Slot Car Racing
An Applcation of Circumference
by Eugene Krauss, University of Michigan in the May 1992 Mathematics Teacher


Slot car racing is an application that requires no advanced mathematics -- just the formula for the circumference of a circle.   Youngsters are familiar with the small electrically powered cars that race along parallel slots in track sections that can be assembled in a variety of ways.   The figures below show some possible layouts.   Notice that the curved track sections can be joined to form quarter-circles and semicircles of different radii and that overpasses/underpasses are possible.

Question #1: In the simple track layout shown below (figure 1), what head start should the car in the dotted slot be allowed?   The slots are 4 centimeters apart.

Solution: Straightaway sections can be ignored.   We can imagine a solid circle of radius R centimeters and a concentric dotted one of radius (R + 4) centimeters.   The difference in their circumference is as follows:

2 π (R + 4) - 2πR = 8π cm ~ 25 cm.

The car in the dotted slot should be given a 25-centimeter head start.   Or putting it differently, if equally fast cars begin at the same starting line, then the inside car should win a one lap race by 8π centimeters.   Emphasize that this winning margin is independent of how sharp or gradual the semicircular ends of the track happen to be.

Question #2: Suppose the track is laid out as in figure 2, and suppose two equally fast cars start off together from the starting line.   Which should win a one-lap race -- the dotted or the solid -- and by how much?

Solution: We have seen that for equally fast cars on a circular track, the inside car wins by 8π centimeters; so on a semicircular curve the inside car gains 4π centimeters and on a quarter-circular curve it picks up 2π centimeters.   We can chart the progress of the race as follows:

After completing turn Dotted car ahead by
I
II
III
IV 0

The race should end in a tie.   In other words, this is a fair track.   No handicap needs to be given to either car.   The solid path and the dotted path have the same length.   Note: for this question, the distance between slots, 4 centimeters, turned out to be irrelevant, but it made the argument a bit more concrete.

Question #3: Determine by how much the dotted car should be expected to win a one-lap race on each of the layouts in figure 3.



Most slot car race tracks have crossover pieces to help make the races fair.



Send any comments or questions to: David Pleacher