It wasn`t the Indianapolis 500, but for some it was the next best thing.
Amateur Al Unsers and Bobby Rahals convened at River Woods Elementary School in Naperville last weekend to operate shiny, brightly colored cars that careened at blinding speeds around a racetrack set up in the school`s gym.
Sponsored by the Naperville Park District, the races will also be run April 26. Practice begins at 10 a.m. and registration at 11 a.m. (Call 708-357-9000 for more information.)
The race cars are not like those driven at Indy. They are small and light enough to tuck under your arm. The drivers use radio-control devices to operate them.
Some of the mini-cars crashed into the track wall or into other cars. The racers seemed to take it in stride, however. Because many of them happily devote their weekends to their hobby, they are well acquainted with such minor defeats as well as with victory.
Hoping for that sweet taste of victory over their competitors is what many of them like about radio-car racing.
”It`s the competitiveness that I like. It`s a little intense, but it`s relaxing,” said David Fortman, one of the car enthusiasts.
Another of the racers, Jerry Warren of Wheaton, was joined by his 11-year-old daughter Amanda.
Asked what she liked best about radio-car racing, she said, ”The playgound (outside of the school) and I just enjoy being with my daddy.”
The racers set up makeshift workbenches in the gym to take apart their cars and try to improve their mechanics before each heat of the race.
”The driver is also his own pit crew,” explained Pete Kerr of Westmont. It would seem that being handy with a tool box would be a requirement for being a winning radio-control car racer.
But Warren said that is not so.
”The cars come with instructions, so if you can read then you can do it,” said Warren. But having good hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes help make a driver a winner, said another of the racers, Jeff Stevens of Naperville.
”It`s a lot like real-life racing,” Stevens said. ”You have to know when to go full throttle and when to back off.”
