Superior Hobbies of Casselberry,
Florida!
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Our second HPI Challenge USA race for 2000 was held this past weekend in the parking lot of Superior Hobbies in Casselberry, Florida. The biggest surprise we had was that almost twice the number of racers showed up than we expected! Luckily we came prepared for the numbers, and everybody had fun and walked away with a great racing experience and some wonderful free gifts and prizes!
The owner of Superior Hobbies, Rob, was delighted to tell us that nearly 100 racers showed up for 2 day's worth of fun and racing. His helpers included personnel from his hobby shop: Kevin the race director, Ken the webmaster, and Ian the tech/transponder person. Rob didn't shy away from any work, either, he helped us tech the cars (actually, he checked nearly all of them!), set up the grids for the main events and handled issues with the racers for the whole weekend.
First Impressions
This
hobby shop is HUGE. That's the first thing you think when you walk in.
Cars and tires and bodies and wheels everywhere! Wait a minute...there
are some things missing. No plastic model kits, rockets, airplanes, tops,
puzzles, spinners, railroad cars... Nothing but R/C cars! Oh, there are
a couple of boats, but they are drowned out by the rows and rows of bodies,
sedan and off-road tires, kits near the top of the ceiling, parts on pegboard
and display cases stuffed full of desirable option parts! We were told
that racers were packed in the store while the racing was going on, and
we can believe it! There are tons of option and spare parts for just about
every R/C car on the market!
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 The showcases were prepared just for HPI racers! |
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There are even racks of R/C shirts, including shirts with the Superior Hobbies logo on gray, black and white shirts! Lots of racers were wearing these shirts, showing that the local guys really care about and support the shop, which is a great thing to see. Rob has obviously done a great job, hiring the right people and doing the right things with his shop.
 Yes, those are all HPI bodies |
 Lots of spares! |
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The
race program for Superior Hobbies isn't lacking, either. Starting with
a well-trained crew that has a dedicated race director, transponder/tech
person, and other helpers, this is a shop that knows how to run a set
of races! The track is made of three-inch PVC pipe joined together by
exhaust pipe so the pieces slide together, with no bolt heads sticking
out to damage cars or bodies. There are also weighted "socks"
behind each corner to make sure that one car hitting a corner doesn't
move the track too much.
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The track was set up and sprayed with sugar water Friday night so the surface could dry and be ready for racers on Saturday. Practice started at about 9 AM Saturday morning, and the prime spots around the track were already taken!
 Pits along the main straight |
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 These guys are prepared! |
 This is REALLY pitting in comfort! |
 The pits along Semoran Blvd |
At around noon the announcement was made for everyone to bring their cars up to the track for pictures and start the HPI Challenge Concours event!