May 28, 2026 | Jim Kostinden East Coast Outlaws 2025-2026 Race Season Wrap Up Report Introduction With another successful race season behind us, I’ve written up a season ending report, looking at attendance and podium finishes. As you know, throughout the year I have kept track of race statistics, so this report will take a deeper dive into these statistics. In addition, I have added a “Checkered Flag” section to the end of the report where I will summarize the data and make some comments about the past season. Finally, now that I have data for the last three seasons, I will do a comparison across the seasons to identify any trends. While this report will not go into the details of each race (you can find this information in the individual race reports on our website’s race report page), I think you will find these statistics interesting. The report is divided into three sections: 1) Attendance, 2) Race Results, and 3) Checkered Flag or Summary section. Attendance The 2025-2026 season consisted of 10 race events. Of the 10 races run this season, races were divided evenly between member’s homes and Lenjet with five (5) races held at each of these venues. This year we picked up a couple of new venues. On the Member’s side, Jim K. hosted one of the races in January at his Balancing Rock Raceway Park (BRRP). The second new venue was an extension of the Lenjet Raceway, simply known as the Annex. Located across town, about 5 minutes away, from Lenjet Raceway, the Annex houses four (4) HO tracks and one (1) 1/32 track. A big thank you to Peter Lentros for having the vision and resources to set up the Annex as a viable race venue. The ECO race attendance continues to remain healthy when compared to most other slot car clubs, however we will look at some of the trends occurring with attendance during the past three seasons. We’ll begin by taking a look at the attendance data for the 2025-2026 season. For the 2025-2026 season, ECO had 30 different racers attend the races throughout the season, with an average race attendance of 15 racers per event. Following are some charts to help you visualize the 2025-2026 season attendance data. Attendance by Race Average race attendance was 15 racers. The bar graph below shows the number of racers at each race, represented by the numbers at the top of the bars. Attendance by Venue: Member’s Homes versus LenJet As previously mentioned, 5 races were held at members’ homes, and 5 races were held at Lenjet/Annex. Average race attendance at members’ homes was 14. Average race attendance at LenJet was 16. The following bar graph shows the attendance for each race (the number at the top of the bar) and the location of the race: Member’s home race locations represented by blue bars and LenJet/Annex races represented by the orange bars. Attendance per Individual Racer With 30 different racers showing up throughout the season, we had 3 “iron man” award racers who attended every race (10 races). Congratulations to Chief, Jimmy C., and Jim K., for your perfect attendance! Other honorable mentions to racers that made 9 races go out to Brian W., Flash, and Matt G.! Also, looking at the data, we seem to have a solid core group of 17 racers who showed up to at least half the races (5 or more races). Looking at individual racers, we seemed to have lost, attendance wise, two (2) long time members: Donnie H. and Steve N. However, we picked up several new racers: John E., Phil P. and Tom M. Attendance Trends Over Past 3 Seasons Now that I have 3 seasons worth of attendance data, I thought it would be interesting to review this data to see if there are any trends taking place with racer attendance. The race seasons that will be compared are the 2023-2024 season, 2024-2025 season, and the 2025-2026 season. Let’s begin with attendance. The chart below shows the Total Average Attendance per Race Event in the first set of columns. Each season is represented by a specific-colored column as defined at the bottom of the chart. You can see that the attendance has remained at 15 racers per attendance over the past couple of seasons. This is a significant drop from the 2023-2024 season when we averaged 18 racers. IMHO, I am not too concerned about this drop at this time as the 2023-2024 season was the first full race season following COVID. I suspect the higher attendance during the 2023-2024 season was because people were getting out again after the long isolation period caused by COVID. None the less, this is an important metric to follow as it really provides a basis for the club’s “health”. Even with the attendance staying the same the past couple of years, the club is being proactive in trying to attract new members. A “Bring a Friend” event in early June 2026 should (re)introduce some new folks to HO slot car racing with the potential for these people becoming club members next season. Breaking down the attendance further by location, member’s homes and Lenjet/Annex venues, the average attendance at a member’s home increased by 1 this season compared to last season. Attendance at Lenjet/Annex was just the opposite with average attendance declining by 1 this season compared to last season. The last set of bars is a new metric I added this year, that looks at the event with the highest attendance. While the highest attendance event for the 2025-2026 season was less than previous seasons, we did have two (2) events tied with 19 racers in attendance. They were the Jan 2026 event at Lenjet and the May 2026 event at the Annex. Next, we’ll look at racer