01.20.09   THE LAST NEWS BLOG  /  GIVE KIDS EVENT  /  7PM MONDAY  /  GRIPPER  /  LIVE COVERAGE
-   It seems this year has past faster than ever, we can not believe the race will be here next week!!!  We are getting a TON of last minute entries, which is great.  I will be adding estimated openings on our 'registered racers' page hopefully tonight, and doing another update with today's mail.  And YES we will take race entries at the race, we get this question a lot.  However we may charge a small fee to help cover the additional expenses of getting in last minute award costs.  Watch for our Snowbird racer letter that will be on-line and on our front page you can print, which will have some news and notes on the race race.  We will also have these available at check-in. 

-   The Radisson works with a great charity called 'Give Kids the World', and will be having a special bake sale Friday, January 30th, of the 'birds.  They will be setup in the track area selling cookies, brownies, and baked goods, with all the proceeds going to the group.  See more of GKTW here.

-   Check-in will begin Monday night at 7pm in the conference center by the track.  This is the same area as last year.  We will be allowing teams to  enter Manufacturer's Row and racers in the Florida Cracker Room to start setting up at 7pm Monday night also.  We will be open late on Monday so no worries.  The actual times of the weeks activities will be at the hotel when you arrive.   As we setup the track, we can not have any racers in the ballroom before Monday night.  Please do not be upset if you get locked out and are not allowed in.  We need to work and get everything ready for our 'Speed Week', so we are sure you understand.

-   Remember, Jack the Gripper is the only traction compound allowed for this year's event.  Bottles will be for sale for $5.00 at check-in. 

-   Check out Greg Rojna's live Snowbird race page.  He will be doing live race updates with pictures and more, and also will take requests if you want a special Snowbird shot.  COOL!  Here is the actual link (in case you want to bookmark):  http://rcactionpics.com/2009/2009_snowbirds.html. We also have our special live hotel page all setup for channel 66 - see it here.  This will be what is broadcasted at the Radisson so you can keep up with all the action in the comfort of your own hotel room.  And of course we will be broadcasting live from the race again with results, webcam, audio, chat room, and more - see the live page here.  We hope to have two cameras running this year also, something new and FREE to you! 

01.13.09   THE SNOWBIRDS ARE NEAR  /  HOTEL RATE EXTENDED  /  MORE STUFF
-   We are just a couple weeks ago from the big show and we hope you are ready.  The hotel faxed us the room list today and we are above our room block, which is a great sign (and almost the same as 2008).  They are extending the hotel rates for the Snowbirds until the race.  There are a lot of last minute racers coming to the 'birds, so this will help out a ton.  We have had a lot of questions about this.  The hotel and staff are extremely excited about our return.  Many remember our old sales manager from I-Drive, Bill Terrill, and we just learned he now works at the Radisson.  The 'Hot Rod Hotel' sure feels like home!  You will find some new improvements to the facility this year, as the Radisson is a wonderful hotel and one of the best in the area!

-   The brand new subfloor is ready for pickup at Lowes, and the new CRC Racing carpet is on the way.  The Snowbird crew is back again to build a super smooth, brand new race track for you this year once again.  We take pride in a great racing surface to run on.  New oval ice, walls, CRC Clik-Trak for the road, it is going to be awesome.  New for this year is the pit road for the Thunder 600, and we may be adding this for racers to use during the week, for driving cars on and off from.  We also will be constructing a new drivers stand that is about two feet taller than last year, and is 24 feet wide.  The lighting at the Radisson is perfect, and with a taller stand the view should be more convenient for racers.

-   Now for some real important news, the Miss Snowbird Winner's Circle outfits are on the way.  It looks like 'G' was the favorite, so you will be to see Hollie and Jessica in checkered yellow this year.  And check out the Winner's Circle backdrop for 2009 and shirt design from Dusty Kemp.  Holy Cow they are awesome.  Thanks Dusty!

-   Entries are what is on everyone's mind this year.  Yes they are slow coming in.  But the hotel room block shows a great bunch are still out there, and we still have many teams yet to send them in.  So we fully expect a great crowd.  Don't worry!  We are going to have to set entry limits next week and that might be on Tuesday.  This will give racers an idea what is open and what they can enter even at the event.  If the total count is where we expect, and a little down from some years, we may adjust race times some.  Watch for possible starting the day a little later and of course ending a little earlier.  This could be a great positive with easier practice and more time to go out and enjoy the town and sleep! 

-   And if anyone is looking for some fun on Tuesday night, January 27th.  Ernie from Trinity has some sweet tickets for the Orlando Magic game at an awesome discount.  Magic versus Indiana: Lower Bowl are $70 Retail / $35 special price.  Uppers are $27 Retail / $12 special price.
E-mail if interested. 

