Interview with the 1995 HOPRA Restricted Open National Champion, Rick Dodge
by Greg Williams
As
some of you may know, I have been doing a series of articles tracing the development of a Tyco 440 X-2 from the package thru the various pro classes. I have written about the Production, Super Stock, Open Super Stock, Indy Modified, and the Modified class in the Phase I, II, and III articles. At this point I should be doing the Restricted Open class or as it known in some areas, Polymer Modified . Due to a rather poor showing at the 1995 HOPRA Nationals held in Milwakuee this June, I felt that my qualifications to do the article, were not as good as I would have liked.
Q: How do you tune the chassis?
So as I was preparing to go to the 1995 Western States Championship races held in Redmond, Washington, home of Gary Beedle and his Scale Auto business, an idea occurred to me. Rick Dodge who is a
member of the Scale Auto racing team won the 1995 HOPRA Restricted Open championship at Milwaukee and would be racing at the Western States. I thought an interview with him would provide an interesting look into what it takes
to win in this highly regarded and extremely competitive class.
Rick Dodge is one of the nicest slot car racers I have met. Everytime I have raced against him, he is willing to impart any
information he has. He is not afraid to show you his car and explain in detail what innovative tweaks he has done to it. He is also very successful in 1/24th , 1/32nd and RC racing too, winning the C1 class at the
91 Worlds race and finished 8th in his first ever G7 at the 87 1/24th Nationals with hi lap total in the semis. Also he is one of the few slot racers I know that employs a strategy on how he goes about racing and is
willing to discuss it. We sat down in the Team B & B trailer, which is another story in itself, to discuss his championship and other topics. By the way, Rick won every class he entered at the Western States
including the Restricted Open! Me, I led the R.O main for quite a while but guess who blew by me! Finished 2nd so maybe I'll do the R.O. article anyway!
Q:
Well, it been several months after the HOPRA Nationals. How does it feel?
Rick: I feel accomplished. It's been a goal of mine for a long time. When I first started racing HOs in 1984 I
did fairly well. I thought that a championship would come soon. Well it took a lot longer than I thought but I finally did it!
Q: Several of us who watched the semis leading to the main felt that you
had em covered. Yet at the start of the first "portion" of the main you were struggling to maintain 4th. What happen?
Rick: I was a victim of circumstances. I was fastest in the semis
so what do I do? Should I change the car or leave it alone? I left it alone and the motor slowed enough to put me off the pace.
Q: When they decided to rerun the main due to a scoring problem, you
were once again quickest. What did you do to the car during the break?
Rick: Changed the endbell and armature on my Tomy Super G+.
Q:
And how did you see the main progressing from your point of view after that?
Rick:
I led the 1st couple of heats and was able to do damage control when I was on gutter red. I felt red was the key to the main. Whoever could get through red without any trouble and was close to the front would be in contention at the end. Provided they finished on a good lane. I was going to finish on orange which is a very quick lane and Tony Porcelli who was in the lead would finish on gutter yellow. I had 9 laps to make up but I knew I could do it. I was 2 to 3 tenths faster than anyone, turned fast lap of the race, and wasn't falling off. I felt confident that at the finish I would be ahead.
Q: Did you feel any pressure during the race?
Rick: No, I felt responsible. I wanted to put on a good show for the people and have a good race.
Q:
Will you defend your title?
Rick: Don't know at this moment. It's basically up to BSRT to decide if they want me to.
Q: Can we discuss your Tomy Super G+ setup?
Rick: Sure, anything you want to know.
Rick:
I like to see a thin line on the bottom of the chassis extending from the front of the pickup shoe to the rear of the traction magnet. I like the chassis to barely wisp the rails.
Q:
So with this setup how do you drive it?
Rick: I drive up to the corner, coast thru and then power out. This is less error prone and allows greater straightaway speed. I've found that braking late
gets you on the power late, which leads to poor exit speed out of the corner. Fast cars are a matter of timing, of rhythm. My style keeps my timing and rhythm in synch.
Q:
What controller do you use and how do you set it up?
Rick: I use a Ruddick electronic controller. I had it setup with about 50% brakes and no choke. I believe that if you have to use a choke
you should go down on your armature size. I adjust the settings for the gutter lanes and adjust myself for the middle (faster) lanes. I am a firm believer in KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid!
Q:
I've noticed that you pay a lot of attention to motor spacing.
Rick: We try to set the motors up so that the comm runs in the same spot on the Tomy Super G+ endbell brush assembly. If it moves
around a lot you do not get full contact. The Tomy endbell is a weak point and needs a lot of attention. That's why I change it a lot!
Q: At this race you done a lot of work on the pickup shoe holder
assembly. Why is that?
Rick: I'm trying to keep things on the car tight. in a line and not moving around a lot. The BuckTrax rewards a car that is set up smooth and tight.
Q:
You've also paid a lot of attention to the finish on the holders!
Rick: I take a Dremel with the steel brush wheel and remove all the residue off the copper.
Q:
Any other setup pointers?
Rick: Be sure to space behind the crown gear to prevent slop with the pinion.
Q: Any other comments on the championship?
Rick: I want to
thank Tony Porcelli of SlotTech for an exciting race. He's a great sportsman and we put on a really great show. I really enjoyed racing against him.
Q: What are your future goals?
Rick: I want to fulfill a dream I've had ever since I knew about racing. I want to drive real racecars and am trying to get into the NASCAR NorthWest tour at this moment.
Q:
What would you do to improve Pro HO racing at the moment?
Rick: I'm a racer, then a complainer, then a doer. So I really can't say. I hope to see the different groups unite together and less
of the politics. And from what I see that is beginning to happen.
Q: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us and good luck to you!
Rick: Thanks!