Photo By Staff Sgt. William Watson Martin | Contractor Tony Henry, nicknamed "Darkside," starts his car before a race at Camp...... read more read more
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By Maj. Carol McClelland
1st Theater Sustainment Command Public Affairs
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – The Americans brought their decked-out vehicles with elaborate paint jobs, spare parts and plenty of fuel to race at 40 mph on a wide open dirt track in the desert. But the cars are only one-eighth the size of real cars, and deployed Soldiers and contractors are the "drivers."
Nitro gas powered "RC" cars and trucks are remote controlled and are a fast-growing hobby in both the U.S. and Kuwait. Several deployed military members with nicknames like "Driveshaft" and "Clutch" found they had a common interest in this hobby and decided to start a club. Surrounded by sand, they figured they had enough space to build a track.
Sgt. Martin Sherrell began doing online research several months ago to find out how to build a track. He received permission from the camp leadership; then he and other enthusiasts began collecting scrap parts.
They asked for wood scraps, got a condemned metal storage container and attached stairs that were part of a fuel tank for generators not being used anymore, Sherrell explained.
They also signed for two generators to provide light during nighttime races, requested sandbags from the prison and set up several splintered wood tables, which, on this day, were being used to fine tune vehicles.
Sherrell, 34, has a lot of experience with the small cars. He's been racing them for 14 years. A member of the 228th Signal Company in Army Central Command, the Oklahoma City native, is assigned to Kuwait for one year. He's seen the desert weather turn from hot and humid to cooler temperatures with fewer dust storms. Using the outdoor track, the controllers must modify their cars to beat other members of the club.
On this night the "newbie," Staff Sgt. Lee Torgerson, a resident of Madelia, Minn., was the winner. He's only been involved in this hobby for the past six months but has already invested about $1,500 in a car and parts. His enthusiasm that night spread to a spectator who was riding his bike by the track, heard the engine sounds and decided to investigate.
Staff Sgt. Watson Martin, a 311th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Soldier and Halifax, Va., native, returned to take photographs, watch the speedy cars, see the 3-foot high jumps and talk to the racers, after which he decided to buy a RC car.
"I like tinkering with mechanical and electrical gadgets, so I thought this was an affordable hobby that I should try while I'm deployed," he said.
"Plus, all the work to build the track is already done," he laughed.
The completed track sits in an open area behind some warehouses and includes dips and hard-packed dirt mounds for jumps and plenty of curves outlined by filled sandbags.
The approximate 40 club members race three different classes: buggy, truggy and monster truck. A truggy is a cross between a truck and a buggy. It has the handling and design-characteristics of a buggy, but is closer in size to the truck. The vehicles looked fast and indestructible.
"Speed is nothing without control," noted Sherrell, who said he used to drive the RC cars in Oklahoma in front of the restaurant he managed when business was slow.
"Grown-ups would stop everything they were doing and watch; it would almost cause wrecks," he explained, as he ran off to help a controller whose car flipped over.
"It takes a lot of hand and eye coordination. That's why when you get to 35 to 40 years old, the 9 and 10-year-olds start kicking your butt," Sherrell said.
After many hours on the job, club members agreed that driving their RC cars is a welcome break from the deployment.
"This is great because it gives us something to do and bonds us all together," said contractor Cornelius Bennett with Army Systems.
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 11.19.2008 03:20 |
| Story ID: | 26521 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 553 |
| Downloads: | 357 |
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