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Our 2026 Scalextric digital season kicks off on Wednesday with a Nascar club car team race and Trans-Am pairs race - a perfect introduction to our digital racing formats and RCS64 race management software.

We do ask that new racers complete at least one (and preferably two) Nascar & Trans-Am evening to progress to our GT Championship and the Saturday events. During the evening we gradually introduce the tyre wear, fuel consumption and weather features of the RCS64 software. Team captains will get you up to speed with the nuts and bolts of digital racing - and to the subtleties of race strategy.

Doors open at 6.30pm for practice and digital driving school. Teams are allocated and we start racing with evenly-matched club cars as near to 7pm as possible. An hour of action is divided into three or four segments of either 15 or 20 minutes, including driver changes every five minutes. Teams swap cars at each break - winners with last place, second with fifth etc. After an hour of racing, total laps are added up and prizes awarded at around 8.30.

Trans-Am cars are back for the pairs race for 2026-8. Scalextric and Pioneer models of cars that raced in the Trans-Am series between 1966 and 1972 are eligible. The usual Trans-Am format is two 8-minute qualifying heats, with a driver change at half-distance. The cars completing the most laps in their 8-minute heat automatically qualify for a the feature race, the other six battle it out for the remaining places in an 8-minute ‘B-Final’. And that usually takes us up to around 9.30pm - or sometimes a little later.

The whole evening costs just £3 for adults and £2 for under-16s. All equipment is provided for the team race. Those without a Trans-Am car will need to negotiate to share a ride. We do ask that racers aged 13 and under bring a responsible adult with them.

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Twenty-two people came along to the Barn for our first digital event of 2026. Among them were WHO first-timers Andrew, Tom, Jaxson and Mike A.

   

Simon had tweaked his Barnabas circuit, which is proving a perfect Wednesday night digital layout. And after half an hour of practice and digital driving school, racers were allocated to six teams, Nascar club cars lined-up and we were off racing...

   

The first twenty-minute segment eased the new racers in gently with just a fuel simulation. Everyone raced for 5 minute stints, the two three-member team getting a bonus stint each through the three segments.

   

It was the three of Jaxson, Mike D and Duncan who set the pace, ending up with a big score of 98 laps, four ahead of both Team 2 (Ollie, Jeremy, Mike Mc & Tom) and Team 3 (Ash, Rob B & Mike A). Another four laps back were Stephen, Dean, Rob A & Andrew on 90 laps - just ahead of Oliver, Simon C, Steve C & Kevin and James on 89, with Andy, Matthew & Simon M scoring 88 laps. That was the whole field covered by ten laps...

   

Cars were swapped around for the second twenty minutes - first place swapping with last, second with fifth and third with fourth. We stuck with just the fuel simulation and most of the teams (but not all) improved on their scores.

   

Ash, Rob B & Mike A gave everyone else a thrashing with the white Herbie Ford Taurus - a huge 100 laps hauling them up to second overall, just a lap behind Jaxson, Mike D & Duncan, who'd finished runners-up in the segment with 97 laps. It was equally close for third place overall. Ollie, Jeremy, Mike Mc & Tom finished fourth in the segment with 90 laps, which left them ten laps behind second and one lap ahead of Stephen, Dean, Rob A & Andrew. And there was a one-lap gap between fifth and sixth - James, Andy, Matthew & Simon M having 174 laps after forty minutes, Oliver, Simon C, Steve C & Kevin having 173.

   

Cars were exchanged yet again for the final twenty minutes. The tyre simulation was added, making pit stops rather more complicated! This is the standard format for most of our digital races through the season, only a few having the extra dimension of weather. Not surprisingly, most team's scores dipped a little - although last-placed Team One had a sensational race and finished runners-up with 94 laps - five laps better than their previous best. It was enough to not finish last!

   

Meanwhile, the race leaders had a disappointing run with the blue Valvoline Taurus. Their rivals - Team Three - managed to overturn the slender lead and add 7 laps, Ash, Rob B & Mike A romping to the segment and overall race win. In the battle for third, Stephen, Dean, Rob & Andrew did just enough to draw level on laps completed and in doing so finished ahead on the road - they'd claim the final place on the podium...

   

Huge congrats to our winners - Mike taking home a WHO winner's medal on debut...

