During the colder months in Los Alamos we move our racing indoors. Starting in November and running through March is the indoor carpet racing season. Significantly different than off-road or asphalt racing, cars will run much faster and smoother on carpet, especially through the turns due to the surface providing a large amount of traction.

The racing surface we use is called Ozite carpet. It is a relatively thin material, only one quarter inch thick, and has very compressed fibers. This is the same carpet used all over the world for indoor races, even by the largest organizations at the biggest national and international races.

The following is a list of classes that we run detailing restrictions/allowances:

• 1/18th Scale 4WD Sedan
  • Motor: Open
  • Battery: 6 Cell NiMH or 2 Cell LiPo
  • Tires: Open


• 1/12th Scale 2WD Pan Car
  • Motor: Open
  • Baterry: 4 Cell NiMH or 1 Cell LiPo
  • Tires: Open


• 1/10th Scale 4WD Touring Car
  • Motor: Open
  • Baterry: 6 Cell NiMH or 2 Cell LiPo
  • Tires: Open


• 1/10th Scale 2WD Short Course Truck
  • Motor: 13.5 Brushless
  • Battery: 6 Cell NiMH or 2 Cell LiPo
  • Tires: Stock Rubber or Foam

We typically require at least 3 cars for a class to have its own heat, but exceptions can be made.

Most club members are currently using Li-Po batteries. For motors, the club is starting to lean toward brushless setups.

Traditionally the most popular class has been 1/18th scale. Recently everyone has switched from the M18 chassis to the RC18 chassis. These cars are working well, though they can roll if you carry too much corner speed. For power several members are using the Mamba 25/5400kV motor combination. Don't let these little cars fool you. They may only be a little bigger than a plastic model car but they can scream down the track at over 30 MPH, faster than many of their larger counterparts!

Due to the limited size of our track, we generally limit each 1/10th scale heat to 4 or 5 cars. We have run more, but it almost turns into a demolition derby, which isn't much fun for the cars.

Typically people will run foam tires with softer rears and harder fronts. Only a couple people in the club use traction compound so the carpet stays basically dry. This is in contrast to some clubs where the majority of people use traction compound, which will end up getting spread over the entire track and soaking into the carpet, allowing for even faster cornering speeds. So if you are used to a lot of traction compound from another track, you may find our carpet to feel a little bit loose.

There's nothing quite like the speed and adrenaline of carpet racing. It really needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. Whenever we are doing our Winter racing feel free to drop on by and race, or even just to see what it's all about.