01.06.09   CHARITY RAFFLE  /  PITTING IN ROOMS  /  ROOM BLOCK  /  SNEAK PEAK  /  ENTRY INFO
-   We are pleased to have a special raffle during the Snowbirds from Team Hobby Talk.  Win yourself a brand new racecar and more buy supporting this raffle with your ticket purchases.  All the money raised goes to Breast Cancer research.  Read all about this special Thunder 600 raffle here.  Special thanks goes out to the many contributing sponsors of this project.  This is a great cause and we are very happy to be able to support something that will give back to the community.  Good luck Team Hobby Talk on Saturday night!

-   We receive a lot of emails about pitting in your rooms.  Yes it is allowed and encouraged!  We have a TV setup that displays the racing action with audio and more, so you can wrench on your cars in the comfort of your own room.  This works great for racers sharing costs and sharing rooms too.  The hotel has free wireless Internet, so you can also keep up with the results and more on our live Snowbird broadcast.

-   The Snowbird room block is still active.  Don't miss your chance to get in at the special low Snowbird racer rate.  Make your call now!  Remember the hotel has a special 10 percent discount if staying five or more nights.  Please call the hotel direct when making reservations to get discounts.

-   There will be an entry update any day.  We have about 100 to add since the last update.  Entry class limits will be listed next week.  We need to establish these so we can do practice times, order awards, etc.  There may be a late fee assigned for registering at the event, as we will be forced to next day air additional awards to fill all mains, as it is not fair to the guys that signed up early.  Thanks!

-   Check out the 'Sneak Peak' of the 2009 Retro hat and logo.  These will be for sale at the race and for sale in multiple colors.  Car numbers have been designed and being printed, and look awesome!  Note the checkbox for cars making it through tech.  Awards are being setup and look great too, thanks to our partner www.race-rewards.com.  Watch for the final shirt design any day from our good friend Dusty Kemp!

12.30.08   EARLY ENTRY LIST / FREE PARMA WITH COT ROAD / VOTE MISS SNOWBIRD OUTFITS / MORE
-   The first entry list will be posted tomorrow (Wednesday), as we are working on it now.  The list we are posting are only paid entries.  Most none of the teams on Manufacture Row are in, and most the cracker room reservations are not registered 'officially', so therefore will not be on the list.  Time to get those entries filled out racers, as the race is just one month away.  The hotel room block is good for a few more days.  Make sure to call and get your room booked now.  Click for hotel information.  As far as entries, we will set limits on classes so that we can order awards (Jan 13th maybe).

-   The mandated touring body for the COT road class will be the Type 'M' rubber touring body from Parma/PSE.  As a special bonus you will get a FREE Type 'M' body for racing the COT Road class.  You can pick up your body at check-in at the Snowbirds.  Thanks Parma!  The COT class for oval and road are two new concept classes that feature a spec/handout brushless motor and battery, and mandated race body.  Read more on the classes below in our news area and on the Snowbird classes page.

-   It's an annual Snowbird tradition!  You decide what Hollie and Jessica will be wearing for this years award presentations and more.  Don't miss your chance to jump on the 'Winners Circle' and get your picture with them.  The girls will once again be helping judge Concourse on Sunday and will be awarding a new 'hot pick' winner this year thanks to Parma (see below).

-   Check out the Thunder 600 page.  Saturday night enduro action is going to ROCK!  We have an exciting week of racing for sure, with a ton of race action going on, including four rounds of qualifying and wild bump-n-runs.  Several car companies will be uncovering their enduro rides at the 'birds and we can't wait to see them up close.  Dusty Kemp has signed on as our pit road official (look out boys).  Just a few more 'Outlaw' spots open.

-   I added a local weather and webcam page from Orlando, Florida.  See it here.

-   Everything is almost complete for the upcoming 2009 Snowbirds.  We are so excited!  The 2nd year at the Radisson is going to be spectacular.  We have an outstanding and experienced tech crew that will be here once again, and we're on top of all the latest specifications and more with motors and batteries.  Expect another great event for all involved!  We have the tools needed, such as a certified voltmeter and inductance meter, to help us with any teching and verification of legality.  And new for this year we will be post-teching the fastest single lap car from each race, and of course all TQ cars will be held and completely tore down as in years past.  Rest assured, one of our main purposes of this race is for everyone to enjoy the competition and friendship that the Snowbirds has been famous for...for 14 years now!!!  See ya soon!

