GRI Jr's November C4 Experience

The day was November 4th, Charm City Race Committee chose only one race for today. This race was a stock "Rip-n-Run" which means the car must be packaged in order to race in the competition. By holding only one we had more participation and more of an audience when it came to the races.

The Race Committee also had a major change for once. GRI Jr had actually handled the races for the day, I was able to record all of the data for everyone, which means I noted each person and their cars. I was also able to call out each race and fill out each bracket.

The stock race for today was movie and TV cars, we had cars from Gas Monkey Garage, Back to the Future, and even Star Wars. I and my dad raced a few Fast and the Furious cars, a Scooby Doo Van, a Knight Rider K.I.T.T car, and a couple different Star Wars cars.

We raced three total Star Wars cars, the Millennium Falcon, an X-Wing, and a Tie-Fighter. Throughout the race it seemed as if these cars were unstoppable, each car won by at least two other car lengths.

It was the final four with my Millennium Falcon, Ron Rattel's 007 Aston Martin, Team Raley Racing with the Fast and the Furious matte black charger, and my Tie-Fighter. Ironically the round previously the X-Wing faced the Tie-Fighter, obviously you guys know what took the win.

The semi-finals began with my Millennium Falcon and the Dodge Charger. It was the closest race the Millennium had seen this competition. Nose to nose they both sped down the track until the Millennium Falcon pulled off at the last second and won both races.

The second race was the X-Wing and the Aston Martin I was feeling very uneasy about this race because I could tell that the Aston Martin was fast and the X-wing was only winning by a nose each race, so I didn't know what was going to happen...The X-Wing could not hold up to the competition and the final race would be the Millennium Falcon and the Aston Martin.

The Tension was high at this point, the green lights flash and both cars are launched. It was so close, but the Millennium Falcon won by a nose. The second race was about to begin, and I knew in my head it was in the bag. The cars were launched and it was a clear win, I had won the race with the Millennium Falcon, and was going home with the WIN!

GRI Jr's October C4 Experience

The day was October 14th, we had two special events happening today.

 The first event would be the invite-only custom car race, the invitees were given one casting, this race was announced to this private group back in the July meet. The casting chosen was the Surf n Turf , the builders had 3 months to complete this vehicle. They could do whatever they wanted to the car, from adding weight, chopping the body, or adding graphite to the axles. Some of us chose to do all of the above.

 I personally painted mine, the body was blue, the engine was black and their was a pink surfboard on top. Then I added weight, approximately 80 grams more then the original. The weights I used were fishing weights, to keep these weights down I use an epoxy called J-B Weld. This epoxy becomes a liquid cement that will hold together almost anything. 

While I was waiting for the Epoxy to set up, I began the wheels. I tore apart an old bat mobile with faster than evers, they were medium wheels in the back and small wheels in the front. I used both for my custom, I used regular gorilla glue to hold them in place, then put them all back together. 

This was 2 months ago, that next month I went to the meet and tested it against a ford probe funny car because I generally know what time the funny cars put up. Today, I raced it against 6 other Surf n Turfs, I placed 2nd, the winner was Alex. Alex can be considered a professional modifier, she wins all of our custom races. I still felt accomplished though because I beat out 5 other modifiers.

Our second event was the custom Halloween diorama contest. We also knew about this for 3 1/2 months. My idea was to create a semi-scary, semi-cute ice cream truck with a clown head on the top. The original idea was a Twisted metal ice cream truck from the video game, but I thought that was not original enough. I used a pop culture ice cream truck that already had Real Riders.

 I drilled that open and immediately put that in stripper. The stripper I use is a citric smelling, septic safe stripper, so that i can strip my cars and wash them off in my kitchen sink, I highly recommend it for small projects, you can find it at Walmart in the paint section. While that was stripping I painted the window a matte white. I typically let the stripper set in for about a day or two, it should finish in 12 hours for newer cars, it may take a little longer for older rusted cars like Redlines or older Blackwalls. After that time I scrubbed all the paint and excess stripper off and let it dry all the way off. 

After it dried, I rinsed my hands and thoroughly cleaned them with soap to get all of the oils off, then I placed the car in my hands and thoroughly cleaned that as well. This is preparing it for painting, cleaning it with soap allows for all of the oils to rinse off so that the paint doesn't bubble when you spray it. I then went out to paint it matte white like the windows. I let this sit for another day to let it fully set up. 

