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The easiest way to design a track though is to use slot car track design software. Design software allows you to try numerous configurations until you have a track you really like. If you have a large inventory of HO scale slot car track sections on hand you can physically lay out your proposed track design ideas on your table and try them out.

Viasue, Race Coordinator, slot car lap counters, slot car lap timers solutions, for slot cars, slot car track,slot car racing,slot car sets, or as slot car accessories, slot car parts, ho slot car track, 1/32 scale, 1/24 scale, 1/64 scale, AFX, SCX, Lifelike, Tyco, tomy systems are available. Most of the software listed here can be used for 1:32 and 1:24 scale slot car racing as well as H.O. Lap Timer 2000 This MS Windows program will time and count laps on any slot car track with up to 4 lanes.

Track Design

After initially purchasing an HO scale slot car racing set most racers quickly tire of the small circuits these sets provide, and start thinking about building a more challenging raceway. Several crucial design decisions need to be made early on in this process. The decisions you make will effect the ultimate success of your design, so weigh your options carefully.

Table Size

The first decision you will need to make is the overall size of your HO slot car track table. While a challenging racing circuit can easily be built on a table as small as 36' × 80' most racers build a larger layout. Common sizes are 4×8 or 5×9 foot tables. These will normally provide enough room for a variety of turn radius sizes and several fast straights. Tables of this size can be constructed from standard-sized sheets of plywood.
If you have enough room for a larger layout then you may want to consider a 5×12 or 6×16 foot table. Keep in mind that whatever table size you ultimately select you will need at least an additional two feet on each side to move around when you have to re-slot your cars.
Tables that are wider than 6 feet will make it difficult to re-slot cars at the center, while tables longer than 16 feet make it very difficult to see the cars at the far end.
Unless your space is very limited you should try to build the largest table possible. Then, even if you do not initially fill it with track you will be able to expand your layout later on. A table of at least 5×9 feet would be an ideal starting point. A 5×9 foot table allows for much more track than a 4x8 foot table. The additional width of a 5×9 foot table makes it much easier to fill the center with an extra set of turns and straights. The extra foot of length also makes for longer and faster main straights.
See the Tables section of this web site for construction ideas on building any of the table sizes mentioned above. If your space is very limited you may also want to look a the Tuckaway section which describes a challenging race track that can be built on a small 36' × 80' table.
Whatever table size you ultimately decide on, keep in mind that you will have to live with your selection and its size restrictions for many years to come. Building a solid table requires time and effort so choose wisely.

2-Lane vs. 4-Lane

Once you have decided upon the size of the table that you wish to build you will need to consider how many lanes your race track will have. Most home racers build race tracks with either 2 or 4 lanes.
Seriously consider building a 4-lane race track instead of a 2-lane circuit. The benefits of a 4-lane raceway are numerous. The outside edges of turns require guard rails or borders to prevent the outside lane's car from dropping off the edge of the track. The outside lane has an unfair advantage because the driver can simply 'lean' on the guard rail instead of driving through the turn. On a typical 4-lane race track three of the four lanes will not have this advantage.
When you have only two racers a 4-lane layout assures that the center two lanes will provide for fair and equal racing because neither racer has the advantage of being able to lean on the guard rails.
You may think that only two lanes will ever be used, but be assured that when guests see your race track they will want to try it, and over the holidays it's not unusual for all four lanes to see action.
If you are planning on building a race track with realistic landscaping a fair and equal 2-lane configuration is possible. Landscaped layouts normally include curbs or borders on the outside of most turns. These borders will allow the driver in the outside lane to hang the rear wheels off the racing line without falling off the track.

The diagram above illustrates a border added to the outside of a turn to allow the slot car in the outer-most lane to drive through a turn without falling off the track or gaining an unfair advantage by leaning on a guard rail.
Turn borders can easily be made by cutting and placing Foam-Core display board or Masonite hardboard around the outside of all turns. When painted red and white these borders can be very attractive and lend to the overall realism of a landscaped track. See the Borders section of this web site for detailed instructions to make your own track borders.

Track Configuration

After choosing the table size and lane width of your race track you will want to consider the actual layout configuration. HO slot car tracks fall into two main categories; flat raceways and race tracks that employ an overpass, or over-and-under configuration, similar to the classic figure '8'.
A flat style raceway is much easier to build. Track sections simply need to be fastened to the table to complete the construction phase. Track designs that employ an overpass will require additional bracing to support the elevated sections of track. Layouts using an overpass can be designed to have a more equal lap length and wil

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