A Meltdown for the History Books: Domestic Power Dominates at C-Maxx Raceway

 

A Meltdown for the History Books: Domestic Power Dominates at C-Maxx Raceway

The Maryland diecast scene reached a fever pitch on February 7th as C-Maxx Raceway played host to the Domestic Motors Meltdown. As the second points race in the quest for the Charm City Cup, the stakes were higher than ever. The competition responded by bringing a massive field of 300 racers from 29 different teams to the starting gate. This wasn't just a race; it was a grueling test of speed and consistency that pushed every team to their absolute limits.

The Road to 256

The day began with high-stakes drama in the Race-In Non-Bracket Trials. A total of 88 stock racers faced off in a brutal qualifying gauntlet, competing in 44 head-to-head "play-in" races to determine the final spots for the main field. In these high-pressure runs, the margin for error was non-existent. The 44 winners survived this "win or go home" lottery to join the 256-car bracket, finding themselves in a shark tank of domestic muscle and factory-fresh speed.

As the competition progressed through the 256-car single-elimination bracket, the format was unforgiving: only those finishing 1st or 2nd in their respective brackets earned the right to move on. By the time the field whittled down to the top 128, the atmosphere was electric. In the Charm City Cup, this is the critical "Points Bubble"—the threshold where season standings are forged. Several powerhouse stables showed incredible depth by navigating these rounds to land multiple racers in points-paying positions, including Ghost Racing Inc., Dyno Drifterz, Little K Racing, Skyline Racing, Dodge Assassins, Recreational Hazard Racing, and Moo Cow Horse Farm Motorsports.

The pinnacle of the afternoon was the battle for the podium. In a round-robin Final Four that saw the lead change hands with nearly every lane swap, Ghost Racing Inc. emerged as the definitive force of the Meltdown. Their 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser displayed legendary consistency, edging out the BCC Racing Buick Stocker by a single point to claim the victory.

The Domestic Motors Meltdown Elite Eight:

1. Ghost Racing Inc. – 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser

2. BCC Racing – Buick Stocker (Yellow)

3. 1/64 Scale Collectibles Racing – '66 Pontiac GTO (Red)

4. Blind Dog Racing – Dodge Concept (Red)

5. Recreational Hazard Racing – Cadillac Escalade (Black)

6. Dodge Assassins – Monte Carlo Concept

7. Zilla Villa Racing – Dodge Van (Black)

8. Ghost Racing Inc. – 1999 Dodge Viper (Green)

An event of this magnitude—300 cars and hundreds of races—is a massive undertaking. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the dedicated track crew who managed the bracket with professional precision: James Goolsbee Jr., Blake Butler, Robert Butler, Kylie McAllister, Wyatt Bartruff, Devin Zahn, Susana Koutsoukos, and Jacob Glab. We also want to thank the race teams for their dedication and the spectators whose energy makes every event at C-Maxx Raceway unforgettable.

Sponsor Spotlight

We are thrilled to announce that OnSite Computers has joined the C4 DRL family as a premier partner! This strategic partnership is all about driving the future of the C4 DRL, bringing their expertise and support to our racing community. We are proud to have them on board as we continue to elevate the racing experience for our enthusiasts and fans alike.

March 7th: The Snowdown Begins

With the Meltdown now in the books, the hunt for the Charm City Cup continues to intensify. The action shifts gears on March 7th for the "European Import Snowdown." As the third race in the season-long points chase, the pressure is mounting and every single point counts toward the championship. James and the rest of the leadership team are already preparing for another capacity crowd, so get your best stockers ready—the next green flag is just around the corner!

GRI Jr's February C4 Experience

It was the third day into February, we've had a couple new things happening and something new that I neglected to tell everyone that started last month.

First off we have started points racing, the points race is only lasting for the first three months of this year, it is just a trial run right now but stay tuned in the future we may make it happen. With the points race, you only get points for one car that went the farthest. For instance, billy has two cars in the semi finals and one car in the finals, billy would only get points for the car that went to the finals...