While this was setting up I opened up an old ice cream building picture and I edited it to look more clean and able to print using Photoshop. I cut out a 7 inch by 5 inch Styrofoam square and glued this image to the front of it. I then cut out another 7 inch by 5 inch square for the base. I put white liquid glue all over the base and spread artificial sand all over the glue. I found the sand at a nearby hobby shop, that had multiple different colors and types of material. 

This sand matched the color and feeling of the background. I let that sit for about 15 minutes to fully set, then I applied another layer of glue and put another layer of sand over. In order to keep from making a mess, I put a newspaper down that collects all of the excess sand. When you sprinkle the sand, put as much as you can on so you cover your entire work space, you save yourself a ton of money with the news paper layed down, you can then fold the paper in half and slide all of the excess material back into the package. I layed about three more layers of sand and on the last layer I made tire tracks in the sand as if the truck were to be drifting into place. I used the J-B Weld to put the base and background together.

 I also made pink polka-dots on the truck. To make the dots, I used regular paper and hole puncher to randomly put holes in the paper traced like the truck. I did that for each side, then taped the paper to the car and taped any parts I didn't want painted. I bought a small Five Nights at Freddy's Lego figure named "Foxy" and tore off the head, it perfectly matched the colors of the truck. I drilled a small hole in the top of the truck where I wanted the head, and I gently placed the head in the hole.

 Today, I took my diorama to the meet and I was able to view the other contestants. Dave, another member of C4, brought a huge house and property, set in a haunted yard with skeletons and other spooky details, this diorama completely blew mine out of the water. Alex had also brought a diorama, which was just as equally good as Dave's, she used multiple damaged Redlines as a grave yard scene and had a car chase at the top of a hill. My Dad has also made a diorama, his was a scene from an old Scooby Doo episode called "The Spooky Case of the Phantom Race". I liked it a lot, he raised one of his cars to look like it was driving above another racer, like it was capturing it.

Our stock race today was an "American Graffiti" theme. There were six cars that were allowed to run, these cars were all from the movie, from a 32' Ford to a 56' T-Bird. I didn't have any cars to race at first, but I walked around and found some for cheap that I was able to race. We found a couple 32' Fords to race, all the others were taken or being raced. Alex won this race even without modifying her car, she won with a white 32' Ford with black flames.  

In conclusion, today was a pretty good day for Hotwheels...  Neither me nor my Dad had won the custom diorama contest or the stock race, or the private custom race. But all-in-all, I had a great day with the crew, and an even better day with my Dad.

What's Been Going On...

I’m back… We’re back… Well, we’ve never left… Whatever way you, the reader, want to interpret, this, our latest blog.  We, C4, have had our monthly meets and racing events, or as I like to label them, Maryland DieCast Trade Shows and Downhill Racing Events. Even though I haven't updated this blog in forever. My bad... no really... My Bad! Well then, let me get on with it then.

First and foremost… The Hot Wheels Collectors’ Nationals took place in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania this past April and we were there!!! Our C4 Crew made their presence known with over 20 members attending throughout the week in combination with our SJPD friends from the north also made the trip with several of their members in attendance. If you are a collector and have never been to one of these events, then you need to go. I mean it!!! Somehow, someway… find a way... really, just go! From the room to room buying, selling and trading to the Downhill and Sizzler Track Racing, there is so much for a collector to do.  We bought some long sought after die-casts, raced a few cars, made some new friends and also made some lasting memories.  I’m not saying who, but I happened upon a room, where a certain someone, from our club, left his wife, in said room, as collateral so that he could run to the ATM because he found die-casts that he couldn’t leave behind. Way to go NT!!! This was truly an an awesome experience and I’m sincerely looking forward to the next one in Texas.

Proceeding the National Event, our show attendance seemed to hit an all time high.  I’m not sure if people were blowing out pieces looking to make some extra cash for the Nationals’ or if they were looking for last minute items at lower prices to take to sell/trade at the Nationals’.  It almost seemed like we were back in our smaller meeting room that we outgrew last year.  All of our vendor tables were full and there wasn’t a lot of room for the extra people attending.  Either way, it was awesome for the club.

Away... away, way back. Now I'm Catching Up!