-   Thanks to REDRC.NET for giving us race news all year long!  Check out this week's blog on their site here.  (some more cool International news)

-   And we want to welcome Markus Mobers from Germany to the Snowbirds again this year.  Check out Serpents press release on the 2009 'birds.

12.23.08   MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE
-   All of us from Thunder Racing want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  As the holidays fast approach, we expect to be in high gear next week as the Snowbirds are just a month away!  We will be updating the racer map soon with a bunch of new names, as the entries are really starting to roll in.  The Florida Cracker Room looks to be sold out, along with Manufacture's Row and the Class Sponsor pit room.  Only 1 percent of these entries are in (from these 3 rooms) so we know a flood of names will be coming in very soon!  The hotel room block is large which is great news.  More overseas entries are on their way also!  The hotel block with our great room rate is good until after the 1st of the year, so plenty of time to get your rooms.  And the good news for all of us is gas prices keep dropping and airfare costs too!  Have a great holiday everyone, and look for the last of a few 'loose ends' to be finalized and posted next week.  Get ready it's time to race! 

12.16.08   HANDOUT TIRE AND COT COSTS / 4WD TIRES ANNOUNCED / SNOWBIRD FAN CAM / ENTRIES
-  Costs for handout tire classes are now posted on the class page, along with the COT class handout costs.  All these items can be paid for at the event at check-in.  Tires for Touring Rubber are $30, World GT are $25, and 4WD Oval are $25.  The COT power package costs $80, which includes your motor and battery for the class.  Thanks to Jaco, BSR, CRC, and Trinity for the great products we are using for spec/handout classes!

-  Tires for the 4wd oval class are going to be foam handouts from Team CRC.  Thanks to Frank Calandra, Steve Pemberton, and Tony Moffre for working together on this project and getting us a good tire.  These are specially made tires not available anywhere else and include a custom white stripe, which is why Frank calls them his 'tuxedo tire'.  Racers will be allowed to purchase two sets for racing (eight tires).  All four tires are the same compound (which should make things easy).  We will work on allowing racers to purchase a reduced set, if you just need two tires instead of four.  The tires are double pink/orange compound and 27mm wide (if you want to practice with something similar now).

-  New for 2009, will be a cool 'Welcome to Florida' large wall banner (pictured to the right).  We will have a second webcam this year running, and racers will be able to stand in front of the 'Fan Cam' and call home to friends and family to see them live from the 'birds!  We are excited to be bringing the Snowbirds live to the Internet with streaming audio and video, all FREE of charge!  A big thanks goes out to Dave Croy for helping us with posting lap times and results on the web once again.  The plan as of now is have two FREE flash based streams direct from the Radisson!  And this year we should be streaming the scoring window with race video and audio, all completely synched together with no time variance!

-  Everything is coming together great, and we are counting down the days!  Watch for a new racer map update later this week with more names.  A few more sponsors have been added today for the race.  We now have over 45 sponsoring companies coming, with their team and drivers!  That is incredible!!!  Our hotel room reservations numbers are ahead of last year for this time (which is great and shows another great year coming up).  Our room block is good until after the 1st of the year, so you have plenty of time to get a room at the great Snowbird rate.  We will announce before it closes.  As far as entries, everything is open and no classes are filled (we have had emails worrying about this).  And make sure to check out the Thunder 600 page.  We have 10 companies now in the Invitational enduro.  Time to start filling up those pit men!  And there are spots open for the Outlaw 600, so put together a team for Saturday night and plan on having some great fun! 

-  Now that classes are announced and most rules are posted, we want to have you vote once again what classes you plan to race.  The last poll went great with over 800 votes (each vote is unique and the poll prevents multiple voting).  Many racers are on the fence what they want to race, and I understand that.  It is hard to post a racer list at this time, so this is the next best thing.  Thanks!

12.09.08   FLA CRACKER ROOM / LIVE RACER MAP / RC_ACTION_PICS / PRO MOD OVAL
-  We have a pit room in the ballroom for racers that do not want to pit in their hotel rooms.  So far about 20 racers have reserved a spot.  Good news is the hotel added all new A/C units (last year they were freezing up on us).  And since it is our 2nd year we will have cords running as needed.  Cost will be about $20 for the week, and will include table and chair.  E-mail if interested.  This is great also if a bunch of racers wish to pit together (if so please let us know when you reserve so we can mark them together).  In case you are wondering, a Florida Cracker (according to Wikipedia here) is an original American pioneer to the State of Florida (kind of fitting we thought LOL).  Here is a picture of the pit room.

