Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LIVING LAS VEGAS:

Racers find fun, competition with remote-control cars

Remote-control cars

Justin M. Bowen

Visitors to the 702 RC Raceway in Las Vegas use their remotes to control their cars during practice Wednesday.

Remote-control cars

Kalei Bowman works on his remote-control cars as his 4-year-old grandson Jayme Caudoy waits for his turn to drive Wednesday at the 702 RC Raceway in Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

Beyond the Sun

Mark Frehner is standing next to four competitors at the scaled-down track, waiting to race one of his four remote-control cars.

The drivers’ stand overlooks a sprawling clay-dirt track, 50 feet by 80, inside this warehouse.

The track includes regulation 10-feet-wide lanes and a crossover jump where cars fly over others racing in the opposite direction.

The 35-year-old construction company owner has occupied this same spot on the drivers’ stand for most of the day, guiding his one-tenth-scale truck around the track since the facility, 702 RC Raceway, opened at noon.

But, just as his five-minute race-qualifying heat is about to start, Frehner is called away by family members stationed at a picnic-style table a few feet from the action.

You see, their takeout food had just arrived and dad had to pay the bill.

For the Frehners and other families who log numerous hours at the track, remote-control car racing is more than the thrill of speed and adrenaline rush of competition. It’s a blend of racing and camaraderie with other participants.

“This is like a driver’s paradise right here,” Frehner said. “It’s just an awesome time for our family.”

The raceway that opened in November at 2901 S. Highland Drive near the Strip is strictly for electronic cars. A larger, outdoor track at Sam Boyd Stadium Soccer Complex at Russell Road and Boulder Highway features gas (nitro) racing.

The Frehner clan’s table is filled with more than their takeout order: pizza and Chinese food. It has all of the accessories of the trade — screwdrivers and other tools, battery chargers and fans to cool the motors — needed for Frehner and his two sons to compete.

His daughter, wife, mother-in-law and others make up the 12-member contingent, happily cheering from the rail or socializing with other families.

“This is what my children want to do,” Frehner said. “That’s fine by me because I’m having as much fun as them.”

Garrett Tokuno, the facility’s owner, began racing remote-control cars in his childhood in Honolulu. The raceway he frequented would open once a month, often making the wait between outings agonizing.

When he opened the local track, one of his goals was to get more children involved. There is a novice category on race nights for beginners, and veteran racers help rookies prepare their cars.

The end result has been music to his ears: More children are flocking to the facility, especially with school out for the summer. One participant is 3 years old.

“Kids always come first,” Tokuno, 30, said. “I was once that kid waiting to race, so I know how it is. I remember waiting all month to get to race and then crashing my car. I’d have to wait another month to race again.”

Raceway membership is $20 a month, which includes discounted practice runs for $10 and a reduction of the entry fee to $10. Without membership, it is $15 to practice and $20 to race. Attendance varies from 50 to 100 racers with Sundays drawing the largest crowds.

Steve McCabe, 38, is one of about 40 monthly members. He can be found minutes before a race meticulously putting the final touches on his car, with his equipment neatly organized on a side table. He has so much gear that Tokuno allows him to store it at the facility.

“I grew up around racing, so being out here is more than a hobby for me,” McCabe said. “It’s a way of life.”

But not everyone is as fanatical as McCabe and the Frehner family. Several are first-timers using ready-to-race cars that can be purchased for as little as $200 at hobby shops.

And, on more than one occasion, a beginner has walked away victorious.

“Anybody can do this. For $200, you can practically get the same car as a pro racer,” Frehner said. “That’s what cool about this sport.”

Tokuno essentially lives at the place, even watering the track twice on days the raceway is closed. He is more than an owner — he is a driver and can often be found bouncing from table to table, helping participants work on cars.

He also describes the race action from an booth overlooking the track. The facility is state of the art, with a webcam and an electronic timing device — times are instantly displayed on 48-inch flat-screen TVs.

There are two qualifying five-minute heats per classification, with top finishers (whoever makes it around the course the most) advancing to the finals. They go as fast as 35 mph and the top recorded lap was 20 seconds.

Kalei Bowman, who used to race at the same track Tokuno did in Hawaii, often takes his grandson, 4-year-old Jayme Caudoy, to the raceway. Bowman, 48, is paralyzed and in a wheelchair since breaking a vertebrae in a car accident in 1981.

The disability, however, doesn’t interfere with the hobby. He takes great pride in showing his grandson the ins and outs of the activity, and takes even more pride when his car outperforms others.

“The thrill for me is being able to compete with these guys as equals,” Bowman said. “They are able-bodied, but that doesn’t mean anything out here.”

That’s the same feeling the others have on the drivers’ stand. Most, however, don’t have a pizza-dinner waiting as Frehner does following the race.

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