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27-575: It hosts local sporting events and concerts. It has been the home of the Winternats since 1990, one of the oldest major Radio Controlled Car racing events in the world. On November 15, 2008, WWE Raw superstar John Cena made a rare appearance/autograph signing and he scouted Florida Championship Wrestling talent. This article about a sports venue in Florida is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Winternats The Winternats

54-507: A "BIG" race. From that idea of a "BIG" race the club started a monthly newsletter that was mailed out nationally. The ‘local’ club became known on a National level. Not knowing when to have this "BIG" race or what to call it, somewhere the idea came up to have a Winternationals. The club decided to capitalize on the great weather and the Annual King Orange Jamboree, a long-standing Miami tradition at that time. The club checked with

81-641: A belt driven car that he manufactured, called the Thorpe Car. Other attendees were Art Carbonell and the Campbells of Delta and Dick Dobson of Marker. The trophies were silver bowls filled with oranges. The South Florida R/C Car Club in Miami held the first races from 1972 to 1975. At that time there were no nitro sedans, impacts, or 4WD pivot ball cars. It was all 2WD 1/8 scale pan cars (made by Delta, Associated, Marker Machine) powered by K&B or OPS .21 engines. In 1976,

108-455: A great learning experience for racers. Chicane A chicane ( / ʃ ɪ ˈ k eɪ n / ) is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is a short, shallow S-shaped turn that requires the driver to turn slightly left and then slightly right to continue on

135-568: A prime location for overtaking. They can be placed tactically by circuit designers to prevent vehicles from reaching speeds deemed to be unsafe. A prime example of this is the three chicanes at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza , introduced in the early 1970s; the Chase at Mount Panorama , added in 1987; and the Tamburello chicane at Imola , which was placed in 1995 after Ayrton Senna's death at

162-409: A two-day period. Practice is allowed in the mornings from 8:00 AM till 9:00 AM and in the evenings from the end of qualifying till 5:00 PM. Drivers are required to turn marshal after their qualifier or they will be docked one lap from their best qualifier. The mains are run over a two-day period. The lower mains are run on Friday. The upper mains are run on Saturday. Mains are run from the lowest to

189-715: Is a competitive on-road gas powered radio controlled car race attended by racers from around the world. It is held annually in Fort Myers, Florida at the Lee County Civic Center , usually in the month of February. The Winternats is one of the oldest major R/C car racing events. This event is sanctioned by the Radio Operated Auto Racing , or ROAR of North America and Canada. ROAR rules are followed. On-road gas (nitro) powered classes are 1/8 scale open, 1/8 scale masters and 1/10 scale sedan. The first Winternats

216-451: Is allowed inside the fenced-in track area to allow all drivers the chance to get practice. Severe penalties from the officials for breaking this rule include reprimands, loss of fuel bottle or being sent home. Takes place from Thursday through Friday. Qualifiers are four minutes long using the IFMAR start with up to ten drivers racing on their own clock. A maximum of five qualifiers are run over

243-530: Is used in other types of racing, such as bobsleigh , to indicate a similar shift in the course or track. A slower driver or vehicle that delays competitors is sometimes disparaged as a mobile chicane or moving chicane . In some cases they may not move out of the way quickly enough to allow competitors in higher positions (having completed more laps) past, despite repeated showings of blue flags . This can cost competitors valuable time and championship points. This same term, applied to traffic calming, can refer to

270-504: The King Orange Committee, they had no problems with the club using their name and the "BIG" race was on. January, 1972 the first Annual King Orange Winternationals was to be held in sunny South Florida! The club put this in their Newsletter with the entry applications, and entries poured in from all over the country. This was the "first" R/C Winternationals in the country. The first winner was John Thorpe of Pomona California, driving

297-604: The President of the Fort Myers R/C Car Club, to take over running the race and the race was moved to Fort Myers. In 1988 and 1989 the event took place at a semi-permanent location at the Edison Mall in downtown Ft. Myers. Since 1990 the race has been held at the Lee County Civic Center . The warm Florida weather during the middle of the winter helped to increase the popularity, since most nitro R/C racers couldn't race during

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324-451: The carousel were recently tamed in 2005, when they were covered by a plastic loop. The start–finish lap timing loop is located just before the pits, requiring drivers to make almost a whole lap before starting their qualifying run. This makes the 5-minute qualifiers a battle between power and fuel mileage. Some drivers will make a pit stop during qualifying. Before the 2005 event new asphalt was laid, due to damage by Hurricane Charley , and for

351-412: The chicane, but slower cars (such as amateur club racers) may avoid the chicane because they are not capable of reaching equally high speeds on the straights. Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has one at Europcar, which became the source of controversy when it was instituted for MotoGP after a fatal crash. Chicanes can make slipstreaming less potent and break up pelotons during motor races. The term

378-698: The event was moved to the parking lot of a Howard Johnson's in Orlando , Florida. This coincided with the starting of the Florida On-Road Gas State Series. In the early 80s, the race took place at the first permanent track in Florida, located at the Orlando airport. Kim Davis was the race director. The race really started to become well known around the world when top European drivers and IFMAR representatives began to attend. Bob Rule of Bolink asked Jim Rice,