The second new thing that we had to add in last month were the race-ins. If you go back to last months post, I explain what a "Race-In" is... We have experimented with this before with up to ten cars but this month it was different.

This month we had over one hundred entries. For those of you who do know, our racing bracket is set up for sixty-four cars any other would have to be race in, unless we got a perfect 128 cars. If we were to have 128 cars we could just add another "leg" of the race and it would still boil down to the final two cars without there being any "byes"

And that is what we did, we had a perfect 128 cars to run in the downhill race. By the way, next months race is "Mopar-Madness" meaning the car must be a dodge product...

Today was also a special day because our "sister" hot-wheels club, South Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware(SJPD) was also stopping by to do some racing, trading and selling... One of their members, Dan had won our race today, and he is now in the second place in the points race and he will be back next month to go after the crown in our Mopar-Madness Race..

Next month is going to be special also, not only is it the end of the points race, but if you make it toward the end, you will get double points for not one, but two of your top contending cars. So with that, thank you for enjoying my experience at the C4 Hot-wheels club and have a good rest of your day/night.

GRI Jr's January C4 Experience

It was January 6th, C4 race committee had planed for two races. One would be the "Bow-tie" battle and the other was an invite only race. The invite only race, is for all people that do customs. This will be explained in more detail later in the post.

For the Bow-tie battle, we had a total of 70 entrees, the most we've had in a while. Also, because we had 70 entrees, we had to do a "Race-in" to 64 cars to complete the bracket. What I mean is that we took the last person to sign up to race, which was me, and we took their cars and "raced" them in.

 We used a random number generator to pull out 6 random cars, each car would then go up against my cars to decide which was entered in the bracket. Out of all of my cars that competed in the race-in, only two stayed. Fortunately, the bracket allowed me to enter 4 of my other cars.

I won a couple in the eliminator portion of the race, but when we reached quarter finals no one could beat the blue Chevelle, Alex had brought one and someone else had brought one. My Chevy Stockar couldn't keep up. Therefore I was eliminated before the semi-finals.

In the end, another Chevy Stockar had won, another Stockar took second, and Alex's blue Chevelle took third. Next would be the custom invite-only race.

Anyone who participated in the custom race brought their cars and was able to test them, not many people had prepared for the race, I didn't prepare either... In the end we ended up rescheduling the race until next month because we didnt have enough people to run the race...

I had a great time today and i cant wait to work on my custom for the race next month, and i will be getting cars ready for the stock race as well...

GRI Jr's December C4 Experience

The day was December 2nd, there would be only one race today and it was a special one... Today we would be running the Treasure Hunt Challenge, a "winner-takes-all" race where if you lose, you lose your car too. That previous weekend my dad and I had gone to the PA Toy show and scoped out a few hunts for the race.

From a Cadillac to a Way To Fast, we had a total of ten cars on our side enter the race. In total there were 62 cars entered, almost an entire bracket of cars to race. There were many races where the same cars raced each other, mostly because we had an over abundance of that type of car, or because of some odd luck.

Alex had brought only four cars to race, with price tags of five to fifteen dollars each. She had believed that her four cars were enough to take home the prize. But one of the cars had a bent axle and couldn't even make it to the finish line... Even though she lost one of her cars, the other three did do some damage to the other entries. Alex must have went home with at least fifteen cars and if I recall correctly she had won the overall race.

I, myself had won about 6 to 9 races and took some other cars with me. During the race we had a pretty big audience, well big in a sense that most people only come to sell then we had a little more then usual which was pretty cool. I was actually able to start the cars and launch them which was different and fun.

Another big event that occurred this month was our Christmas themed custom build-off. We only had four entries but they really out did the last build-off we had. For this build-off we also decided to have a silent auction for these pieces. The overall theme of the contest was Christmas but there were deeper rules then that, your finished piece must be two chopped/combined vehicles to create one finished piece.

