BROOKVILLE – Stock cars raced around an oval track in downtown Brookville on Saturday night, and the only sound was an electronic whirl.
The radio-controlled cars were running at Creek View RC Speedway, a creation of Brookville resident Ed Schrecengost.
“When I was 12 or 13, I went to an RC race … for the Laurel festival. I thought it was pretty cool.” he said.
“I got into the RC hobby, and tried off-road racing one night and I came home with two broken cars. So I decided oval racing would be better.”
In 2016, he created the track, a dirt oval configuration, complete with infield, pit area, three-tiered winner’s platform and, most importantly, a raised gallery where the racer’s stand.
The track has a 190-foot “run line,” which is the area of the track where the cars drive.
The track also is equipped with lights.
“Through the summer, we race until 9:30 or 10 p.m.”, Schrcengost said.
On average, there are about 25 to 30 racers divided into 11 classes.
“We run two four-minute qualifiers. Everything is done by time. The main race is a 50-lap event,” Schrecengost said. “We have turn marshals who watch the track for wrecks. If a car rolls over, they will go out and turn it over. That way, the racers don’t have to come down and do it.”
Most of the racers are men, but there are a few women who race.
“We do have a class for kids. The winner gets a free ice cream cone,” Schrecengost said. “They do it for fun.”
The cars are battery-powered and controlled by a radio receiver. The modern controller automatically seeks out an open frequency, but that wasn’t always the case.
“In the old days, the guys would write open frequencies on a clothespin and put them on a clothesline,” Schrecengost said. “The guys would take one and that way they would know which frequencies were taken.”
Chad Stegner, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, has been racing since 2011. He creates his own body designs out of a Plexiglas material, including one with a Spiderman theme. He has 27 cars.
“I raced big cars for a while and it just got to be too expensive,” said Stegner, who runs race programs at eight tracks in western Pennsylvania.
A major part of RC racing is the controller.
“You can change your entire race setup through the controller. I can execute changes while I am driving,” Stegner said.
At a cost of $450, Stegner said his controller “is the most expensive” available but “worth it.” He is able to program 50 cars with it.
He has one car that cost $300, but most cars are less expensive. His most successful car cost about $150. One car, though, has caused problems.
“I just can’t drive it. I don’t know why, but I just can’t control it. I’ll get the hang of it,” he said.
“Anyone starting out in the hobby should go to a hobby store and buy a car, take it to a track and see if they like it. You can get into it for about $189.”
Devin Freeman, 18, of Brockway, was racing for the first time on Saturday evening.
For about five years, Freeman said, he had been “rock crawling,” which is done on a track over a rough terrain.
“My dad’s buddies race on this track, and he came down a couple of weeks ago and he told me I should come down and try it. I am looking forward to my first race,” he said.
