My ultimate plan is to build a race timer for a Lego Mindstorm race we are going to be having in January. Any recommendations on a segment board that will easily integrate with the arduino's output? I have some basic knowledge of electronics from college 20 years ago when I was pursuing a EEE degree.
If you mean by 'segment board' some kind of alphanumeric display, there are literally a gazillion different options out there. A lot depends if the display needs to be remoted from the arduino board or shield mounted. For raw basic display purposes this is a popular style (the HD44780 driver chip is a popular standard) to use and there is an arduino software library support for this kind of raw display. This same display type can be shield mounted and there are even versions that can use serial or I2C communications to cut down on the number of I/O pins used by the 'raw display'.
Lefty