Mike Catron had put up a red van, I cant even explain the combination of vehicles. It was a tree delivery with Santa as the driver. Justin did three different vehicles transporting trees. Rob had done a pickup truck with a tree and decals that looked great and on top of all of that he gave it a glass casing with lighting around it. Marcus had done a snow board truck that almost resembled a transformer that I thought it was really cool.

Overall the meet was pretty simple but it was still really cool. No matter what every month I look forward to going and I always have a good time. My favorite part of every meet is the races but today was one of my favorite. Now on to January and I wish you all a good holiday season.

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.

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.

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.

Racing through the Summer with C4

The Downhill Racing has seen a decrease in participation. However, the racing is highly competitive with just enough entries to run the Hot Wheels Stock Class.

July 12th was the day that would see Piper Langenfeld beat all the guys with her Yellow #3 Ford Probe Funny Car. With a 13 die-cast field, Ray Ritchie thought he had the car to beat. His Yellow #3 Ford Probe Funny tip toed past the JG Jr. White “Hershey” Ford Probe Funny Car in the Heats, toasted Gavin Sleeth’s Bone Shaker in the Quarters, and finally spilled Ken Sleeth’s Hot Tub hopes for a run at the finals where he would be stopped in his tracks by the mirror imageentry of Piper. Piper’s Funny Car motored past Gavin Sleeth’s Ratified ride to qualify, then beat the James Goolsbee’s Sling Shot in the Quarters and breezed past Dustin Barker’s 2009 Ford F-150 in the Semi-finals. Piper would be the final victor!

James Fortenberry made a run at the top spot in the Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class held on August 2nd. James’s White Porsche 911 was a great deal faster than James Goolsbee Sr.’s Blue #1 Lumina Stocker and swiftly dispatched Devin Batty’s Silver Ferrari F12. James Jr. thought he had the answer for the Fortenberry Porsche, but saw his Gold Ferrari F-40 loss to the Porsche in the semi-finals. Nick Sickle’s Screamin’ Hauler did just that through the qualifier against Devynn Barker’s Arrow Dynamic and James Goolsbee Sr’s 360 Modena in the Quarter’s. Nick’s Hauler stopped Screamin’ when it met the Silver T-Rex Firebird Funny Car of Steve Langenfeld who promptly past Dustin Barker’s ’83 Silverado in it’s qualifying round. The T-Rex Funny car also beat up on the Mustang Funny car of James Goolsbee Jr. in the quarter finals prior to meeting with the White Porsche belonging to Mr Fortenberry. Steve’s T-Rex Funny car would give him the final victory against the Porsche and also pu Steve alongside his daughter as a Downhill Racing Hot Wheels Stock Class Monthly Winner.

The C4 Racing committee would like to thank all of the participants over the past couple of months. Next month’s racing slots are already being filled, so get your entries in!!! Two classes will run this September… The hot wheels Stock Class & the ever so popular Run Whatcha’ brung Class. See you at the races!!!

Back in Action with some Firworks of Our Own...

First, I want to apologize for the lack of current information on this blog. Every year around this time, I have to set aside a good four months for something else that I am extremely passionate about. Nonetheless, the Club Post is back and the C4 Crew has a bunch of events scheduled for the upcoming months starting in July…

The Maryland Die-Cast Trade Show for July will occur on the second Saturday of the month due to the holiday. The July 12th event will include two Downhill Racing Events and the roll out of a brand new Build Off Competition. The racing will kick off with the Hot Wheels Stock Comp challengers like, James Goolsbee Jr., Cole Raley, and John Catron who will have their racers picked out; ready to contend for the top spot and automatic entry into the Run Whatcha Brung race. Also, veteran modifiers, Tim Raley, James Fortenberry, and Tim “Smitty” Smith, just to name a few, will have their creations ready to battle for the Run Whatcha Brung Competition Crown. If you are unable to make the event, but would like to enter this races you can. For more details, call or email us, information below. Please leave us a message with a good contact number or email address, so that we can get back to you.

