The Team Shoestring Page
Our Founder
Welcome to the historic Team Shoestring R/C Model Car Racing web page!
“Yesterday’s Technology…Today!”
10th-Scale Open Wheel and Production Stock Car Radio-Controlled Racing Vehicles
Just click on a fascinating subject below to explore the awe and mystery that surrounds the fabulous Team Shoestring! (Titles will become active links as additional content is added, which will take some time.
Who is Team Shoestring?
Explore the Legend without being encumbered by a single fact.
The Team Shoestring Photo Archives
Encounter the glory. And bring your Dramamine.
The Team Shoestring Updates! Hear an audio history of the fabulous Team Shoestring!
Make your friends think you’re absolutely nuts. And they’ll be right.
Special Coverage: Team Shoestring Does Europe!
Suddenly, European resentment of Americans makes a lot of sense.
Witness the pinnacle of 10th-Scale Stock Car Oval Racing: STORM!
And meet as motley a bunch of ne’er-do-wells, cheats, and scoundrels as you ever dared.
Our fabulous Dodge Pace Truck for the STORM 2002 Race Series!
Discover the pace vehicle that answered STORM’s quest to be different!
Now you can own the same equipment and accessories our Team uses!
See if you can break and throw away this useless crap faster than they do!
Real Racers. Ahhhh, west and wewaxation aaat wast!
Read this article about how the Big Boys of NASCAR view R/C racing, from USA Today.
[Please Note: With the exception of Hostess Suzy-Q’s, this Website was conceived and created in an atmosphere free of harmful chemicals.]
What’s the real story on Team Shoestring?
Team Shoestring is the demented fabrication of one R/C racer who once had too much free time…me. But it isn’t totally my fault, you see. I’ve raced 10th-scale off-road cars since 1987 on dirt, pavement, and paved oval. In 1991, I saw a STORM 10th-scale pan car short-oval event held in a parking lot. It was run using laps instead of timed runs, used the race leader as a pace car during bad crashes, had yellow cautions, and an announcer on a small PA describing what was happening.
When I phoned the “STORMline” to see what the story was, I was amazed to hear a long answering machine announcement that sounded for all the world like I had just called the NASCAR hotline. All the racers were announced as “Teams” of one name or another, and between the music and sound effects backgrounds, the interviews, points reviews, and the voiceover promos, I decided that this bunch was just crazy enough to suit my taste. Besides, instead of the usual group of “serious” (complaining and secretive) racers locked away in a dank, dark racing building, these guys seemed to be having some serious fun and were eager to help new competitors get dialed in and comfortable. A few even had a parts sponsor!
I decided to save my pennies, get a pan car, and throw my hat in the ring. But such a grand presentation of R/C racing deserved better than a phone message saying, “I’m in for next season.” I had a penchant for what sound could do, and decided that my “Team” would need to descend from the ancient, noblest traditions of Stock Car Racing. It needed to sound like a real team and have a hallowed (if somewhat bizarre) history. Thus, “Team Shoestring” was born. I had a pile of old garage sale LP’s with bad music just sitting around, and others with sound effects, so… I crafted a series of “Team Shoestring Updates” in my unfinished basement, mainly for my own amusement. A couple of the shorter ones were actually used on the STORMline. The utter confusion between R/C and full-scale racing in the audio updates and in these Web pages is fully intentional.*
Since then, STORM went to 18th-scale to hold down costs to the racers before suspending operations when the race director moved out of state. But the fool got the itch again in late 2001, as did the racers. Idiots. Then STORM came back with a vengeance in 2002, more popular than it ever was, still racing at public events like car shows. And it was still fun.
Enjoy the website!
Doug
Team Shoestring R/C Racing
*I should point out to those few stock car racing fans who are either overly-sensitive or mindlessly fanatical, that we have suffered a long string of hard losses in full-scale (real) racing since the Team Shoestring saga was created. The entire Team Shoestring story line with all its characters, glory, and grandeur were completed in 1991-92. No similarity to persons living or deceased is implied or intended. I’m not altering my story for you.
Strolling Amok 