Here is the project I've been working on and it has been a great experience. I've had parts and the plan for the dragstrip for some time, and now have the space. If you have the need for speed you can build one yourself. It's only limited by your skills or ability. Please click on the thumb nails for larger images.
I have to give you some basic advice, before you start on your project, or improvements, please plan it out and be patient! Good prices are out there to be found and if you do the work yourself you can save a great deal of money and increase your satisfaction.
I had the track sections, which are Eldon sections, but realistically, you can use any scale or make of track. The Christmas tree set up is also an Eldon section. I haven't seen any other makes of trees for scale drag racing. I used an older tack section and sprayed it with some liquid Elmer's glue and let it set for 24 hours, which made it tacky. The burnout section applies traction to the hardend tires. To help with the lack of traction, I bought smaller earth magnets and place them under the cars for even more bite. You just have to work on where the magnets will give the most traction. As in full scale racing, the cars all run at different speeds and you have to guess which one will make a decent race and the tree can be the greatest equalizer by red lighting or chopping down the tree with a holeshot.
I made the table base from a 4' by 8' sheet of 5/8" inch thick plywood from home depot. The sheet was cut into sections of 22" by 48". I used one sheet for an air conditioning project and had the 3 other sheets. I laid them out end to end and have a total of 12' working feet to use. I made the table legs out of 2" by 2", in sections of 24" in lenght. I bought the studs and mounting brackets and mounted the bases in the plywood sheets one inch by one inch from the corners. The studs went in the ends of the legs, which screw directly into the table base. I built the tables in this fashion so if they need to be disasembled you'd only have to unscrew the legs and the table tops will neatly stack on top of each other. By keeping this as simple as possible, you can add future table sections to expand the set out for as much space you can get away with before your wife starts asking questions. Remember, sell the idea of the ease of taking it apart and how it doesn't really take up that much space, (just like the lack of closet space we end up with, that will buy you your needed space.)
table plans and parts Here are the parts, sources for the project. Part Source Description Cost Quantity 4'x8' 5/8" sheet of plywood Lowe's The cornerstone of the project. $9.00 1 Sheet, (for now!) 2"x2"X8" Lowe's Find the straightest pieces, no cracks and cut to desired length. My daughter and I enjoy racing, so she had to be able to get the cars from the other end of the track. $1.81 each 2 sections needed Mounting Studs and table bases Lowe's Shop around for great prices. The leg mounts are pricey at $1.30 a piece and the studs are only .84 cents for 2. Shop around, save money for other parts of the project. The most expensive pieces, by far. $1.30 a piece .84 for a bag of 2 studs. 12 bases and 12 studs needed. Grass Paper 50"x 99" Local Hobby Shop To add to the appearance of the tracks and the sections, add grass to each section. I used a staple gun to secure the grass sections to the plywood. How you bond it is your own preference. $5.89 1 roll