Check out the C4 sponsored events every month at the AMF Country Fair Lanes on Pulaski Highway in Middle River just minutes from I-95 and I-695. For more details about C4 Events, call 410-709-8694 or email us at c4hotwheels@hotmail.com.

Charm City's Die-Cast Show Races into February

The Downhill Racing Events were extremely exciting this month. All three classes for February saw a bunch of upsets and even a crash in the Hot Wheels Stock Class.

The DRHWSC was the first racing event on the agenda with an almost full field of entries. Twenty-six Hot Wheels Die-Casts would battle until there would be only one. Tim Raley’s Purple Tail Dragger would demolish Jim Rakitsky’s Split Vision quickly in the Qualifying Round and beat Dwayne Immell’s 1967 Camaro decidedly in the Heat Round. In the Quarter Final, Tim’s luck would continue when he dusted off John Catron’s Speedbox without giving up a single run. Ultimately, Tim’s TD would be no match for Gavin Sleeth and his Side Splitter Funny Car. The Side Splitter didn’t make any friends breezing through the Qualifier against the Team Hot Wheels Buggy; another entry out of the Rakitsky Stable, and then chewing up the James Goolsbee sponsored Rigor Motor in the Heats Round.
In the lower section of the Bracket, Cole Raley was making an attempt to meet his dad, Tim, in the Final. Cole’s Silverado received a bye in the Qualifying Round and wouldn’t be tested much in the Heat Round by another Goolsbee entry, a Funny Side Up Funny Car, or even in the Quarter Finals where he beat one of his dad’s other entries, a Mustang Funny Car that seemed to be having some technical difficulties. Cole was stopped short, just like his father, in the Semi Finals by an entry from Nick Sickle. Nick’s last-minute entry, a Boulevard Bruiser, disappointed its completion, first winning in the Qualifier against Tim Raley’s Dairy Delivery, secondly, beating Jim Rakitsky’s F1 Racer in the Heats. Subsequently, the Bruiser would take two of three races against James Jr’s Daytona Charger before handing the Raley Silverado its defeat. The stage was set, Gavin’s Side Splitter Funny Car would take on the under-rated Sick Nick Boulevard Bruiser. Ultimately, the Boulevard Bruiser would take the win, a Hot Wheels Test Facility five pack and a berth into the Downhill Racing Run Whatch Brung Races.

Link to the Video for this class... Downhill Racing Hot WHeels Stock Class Races Video

The C4 Crew has been trying to put together a race for pinks style of event for several months, and what better way to do that than a Hot Wheels Treasure Hunt race. This race has been in the works for several months, and it finally took place on Saturday after the DRHWSC Races. The races consisted of 13 Hot Wheels Treasure Hunts still in the blisters, and the winner took home all of their competitor’s entries. Cole Raley’s 16 Angels made it to the Semi Finals with a bye in the Qualifier and a win over Chris Taylor’s Nightburner, which was one of several diecasts that were mailed in for our events. The 16 Angels would eventually fall to Wayne Heede’s Pink Cadillac V-16. Wayne had the unfortunate luck to draw the second slot in the Qualifier which positioned his Cadi against James Fortenberry’s 1971 Mustang Funny Car. Luck, however, was on Wayne’s side as he cruised by the ’71 Mustang and then Mike Catron’s Subaru WRX Sti with FTEs in the Quarter Finals. Mr. Milton Fox’s Mazda RX-7 had the same fate as the 16 Angels after first dusting Tim Raley’s Hot Bird and Cole’s Nissan Skyline. The Fox Mazda fell to a Mustang Funny Car out of the Tim Raley’s Garage. The Mustang was pretty impressive, making short work of the James Goolsbee Bad to the Blade in the Qualifier and ironically enough another mailed in Mazda RX-7 entry from Chris Taylor. It really appeared that the Mustang would be the car to beat, but that’s why we race. Wayne’s Pink Cadillac V-16 dominated Tim’s Mustang and took top-prize all the T-hunts from this race. With such decisive victories in this race, Wayne decided to enter his Pink Cadi in the final race of the day… The Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung!

