MAHOMET - It didn't take long after John Cole bought a radio-controlled car from a co-worker in 2003 for him to take it to a track.

Less than a year later, Cole and girlfriend Justyne Honovich owned their own RC racing track.

"We jumped in with both feet. That's the way it usually goes," Honovich said, laughing. "If someone goes out to a track, before you know it, they're buying a car."

But Cole and Honovich took it a few steps further. Five years later, their business, the RC Shack in Mahomet, is open four nights a week, holds races every Saturday night, indoor in cold weather and outdoor in warm weather, and has a Web site with the store's full stock of merchandise and results from its races.

Cole and Honovich used to drag race Mustangs at local tracks before discovering RC racing.

"I like racing for the adrenaline rush," Cole said. "With drag racing, you would work on the car for weeks and drive it for five minutes. And it was expensive. In RC racing, you can tear the car apart and fix it in a couple hours. And the races might last a half hour. You get more bang for your buck."

After purchasing the RC car, Cole and Honovich began taking it to local tracks to race. The first place they took it was Mahomet.

"When I was a kid, my dad bought me an RC car, but I'd pretty much forgotten about it," Cole said. "But once I got back into it, I loved everything about it the camaraderie, the atmosphere, the people and I really liked racing at the track in Mahomet. It was the friendliest place I went to."

When Cole and Honovich started racing in Mahomet, it had a small indoor track and pool tables. It also didn't have any parts if someone's car broke down.

"We offered to have a cabinet there with parts; then, the guy who owned it decided to get out, and we took over," Honovich said. "We took out the pool tables, made the track bigger and focused on the hobby shop aspect."

On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings, racers gather at the RC Shack to practice. They also get help fixing their cars and making them faster.

On Saturdays, races at the RC Shack usually have between 25 and 40 participants from the areas surrounding Decatur, Bloomington and Springfield.

"It's kind of like 'Cheers' without the beer," said Cole, who lives in Decatur and races RC cars in addition to owning the RC Shack. "People swap stories and have a good time. It's just a great atmosphere."

"You see a lot of fathers and sons," Honovich said. "It's a good time, and it's family-oriented."

Decatur resident Stan Herring and 11-year-old son, Preston, are one of the father-son combos who are regulars at the RC Shack. Preston races the car, and Stan serves as the one-man pit crew.

"Preston got an RC car the Christmas before last, and we ended up at the RC Shack," Herring said. "We went to some other hobby shops, but none of them had tracks."

Herring said that while there are plenty of experienced racers at the RC Shack, it's also a good place for beginners.

"When you first start out, you have to have people help you. Fixing them is almost like learning another trade," he said. "And you can take it as seriously as you want to. Preston likes to place well, but he also knows a lot of those guys have been doing this for a long time. He just tries to have fun and improve at it."

Justin Conn can be reached at jconn@herald-review.com or 421-7971.