TALK IT UP TUESDAY: Jimmy Babcock

 

Jimmy Babcock: Back in 1991 I was in my high school auto shop helping a buddy of mine with his full size car. As we were walking around the car I noticed his R/C car in the back and asked what it was all about. My buddy Keith informed me that he raced it every Tuesday night at a place called Fast Lane down the street. It happened to be a Tuesday so I tagged along that night and the rest is history! Once I saw my first R/C race I was hooked! I bought my first car out of the Recycler Magazine and started racing.

 

 

 

JB: As far as my racing career goes it lasted around 13 years. I traveled all across the country and outside the country to race R/C cars and along the way I won 15 national titles in electric off-road and electric dirt oval. I also acquired many regional titles and even made a few main events at the IFMAR World Championships for electric off-road. After my racing career was over I wanted to find something else to do in hopes of staying in the hobby. I started announcing club races at Hot Rod Hobbies and soon gained recognition from the big events I put on at Hot Rod Hobbies. The phone starting ringing and soon I was announcing races all over the country including all the big ROAR events. In 2004 I created the JBRL which turned out to be my greatest accomplishment. 10 years later the series is still going strong with all of Southern California’s finest drivers participating in both nitro and electric!

 

 

 

JB: Within the first couple years of racing I starting attracting a few motor/battery company sponsorships with the first being B&R Motor Works based right here in my hometown of Santa Clarita. Then as I starting racing more series events in SoCal I was picked up by a little operation called Tomahawk motors. As I progressed and got better I graduated to the more recognized companies like Maxtec and then Peak/Orion. In 1994 I drove 22 hours to Oklahoma City for the NORRCA Off-road Electric Nationals where I won 3 national titles in the Expert classes which landed me a 100% Team Losi sponsorship. From there I was able to acquire more sponsors including Tekin, LRP, Airtronics, MIP, Lunsford, Trinity and a few other smaller companies.

 

 

 

JB: I don’t race a whole bunch mainly due to my hectic travel schedule. I do race club races every once in a while where it all started for me, at Hot Rod Hobbies. I haven’t raced a “big” event in many years.

 

 

 

JB: Hot Rod Hobbies started as Fast Lane Hobbies back in 1987 or 1988. The first owner, Randy, started things at our current location before selling the business to a man named John who bought it to have something to do with his two sons. They were the owners when I started racing there in 1991. In 1996, a man by the name of Rod, “Hot Rod” to all his friends, bought the place and changed the name to Hot Rod Hobbies. I worked as store manager for about the last 6 or 7 years that Rod owned the facility. Rod held ownership until January 2005 when I bought it. Coming up in January will be 10 years of ownership for me with no signs of slowing down!

 

 

 

JB: Back when I started working as the store manager for Hot Rod Hobbies I was just gaining ground on the whole announcing thing. I decided that Hot Rod Hobbies needed a “big” race of its own so in 1998 I created the Hot Rod Hobbies Labor Day Off-Road Shootout. The first event was only a one day affair and I managed to get one pro driver to show up, Matt Francis. Matt and I traveled all over the country together as Team Losi teammates hitting up regional races nationwide. The first year we had 133 entries and that sparked the past 17 years. Soon after that first year I changed the name to the Hot Rod Hobbies Off-Road Shootout and moved it from around Labor Day to the middle of July, and it’s been held around that time ever since. The race has changed in many ways since its inception. Obviously, the time of year has changed, but also the racing classes have changed with the introduction of new types of vehicles over the years. Also, the race started as a one day event and then eventually graduated to two and three days and then back to two days this past year. The peak of the event was definitely in the mid-2000s when we saw entry counts of over 400 for several years.

 

 

 

JB: I started by accident really. Out of necessity I started announcing club races at Hot Rod Hobbies because at the time there really was no one else that wanted to, or really could. Rod showed me that basics of the scoring software and I was off! As a racer before I had traveled the country and always listened to the various announcers and I learned what the racers liked to hear and what they didn’t. I applied all the knowledge I learned through the years of listening to my program and went from there. As I got better I got noticed from announcing the bigger events at Hot Rod Hobbies and then started getting phone calls from promoters and track owners nationwide asking for my services. As all that grew I was contacted by ROAR asking if I would be interested in helping them out and the rest is history. I try to learn something new each and every time I pick up the mic. I only care about the racers and giving them the best possible show so I am always trying to perfect my craft.

 

 

 

JB: As a local Southern California racer coming up through the ranks, I always attended the NORRCA series events and thought that they were the best thing going. Not only were they all based in SoCal but they were single day events which made them affordable for me to attend. A group of buddies and I would make the trip to race and have so much fun! Those ended in the late 90s, I believe, and for years there was nothing going on in the way of points series in SoCal. After I stopped racing professionally around 2003 I started work on my own series and came up with a points structure and rules. I put my own name on the series to let folks know who was putting it on and who was behind the series in hopes of building a good strong base from the start. It started out as the Jimmy Babcock Racing League and then was shortened after a couple years to JBRL. 10 years later we are as strong as ever!