-  We are happy to announce we made a deal with Greg Rojna of RC Action Pics do the photography at this year's Snowbirds.  Greg is an avid RC racer and has a great passion for taking RC photos.  Check out some of his work on his race site:  www.rcactionpics.com.  Greg will be here most the week snapping photos so everyone will have some great memories after the race is over.

-  Thanks to Hank at Hobby Talk, we have the 2009 Racer Map now live.  It is fun to see where everyone is coming from.  The first week of entries were good and so far racers from 13 states and 4 countries are in.  Don't worry if your name is not on the list, as this was the first batch of names I sent Hank.  The map will be updated periodically.  More sponsors are signing up we should announce soon, and several overseas top racers are making the trip.  Forty-five sponsors have committed and contributed to this year's race guaranteeing another magical event for all!

-  Pro Modified rules for oval are announced.  The class will be Open Roar Lipo with a Roar 10.5 brushless motor maximum.  Motors must follow same motor rules as spec classes, as posted on the class page.  Initial testing on our Snowbird size track at Minnreg (from David Preston), yielded awesome results, and I have no doubt the class is going to be fast and competitive.  Lap times for 17.5 at Minnreg were 3.9s, and with a 10.5, lap times hit the low 3.5's.  With proper gearing, and practice, 3.4's will be hit and more than likely 3.3's.  And with the Snowbird CUP on the line, racers can use the same car if they want to run 17.5 Lipo and Pro Modified.

12.02.08   STATE MAP IS UP / THUNDER 600 FLYER AND PAGE / FIND MICKEY AND WIN
-  The entry form was posted last week, and the first wave of entries are in.  In the first couple days we received entries from three countries and nine states!  The map to the right shows the states in so far (colored).  We will be posting the racer map very soon so stay tuned for that.  The actual entry list will be delayed for a few weeks.  We know more and more racers are waiting to see who is running what, so we will work on the list and get it on once we have a good count in.  The racer poll on the class page might be a good indication of support for each class we feel.

-  The Thunder 600 is Saturday night, and features two fantastic races.  The 'Outlaw Thunder 600' will start things off, followed by the best of the best in the 'Invitational Thunder 600'.  The race flyer is here and the Thunder 600 race page with racer teams and crews is here.  Teams interested in reserving a place in the Outlaw 600 e-mail us.  So far teams for the Invitational that are locked in are:  Associated, CEFX, CRC, Darkside, Hyperdrive, KSG, IRS, McPappy, and Silva.  Teams that know their pit men and spotters please let me know so I can update the Thunder 600 page!  The Outlaw 600 is racing for cash and the winning team could win $500 bucks!  The invitational winners will receive a nice custom ICE acrylic award. 

-  Now for some fun!  With the holidays coming everyone likes to win FREE stuff.  Somewhere on the 2009 Snowbird website is a picture of Mickey Mouse with a Santa Hat.  You will know it's the one, trust me.  E-Mail the 'magic' word on the picture and you will get a voucher from Radisson for $25 dollars in food and beverage from their sports bar and grill for the Snowbirds!  Good luck!
(update:  Jody Miller was the winner.  Check out his site:  www.killerkoncepts.org.  I will leave the picture up in case you are still looking!)

11.25.08   ENTRY FORM UP / PARMA CONCOURSE / VRC PRESS / WORLD GT TIRES / MORE CLASS NEWS
-  The 2009 Entry Form page is up.  You can register on-line and also print one out to mail in.  We will have a racer list up in December.  You can get a good idea the direction classes are heading by our class poll page: road / oval.  If you have any questions or problems please e-mail me.  We did have our first two official unofficial entries from racers finding the 'secret' pages before they were live.  Richard King of Virginia and Jason Willenere of Colorado.  Thanks guys haha!  We will post the first few 5pm entries once the page goes live.  I am excited to have many overseas emails this year, including our first racer from Australia coming in 2009!

-  Parma is back once again as sponsor of the Concourse competition, and this year will be the best yet!  Featuring awesome prizes to the top three in two categories, Most Authentic and Best Looking, the Concourse is a lot of fun.  This year features the new Vintage Trans Am cars, SK cars, World GT cars, and more, so we should have some great looking paint jobs.  We are adding a new winner to the mix for 2009, the 'Hollie and Jessica's HOT PICK' award.  The Snowbird girls will be choosing their favorite this year guys.  So make it 'girl' friendly and you might win a prize!  Parma is excited to be supporting the 'birds once again and we are very thankful to have them a part.  As a special bonus, the three winners will be pictured and featured on Parma's website as an added perk.  Concourse is FREE and takes place Sunday AM in the 'Winner's Circle'.