All I can say at this point is I am sorry… And, I mean this sincerely!  It’s been over a year since I’ve last posted the goings on of our little club and I really should keep this updated for historical purposes at least. I don’t actually know how many people actually follow this blog. I’m hoping there are many…  I digress. 

There have been so many changes since the last posting from September of last year that I don’t know where to start… so the best way to do this is to roll back time, back to October 2015…  Our little meeting room was bursting at the seams with the amount of vendors that were on hand as well as the other attendees to the event.  Calvin Cohen won the Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class Race with a 1970 Plymouth Superbird with FTEs while we were not able to hold our Run Whatcha’ Brung Class Race due to time restraints.  Plenty of buying, selling and trading always takes place at our events and October was no different.

For the next couple of months the club’s reputation and popularity grew by leaps and bounds, as well as our attendance.  The amount of people that came to visit our small meeting room forced the C4 Board to search for alternate locations for our events.  Racing in November continued during this growth, seeing Team Raley Racing return to the DRHWSC  Winner’s Circle with a Ferrari Testarossa and the Custom Double Bull, mail-in entry from Matt Hathaway, taking the top honors for the DRRWB Class.

C4 Sizzles in September

The end of the summer draws near and lots of great things are happening with our ever growing die-cast club.  We continue to hold our racing events, raffles and have even introduced some other awesome giveaways. If you attend any of our events and aren’t able to find something that you are looking for and leave empty handed, then you’re doing something wrong.  

Our resident Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung King, James Fortenberry, won a voucher for a free fountain soda just for signing our attendance sheet.  We raffled off a gift certificate to MK Toys & Stuff,  two Free Bowling Parties and a C4 vender certificate to purchase from any of the vendors at the show.  Our two Downhill Racing Events were impressive and saw the return of some veteran racers as well as a few rookies.  Oh, and by the way… there were a ton of trades made along with sales of many die-casts ranging from basic easy to find items to the less produced holy grails that collectors seek at reasonable prices.

The Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class ran first with 30 entries whittled down to 4 semifinalists… Newcomer George Miller and his Ferrari F40 eliminated the GRI sponsored Corvette in the qualifiers, knocked out the Team Raley Ferrari 308 in the heats and drove away from Owen Nesslage’s Ferrari F40 Clone in the quarterfinals.  GRI’s Mustang GT entry had similar fortune in the top portion of the bracket besting Mark Starr’s Twin mill in the qualifier, Nathan’s Zubalic’s Studebaker in the heats and Wayne Heede’s Chevelle in the quarters.  Ultimately the GRI Mustang would be no match for the Miller Ferrari F40 which would move on from the semifinals.  In the lower portion of the bracket, Owen & Bruce Nesslage would meet and compete in the semifinals once again.  We’ve seen this pairing before and it’s always interesting to watch.  Owen’s Sol-Aire entry disposed of Team Raley’s CUL8R in the qualifier, then Team Raley’s Carbide in the heats and the GRI Sidekick in the quarters.  Bruce’s Monte Carlo defeated Jon Issac’s Ford F-150 in the qualifier, Rookie Ian Greenberg’s Olds Aurora in the heats and the GRI Chrysler 300C in the quarterfinals to put him against his son Owen in a semifinal showdown.  Unfortunately for Bruce, Owen would dust his off once again putting himself in a familiar spot… the Finals!!!  This time Owen would test rookie George Miller’s chosen Ferrari F40 entry, but the outcome would be just as familiar.  Owen Nesslage’s Sol-Aire dominated the Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class Bracket to win this September’s Event.  Congratulations to owen Nesslage and his Sol-Aire Hot Wheel!!!

The final event of the day would be the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class Races.  James Fortenberry and his master modification creations would control this event all the way down to the final race.  Fortenberry has been undefeated in every DRRWB Event that he has entered and his Blue Flame F-15o Pick-Up destroys all of it’s competition.  Congratulations to James Fortenberry and the “Blue Flame” Ford F-150 Pick-up, winner of September 2015’s Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class Races.

Keep an eye open for our videos on YouTube as well…

September’s Maryland Die-Cast Trade Show was great event and we would like to congratulate all of the winners and thank all of the members who donated prizes, time and items for the FoT.  We look forward to seeing you again this time next month and hope everyone in attendance had a good time.  

The Past Five Months

The Charm City Collector’s Club is still alive and well, but I can’t believe that it’s been five months since my last entry.  There have been a lot of changes since my last post; a board of directors has been formed, we now have sponsors, and there’s even a new website...just to name a few of those changes.

