Thank you to all the fans, vendors, racers and terrific sponsors that made the third annual Tool Racing Championships (www.ToolRaces.com) an overwhelming success for the 2011 season. Weather worked with us this time around and a lot of folks came together to support the event in so many ways. For about half the crowd it was their first time visiting the Idea Foundry and in addition to the media exposure a great way to introduce more people to the kind of fun we have there every day.
Despite only having a dozen racers the actual competition was pretty fierce. The two year champion, Oinkenstein, returned along with his wife’s racer, Bride of Oinkenstein. We brought the Reaver back but added some wheelie bars that actually kept the racer on the track this time however in the end a rookie, Silver Scream, came in and took home the first place finish.
Silver Scream was a very simple design which reminded me of our pinewood derby days where the flattest, simplest racers always seems to win. This was basically a flat board, 15 amp circular saw and some wheels with really good bearings. He took home some $700 in Bosch Tools, a pretty good reason to get off butt and build one for next year.
The best looking racer went to The Scorpion, but almost lost to Dino Mite, a cute little triceratops belt sander which had some pretty nice speed. The Scorpion was a pretty menacing looking racer so it was funny to see the two side-by-side and have the crowd so divided. Really a testament to the diverse group the races drew-in this year. While the scorpion looked pretty aggressive it did not do well on the track. Levi & Dillion, of ReFab Studios promise to be back next year and said will have a new design that will be all speed!
The races certain were not all serious as we ramped the tracks at the end and launched the racers into the hillside. We’d have to say there was pretty good air on some of these racers that participated. Flaming hoops for next year a must!
Special thanks to our two lovely ring girls who really got the crowds going for each racer. Awesome addition to this year’s races and terrific spellers… not that we are ones to talk when it comes to grammar and spelling.
The coptool’s own Reaver, for the second year in a row, took home the trophy for Best Wreck… Not the one we are looking for but at least we were entertaining the crowds. The outer cage actually broke off after a few races (this was actually our first ever solo welding project a year ago) and out of frustration, due to a disappointing lose to Silver Scream, the Reaver was actually thrown half way down the trace. The Bosch 9” grinder motor still works great however so it’s not out of the question you may see it again with some work to the gear ratios to get better speed.
In addition to all the racing fun there was the Jeni’s Ice Cream Truck (Best Ice Cream In Nation & from Columbus) on hand as well as the inaugural launch of the brand new food truck, The Coop, which really blew us away. Several Idea Foundry members converted this truck in the weeks leading up to the event and the food reviews were all around terrific. Bok choy, duck, quail eggs, yep all ingredients you’d expect to get out of the back of a truck right.
Once again we need to give a special thanks to Bosch Power Tools who really stepped up and sponsored this year’s Tool Races! The event would not have been nearly fun without their terrific support of a bunch of hacks. Also thanks for letting us borrow the “small dome” to house the bar, certainly easy to find the event from the street. We would also like to thank Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer and Buckeye Vodka for their sponsorships, adding to the general celebratory mood of the crowd. Finally Ohio Power Tool and Liggett Stashower for taking care of lots of the other details that made the event run so smoothly. Check out the links below for hundreds of additional pictures. Until next year!!!
– http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2052770233780.110948.1080258003
– http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2053208484736.110963.1080258003
– http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2053487251705.110970.1080258003
– http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.222873371093581.49261.189314211116164
– http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150285333768631.352130.77451218630
