Son is into R/C Drifting. He's 21 and throws a considereable amount of money at it (though not crazy when you consider what Records/Cassettes/CDs cost in the 80's)

There's a crazy national involvement and it's pretty common to see two dozen guys watching the cars drift around the circut on Thursdays-Sunday nights.

The cars are crazy with LiPO amperages and full suspensions, active cooling, and programmable throttle profiles.

I guess the point is: It's social, and in-person, and has a lot of similarities to something model trains in a communal location would provide.