RECREATION : Competitors are driven by a need for speed in radio-control cars.

Think Daytona 500, but think small. Real small.

The RC Thunderdrome VI (“The greatest spectacle in radio-control racing,” organizers say.) arrives at the Olympic Velodrome at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson this weekend for a three-day racing series that promises all the burning rubber, pit stops and fierce competition of full-size stock car races.

For the uninitiated, “RC,” or radio-control racing, uses miniature electronic replicas of the cars driven in races such as the Daytona 500.

About 300 competitors from as far as Sweden will race RC cars around the 333-meter Velodrome track, which was built for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics cycling competition.

The one-tenth scale stock cars, about 18 inches long and operated by remote control, will burn up the track at 100 m.p.h.--the equivalent of 1,000 m.p.h. for a full-size car, said event spokesman Dan Moynihan.

“RC racing has none of the personal risk associated with racing but you have all the excitement, all of the teamwork and all of the camaraderie of full-size racing,” said Moynihan, known in the industry as “Banana Dan” for the 7-foot banana costume he wears at racing events to promote his car-lube product.

“The mind-set of the competitors is that there is no difference between what we do and what full-size racers do, except the size of the car,” he said.

The cars have adjustable suspensions and use the same tire rubber as full-size racers. A pit crew stands at the ready.

The Thunderdrome events will include demonstrations of go-cart and one-fourth scale gasoline vehicles, radio-control races and workshops for kids. Qualifying races begin today and continue Saturday.

Speed demons should find satisfaction Saturday afternoon in “The Insane Speed Run,” in which racers will run one-of-a-kind prototype cars at 850- to 1,000-scale m.p.h., Moynihan said.

“It will be very exciting to watch,” Moynihan said, “and we expect to see some major crashes.”

The main events begin Sunday at 10 a.m. Amateur racers will compete in 15 four-minute events. Last year, competitors ranged from an 8-year-old girl to a retired couple in their 60s, Moynihan said.

Representatives of the car manufacturers will compete in two main events starting about 1 p.m. on Sunday: a 75-lap race and a 200-lap competition that will take the cars through about 50 miles of track and 15 pit stops, where crews have five seconds to get the cars back on track.

Young race fans can also taste the action by building a truck, van or dragster and then racing it under the tutelage of the Kids Racing Assn. of Orange County, Moynihan said.

“They learn about wind resistance and it helps them understand that racing . . . is not just a guy sitting down and putting his foot to the floor,” Moynihan said. “It takes teamwork.”

For youngsters who want to try racing without the car, Interplay Productions has set up a computer game called “Rock and Roll Racing,” where young racers can test their motoring skills.

Admission is $4 for adults and free for children 12 and younger when accompanied by an adult. The Velodrome is at 1000 E. Victoria Blvd. at Avalon Boulevard in Carson. Information: (310) 516-4000.