroe, Mike Gitchell, Bill Hamilton, Melanie Hitchcock, Susan Danvers, Mason McCombs, Fletcher Grosz, Matt Mosieur, Carl Ross and myself. The next meeting is to be held at the track at 7:30 PM on April 19^th. Plan to attend.

New members and renewals on the roster since the beginning of the year include Daniel Bramlitt, Mike Dranchek, George Renzi, Scott Monroe, Susan Danvers and Tom Hitchcock. We welcome them all and hope they enjoy the racing action and camaraderie that the ORCCC has to offer!

A slew of track and site changes have happened over the last couple of months, thanks to the hard work and dedication of a few good men and women. Greg Grassette delivered the tongue and groove wood to be used for the floor of the computer room (yes, Bill is still teetering on cinderblocks and a precariously placed piece of plywood). Jim and Fletcher have sealed the computer room roof just in time for the monsoon season. Tom and Fletcher ingeniously built additional railings around the track for between race pitting and spectator comfort. The additional supports now boast a few more of the sponsor advertisement billboards, also. These two also set us up with hoses and reels for ease of track watering. Additional and improved lighting was installed for the racers enjoyment. The guys are working on the sink drainage situation and have a few plans up their sleeves to eliminate the overflow problem. Fletcher (I’m convinced through divine intervention, ‘cause it was dead!) repaired the drag tractor so that it purrs like a kitten (it doesn’t smell like one, though) and built a state of the art drag. The only other improvement on the books for the near future is the sink and water heater for the concession area (sorry, Bill, your floor got bumped down a few notches). Clean up in Marty Munchies’ kitchen would be easier and a lot more sanitary with these upgrades, so Tom’s crew is out shopping for supplies. A big "howdie ho" to all the workers for their assistance in these wonderful track improvements. Man, these dudes are talented!

Tom and friends are still looking for the "perfect" riding lawn-cutting device suitable to attach a bucket for quick and easy track and site maintenance. They’ve got lots of leads and local businesses are keeping their eyes open for the type of equipment we need and can afford. Joe Boyle and Vern Cook have volunteered to cut the grass using their personal equipment until we obtain our own. Thanks, guys!

Hey, garbage is a problem at the track just like at home. Everybody has it, but no one wants to take care of it! We’ve come up with a solution that worked like a dream this past Saturday night. During the driver’s meeting, Tom will ask for two volunteers to empty the trashcans and replace the liners (yes, volunteers will be picked if no one raises their hand!). The goal is to not run the mains until the trash is picked up around the pits and the trash barrels are empty and ready for next week. A friendly reminder is announced prior to the start of the main, ‘cause we know what it’s like to not be blessed with short-term memory! To help with the cigarette butt problem, we are going to place a coffee can filled with kitty litter at each pit area so that folks won’t be tempted to put their butts on the ground. Hey, if you bring your cat to the race night, it’ll have somewhere to do its business, too! So remember racers, if it’s not dirt or grass, it goes in a trashcan!!!!

The club put in a bid for the 2001 Region 4 race. We think we have a lot to offer and would love to see a race of this caliber here in Ocala. Bill Fraden and Dan Rodriguez, the ROAR Region 4 dudes, will notify us of their decision. Other bids were received from the tracks in Orlando, Bartow and Naples. We’ll keep you posted!

IF YOU BRING A TRAILER TO THE ORCCC FOR SATURDAY NIGHT RACING, READ THIS: Some of you folks have some awesome and huge equipment for R/C racing. To eliminate any sort of traffic problems the row of pit space directly behind the driver’s stand will no longer accept rig and trailer setups over 35 feet in length total. If your combination is longer than that, the ORCCC would like to request you use the row of pit spaces nearest the tree line (the first ones you see when you come up our driveway). This way everyone is happy, right!

Greg has procured a speaker and speaker wire to tie in to the PA system for the racers pitting on the side of the track opposite to the driver’s stand. Lots of folks have set up permanent pits in this primo location, but unfortunately they can’t hear a thing coming from the computer room. We just need a gang of folks to bury the wire and hang the speaker to rectify this problem. Any of you regulars to the back side of the track see Tom or Fletcher to set up a work day to make this much needed change to the site.

The board and various members have ask all of us to put our heads together in coming up with an A2Z exclusive annual race similar to Tampa’s Winter Championships and Aiken’s Watermelon Classic. We won’t decide if 2001 is the year to host such a race until we are advised of the Region 4 bid. Just be thinking of what type of race you would like see held in Ocala each year and give us your ideas.

Hey, hey, it’s almost time for the new and improved track layout. Remember they new game plan discussed in the last newsletter, wherein the club would enjoy a new track layout each January and June with the help of the racers. That means that on April 1^st through the May club meeting the board will be accepting new track designs. Designs must be submitted on paper with enough detail for the work crew to accomplish the task easily. All the designs received by the day of the May meeting will be voted on by the BOARD MEMBERS ATTENDING THE MAY MEETING. The board will pick the top three designs. These three designs will be posted at the track for racers to vote on the following Saturday race day. The design receiving the most votes will be implemented for racing in June! If you’ve got a design or designs, put pen to paper and submit it today!

DATES TO REMEMBER:

All in all the new track and the club are enjoying great success and many accolades from the racers that travel from Jacksonville, Orlando and all points in between. A round of applause to all the folks that helped make this and continue to make this the BEST LITTLE R/C CAR CLUB IN OCALA!