East Peorians’ RC car lands in magazine

James Whittington has the need, the need for speed.
Whittington, a 1984 East Peoria High School graduate who still lives in East Peoria, has the hobby of building and racing remote control cars.

“I started getting into it about five years ago,” Whittington said. “I have done a lot of customization with them and some racing.”
Whittington said he originally got into the rc cars because of how they run.
“First off, I got into them because they are nitro powered and I still do a lot of that,” Whittington said. “What got it really going though was the newer battery power with electric power and lithium battery. They used to be slow but the new ones are faster than the nitro ones.
The February edition of the magazine “Radio Control Car Action” contained a surprise for Whittington.
Whittington’s car, an ATV, was featured in the magazine.
“I have a subscription and they have a section called “Reader’s Rides,” Whittington said.
“They didn’t tell me they were going to use it. I just opened the magazine, saw it and was shocked. I’m sure they get a lot of people trying to put things in. They pick them based on a combination of something that’s unique and custom built with a good picture.”
The car holds a rider named Crazy Larry.
“The one that got into the magazine was a nitro powered one,” Whittington said. “It’s an ATV with a rider on it. That one turned out really good.”
Whittington said he was not expecting to see Crazy Larry in the magazine.
“I was shocked,” Whittington said. “I wasn’t expecting it because I had sent it in a month or two before that. I have mutual friends that get the same book so I called them and showed them. You’ve got to brag a little.”
Remote control cars, Whittington said, are something he has loved for a long time.
“I liked working on them as a kid and they break down a lot so I enjoyed fixing them,” Whittington said. “I enjoyed making them faster and stronger. A friend of mine has a track in his backyard not far from me. That makes it easy to just jump over and get on the track and run. It’s kind of infectious really.
“I mainly make the cars with my friends. I got my friend into it, and the next thing you know, he’s got a track in his backyard. It’s really taken off.”
“You could buy a basic one for $250 or $300,” Whittington said. “It depends on how fast you want them to go but some of them I’ve put over $500 or $600 in with after-market parts and batteries.”
In terms of car size, Whittington said there is one that he prefers.
“I’ve had some from one-fifth scale all the way down to 1/16th scale,” Whittington said. “I usually like to work on ones at 1/10th scale.
“I have had some large scale ones that are gas powered with a weed whacker type motor.
We’ve had some nitro in the beginning and now it seems everything is electric.”
While building and collecting is one facet of the hobby, the other is racing.
“I have raced a few times,” Whittington said. “Every year on Thanksgiving they have a huge race that is always filled with people of all ages. You could be racing some kid that’s 9-years old.
“They look like desert, off-road trucks and have really taken off in popularity. They are all electric, two and four wheel drive cars. It’s a weekly type of thing with an indoor clay track.
The key to it is in getting the tires right.”
For now, Whittington said he is focused on the cars he has, rather than the ones he could buy.
“I’ve been trying to build up the stuff that I’ve got and make it faster,” Whittington said. “If you keep starting new ones, you’ll end up with more than you need. I had eight of them but I’m down to four. I try to keep it to a minimum.”
Related tags: rc airplanes,  rc helicopters, rc planes