We want to start off by thanking the people who have stepped up to volunteer as members of the board, those who help out at each event, and those who have donated prizes for the raffles that are now being held monthly.  Without these individuals our club would not continue its growth over the past months.

Our racing participation, however, has seen a slight decline over the summer, but with the institution of a race schedule, new race classes and some new rules to the already existing classes, we hope this trend changes.  On April 11th of this year the C4 DieCast Club hosted two racing events, the Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class and the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class.  Cole Raley’s Candy Red Firebird Funny Car took the top Spot in the HW Stock Class and James Fortenberry’s “Blue Flame” was unbeaten in the RWB Class.  May and June would only have one racing event each with lighter than normal fields competing for the Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class Crown.  Tim Raley’s Orange Firebird Funny Car crushed competitors in May’s only downhill racing event while Owen Nesslage would return to his winning ways with a “Hershey” Ford Probe Funny Car in June’s only racing event.  In July there were two racing events scheduled, the DRHWSC and a new DR Death Race Class.  After, first time winner, Calvin Cohen smashed his opponents for a victory in the DRHWS Class, Tim Raley used a maul to literally shatter his opponents die casts to win the first ever Death Race Golden Hammer Award.  Finally, this month’s only event would be the Hot Wheels Stock Class, excluding all Funny Cars, with Steve Langenfeld taking top honors with his Rescue Ranger.

Congratulations, Calvin Cohen on your first Victory in the July 2015 Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class!!!

Congratulations, Steve Langenfeld on your Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class Win in August 2015!!!

There will be two races scheduled for each month the rest of the year, beginning this September with the normal Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock (No Funny Cars!!!) and the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Classes.  Other races through the end of the will include the Treasure Hunt Challenge and the IROC Challenge.  Keep checking back for more details on these other classes.

The next event on September 12^th should be an exciting one.  The C4 Diecast Club will be raffling off plenty of great prizes as well as a $25 gift certificate from one of our sponsors, MK Toys & Stuff.  Everyone that donated to the prize vault has also been entered into a raffle that will be drawn on the 12^th. Also, let’s not forget that there will be quite a few vendors in attendance.  So, bring some dough or even some trade bait, plus a racer or two for our Downhill Events and let’s have some fun!!!

C4 Goes On a March

The C4 Crew setting up for the days buying, selling, trading and most importantly... Racing!!!

It’s nice to see that spring is in the air, but there is still snow on the ground.  The grip of winter didn’t keep people away from the hot C4 sponsored meet.  The monthly Maryland Die-Cast Trade Show continues to be a hit with people from neighboring states as well as right here in the old line state.  Representatives from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey were in attendance.  The crowd is getting bigger each month and the downhill racing is getting even fiercer!  The C4 Crew discussed opening a second meeting room to accommodate the ever growing vendors and racing events.  We also discussed upcoming events and started taking orders for t-shirts.  Nick Sickle held another raffle for die-cast prizes that excited the crowd between the two racing sessions.  Also, we have a ton of new ideas for the rest of the year and we are looking for volunteers to help us accomplish our goals.  I am personally excited to see how far this group has come and also can’t wait to see where it is going. 

