How this RC car club makes space for racers’ ‘inner child’ [Video]

Inside an old barn in Manotick near Ottawa’s southern edge, a toy car jumps off a clay ramp. It sails through the air for a second or two before missing the landing and barrel-rolling until it stops, stuck on its side.

Dave Walker heads over to the car to right it before a fellow racer presses the throttle and sends the radio-controlled vehicle on its way.

He says this kind of camaraderie is par for the course on the Electrosport RC racetrack, a gathering space where on any given weeknight more than a dozen enthusiasts show up to trade parts and improve their lap times racing mini-cars.

“I call them my track homies,” said Walker, a member and volunteer who’s become the track’s unofficial spokesperson.

He says the club is unique, not just for the space and the hobby, but for the community it’s generated.

WATCH: Why there’s more to toy cars than racing

For those who gather at …