405-406: The first time Mike Swauger and Michael Salven were able to complete 26 laps during qualifying. In 2008, live scoring over the internet was added, to allow people from around the world to view the races in real time. In 2009, live video coverage and audio of the race announcers was added to the site without a fee. Thanks to good weather and lots of traction compound testing during the summer, DJ Apolaro

432-495: The fixings, is a unique feature only provided at this event. A raffle including car kits, engines, radios, tires, tools, etc., donated by the race sponsors, contributes to the appeal of this race. Silver bullets and the Red Cup racing team can trace its origins to the long days and nights of a Winternats week. In recent years, this race has been held in mid-February. The attendance of pro drivers, manufacturers and race teams make this race

459-471: The highest (A-main). The winner and runner-up of all mains below the A-main, are allowed the option to bump-up to the next main. Trophies are awarded to all A-main participants and the top three places in all mains. Bump-up drivers give up their trophy for the chance to race in the next main. A free barbecue prepared by Jim on Friday night after the lower mains, consisting of smoked pork and chicken as well as all

486-405: The most destructive corners in an effort to tame the track. If a car is on line through the large sweeper onto the straight your car will disappear briefly because of the concrete curbs that create the island. The chicane in front of the driver stand, 'aka Dead Mans Curve', is one of the toughest spots on the track as drivers try to negotiate this tight area without lifting. The dots (plow disks) on

513-599: The original corner. At Le Mans in 1990, two chicanes were placed on the 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) Mulsanne Straight where Group C prototypes had previously achieved speeds of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) in order to conform to new international regulations limiting the maximum length of a straight on a motor racing circuit to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Some tracks, such as the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi , feature optional chicanes. Faster cars will take

540-425: The passage of tractor-trailers , which often get stuck further up the road. A pedestrian chicane is a kind of permanent fence used at a railway crossing to slow pedestrians down and to force them to observe both directions before crossing the railway tracks . While passing the chicane, one has to turn to the left and to the right, increasing the probability of seeing an approaching train. A similar arrangement

567-519: The race in 1988 due to a disagreement over the naming of the race. Private insurance for the race was purchased by the Fort Myers R/C Car Club (FMRC) and a new name, the ‘Southern Gas Championship Race’ was used. Next year (1989) ROAR and FMRC came to an agreement on naming the race the ‘Winternats’. ROAR was again the insurer and sanctioning body. The race was promoted under both the Winternats and Southern Gas Championship Race names. Finally, in recent years

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594-418: The race is known simply as the Winternats. This track is considered to be one of the most unforgiving R/C tracks in the world with a very fast and narrow driving line. The track's nickname, 'The Fort', has been earned over many years of battle with drivers. The 30-year-old galvanized steel 'boards' make a loud bang exaggerating every hit, but yielding little. In the late 90s, plastic guards were added to many of

621-499: The road, requiring the driver to reduce speed. The word chicane is derived from the French verb chicaner , which means "to create difficulties" or "to dispute pointlessly", "quibble", which is also the root of the English noun chicanery . The Spanish verb chicanear also means "to use trickery". On modern racing circuits, chicanes are usually located after long straights, making them

648-755: The usage of portable devices to create a chicane configuration. Chicanes are a type of "horizontal deflection" used in traffic calming schemes to reduce the speed of traffic. Drivers are expected to reduce speed to negotiate the lateral displacement in the vehicle path. There are several variations of traffic-calming chicanes, but they generally fall into one of two broad categories: Limited crash data for chicane schemes indicate changes in injury crashes (range from −54% to +32%) and crash severity. Chicanes can also be used to prevent access to certain vehicles. The Vermont Agency of Transportation has considered adding chicanes to Route 108 in Stowe and Cambridge to prevent

675-553: The winter months. With drivers from around the world attending and manufacturers competing with their latest innovations, the race used the slogan 'Test Track to the World'. The race was first called the ‘King Orange Winternationals’. In a few years, the race was promoted as the ‘Winter Nationals’. In the 1980s, the race was briefly known as ‘The Miller’ because of a sponsorship from the Miller Brewing Company . ROAR did not sanction

702-452: Was able to set the first 24 lap qualifier in a sedan and Mike Swauger turned the first 27 lap qualifier with a 1/8 scale car. Paolo Morganti would set a new track record for the sedan at 24 laps in 5:11.71 and Mike Swauger 27 laps in 5:10.97 with a 1/8 scale car. Practice days are on Monday through Wednesday from 8:00 AM till 5:00 PM. In the middle of the day, practice sessions are sorted into 1/8 and sedan classes. No fuel bottles or refueling

729-532: Was held in Miami , Florida in 1972. It was organized and put on by the South Florida R/C Car Club. The club had a temporary track that was striped and sealed on the side of a Levitz Furniture store parking lot. Two of the local hobby shops supported the club. Crown Hobbies paid for the site insurance and Orange Blossom Hobbies furnished the trophies. A few of the members came up with the idea of putting on

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