data over the past 3 seasons. I’ve broken this down into three (3) categories: Total number of racers, Number of core racers, and perfect attendance racers. You can see the breakdown of these categories in the chart below. The total number of racers is simply the total number of different racers who participated in any of the 10 race events of a season. These racers are not necessarily all dues paying members. The number of core racers are those racers who have raced in 5 or more race events during the season. Perfect attendance is self-explanatory. It is the number of racers who have attended all 10 events during the race season. Once again, as you can see in the chart below, the post-COVID 2023-2024 season leads the data in all 3 categories. This past season we had one more racer than the previous season. The number of core racers also increased by one (1) this season. I would like to note that the core number of racers for this season is actually 18. Peter Lentros attended 4 of the 5 Lenjet/Annex events and I consider Peter a core racer of the ECO. However, to eliminate any skewing of data, and to be consistent with previous seasons, the chart below only captures racers who attended 5 or more events. Race Results As most of you know, I created a spread sheet that kept track of all the race results for each individual racer. Within the spreadsheet you could sort through the data by racer, by overall standing, by each race class (i.e. Indy, E-Fray, etc.) standing. I posted this several times during the season on our Facebook page so that you had access to this and could look at your own results. In this section of the report, I will break down the race results, starting with podium finishes (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place) by racers, then look at the overall standings for racers, and then break this down further by race class. Podium Finishes With a total of 30 races during the season, this resulted in 90 podium finish opportunities for the racers. We had 13 different racers finish in at least one podium position this year. This is the same amount as last year, though a few of the names have changed. The following bar graph breaks down the podium finishes for the 13 racers for season. To clarify the bar graph, each racer may have up to 4 bars: gold bar represents 1st place finishes, red bar represents 2nd place finishes, green bar represents 3rd place finishes, and the blue bar represents the total number of podium finishes. The number at the top of the bars represents the number of podium place finishes for either that position or in the case of the blue bar, the total number of podium finishes overall. In some cases, a racer will have 2 or 3 bars. For example, Jimmy C has a red bar and a blue bar with the number 2 on top of each bar. This represents two 2nd place podium finishes (red bar), resulting in two podium finishes for the year (blue bar). A quick observation: The two top racers had six (6) less podium finishes between them than last year. This allowed more racers to get podium finishes. Last year we had five (5) racers with five (5) or more podium finishes. This year we had seven (7) racers with five or more podium finishes. Matt G. had a breakout season with his six (6) podium finishes. Congratulations Matt! We had three (3) new racers take at least one podium finish for the first time: Brian W. (3), Chief (2), and John Espo (1). Congratulations Brian, Chief, and John! All the past 4 observations point to the fact that the racing is getting better, and tighter. Hopefully, this trend continues into next season. Race Results Standings: Overall and By Race Class The race result standings are based on an average of the racers finish for each race (overall standing) or the average of finishes for a specific race class (by class). For example if a racer were to finish half the races (15) in 1st place and half the races (15) in 3rd place, then that racer’s overall average finish would be 2 (or 2nd place) across all 30 races. One of the advantages about breaking down the race statistics by class is that it can show a racer which classes they do well in and which classes they need to improve in. Race Results Standings – Overall These standings show the overall average race finish position for each racer. For this race result overall standings I had to filter out those races who attended less than 4 races so as not to skew the results when compared to previous years. For those racers that attended less than 4 races, you can go to the ECO Facebook page and download the last copy of the race results spreadsheet to see where you would have finished in the standings. It was a battle for overall best racer between Dave L. and Flash. While not quite as close as last year’s finish where Dave L. took the best overall by 0.02 points over Flash, this year Dave had a little more margin in his finish over Flash. Talking about close battles, Greg W. and Paul R. tied for fourth overall. Greg and Paul had a similar battle last year for 3rd place, but this year Jim K. snuck into third overall. There were also season long battles for a large group of racers who finished in the 7’s and 8’s. One observation I would like to make is that the averages, in general, decreased this year ( a good thing), showing the overall improvement in the competition. Last year the highest average was 14.82. This year that average dropped to 14.00. Congratulations to Dave for his top overall ranking and congratulations to the rest of the drivers for the