Now to the races… 

No surprise to anyone, Owen Nesslage came prepared to defend his Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class Title for an unprecedented fourth time.  He has won all three DRHWSC Events since December and it seems like he has an eye for fast stock Hot Wheels.  This month’s competition would put Owen’s entries to the test. The DRHWSC had a full bracket of 32 entries with 7 of the field being Funny Cars.  Bruce Nesslage, Owen’s Father, brought a Porsche 911, a formidable racer, to the event.  The Porsche moved passed Tim Raley’s Preying Menace in the qualifier, then beat Cole Raley’s Rivited in the heats and Jon Izzy’s Mustang GT in the quarter finals in the upper bracket to race against his son’s Ford Probe Funny Car in the semifinals.  Owen’s Ford Probe Funny Car dominated the qualifier beating James Fortenberry’s Subaru WRX, then smashing Bobby Horton’s Sidekick in the heats and pounding Tim Raley’s Ferrari Testarossa into submission in the quarters. The lower bracket saw a new face…Bobby Horton’s Ford Probe Funny Car made its presence known quickly winning in opposition to a Firebird Funny Car of James Goolsbee Jr. in the qualifier.  Bobby’s Funny car cleared the heats and quarters dominating Jon Izzy’s Fast Fish and James Fortenberry’s Ford F-150 only to meet another Thunder Chicken, own by the master of the HWSC races, Owen Nesslage, in the semis.  Owen’s Firebird Funny Car decimated his opponents beating Tim Raley’s Ford Probe Funny Car in the qualifier, then Steve Langenfeld’s Mustang Funny Car in the heats and finally Wayne Heede’s Ferrari 599XX in the quarters.  Three Funny Cars made it to this point with one lone Porsche and that Porsche was tested quickly against the Ford Probe Funny Car of Owen Nesslage.  Owen’s Ford Probe Funny Car blasted passed his dad’s Porsche, even with threats, of having to find a ride home, from his dad.  In similar fashion to the qualifier, Bobby Horton’s Ford Probe Funny Car took out another Firebird Funny Car, this one owned by the three time champ, Owen Nesslage.  The last race was set and it would be a Ford Probe Funny Car Final!!!  Would Bobby be able to dethrone the King…he did have an equal car…but was it enough???  Would they have to go head to head, pedal to pedal, or would the cars settle it on their own with an equal drop? The pins were set, the cars were set… the drop went without an issue, but Bobby would not be able to unseat the kid… the King of the Hot Wheels Stock Class!  Owen went on to win an unprecedented four straight DRHWS Class Events since the month of December.  Would James Fortenberry be able to do the same and set the record for number of wins in the Run Whatcha’ Brung Class???

Congratulations to Owen Nesslage and his Yellow #3 Ford Probe Funny Car, March 2015 Winner of the Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class and Four Time Winner in a row in this class.

The five time winner, James Fortenberry, brought his battle tested brigade of entries for the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class Event and the “Blue Flame” Ford F150 absolutely dominated in the top portion of the bracket beating Gavin Sleeth’s Tow Truck in the qualifier, Owen Nesslage’s Firebird Funny Car in the heats and beating his own entry, a Haulin’ Gas, designated “Ugly” in the quarter finals.  A newcomer, Penny Bisk and her Johnny Lightning Ford GT, was also having success in the upper bracket defeating Michael Wyman’s School Busted in the qualifier, Jon Izzy’s Ford Torino in the heats and Steve Langenfeld’s Ford GTX-1 in the quarters.  Unfortunately, for Penny, she ran into the Fortenberry “Blue Flame.”  The Ford GT was torched like so many others by the Fortenberry “Blue Flame.”   In the lower bracket, Jon Izzy’s Johnny Lightning Ford GT was making waves, surfin’ by Dustin Barker’s Ford Probe Funny Car in the qualifier, His own ’88 Pontiac in the heats and Ken Sleeth’s S’cool Bus in the quarters.  “Ugly Too”, another Fortenberry formulation, also scorched the competition routing the GTO of Jon Izzy if he qualifier, then Jon Izzy’s Dodge Viper in the heats and Mark Markham’s Chevy Van in the quarter finals just to face another Jon Izzy entry in the semifinals.  However, this would be a larger test for the “Ugly Too” and the Ford GT would not go away.  The racing went back and forth… the GT won, then the “Ugly Too”, then the GT, then the “Ugly Too.”  The Semifinals for the bottom bracket would come down to a pedal to pedal battle for the right to race the undefeated “Blue Flame.”  Two test sessions were given…then one final instruction for a sudden win race.  The die-casts were staged, the Christmas tree lit up… yellow… yellow… yellow… GREEN…… Jon Izzy had the quicker reaction time and the GT would not be denied a spot in the finals!!!  Nevertheless, Jon would have to face James again, and this time beside the proven winner…the “Blue Flame.”  The final didn’t turn out to be as dramatic as the semi that ran just prior.  The “Blue Flame” won the first, third and forth runs to claim yet another Run Whatcha’ Brung Class Event!  James Fortenberry has asserted himself as a dominating force in this class, and now a six time victor.  Does anyone have what it takes to end his reign?

Congratulations to James Fortenberry and his Ford F-150 Pick-Up "Blue Flame", March 2015 Winner of the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class and Six Time Winner in this Class.

Congratulations to Owen Nessalge, our C4 Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class Four Time Champion and James Fortentberry, our C4 Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class Champion.  Come check us out next month and bring your racers… you never know… you could be the one to dethrone the champs!!!     

