I've lived 90 miles from Sebring and a couple of hundred from Daytona for over 10 years, and I've never been to either! At least I got to Watkins Glen before I moved from Upstate NY. So at least I can be at Sebring for the Vintage Races in 1/64th scale.

I have a problem with calling them HO, they are not "Half O scale" or 1:87.1, they are more like "S" scale. "S" scale is 1:64 - Lionel size, and Die Cast Collector Car scale - I think the Die Cast people missed an opportunity to greatly increase HO interest, but I guess the details would have been very small. I measured my Life Like and Mattel HO NASCARs wheelbase - 110" in real life; 1.5" for the slotcar and 1.75" for the collectable. I plugged the measurements into my Hobby Scale Calculator and I got 1.25" for HO and 1.72" for S scales. The collectable is right on, the slotcar works out to a scale of 1:73.3, I didn't even check width, the slotcars look much too wide. Well, I guess you can't be a purist, but we can have fun and make something look spectacular - that's what I'd like to do with my 8 year old son - and share with you in these pages.

The cool thing is, it is easy to accessorize the infield and Pits with cars, transporters, Pit Carts and even figures. The collectibles and even Hotwheels have made scenarios with Pitcrews and accessories. NASCAR and Indy stuff is ready made, if you are modeling for F1, SCCA and GTP, you'll have to be a little more inventive. Take a hint from the train modelers - there's a treasure of painting and detailing info out there!