exciting and competitive races. Race Results Standings – Hobby Stock For the race results by classes, I did include everyone, even if this was the driver’s only race they attended all year. We raced the Hobby Stock class 3 times this season. Last year it was Dave “Skinny Tires” L. who took the overall in this class with 3 first place finishes and a perfect 1.0 average. This year is was “Skinny Tires” Flash turn to take the overall with his two first place finishes in this class (Flash missed the 3rd race). Dave and Paul also only attended two races with Dave taking two second place finishes and Paul taking a first and third place finish to tie them for 2nd overall in this class. JoeRinn had a stong finish in 4th overall. Matt G. and Jim K. tied for 5th. Greg W. appeared in only one race with a 6th place finish in that race. Chief had a competitive car and drove it well for his 8th overall finish in this class. Nice job Chief! This was also a good class for Pete H. who had a quick car resulting in a strong finish. Congratulations Pete! Race Results Standings – Indy/Jalopy This year I decided to combine the Indy and Jalopy race statistics into one group known as the Indy/Jalopy class. I did this to align with the other classes we race, Magnatraction and TFX, where the chassis remains the same and only the body changes from race to race, as these two classes are tracked in a similar fashion. We raced the Indy/Jalopy class 4 times this season. We held 3 races with the Indy body, with one of those races requiring a roadster (front engine) style body for an oval track race. The remaining race we ran a Jalopy body. This class had the highest number of racers participation, with 26 racers. While you can see the results below, I did want to congratulate Peter L. for his strong finish in this class where he used his knowledge and skills of the Shamrock Glen track to take a 5th place finish in the Jalopy race. Congrats Peter! Race Results Standings – Grand National We raced the Grand National class 4 times this season. Flash beat out Dave L for best average finish. Paul R had a strong 3rd place finish overall. Brian W. had a good finish in this class. There was a good season long battle between Jimmy C., Terry, and Matt G. Race Results Standings – TFX This was the first year for the TFX class. Running box stock TFX chassis and only swapping the body for Trans Am sedan (2 races) or Muscle car (1 race). This class produced some of the closest racing (more about this later). Dave L. just beat out Brian W. for top position in this class. Brian had a great series of races in this class and came so close to finishing 1st. Jim K. was hot on the heels of Brian to take 3rd overall. I think this class was a success, though some of the guys that finished lower in the standings may not think so. One of the main goals for introducing this class was to “level the field” by limiting the chassis to box stock configuration. I’ll go into more detail about this in the Checkered Flag section of the report. Race Results Standings – E-Fray We raced the E-Fray class 4 times this season. Dave L took 1st place in 3 races for his 1.0 average (Dave missed one of the races). Flash finished 2nd. Paul R and Jim K battled it out for third with Paul coming out ahead of Jim K. JoeRinn had a strong finish in this class. Several racers in the 5’s created some good competition. Race Results Standings – SS We raced the SS class 4 times this season. Dave L. was able to take the top position by finishing first in the 2 SS races he attended. Greg B. attended one race and finished 2nd in his only SS race to take second overall. Flash and Paul battled it out for third with Flash coming out just ahead of Paul. Five racers in the 6’s created some very competitive racing. Race Results Standings – Coupes We raced the Coupes class 3 times this season. A strong showing for this class with 25 different racers. Dave had a clean sweep in this class, winning all 3 races. Congratulations Dave! Flash had 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishes to take 2nd overall. Congrats Flash! Peter had a 4th place finish in his one Coupes race finishing strong in this class with 3rd overall. Nice job Peter! Jim K. and Greg tied for 4th overall. Lots of close racing with numerous racers in the 9’s, 10’s. 11’s and 14’s. Race Results Standings – MagnaTraction We raced the MagnaTraction class 4 times this season. Dave had two 1st place finishes and a 2nd to take the overall top spot in this class. This was a strong class for Jimmy C who had two 2nd and two 4th place finishes to take second overall. Jim K took 3rd overall. Flash and Terry tied for 4th overall with Brian not far behind in 6th overall. Jimmy Mac had a strong presence in this class finishing 7th overall. I have to mention that Paul R, aka “Mr. MT”, had a tough MT race series having to pull out of 2 races due to mechanical issues with his cars, races in which he was very competitive until he had to withdraw. The other 2 races he ran in he took 2nd and 3rd. Just some tough luck this year. Race Results Standings – IROC We only had one IROC race this season at Terry’s in March at the Ralph Spoilsport Raceway. Terry prepared a beautiful set of Jalopy bodies based on the ECO Indy/Jalopy class, but Terry added a little spice by installing stronger magnets. These cars were raced on the oval track configuration of the Ralph Spoilsport Raceway. Because IROC races “level out the playing field”, i.e. everyone has to drive the same set of cars, these types of races