-  As we mentioned a few weeks ago, Virtual RC will be adding the Snowbirds from the Radisson into their new Pro edition coming out soon!  Racing carpet indoors, with on-road and oval will be awesome!  Here is their official press release recently.  "VRC AND SNOWBIRDS TEAM UP:  VRC and the Snowbirds organization from Orlando, Florida, have signed a deal to feature the Snowbirds on-road and oval track in VRC Pro. The Snowbirds organization is excited with this initiative as it will enable thousands of r/c racers from around the world to come and race on the very same track where the worlds’ best electric racers gather early February each year to compete for the prestigious Snowbirds titles. On special request of the organizers the carpet oval course will be included too as this class is apparently delivering some NASCAR-like excitement to the racers and it is expected that this will also draw a big following in the on-line competitions. The Snowbird tracks will be based on the 2009 edition of this major world event, with possible updates following new lay-outs in the coming years."  Their official release is also on-line at Redrc.net.

-  Some individual class notes:  COT Classes are getting more interest.  The Oval truck body we are going to require is the Protoform ORT.  COT costs will be announced soon.  If  you register for a COT class, you will be purchasing a COT package at check-in that includes your brushless race motor and LIPO race battery.  Price will be under 100 for sure so hang in there on the final, and more rules for the class (and touring road body spec).  Tires for touring oval are being discussed, so right now no official rule on tires.  And pro modified oval rules are yet to be determined.  We are trying to have these rules in place very soon!  If you register for these classes now and don't like the final ruling we will work on switching to another class if you want.  And finally the Thunder 600 is next and we should have the rules on paper by next week.  We are looking at a Sportsman race and Invitational 600 on Saturday night.  The Invitational is one car per car company (as of now) with one driver registered in oval and one driver registered in road for the team.  Right now we have teams from Darkside, KSG, Hyperdrive, CRC, CEFX, and Silva locked in (with team names and drivers).  Please contact us if interested in the Sportsman race, as we already have a few teams lined up and excited.

11.18.08   FREE PROTOFORM BODY / JACO BLUES / OVAL MASTERS LIVE / MORE COT INFO
-  We are happy to announce that Protoform has become the class sponsor of the all new 'World GT' class at the Snowbirds, and they are celebrating this by giving away one of their brand new 'Sophia' bodies to each entrant in the class!  Awesome!  You will be able to see and meet Dale Epp (the creator of Protoform bodies) at the 'birds this year, as he will be here for all the race action.  Thanks Protoform!

-  The handout spec tire for the Touring rubber classes will be Jaco Blues.  We want to thank Jack and everyone at Jaco for their continued support of the Snowbirds, and we are excited to be racing their rubber tires once again (they were the spec tire last year also).   Prices will be announced soon and they will be very affordable, you can count on that.  Entry fees do not include tires, they must be purchased at the event. 

-  For you 'Oval Heads' out there and race fans in general, this weekend coming up is the annual Oval Masters in Greeneville, Tennessee.  Several top teams and top racers will be in attendance, and a great race weekend is planned for all involved.  Thunder Racing is proud to be helping out by providing a live webcam and audio, with race results and more.  Check out the Oval Masters page.  www.rcthunder.net/ovalmasters

-  There has been a lot of talk (and e-mail questions) about the new Trinity COT class for the Snowbirds.  Here is a flyer showing a little more about this new concept class available from Trinity.  Watch for prices soon on the COT costs during the 'birds (under 100 for motor and battery combined).  And you get to keep them after the event (we had questions about this).  Just sign up normal for these classes next week and pay for the 'COT Power Package' at check-in during the race.  The COT is a class for oval and road, where you have to race the motor and battery you get at the 'birds.  The Oval is 10th pan and will be racing Truck bodies.  The road is sedans and will be racing Touring bodies.  More info on bodies soon!

-  Next week the entry page will go live and you will be able to start registering for this year's event.  The classes were posted last week and the poll page we created has been fun to watch.  Right now for road it appears that we have a tie in popularity between 17.5 Touring Rubber and 17.5 12th GTP, with each getting 17 percent of the racer vote.  In oval, 21.5 is in the lead with 22 percent picking that one.  So come back next Tuesday at 5pm to register and make sure to take advantage of our new lower race fees for 2009.  Entries also will be in the January Issue of Xtreme RC Cars, which will be hitting the streets soon!

