Cars vary in size, running from 1:87 (generally the older cars) to 1:64 in scale but they all run on track of approximately the same width, and are generically referred to as HO slot cars.

HO scale, a generalized size, originally 1:76- 1:87, now usually closer to 1:64 scale.

1:32 scale or 1/32, cars are smaller and more suited to home-sized race courses but they are also widely raced on commercial tracks, in hobby shops or in clubs.

1:24 cars require a course so large as to be impractical for many home enthusiasts, so most serious 1:24 racing is done at commercial or club tracks. A typical 1:24 car might be 7 to 8 inches long (18–20 cm).

1:24 scale or 1/24, cars are the largest slot cars commonly raced.

There are three common slotcar scales used for competition: ( November 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ī vintage Aurora HO slot car, the AMC Matador stocker, approx.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. The fad sputtered out by the start of the 1970s as amateurs felt squeezed out at races and stayed home in additions to competitions against the radio-controlled car market. Slot car racing was a popular fad in the 1960s, with sales reaching $500 million annually, including 3,000 public courses in the United States alone. Some hobbyists, much as in model railroading, build elaborate tracks, sculpted to have the appearance of a real-life racecourse, including miniature buildings, trees and people, while the more purely competitive racers often prefer a track unobstructed by scenery. Slot car racing ranges from casual get-togethers at home tracks, using whatever cars the host makes available, to very serious competitions in which contestants painstakingly build or modify their own cars for maximum performance and compete in a series of races culminating in a national championship. Most enthusiasts use commercially available slot cars (often modified for better performance), others motorize static models, and some 'scratch-build,' creating their own mechanisms and bodies from basic parts and materials.

Slot cars are usually models of actual automobiles, though some have bodies purpose-designed for miniature racing. Slot car racing (also called slotcar racing or slot racing) is the competitive hobby of racing with powered miniature autos (or other vehicles) which are guided by grooves or slots in the track on which they run. Modern commercially made slot cars and track. For the general slot car hobby, see Slot car. This article is about slot car racing competition.

Minnesota hobby shops with slot cars