C4 would also like to give a special thanks to all who donated to the raffle for this event and congrats to all the winners of that raffle.

Not Even the Chill of February Could Slow Down the C4 Crew

The C4 Crew gathered for their February meet on Saturday the 7th with over 40 people in attendance throughout the day with a full room of vendors to purchase or trade with. In addition to the buying, selling and trading during the meet, there were two exciting Downhill Racing Events held. The first races of the day were in the Hot Wheels Stock Class with all 32 slots filled, including entries of Owen Nesslage who won this class the previous two months in a row. The last races of the day were for the Run Whatcha’ Brung Class with entries of James Fortenberry, a four time winner in this class. The Hot Wheels Stock Class winner received the 32nd slot in the DRRWBC races, a race token, a Hot Wheels 5-pack and a $10 gift card to Toys R Us, while the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class winner took home a race token, two Hot Wheels 5-packs and a $10 gift card to Toys R Us. Along with the racing events of the day, there was a raffle for die-cast prizes and many attendees took home a little something from the meet. Special thanks form the C4 Crew to all that donated items for the raffle.

The competition for Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class was brutal. Many veteran challengers were eliminated in the qualifying round, while some newcomers saw early success. The upper bracket was tough, but Owen Nesslage, December & January DRHWSC Winner, proved that he has an eye for picking the best stock racers. His black #1 Firebird Funny Car beat the Team Sleeth Mega Grafix Ford Probe Funny Car in the qualifier, defeated the Fortenberry GT90 in the heats and left the Mid Drift with FTEs of Mark Markham in the dust during the quarters. Owens’ Dad had similar fortune with his Porsche 911 breezing by Mark Starr’s ’70 Superbird in the qualifier, subdued a Monte Carlo entry of Mike Rybar in the heats and upset Cole Raley’s Mustang with FTEs in the quarters. Owen would have to beat his dad to make it to the finals again. Owen wasn’t deterred by threats from his dad of having to walk home or find a ride there. His Firechicken torched the Porsche which was forced to call 911 after two quick race defeats. In the lower bracket, Tim Raley’s Turbolence beat Team Sleeth’s Symbolic in the qualifier, dismantled Ryan Zubalic’s Mustang Funny Car in the heats and squeaked by his son Cole’s Blue Hot Wheels Team Firebird Funny Car in the quarters only to meet another Funny Car in the semis… of James Goolsbee Jr. LJ’s (Little James) T-Rex Firebird Funny Car dominated races through to the semis, laying waste to Nick Sicle’s 1980 Corvette in the qualifier, Owen Nesslage’s Speedway Spray Ford Probe Funny Car in the heats and Nathan Zubalic’s Dodge Charger in the quarters. Tim’s Turbulence didn’t have enough to beat the T-Rex decaled Funny Carand his run had ended. The Final was set for the DRHWSC and it would be a Funny Car Final! Owen Nesslage and his Blue #1 Team Hot Wheels Firebird Funny Car versus James Goolsbee Jr. and his Silver T-Rex Firebird Funny Car for all the marbles… The races were close, but the Blue Team Hot Wheels Funny Car would give Owen his third DRHWSC win in three straight months as well as the DRHWSC Prize Pack.

Congratulations to Owen Nesslage and his Blue #1 Team Hot Wheels Firebird Funny Car, February 2015 Winner of the Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class and Three Time Winner in a row in this class.