11.11.08   CLASSES ANNOUNCED / LOWER ENTRY PRICES / COT INFO / SUPER BOWL BASH
-  The wait is over and the 2009 class lineup is posted.  As talked about in last week's blog, we definitely have something for everyone!  The Snowbirds is not a regional race, it is an International event, and attracts all types of racers from many different levels of R/C.  The magic of the 'birds has always been having a mix of everything, and this year's 'birds promises to be the most exciting ever, with some awesome new classes in both road and oval.  We can't wait!  Spectators are going to be greeted with unbelievable action, you can count on that!  Vote in the racer poll what you plan on racing.  Gentlemen (and ladies) start your engines!   (and yes I will say it for you now - "holy cow that is a lot of classes!" - LOL) 

-  A huge thanks goes out to all of the 2009 Snowbird sponsors.  Because of them, we are able to lower your entry fees for 2009!  That's right!!!  Now additional entries are only $60, with your initial entry staying the same as in 2008!  We do get emails about membership fees so it is important to note we have no additional fees, helping to save you even more.  And don't forget we fought hard with the hotel to keep hotel rates the same as in 2008 (with multiple night discounts once again).  All this hopefully will help get you to the 'birds for 2009 and help make the event affordable and reasonable during these tough economic times.  Over 30+ sponsors are coming back and we have several new ones being a part this year, helping secure the Snowbirds as a race you can not miss!  Racers from all over the world and every top team will be here in just 70+ days!

-  We recently had a poll on our home page asking if racers would like a totally controlled class at the Snowbirds with a handout motor/battery and a control body/tire.  The response was an overwhelming yes (with 70%+).  We are excited to announce that Trinity has been working on this format to give big races and local tracks an option and it will be showcased for the first time at this year's Snowbirds, both in road and in oval.  Introducing the new Nationwide 'COT' classes.  COT stands for 'Cost Oriented Technology'.  The 'COT Power Package' will include a spec 13.5/21.5 brushless motor and a 3200 Lipo battery.  Total price for the package at the 'birds will be incredible (under 100 and announced soon)!  The motor is their all new handout spec 13.5/21.5 featuring three fixed timing adjustments and a special marked rotor shaft for easy teching.  The battery is a high quality IP hard-cased 3200 mah with deans plug.  There will be more detailed rules as we get closer, but look for a 'spec' body in both road and oval (meaning one style only permitted).  Team Trinity, along with Jim Dieter (the creator of these new motors), will be in attendance to help with any questions and teching of these classes, to keep things fair and fun!  Racetracks that are interested in this type of class for their weekly racing or big event, stop by and see Ernie and Jim at the 'birds, and make sure to get in on the new 'COT' class from Trinity for 2009 and beyond.
  'THUNDER TRUCK COT':  10th pan cars, truck body (type TBA) w/ spoiler rule, open tire, must run handout 21.5 motor and Lipo, purchased at race.
  'THUNDER ROAD COT':  Sedans, touring body (type TBA), must run spec rubber tire and handout 13.5 motor and Lipo, purchased at race.

-  Last year many racers stayed over at the 'Hot Rod Hotel' Sunday night and had their own Super Bowl party down at the Radisson's bar and grill.  The hotel is excited to have you back and is providing everyone at the Snowbird's a special this year and throwing a 'Superbowl Bash' with food, fun, and discounts!  So after all the racing is over, win or lose, you can chill out one last night at the hotel and only have a short stumble back to your room, as the weekend's racing comes to a close.

11.04.08   RACE THE 'BIRDS ON VIRTUAL RC / ENTRY NEWS / ENTRY DISCOUNTS / THUNDER 600
-  We are proud to announce that Virtual RC has teamed up with the Snowbirds and will be including the indoor carpet action from the Radisson as an addition to their new Virtual RC Pro edition, due out in 2009!  You will now be able to race carpet on-road and oval on-line with competitors from around the world, and feel like you are in Orlando at the Snowbird's all year long!  New to Virtual RC will be a whole new genre of racing:  carpet oval!  Fast, close, door-to-door action doesn't get more exciting, and carpet oval is hot and full of adrenaline, just like Nascar.  We are also excited to let you know you will be able to try Virtual RC at this year's Snowbirds to see how exhilarating racing RC on-line can be.  Don't wait a whole year, race the Snowbirds anytime you want, on Virtual RC!  See more about the game and how you can be involved here.  Racing RC on-line with your actual RC radio - how cool is that?!

-  The classes for the 2009 Snowbird Nationals should be posted any day!!!  "Finally" many are thinking I bet LOL!  Our entry form is being mailed off to Xtreme RC Cars this week and we are trying to finalize some last minute decisions.  This has been a tough year deciding the class lineup, with so many places racing different equipment, so many new classes, and the mix of Lipo and Sub-C still evident.  Please see the 'Live Mike video' as Mike talks some more about this (and some other race stuff).  There will definitely be something for everyone, so no excuse not to be a part of the Snowbirds this upcoming year! 