         

         

         

All four new drivers finished in the top four places, which is an impressive achievement!

Next up was the Trans-Am pairs race - all 22 drivers getting a drive...

   

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It is always satisfying to get everyone on the pairs race grid. Thanks to some generous loaning of cars, we did it this time. Twenty-two racers meant eleven cars, two heats and a step-up for the winner of the Semi final to the Feature race.

   

The heats were preceded by a one-minute shake-down, which was helpful for the new drivers - the Trans-Ams are much more lively than the Nascars. Heat One had five cars and more experienced drivers. Oliver & Ash demolished the field, setting a massive 45 lap score in the eight minutes with Oliver's new '71 Camaro. Ollie & Rob were four laps back in similar machinery. Two '69 Camaros followed on 40 laps - Simon & Duncan leading Matthew & Rob to the chequered flag. Dean coached Tom well to bring their '71 Camaro home with a very decent 37 laps.

   

Heat Two was more chaotic - six cars, less experienced drivers and one very hard-to-handle AMC Hornet. Andy & Jeremy did their best to keep their AMC Javelin out of trouble and finished first with 40 laps, enough for Feature race qualification. Behind them, Stephen & Mike grabbed runner-up spot for the McCann Cougar- a nice drive, but their 38 laps only put them in pole for the Semi. Mike D & Steve would be right behind them in Mike's '71 Camaro, having picked up 37 laps and a faster best lap than Dean & Tom. Jaxson & Mike A were next - 34 laps was a great result for two first-time racers and tribute to Dean's team management skills. Andrew & James completed 30 laps for fifth place and they would race again with Simon's '71 Camaro. Finally, the Hornet rounded out the qualifying order, Simon M & Kevin managing 22 laps.

   

The six-car Semi followed on from the second heat - making it very exciting! Mike D took the first stint, handing over a one lap lead to Steve. Dean had kept his Camaro close, but Tom dropped back after a pit-entry tangle with Steve... When we move on to the GT Championship, such shenanigans might be worthy of a stop-go penalty. That left Stephen & Mike Mc the only realistic challengers for the step-up - at one point the Cougar got on the same lap as the leading Camaro, but the final pit stops gave Steve some breathing space...

   

So Mike D & Steve were safely in the Feature. Stephen & Mike were second, Dean & Tom third and then Andrew & James added a whopping four laps to their heat score to finish fourth. Without Dean's coaching, Jaxson & Mike dropped a lap, but 34 and 33 laps were excellent scores on debut. Simon & Kevin seemed to enjoy their race to finish sixth, but that Hornet will need some tweaking before next time!

   

The feature race started with Ash and Ollie in a battle of the top two Camaros. Mike made it a three-way battle as he quickly got his Camaro through the field. At the driver change, Ash had a lap lead over Mike with Ollie right behind. Jeremy, Matthew and Duncan were a further lap back, but certainly not out of it.

   

Oliver took over the lead Camaro and set a rapid pace. Rob followed, but Steve couldn't keep up - and he would soon drop behind Andy's Javelin. There were no errors from the leaders, either on the track or in the pits, meaning those gaps stayed pretty static - a lap between Oliver and Rob and another lap between Rob and Andy. Behind, Steve defended fourth place admirably, staying ahead of two more experienced drivers in quick cars. In the end, it was Rob A who finished fifth, Duncan making an extra pit stop...

   

Huge congratulations to Oliver & Ash on their win - Ash was unbeatable tonight! Here's the Trans-Am podium...

   

A big thank you to everyone who came along and helped make it a very enjoyable evening to start our 2026 WHO Digital season. Special thanks goes to the highly-efficient set-up and race control crews and to all those who stayed behind to pack away. Racing was over by 9.30 and the door locked by 10.

Our second Nascar & Trans-Am Wednesday is next month (11 February), followed by the new American SpeedFest all-dayer on Saturday 21 Feb. Remember, to enjoy our Digital Saturdays and GT Championship events, newer drivers need to get as many Nascar & Trans-Am evenings under their belts as possible! The minimum requirement is successfully completing one Nascar & Trans-Am event.

Before all that, we're back for the WHO Winter Stages on Wednesday - our first slot rally event of the year.