Slots of Fun Raceway

Brad Silletto and Allen Mayea are a couple of regular guys who just wanted to make the world a better place. So, they opened an eight-lane 100-foot-long hill climb racetrack for slot cars.

The thirtysomething duo, whose rallying cry could be, “If you build a slot car race track, they will come,” have had their shop, Slots of Fun Raceway in Fountain Valley, open for slightly longer than a month and are already planning their first expansion. In the next year, the shop will include two more tracks, a computerized track counting system and an elaborate pit area.

“By trade, we’re both auto mechanics,” said Silletto. “When we decided to go into business for ourselves, it had to be something with cars. We just never expected this to take off so quickly.”

While both men loved working on cars, they did not enjoy the stress associated with auto-repair work. “In that business, the customers are never happy,” Silletto said. “If they were in accidents, there’s trauma associated with that. If the car was malfunctioning, then it’s always the mechanic’s fault.”

Life is different now. “If we hear somebody bawling,” Mayea said, laughing, “it’s usually because he lost a race. Man, what can we say to that?”

The slot car track, they explained, is a great equalizer. Out here, anyone--at any age--can win the race. The fastest car can always get knocked off the track by a more skillful driver, so expensive equipment is not a guarantee to being first across the finish line.

As a result, the sport is a relatively inexpensive hobby. Car kits in 1/32nd-scale and ranging in cost from $2.60 to $31 are available at the shop. Average cost for an engine is $10. All told, an enthusiast can build a nice car for less than $20.

“If someone wants to try a run on the track,” Mayea said, “we rent cars for a couple of bucks an hour. Once they try it, they’re hooked ... but it’s a happy habit.”

At $9 per hour, track time may seem expensive. However, between runs and tinkering with the car, a driver can while away two to three hours on an hour’s worth of time. And, according to Silletto and Mayea, parents have discovered that slot car racing is an inexpensive child-care option. “I think an hour of track time is still cheaper than a sitter,” Silletto said. “Besides, the kids have a great time and we love having them around.”

Silletto and Mayea encourage the youngsters to work together, to compete and to socialize. The two believe children will benefit from being off the streets and in a family-oriented environment. In time, the duo would like to work with the local school system to award good grades and attendance with free track time.

“I must be a throwback to the ‘50s,” Silletto said. “I’m for anything that gets kids away from the video screen and out with their family and friends.”

Silletto says the raceway is becoming a new habit for the Nintendo generation. A regular group of neighborhood kids has given up video games for slot car racing. “These kids were used to beating their fathers at video games,” he said. “Once they found out that their dads could beat them on the track, the challenge was on.”

In fact, the majority of the slot car racers are men who range from 25 to 45 years of age. “Slot cars give people that age a real feeling of nostalgia,” Mayea said. “The first thing most guys say when they come in is ‘Wow! I haven’t seen one of these in 20 years.”’

“There is one other main attraction to our shop,” Silletto added. “It’s the only place in Orange County where you can drive as fast as you can and not get a ticket.”

Hours: 3-10 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 3-11 p.m., Friday; noon-11 p.m., Saturday; noon-8 p.m., Sunday Address: 8570 Warner Ave., Fountain Valley Telephone: (714) 847-5298