PTDR

OUR 2026 SEASON & CURRENT STATUS

We started the season at the iMAGINE Upstate STEAM Festival in downtown Greenville, SC on Saturday, April 4.

We have applied to close the season Louisvile Maker Faire on the UofL campus on Saturday, October 17.

Both are one-day events, where we deploy the SHORT-TRACK configuration. We dedicate to full day to operate a steady stream of General Public Match Racing using Harbor Freight belt sander house racers.

We encourage Makers to bring their custom exotic racers mostly for display purposes and bragging rights. We will on-occaision determine to interrupt match racing to operate a TBD "DEMONSTRATION" race of selected exotics on the hour (and/or half-hour?).

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LEARN HOW TO MAKE A POWER TOOL DRAG RACER - Making your racer is a fun weekend project. This (link) is a good introductory primer from Bre Pettis and MAKE:

TROPHIES - Custom-built trophies are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the Open Speed Tournament, and for the Judge's award for EXTREME merit.

RACERS - Eligible machines for the main tournament bracket event are single-engine power tools with stock 110 VAC power sources as provided in the original tool. Unique drive trains and elaborate decorations are encouraged. A special exhibition class and demonstration runs by more exotic non-standard entries is allowed at the discretion of the judges. See the RULES section later in this post for additional information.

THE TRACK - The drag strip is two lanes of reasonably flat plywood track.

• The STANDARD race distance is 75 feet. A SHORT-TRACK race distance of 54 feet is sometimes used.
• The STANDARD track length is 88 feet. The SHORT-TRACK track length is 64 feet.
• There is a similar staging area at the start and an over travel distance at the end for both track configurations
• The track is generally straight and smooth. All dimensions are nominal. There are some variations and bumps, particularly at the joints every 8 feet. That is part of the fun.
• The track is Arduino-contolled to operated the Christmas tree lighting and sound effects at the starting line, and the wig-wag checkerd flag "Win-Dicator" at the finish line.
• Each lane incorporates four photo-eye sensors and reflectors built into the side rails to detect the racer presence for Staging, Start, Speed Trap, and Finish line functions.
• A event-specific PTDR Layout drawing is typically prepared in conjunction with the Event Sponsors to show specific track details for specific events.

RULES - Machines are to be based on handheld power tools or common household appliances. A handheld power tool is a machine intended for handheld operation by one individual. A machine primarily used on a stationary mount, or rolled on wheels, or used by a group of people is not a hand tool for the purposes of this event. This event is limited to hand tools and household appliances powered by standard 15 amp 120 AC electric power cords. Examples of hand tools are machines like belt sanders, angle grinders, circular saws, drills, chainsaws, weed wackers, vibrators, etc. Examples of things that are NOT hand tools are things like lawnmowers, floor sanders, generators, bench grinders, etc. No vehicles built from RC cars allowed, because they are boring.

AC electrical cords will be 100′ long per lane, originating at the starting line. They will have standard Edison 3-prong connectors. You will be responsible for “coiling” the cord on the ground or laying it alongside the track for your run. No spools or cord guides allowed, but duct tape will be provided so you can tape the connector together. Tangles or poor cord feed are your responsibility.

Eligible machines for the main tournament bracket are single engine power tools with no motor modifications or non-standard power sources (i.e. engine and power source needs to be box stock). Propulsion can be direct drive to track via the original blades, belts, etc, or via a custom gear/chain/tire configurations. Frames, wheels, guide rails, etc can be added as desired. Any motor or power type is allowed. But all “motors” must have originated in a hand power tool and be in their original form, with original power source driving it.

Due to the nature of the event these machines can be very fast and very dangerous. ALL entries for any class MUST REGISTER their machine and be inspected prior to racing to make sure they will stay on the track and out of the audience. We also reserve the right to say “no, unsafe” at any time for whatever reason(s) we find relevant.

ORIGINS - Jim Mason and Karl Nurberg of Ace Junkyard are credited with originating Power Tool Drag Racing (PTDR) in San Francisco in 1996. An informal Google/YouTube search turns up many examples of Power Tool Drag Racing (PTDR) as an off-shoot of the general maker movement in the years since. Similar to real drag racing in the real world, but made for the maker world, PTDR is a natural attraction at Maker events. PTDR provides a measure of excitement, suspense, and danger; but on a smaller, more intimate scale, and at a lower barrier cost of entry. There is a certain universal appeal to seeing two creatively modified electric-corded power tools compete in a brief, wild, semi-controlled flight down a two-lane plywood track, ending with a dramatic hay bale crash at the end. Kids of all ages get fired up (mostly the kids, dads, and grand-dads, but even the moms and wives) to hoot and point in disbelief as they watch the unfolding mayhem. The vehicle builder/operators and track volunteers have even more fun.

OUR EXPERIENCE - Never claiming to be original, and with a reputation for always being behind the times, in the Spring of 2013 it was decided to organize an outlaw Power Tool Drag Race as a feature attraction for the first annual Cincinnati Mini-Maker Faire (MMF) to be held in Cincinnati's newly rejuvenated Washington Park that October. We knew that nearby Columbus had some years of PTDR experience and that both Columbus and Louisville were also having their own MMFs around the same time that year. Member Jim reached out and contacted the Columbus Idea Foundry and LVL1 hackerspace from those respective cities to organize The First Annual, Mid-West Regional Triple Crown of Power Tool Drag Racing. With some arranged financial sponsorship, and working with several from HIVE13 and volunteers in the other cities, a re-locatable track was built and setup at the sequential events in each city that first year. A good time was had by all, all the way around, and nobody got hurt.

SCHEDULE FOR THE 2015 SEASON

The 2015 season opens with a repeat event at the Detroit Maker Faire at the Henry Ford Museum. Then the three triple crown cities are back with Columbus making a last-minute schedule change to win-out over Louisville as the final event of the season. Here are the links to each festival:

- Detroit Maker Faire (at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn) July 25-26, 2015

- Cincinnati Mini-Maker Faire (at the Cincinnati Museum Center) August 29-30, 2015

- Louisville Min-Maker Faire (in the middle of the street on Museum Row in Louisville, KY) September 19,2015

- World Maker Faire New York (at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, NY) September 26-27,2015

MEMORIES FROM THE 2014 SEASON

- See the fantastic PTDR poster art from the 2013 season (view)

- PTDR at Louisville's MMF at the NuLu Festival - September 28, 2013 (view)

- PTDR at the Columbus MMF at COSI - October 13, 2013 (view)

- PTDR at the Cincinnati MMF in Washington Park - October 19, 2013 (view)

- On-board GoPro video view on JohnP's D6 racer at Columbus (view)

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