Remote-control cars hit the dirt at indoor track

It's a family-friendly hobby, says the owner.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- It used to be that remote-control car buffs in the Mahoning Valley had to travel at least an hour to find an indoor track.
But with the opening of Austintown Raceway and Hobby Shop, fans of the foot-long cars have a place to race in their own back yard that's open regardless of the weather.
Dan Marino of Austintown is the owner of the raceway, which opened this weekend in Wedgewood Plaza on Raccoon Road. An RC-car aficionado, Marino hopes to lure in others who share his passion -- and to convert those who don't.
Inside the building where he rents space across from The Wedge nightclub, remote-control cars race around 5,000 square feet of dirt track.
But they aren't just any remote-control cars.
The cars you buy at Wal-Mart or Radio Shack, he says -- those are the Cavaliers. The cars that hobbyists race, however -- those are the Ferraris. You can spend as much money as you want to make your car as fast as you want, he said, pointing to a truck sitting behind his counter that would set you back 1,100.
Appreciative patron
Jim Misavage of Sharon, Pa., has a 4-wheel-drive buggy he spent about 500 assembling. He bought a basic kit and added extras.
He was at the raceway because he likes the idea of racing at a clean, professionally run track.
It's also relatively close by for him.
Before Austintown Raceway opened, hobbyists in this area had to travel to Pittsburgh or Cleveland to find an indoor track, Marino said. For a track that's dirt, not carpeting, you had to go to Columbus.
"This is a five-star setting," Marino said. "It's a nice environment. It's warm in here."
He has a hobby shop there, too, where you can buy a kit to make a race car. There are TVs and video games, and he plans to hold Madden (football video game) tournaments.
The raceway isn't the first business venture for Marino, 29. He helps his mother, Anna, run Marino's Italian restaurant on Mahoning Avenue.
But he found the right location -- you need 5,000 to 10,000 square feet for a track -- and was able to work out a nice deal for rent with his landlord.
"I was doing it as a hobby myself for the last three years," he said. "I compare it to darts or pool -- it's just another version of something fun to do at night."
Family activity
He also points out that racing is a nice way for kids and parents to spend time together. His races, Thursday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 12:30 p.m., are divided into novice and expert classes. A transponding system tracks car speeds through a computer, and prizes are trophies and ribbons. He plans to reconfigure his track every three months.
Doors will open at 3 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, and at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are practice days from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m.
You must bring your own car for now, though in September, he plans to have rentals available.
The real competitors take remote-control race cars as seriously as NASCAR, Marino said, but people also need to realize it's a way to have fun.
"People have forgotten this stuff," he said. "When you stop playing with toys, you are old."
starmack@vindy.com