 

 

 

JB: Wow, this is an interesting question! Owning a hobby shop is definitely interesting to say the least. It has its ups and downs but so far has been a mostly positive experience. Early on I had no interest in owning a shop, but when the previous owner was done I either had to let the place close down or step up and take over. So many people rely on this place for their recreation and I just couldn’t allow it to close. In the early years it was a little rough as business was slow. I worked my butt off building up the name, inventory and reputation in hopes of eventually prospering. Things got better and by the late 2000s business was awesome. It has slowed down a bit over the past several years but we are still holding strong with a great staff, great hobby store and great race tracks! As far as changing my perspective of the industry I would have to say that owning a shop has opening my eyes to a part of the industry I had previously not experienced. Retail is very difficult, especially these days with all the internet stores. Times are tough and racers are always looking to save a buck. Unfortunately, the cost of doing business continues to rise while the racers want to spend less. Something has got to give, because that just doesn’t add up and I feel we need brick and mortar storefronts for our industry to continue to grow. Anyone can sell product but who’s going to help the customer fix their car or answer their questions? With that said, the best part about owning a track for me is getting joy from seeing racers having a blast with their friends and family. There is no better feeling and at the end of the day that’s what this hobby is all about: FUN!

 

 

 

JB: If you want a simple answer I would have to say short course trucks. Racing has always been fun to me but there was a time around 2008 that our industry became quite stagnant. Racing was down everywhere, hobby shop sales were down and the manufacturers were feeling a crunch as well. Then came the Traxxas Slash! I feel the invention of the short course truck singlehandedly rejuvenated our industry as all the manufacturers started producing these trucks. Every facet of the industry, from my view point, started going up. Racing picked up with the addition of short course classes, hobby shop sales increased and even the sanctioning bodies recognized these vehicles by adding them to the national championship docket. Unfortunately, now in 2014 they are losing steam along with stadium trucks, and our industry is waiting for the next big thing!

 

 

 

JB: Racers’ health and growth, or the hobby store health and growth? I think it’s a better world for the racers as there are cheaper options when it comes to their hobby purchases. Racers also have a ton more options as far as races to attend and racetracks to frequent. Times are a little tougher for most hobby stores with all the competition online. Some stores have adapted by creating their own online stores but others struggle while relying solely on their local clientele to keep them afloat. I have been around long enough to see the highs and lows of this industry and I like to think that I helped shape it a bit.

 

 

 

JB: We didn’t really have complete tear downs back in the day because that would require unwinding the motors to really make sure things were legit. I don’t remember cheating or even pushing the rules as a priority when I was racing. We would tune our motors with brushes and springs and drive our way to the front. To me it seems people push the boundaries way more these days, always looking for the any edge they can when they should be relying on their driving skills to prevail on the track. It is definitely hard to manage motors at the big races as you need someone who has extensive knowledge of brushless motors and their inner workings to police the equipment. Those people are few and far between but they do exist. It’s just frustrating that it has gotten to the point of having to babysit motors at these events. When people come into my hobby store asking what they can buy to make them faster my answer is always the same - a practice pass for the track! No matter what you have in your car, there is no substitute for great driving!

 

 

 

JB: Actually we are going to require ROAR approved 17.5 motors. Originally the plan was to allow any 17.5 but after discussing the issue with Reedy we decided that as a Reedy race we need to observe ROAR rules. The Reedy brand has a lot invested in the industry and designs products to meet the accepted rules of the governing body. In 17.5, designing a motor just outside of the rules can give a pretty significant advantage.  By requiring ROAR approved motors racers are at least assured that each motor meets those standards and not inherently designed around the rules.

 

 

 

JB: I personally think it’s fine. I believe people are more worried about cheating then they should be. Since the beginning of time men have been pushing the limits of legality in all forms of competition. Sanctioning bodies and race directors can try to control the situation to the best of their ability but that’s all we can do. If we have the extra money and know how to monitor the motors then we do, if not we hope there are still people with morals.

 

 

 

JB: I think it’s up to all of the above. I think ROAR does a fantastic job of controlling and sealing all 17.5 motors but it’s a lengthy and expensive process. I have been a part of the process and it’s taken days to seal and label motors at bigger events like the Nationals. Racers are irritated from having to stand in line for long periods of time. Manufacturers need to only sell legal ROAR-approved motors, but of course they want their piece of the R/C pie so they make outlaw motors and parts and pieces of motors that can be swapped out for speed. I don’t blame them because we are all working to make money. Track owners are barely making ends meet so it’s hard for us to afford people, tools, and equipment needed to monitor motors at every event. I would say the racers are partly to blame to for pushing the envelope, but everyone wants to win. I don’t blame racers for wanting to go as fast as possible. So everyone needs to do their part to come up with a solution to the problem that exists. A perfect solution to improve the situation might be out of reach for one reason: money! Everyone wants it and no one wants to part with it!