biff85ta

iTrader: (13)

There was an offroad track in the Benton park in the late 80's to mid 90's. I raced out there the last full season it ran. There also seems to have been one named Tuff raceway I would suspect based on whose old toolbox the plaques are stuck to the lid of that it was somewhere around Eldorado.

AudioStylz

iTrader: (15)

Talk about bringing me back to where I got my start into this hobby!

Fall of 2002 a friend of mine was into RC Racing. First name was Dan, can't for the life of me remember his last name now. Brought me to a couple club race weekends, I was hooked ever since. Just after thanksgiving in '02 I bought a TC3 RTR kit (which I still have). At that time it was called Venture Raceway, I can still remember what the place looked like! Walk in the door, counter right there just to the left and went down the lenght of the pits. To the right there were at least 10 rows of pits. I'll never forget the sweet smell of the paragon tire compound as you walked in. You walk through a doorway to get to the track. Miss the place.

I raced there until they closed down as RSJ Raceway in the summer of 2004. I packed up my gear and 6 months later I found out about His and Hers in Kenosha, WI. Dug out all my gear and got back to racing there for about 2 months before they suddenly closed down. The old his and hers track is now a Blood & Plasma Donation Center which is where I go every Tuesday and Thursday.

After they closed down I put everything away for the better part of 5 years. Found out about The Track in the Harbor and got back to racing again in their friday night off road program. Not sure if that is still going on. Spent almost a year there then I decided to venture into off road at S&N Trackside for the last year and a half. That got to be too much on the costly side so now I'm on the return back to The Track.

I really miss RSJ Raceway, while I appreciate The Track I will always consider RSJ Raceway my home track.

BoomShaka47

iTrader: (2)

When I was kid back in the late 80's, there was a park district outdoor off-road rc track in Rolling Meadows/Arlington Hts., IL near Northwest Community Hospital. My brother and I bashed out Big Bear monster trucks there and my dad brought his Blackfoot. Can't remember if it had a name, but it had a full driver's stand and medium-large track design. What surpirses me now is that it was operated by the park district. No track fees or race times. You don't see to many of those these days. Now its a tennis court. Anyone local remember this track?

mark.davis

iTrader: (16)

Family Hobbies Raceway

TAMAK

iTrader: (29)

I remember that place well as R&R?, as a kid (5th grade). I begged my dad for a Nitro RS4 racer, That Christmas I got one w/ OS .12 CV, JR XR3. Never made it out to race at R&R or at the club races going on at Bradford High School and Indian Trail Academy... I Love Nitro Sedan and now Travel to race my NT1!

AudioStylz

iTrader: (15)

I think it was called R&R Raceway before Venture Raceway.

Since you mentioned 2 schools, you kind of gave away your location that your located in the Kenosha county area. Do you race at The Track in IL?

TAMAK

iTrader: (29)

Yeah, last month I have been running Mod 1/12th scale there with Fred, Art, and and Dave A. I mainly do Electric off road this time of year though. Eric and family are great people!

AudioStylz

iTrader: (15)

You must be going up there on Sundays then. Unfortunately I have to work on Sundays so I'll be going on Tuesdays for the most part.

I enjoy off road racing so much more but I just can't afford the hour trek north to Trackside so I have since stopped going up there but not without regrets and mostly out of my control financially.

Ackchyually

iTrader: (7)

Great thread. I know it's old, but I needed to reply. So I remember Redline Raceway circa 1990-1992, when I was a kid. That was a cool, small track...though we all said it was pretty much a dump. In a nostalgic Hell, I do miss it, actually. The pit area was pretty cool, IIRC, and the track was decently sized for 1/10th scale. The support-beam pillars were a little bit troublesome, however. Most fun race I did was an Enduro...maybe 4 hours of constant battery charging, running the lowest gearing, and trying not to break anything...running driving-shifts between me, my brother, and his friend. Great times!

And where exactly was TQ? Been there also, but don't remember if it was Cedar Lake, Lowell, or further south on US 41.

Been to Gonzo. F'in awesome, outdoor dirt track. The "parent" building was a large, indoor carpet track and attached warehouse and hobby shop called Wings & Things. I'm going to leave this right here, as a memento from the early 1990's to share:



Sadly, the building and everything along with it, burned down to the ground. I don't recall what was ever proven, if anything, but it was probably arson and/or intentional; the whole place was an accelerant!

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

8 years dormant.

Ackchyually

iTrader: (7)

I would have held out for 10, but by then, the pencil might be too short!

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

Haha!

I’d actually not seen this thread. Actually race now with at least one name I’ve seen.
I never knew of most the place I saw here, before I cross to race side.

Are you looking for racing in Chicagoland area?

Ackchyually

iTrader: (7)

Nah, not at the moment! If I still lived there--back in NW Indiana, actually--then I certainly would be! I moved out to AZ 6 years ago, and I horribly miss the type of tracks found in the Midwest.

bentouttashape

iTrader: (5)

I was just reading through this thread and checking the dates thinking "nah, I shouldn't bring it back to the top," but there are posts from this month! Crazy. My dad and I started off at Hobbytown in Lake in the Hills, which later became H&H Hobbies. From there, we put in a lot of time at Radioactive in Bolingbrook, RMR/Venture in Libertyville, and Trackside in Brookfield. I remember some names and faces from back then, but I'd be curious to know who all has posted in here and where they're at now. I moved out of the area, but just picked up racing again here in Minnesota.

For the WI folks, anyone remember an outdoor 1/8th scale off-road track that was behind a pizza place in Cottage Grove, WI (just outside of Madison near Sun Prairie). We had a place in Portage and would go there from time to time to run 1/10 gas truck. Also, I remember going to someone's backyard track on steroids in the Milwaukee suburbs around the late-2000's. I cannot remember the guy's name, but I had a blast going there.

Not expecting too much as this has been a dead thread for a long time, but hope everyone is doing well out there and hope you're getting some wheel time still.

Take care,

Matt Campbell

anthonyscardina

iTrader: (12)

A lot of old Harbor Hobbies, Venture & Trackside guys race at HT Oshkosh, St. Charles, or with our club Great Lakes RC.