Almost a full field of die-casts, 32 in all, took the stage for the last race event of the day. Mark Markham out of Virginia brought a Johnny Lightning Boogie Van to the show and the van boogied through the competition sliding past opponents to the semis… The Cameron Daly Hippie Van was the first victim losing to the Boogie Van in the qualifier. Then the Team Raley Hershey Ford Probe Funny car lost to it in the heats and Wayne Heede’s Ford Pick-up proved no match for it in the quarters. Jon Issac from Southern Maryland had similar fortune To Mark with his Johnny Lightning Fort GT, also dominating races all the way through to the semis. The Ford GT defeated Cole Raley’s ’77 Corvette in the qualifier, James Fortenberry’s SuperVan in the heats and finally the Penny Bisk Ford Focus in the quarter to get into the semis. The Ford GT seemed to be the class of the field and that didn’t change beating the Boogie Van in the semis marking its place to do battle with an opponent from the lower bracket. The lower bracket saw Cameron Daly’s second bullet, a Chevy Van, speed through to the semis with a bye in the qualifier, a win against Michael Wyman’s VW Bus in the heats and a win versus a Team Raley Hershey’s Ford Probe Funny Car in the quarters. Unfortunately, for him, Mr. Daly would run into some heavy competition in the semifinals running against the winningest Run Whatcha’ Brung Mod Beast Builder…James Fortenberry, out of Pennsylvania. The Fortenberry Haulin’ Gas Beast blew by his opposition without much ado; it snacked on LJ’s WH Modded Mini Cooper in the Qualifier, chewed through Owen Nesslage’s January DRHWSC winning Firebird Funny Car and devoured Owen’s February DRHWSC winning Firebird Funny Car. Cameron Daly’s Chevy van was just another meal for the JF Haulin’ Gas Beast on its way to the finals where it would meet the Ford GT of Jon Issac. Sadly for Jon, James know what it takes to make his mods fast and the Haulin’ Gas Beast overwhelmed the Ford GT.

Congratulations to James Fortenberry and his Haulin’ Gas Beast, February 2015 Winner of the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class and Five Time Winner in this Class.

Also, thank you to all of the competitor who tried their luck.

The Wheels Keep Turning Right Into 2015

Our little meeting space continues to fill up each and every month.  The C4 Trade show had over a dozen vendors on hand, a full 32 entries filled the Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class, and 18 entries battled in the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class.  There was a raffle and a ton of prizes given away and the race winners took away more than bragging rights.  The Winner of the RWBC received a Hot Wheels Five Pack, a Free Race Token, and a $10 Gift Card for Toys R Us, while the Winner of the HWSC received a automatic entry into the RWBC, a 2015 Classic Cars Calendar, a Hot Wheels Five Pack, a Free Race Token, and a $10 Gift Card for Toys R Us.

The Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class was packed with a full field of 32 entries and one of those entries dominated the field.  Semi-Finalist James Goolsbee Jr. and his Cadillac Escalade with FTEs breezed by Nathan Talbert’s HyperTruck in the Qualifier, dusted off Dustin Barker’s Firebird Funny Car in the Heats with a small chuckle, and shrieked by Autumn Florendo’s Screamin’ Hauler in the Quarterfinals.  Owen Nesslage’s Black Firebird Funny Car saw similar results clearing away Tim Raley’s Porsche Carrera in the Qualifier, then showing Gavin Sleeth’s Hershey’s Ford Probe Funny Car the end of the road in the Heat Round, and hammered another Porsche Carrera, entered by James Goolsbee Sr., to move into the Semifinals in the top part of the bracket.  The bottom of the bracket pitted Funny Car versus Funny Car.  Tim Raley’s Firebird Funny Car bested Nathan Talbert’s Two Timer in the Qualifier, his son, Cole Raley’s Porsche 911 in the Heats and then James Fortenberry’s Ferrari F40 in the Quarterfinals to get to the Semifinals.  The other Funny Car to make the Semifinals in this part of the bracket was the Side Splitter, another entry from the Owen Nesslage Stable.  Owen’s Side Splitter made short work of Ken Nozka’s VW Beatle in the Qualifier, Stopped Nathan Zubalik’s Two timer in its tracks in the Heats and simply crushed the Porsche Carrara entered by Eric Florendo in the Quarterfinals.  In the top bracket, Owen’s Firebird Funny Car proved to be faster than James’ Cadillac and Owen’s other entry, the Side Splitter, also beat out its opponent, the Firebird Funny Car of Tim Raley.  Either way, Owen was going home with the top spot and some goodies for his win.  We still needed to see which of his entries was the fastest of the day.  After the first two runs tied up the entries at one apiece, the Firebird Funny Car took the last two in a row to become January’s Hot Wheels Stock Winner and receive the HWSC Provisional Spot for the Run Whatcha’ Brung Race.

