They don’t refer to drag racing as a “drug” for nothing, and as such, it’s a very difficult hobby to simply shelve and forget about for a few months. But if you’e part of the majority in this country that lives in a true winter climate, with brisk temperatures, snow and ice, that’s an annual reality for several months out of the year.
Sure, these months are present a great time for racers to recharge the batteries, so to speak, make their off season moves, fix all of the stuff they broke in the previous year, and come out fresh in the spring ready to go, but the positives of winter time to do little to ease the impatience to go racing.
Fortunately, there are a lot of fun and interesting ways that we’ve both seen and experienced to satisfy the craving for competition and camaraderie during the off season for drag racers, with everything from slot car racing to practice tree competitions in the warm race shop to just simply working on the race car, even if it doesn’t really need worked-on. Others, like those up in the northern-most states that experience the worst that winter has to offer, fill their need in the most interesting of ways by pulling out the chains and their overalls and long johns, dragging their race cars out to frozen-over lakes, and drag racing like it’s the middle of the summer (minus the ice, of course).
What we want to know is, how do you cope with the long winter away from racing? Do you spent the months working on the car, or do you take up other hobbies that feed the need to compete in some fashion? If you’re into slot cars, remote-controlled cars, or something similar, be sure to share it with us!