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Boom in the sixties

Slot car racing was very popular

Slot car racing was very popular in the sixties. Racing was it the only serious rival to television as a leisure pastime in some households, according to Phil Drackett in his slot car book Slot Car Racing. Racing was an event for the whole family. "Any number can play" was the slogan of the manufacturers. When two (or four or even more) are playing the spectators are turn marshals, mechanics or timekeepers. At the backside of the book the author wrote: "The competition's the Thing which makes slot car racing the most absorbing pastime today".

Aurora caused the slot car boom

Aurora caused the slot car boom of the 60s. By 1965 Aurora had sold over 25 million HO slot cars. Current manufacturers can only dream of such sales. HO was dominating the sales of slot cars with a wide margin to the larger scale models. At first the adults bought the sets for their children. During the sixties the adults got interested into slot cars themselves. From that moment the sales exploded.

Peak of the slot car boom

In the mid-sixties the large-scale slot cars attracted adolescents and adults more than HO cars. Many raceways opened the doors. 1966 was the peak of the slot car boom. At that time more than 5,000 public raceways hosted competitions in the United States. Racing on commercial clubs was possible in all major cities and many smaller towns. The number declined to about 1,500 at the end of 1967. The slot car boom died because children lost their interests in model car racing.

Jan Willem van Capelleveen