bring out good driving skills and familiarity with the track as key fundamentals to do well in these races. Though racing on an oval minimizes the familiarity with the track advantage. With that said, the overall results are the same as the one IROC race. Racing was close with 16 laps separating the entire field of 15 racers. For more information on the race, please see the March race report on the ECO website. Checkered Flag Let’s begin with the Best Appearing. Terry dominated the Best Appearing award last season taking five (5) Best Appearing awards. Could Terry repeat this year? Spoiler alert, he did but not in such a dominant fashion as the previous season. Through the first 5 races, there were 5 different Best Appearing award winners, and none of them had the name Terry. Then the battle began. Races 6th through 9th saw Jim K. and Terry split the Best Appearing awards between them at two (2) each. It would come down to the final race of the season to see if a tie breaker for Best Appearing would happen. It did. Terry took the Best Appearing award in the final race of the season to finish with three (3) Best Appearing awards and become a back-to-back overall winner of this award. Congratulations Terry! With this being the first season of the new TFX racing class, I thought it would be interesting to see how the class faired and if it met expectations. As a proponent of the TFX class over the past several years, I stated that the class is a great entry level class providing a low cost of entry at about $50 per car and would help to balance out the competition in the class since we would run them box stock. My hope would be that this class would be similar to an IROC race, where all of the cars perform about the same and that racing would rely on driving skills and thus create some close, competitive racing. To help validate these expectations, I used a new data metric I will call “Lap Delta”. Lap Delta is the number of laps separating the racing field at the end of a race, or the lap difference between the 1st place racer and the last place racer. I looked at this data across all the classes, across all of the races, and took the average of the races for each class by totaling the lap delta of each race in the class and dividing this by the number of races in the class. Please note, in some of the races I would not include the last place finisher laps if they did not finish a race due to mechanical issues. I felt this data would skew the results and not provide a realistic picture of the race results. As an example, we had three (3) TFX races this year with the following lap deltas: 12/2025 19 laps, 1/2026 15 laps, and 5/2026 20 laps. Adding up the lap delta of these 3 races we get 54 laps. Divide this by the 3 races to get the average lap delta of 18 laps for the TFX class. The chart below shows the average lap deltas for all of the ECO classes raced this season. As should be expected, the IROC race produced the closest racing with 16 laps separating the entire field. Closely following the IROC class was the TFX class that had an average delta of 18 laps! The TFX class had the lowest Lap Delta out of all the ECO classes! I believe this data validates the expectations of the TFX class and produced the closest racing of any ECO class, creating a level, competitive racing field, thus creating an opportunity for any racer to perform well in this class. It is interesting to note how the Coupes class, the ECO’s most open class, had the largest lap delta, by a significant margin. This is to be expected given the variety of chassis builds that were raced in this class and the “open” specs. With 3 seasons worth of data, I believe we can start to identify some trends. I think the most obvious is that the 2023-2024 season, the first post-COVID season where we opened the racing again at members’ homes and people were more comfortable in crowds, is an anomaly. None the less, I think the data from that season is a good reference and should be something that the ECO can possibly use as a benchmark and strive for as we continue to improve the club and recruit new racers. The last two seasons, 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, I think represent a more normalized view of the club. While the racer and attendance data between the 2 seasons are very similar, I think there are several key takeaways from this data: The number of core racers and the overall number of racers had a slight up tick this season when compared to the 2024-2025 season. This is a sign that the club is healthy and able to maintain membership. We did have several new members this year: John Esposito, Phil Petroska, and Tom Metcalf. While some of these members had limited participation due to work or travel distances, it was still good to see some new faces. Hopefully we will see them again next year. Not to beat a dead horse, but the competition among the racers is getting closer. Looking at the podium finishers, the distribution of finishes across the 13 podium finish racers is better than the 2024-2025 season. Even as this competition gets better, the camaraderie amongst the racers is still the same (good). I think that is one of the true benefits that makes the ECO club such a great club to race in. In summary, I believe the ECO club is a healthy club when compared to other local clubs and is taking the steps necessary to improve membership levels. In addition, the racing competitiveness continues to improve in a very friendly and welcome atmosphere among the club members.