January 10th 2015 Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class Video

The 18 entries for the Run Whatcha’ Brung Class were made up of varying types of die-cast from stock Hot Wheels and Johnny Lightning’s to full custom creations with some extra weight added to help speed them down the drop.  In the top section of the bracket, Owen Nessalage’s HWS Class Winner from December made a great showing beating Tim Raley’s Chevy Silverado in the Heats and moving passed Ismail Rashada’s Ferrari F40 in the Quarterfinals.  Both of those entries were stock Hot Wheels, but unfortunately for Ismail, his remaining entry would go no further.  James Fortenberry’s new creation, which he dubbed the Supervan, weighed in at 180.0 grams and absolutely dominated in the Heats laying to waste Tim Raley’s Wraith and squashing Cameron Daly’s Spiderman Van in the Quarterfinals.  The lower portion of the bracket saw Cameron Daly’s second entry, which some of the race fans called the “Hippie Van”, demolished James Goolsbee Jr’s Dodge Pick-up in the Heats and crushed Cole Raley’s Hulk entry in the Quarterfinals.  Also in action in the lower section was James Fortenberry’s proven winner, the Ford Pick-up… this modified beast has won this event in the past two previous times.  The Fortenberry Ford mauled Tim Raley’s “SuperVan” in the Heats then ending Owen Nesslage’s Firebird Funny Car’s chances of reaching the Finals.  The Semifinals were set… James Fotenberry’s “SuperVan” versus Owen Nesslage’s Ford Probe Funny Car and Cameron Daly’s “Hippie Van” versus the Fortenberry Ford Pick-up.  Disappointingly, for Owen and Cameron, both Fortenberry Creations prevailed and there would be a Fortenberry Final.  This final would be no different than the previous outings for the Fortenberry Pick-up winning back to back runs and the top spot in the Run Whatcha’ Brung Final!

January 10th 2015 Downhill Racing Run Whatcha' Brung Class Video

Congratulations to Both Owen Nesslage, Winner of the DRHWSC, and James Fortenberry, Winner of the DRRWBC, for January 2015.

Owen - DRHWSC Winner

James - DRRWBC Winner

Check out the racing on our YouTube Channel...  C4 Downhill Racing 

Also, special thanks to Nick Sickle for running and donating prizes for the first ever C4 Pick a Prize Raffle.

Down the Stretch they go…

With only a few days left before the first meet of the New Year, I am excited… no, I am ecstatic… I am cheerful…  The group that we have created is headed in the right direction.  We started this crazy idea some years ago with only a handful of individuals sharing a common interest. 

The Chesapeake Bay Hot Wheels Club was born.  For a couple of years attendance started to grow and the club gained popularity.  There were activities for everyone… trading, buying, selling, telling stories and even racing down that signature orange track were what we did.  Not long after, things started to change and with numbers growing, some of the key members struggled against what the core reasons as to what this organization would be changed.  Instead of a club for the members and by the members, the group became a sales platform and out of necessity, the CBHWC would soon be no more.  But, there was still a need for some of these individuals without personal agendas to get together…

A few months later… These individuals, with common goals, create another organization and agree to meet once a month at an arranged location.  For the first year of this organization’s early life, the meets were brief and attendance was small, but trading, buying, selling and swapping good stories were the keys to what we did.  Above all else… we looked out for each other as hobbyist.  The club has grown and suffered through growth and downturns in attendance, loss of locations for meets, and the occasional unilateral thinking of a few individuals outside of the core group.  It’s taken us some time, but we’ve landed a home for our monthly shows and created a name for ourselves. We still stick to that common idea that brought us together in the first days of the CBHWC.  We are now the C4… the Charm City Collector’s Club, the die-cast specialist!!!

Join us, January 10^th for the very first meet of the year… Admission, as always is free.  Do you have something to sell?  We have tables for lease!  Are you ready for some racing???  We have a 25ft Downhill Drag Strip with scoring lights and timer.  We have a test and tune session prior to and after our bracket races.  If you want to get into the racing action, you can.  We have two different racing classes that will compete for prizes for just $1 per entry.  If you just want to see what we are all about, stop on in and just say hi to the C4 Crew… Doors open at 10 am… hope to see you there!

For anyone looking for a free race entry or a free table to sell some of your extra die casts can look for two hidden tokens that we’ve put together in one single hidden location.  These tokens are in a small plastic box not too far from where the C4 lays there blocks.  Travel south from this place, not far or you may lose your race.  It used to be Jeffrey’s abode, now look before you get to the cross road.   To the east side of this structure you will be took, to a row of trees should you look.  Now, if you miss the rock with our name, I can believe that we will look down on you with shame!  Once this is found, please let us know!!!