Mark & Juanita wrote:

I'm pretty much convinced that aero drag is essentially a non-player in
this arena, speed is too slow for drag to really make a huge difference,
and the small amount of improvement is going to be swamped by other
factors. Weight, CG placement, and friction seem to be the biggest players
in this. Proper placement on the track is probably the next largest
contributor. If you don't conquer the friction issue, the aero won't do a
thing for you.

I'm pretty much convinced you're right. If you drop the car to the
floor from the starting height, it will be travelling about 12 miles
per hour when it hits the ground. When you force it to travel down 30
feet of track to fall the same distance, it slows it down quite a bit.
Aerodynamics plays a part at such low speeds, but it's a small one.

I worship at the altar of friction reduction and wheel alignment.

DonkeyHody
"Don't ever wrestle with a pig. You'll both get muddy, but the pig
likes it."