Slot car racing was born in the early 1900s, but the hobby languished until the 1950s, when English entrepreneurs began to build electrified tracks and controllable scale-model cars to race on them.
The new system spread to America. By the mid-1960s, there were more than 3,000 public race tracks in the U.S. Manufacturers Scalextric, Revell, Aurora, Carrera and Tyco were together selling $500 million worth of cars and equipment a year.
Kids began frequenting tracks where, for only a few dollars, they could spend hours racing with their pals. As the fad peaked and then waned, slot car businesses found themselves unable to turn a profit charging teenagers small amounts of money to use their large tracks.
By the early 1970s, slot car centers — like the once-prevalent ice-skating rinks, bowling alleys, pool halls and miniature golf courses that also required a large real estate footprint — were folding. Fewer than 200 tracks were still in business by 1975, and gradually most of those closed, too.
Slot car racing gained huge popularity in the 1960s as an exciting mechanical hobby and competitive game.
Intricate model race car tracks were assembled by enthusiasts to race miniature slot cars around the bends and loops.
The slot cars drew power from the model tracks through a guide-pin which fit into a slot, allowing steering control.
Kids and adults would spend hours customizing little race cars and pitting them against each other in tournaments.
Major slot car racing competitions were organized, attracting crowds to cheer on participants racing for prizes.
Race sets were produced commercially by brands like Aurora, selling widely in toy stores and hobby shops.
Slot car fans could build elaborate racing worlds with scenery, buildings, and bleachers on either side of the tracks.
Part of the appeal was the ability to race solo for personal enjoyment rather than needing others for a game.
Slot car racing provided an exciting creative outlet combining engineering skills and artistic customization.
Magazines and clubs surrounding the hobby connected enthusiasts who painted, soldered and raced cars.
The immersive hobby and competitive spirit of slot car racing presaged the advent of car racing video games.
As home video games emerged, slot car racing's popularity gradually declined by the late 1970s and 1980s.
Slot cars have since experienced renewed interest among adult hobbyists looking to revisit retro pastimes.
Slot car racing nostalgically reminds its former devotees of a unique 1960s hobby pursued with carefree enthusiasm.
Long before video games, this hands-on hobby foreshadowed the thrill that would one day be simulated electronically.
