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Slot Car Racing Comeback
One step into Miracle Mile Raceways in Ocoee, and time will warp. You will feel like a kid again.
“That’s why I opened the store. I did it decades ago with my father,” says Michael Haire, who owns the place.
Haire is bringing back slot racing one turn at a time; re-inventing drag racing one blur at a time.
“They’ll do a 132mph — that’s the record — at 4/10ths of a second,” says Ed Newman, a hobbyist who says over the years he’s dumped $20,000 into the sport.
“I’m one of the rare dumb ones. I’m just one of the dumb ones that put too much in it, but I enjoy it. I go all over,” says Newman.
And he’ll sometimes win. $1810. One night, Newman recalls.
But don’t let Ed intimidate you. Miracle Mile is for all ages, all levels. “If they have the attention span to stand there and pull a trigger, they can do it,” says Haire.
You don’t even have to bring you own car. But if you want to build one, kits start at $60.
Spend a half-hour on the track? Spend $7.50. And it’s $.25 cents per race on the drag strip.
“That’s our fastest growing program actually. We’ve had as many as 125 cars come out on a Saturday night,” says Haire.
Posted: Feb 22, 2011