Follow this link to see footage of... The Downhill Racing Treasure Hunt Challenge Class (Winner Takes All!)

The final event of the day and the most anticipated was the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha’ Brung Class. It doesn’t matter what make, model or brand of the vehicle as long as it fits on the track, in the starting gate and through the finish-line gate. There were 24 entries into this class, two winning entries from the previous events of the day and nine entries that were mailed in. Cameron Daly’s 1967 Johnny Lightning Camaro made tracks over the competition beating James Fortenberry’s Mod Lambo in the Qualifier. The Camaro took two in a row in the Heats Round over Chris Taylor’s Chrysler 300C, which lead on the drop until the Camaro seemed to find a second gear in the flat. It was almost a repeat performance for the Camaro in the Quarter Finals where it battled back down the flat section of the track to beat the Dwayne Immell Modified Horseplay. Smitty’s Dragstrip Donna put an end to the Camaro’s run at the winner’s circle. The Dragstrip Donna had a bye in the Qualifier and made short work of Tim Raley’s Cadillac V-16 in the Heats and Milton Fox’s F-150 in the Quarters before ruining the JL Camaro’s chance for the top spot in this class. James Fortenberry had two heavy weight F-150s in the field that met in the Semi Finals. The Silver version took out Nick Sickle’s Hot Wheels Stock Class Champ Boulevard Bruiser in the Qualifier, then squeaked by the mailed-in Way Sweet 16 of Chris Taylor in the Heats and final hammered past the 1969 Corvette of Mrs. Fox. James’ Pink F-150 had a difficult road to the Semis making his way by Smitty’s CC Madfast in the Qualifier, Cole Raley’s “Hershey” Ford Probe Funny Car, three-time champ of this event in the Heats, and, finally edging out Wendell Brown’s Mustang Funny Car in the Quarter Finals. The lighter Pink F-150 was able to beat its sibling in the Semi Finals taking two races in a row. This DRRWB final was set, Smitty’s Dragstrip Donna versus The Fortenberry F-150 in pink. In the finals, you have to win two races in a row to take the top spot, to be crowned champ and take home the prize. The first race went to the F-150 by a nose. The second race went to the Donna by a nose. The third race saw a repeat of the first… it looked like we were going to have a tie. The fourth race would decide it all. The F-150 was able to just slide past the Donna in the last inches of the track and win the Downhill Racing Run Whatcha Brung Division. James Fortenberry took home top honors and a brand new Hot Wheels Nine Pack. He will also be able to enter the Pink F-150 this year, without an entry fee, for any DRRWB event.

The heavy hitter of racing... See the races here, The Run Whatcha Brung Class!

Congratulations to all of our winners and a big C4 Thank You for all of the participants. Also, a special thanks goes to all of our mailed-in entries. Hopefully, we will see more mailed-in entries at our upcoming events.

Copies of the brackets can be viewed here: February 2014 - C4 Racing Brackets

Our next Event on Facebook... The Maryland Die-Cast Trade Show & Downhill Racing Events

Charm City Collector's Club

Charm City Collector's Club Die-Cast Show/Meeting

Hang out with the C4 Gang on Saturday August 12th from 8:00 am through 12:00 pm at the Race Wear Store located in the Marley Station Mall located at 7900 Ritchie Hwy, Glen Burnie, MD 21061-7224

Admission is FREE!!!

Downhill Racing Stock Competition!
- We have 32 slots available for Hot Wheels Stock Down Hill Racing for $1 per entry.
- The die-cast must be a main line Hot Wheels die-cast and originally carded to participate. Judges discretion. - Bracket racing , best of three until the final four.
- The final four races with be the first die-cast to win two in a row.
- Racing will start promptly at 10:00 am.

Tables are available for vending on a first come, first serve basis. There is a small fee, please call the number below for more information.

C4hotwheels.tk
443.850.5738