-  We understand the economy is shaky.  We are going to do what we can this year to help get you racing and offer discounts this year for the Snowbirds.  Look for some great incentives if racing three or more classes, and if racing both road and oval (the 'ironman' discount).  We are working on keeping your 1st entry close, if not the same, as in 2008.  This will be announced soon!  We have had many e-mails asking about entry prices so we wanted to pass this information out early so you don't have to worry.  And yes you will be able to register on-line and with PayPal for 2009.  A big accomplishment we were happy to achieve was keeping hotel rates the same as 2008, and having the hotel offer good discounts once again.  And with FREE internet, and other perks, staying at the Radisson is a great deal for Orlando, Florida this time of year!

-  The THUNDER 600 Invitational is shaping up for Saturday night after the bump-n-run's!  Already four car companies are in:  Darkside, Silva, KSG, and CRC.  Drivers and team names will be announced as we get closer.  The first team to lock in drivers is Team Silva with oval driver Monti Panzica and road racer Eli Ezrow!  We are working on a Sportsman 600 before the Invitational.  If interested please e-mail me.  Can't wait to see what is come up with for cars and strategies.  Basic rules will be minimum pit stops and a tire change in each 300 lap segment - a break between segments to catch cars up that might be 10+ laps down - stuff to get the crowd involved (vote if road racers go first or last) - announcers in the pits getting interviews of the crew - spotters - and more!  We are bringing the party inside this year trackside!  And all of this fun and action will be live on-line!

10.28.08   FASTLAPS RETURN / SCHEDULE OFFICIAL & RESORTS / US19 & WORLD GT / THUNDER 600
-  One of the most popular additions to 2008's race was the FastLaps machine from John at FastCats.  Well we have fantastic news to report!  This will be returning for 2009, and John, Pam, and JB are returning to the 'birds and John will be helping us out again providing the ultimate practice machine we have ever seen!  Thanks guys!  You get a printout barcode for your radio, and after you run you scan it and then use the touch screen monitor to access your personal lap times, and get a printout!  Please check out FastCats' website and make sure to plan on attending their annual Canadian Challenge sponsored by SMC/JACO in 2009, and coming up soon is round #2 of the Northeast Grand Slam, Dec 12th-14th, at FastCats.

-  The schedule is now official.  We did a racer poll for a week and got over 125 unique votes.  The majority wanted to keep the schedule similar to 2008.  I do want to note we are paying for a 3rd party site for poll hosting, so each vote is controlled by IP and cookie tracking, to eliminate multiple voting.  We added a new poll this week about resorts.  Makes sure to vote on the schedule page if you want two or three resorts, as last year we did one after each round, so please vote what you think.

-  I have been getting a lot of emails about classes.  Hopefully we will have the final list posted soon (next week maybe).  It is almost complete.  One question we have been getting on the oval side is if we are going to have any brushed classes. To answer this question:  YES we are.  The 19T classes have been the backbone of our racing and we want to continue it at least one more year.  So this year look for a 4cell 19T Truck class with Ultrabirds.  The class is strong in some parts of the country, including Florida, so we hope it is a success.  We feel good offering racers a class they might feel comfortable with, and a good 'sportsman' style class to have fun and good competition in.  Look for a special early sign-up bonus in this class giving you a FREE Ultrabird motor with registration!  Another popular question we have been getting on the road side is about World GT's.  YES we are racing them this year!  More soon...

-  The response for the 'Thunder 600' has been tremendous, to the point we are looking to add a sportsman race, along with the invitational race, Saturday night!  There will be rules developed as we go along that is for sure.  But the main concept is two 300 lap segments with a break between, a minimum amount of stops, a tire change, 21.5 LIPO, banana jacks/deans plugs, standard design chassis (no special cutouts/spring loads), trucks or COT bodies (which will allow more bumpin' and bangin'), and one road racer and oval racer per team.  The invitational will consist of one car entry per car company, meaning we can have a 12 car race!  Anyone interested in being in the sportsman race, and car companies wanting to get in on the Invitational race, please email me.  This is going to be a blast and spectators are going to enjoy watching this action.  We are bringing the party trackside this year, and look for a killer time as we bring the road and oval crowds together for some serious fun racing R/C cars!  (all this is tentative until the final rules are set)

10.21.08   INTELLECT FUELS THE BIRDS / 2 NEW CLASSES / POSSIBLE SCHEDULE TWEAK / 1ST ENTRY
-  We are pleased to announce that Intellect has joined Trinity as top sponsors of the Snowbirds once again for 2009.  We can't thank them enough for their support of the 'birds.  Make sure to be here and get killer deals on their all new Intellect LIPO's at the Trinity booth.  Also check www.teamtrinity.com for great deals on Intellect Batteries.

-  We hinted around doing a flip-flop for 2009's event, however we are not doing it this year.  Here is the scoop why.  Many racers and teams have already anticipated a similar schedule and have made their travel arrangements based on past several years.  We know some want a flip, and some do not.  Sponsors have returned without questions on schedule changes, so we feel it is in the overall best interest of the race to keep it the same.  And to be honest it has worked.  However, there is a TWEAK we have been thinking about.  The positive to this tweak is it would allow at least one night for the oval racers and road racers to be off early during qualifying.  And it will allow one day to sleep in for both oval and road during qualifying.  The only negative we can see is there will be one long day for road and one long day for oval during the event.  Please see the normal schedule and proposed schedule and vote what you think.  The vote is not definitive, and we will have official schedule out next week.

-  We wanted to let everyone know about two new classes for this year's event!  Two great promoters have been anxiously working with us to add their racing divisions to the 'birds and we are thrilled to have them included in the 2009 race!  R/C racing is all about fun and good competition, and we want to do whatever we can to offer this.  For 2009, we will be introducing to the race lineup the SK Cars for oval racing and the USVTA for road racing.  Please read more from Ken Kerttula and Doug Carter on our new classes page.  Check out Mike's 69 Mustang here.  Hot rod's at the hot rod hotel - what an awesome match!

-  Last week we received an on-line entry.  It was totally filled out, and correct.  There was even money sent to paypal.  Sounds normal right?  Well we don't even have the entry form out yet.  Seems this racer was cruising around some old Snowbird pages and ran across the 2008 entry page and registered.  That is awesome.  So Jason Willener of Denver, Colorado, you are our 1st unofficial official entry into the 2009 Snowbirds LOL.  BTW he is running touring car foam.  TOO COOL.  Actual entry form should be out next month. 

10.14.08   20+ SPONSORS COMMIT / NEW XTREME AD / SATURDAY BUMP N' RUN / THUNDER 600
-  Already 20+ race sponsors have pledged support and are coming to be part of the Snowbirds.  This is overwhelming and exciting, as it supports the fact that the 2009 Snowbirds will be another large event with top racers and teams from around the world!

-  Make sure to check the next issue of Xtreme RC Cars as the Snowbirds will have a full page color ad that will surely get everyone excited to race, if they aren't already.  We should also have the entry form in the issue after this next one, so keep an eye out for that.  The race schedule is being worked on now and might be up next week for Tuesday's update.  Classes are also being worked on now.  There will be a good mix of 'stable' classes that everyone is familiar with and are racing now, and some fun 'expo' style classes for both road and oval.  Definitely something for everyone.  No matter if you race seriously, or just for fun, there will be a class for you!  No reason not to be a part of the 2009 Snowbirds! 

-  We have had a ton of questions asking about Saturday's schedule.  'YES' Bump N' Runs are returning!  B-Mains will race on Saturday with the winners advancing into the A-mains on Sunday.  And something all new for 2009 will be the inaugural 'THUNDER 600' Saturday night.  More details to come, but Saturday at the 'birds is going to ROCK and the 600 will climax the day with the top road and top oval drivers racing together with pit stops and more!  FUN FUN FUN!  Check out the 'Thunder 600' Promo Video here.  (watch the full Thunderdrome video here)

10.07.08   NEW SITE LAUNCHED THIS WEEK / 'TEAM TRINITY' TITLES THE SNOWBIRDS
-  Hello racers!  The tradition continues and a new Snowbird race site is launched for 2009.  A huge thanks goes out to Ernie and Team Trinity once again for their continued support of title sponsorship.  I am also excited to announce that most all our co-sponsors have responded 'YES' about their continued support and and 2009 race sponsors will be listed soon.  Several new companies are lined up to be involved this year.  This helps solidify  the 2009 race is going to be jammed packed once again and receive the support of all the top racers and teams from around the World.  Plan your race weekend now.  The dates have been set and the hotel information with our 'great race rate' has been live since May.  A meeting with the hotel last week showed the number of reservations is way ahead of last year for this time of year, also supporting the outlook of a big turnout.  We know some are anxiously waiting the schedule and class information (and thought they would be live today)... so we ask to please hang in there!  This information should be posted soon in the next couple weeks.  Stay tuned for our news updates and website updates and see ya on Tuesday's right here at snowbirdnationals.com!  Does the early bird get the worm?  We had a special e-mail sign-up located right here for the 1st 24 hours we went live with the new site.  Over 100 e-mails were submitted.  Awesome!  Look for something special coming for these early 'birds.