2016 Emerald City Classic: April 2, Magnuson CC
04-03-2016, 07:02 PM
#61
04-03-2016, 08:38 PM
#62
Conflict: dark and light, ebb and flow, victory and defeat. Dismay…and then elation.
Turning over this year’s Emerald City Classic in my mind as I raked the backyard, I had conflicting, though ultimately positive thoughts. On the first, positive side, the race was amply supported by locals, who showed not only to race, but also to set up, tear down, and help manage the track and program all day long. Many thanks go to Dean Forbes for volunteering on the tech table, and to Alex and Kyle for taking turns on the mic to call races. Stuart, too. He helped tech and call races as well.
On the downside, I messed up the trophy order and did not discover the oversight until awards time: there were no F1 trophies…Ugh! We will find a way to make it up; something good and not BS.
On the upside, Kyle Predmore worked his annual magic and collected a healthy amount of tickets for the fundraising raffle which is always so important for keeping the club’s accounts in the black over a season. Our sponsors were very generous, and everyone went home with something. I will say that this year’s raffle was one for the ages. Four kits! A VBC F1 from Gripworks RC, a WTF-1 from CRC, a Roche P12 from a clubbie who loves 1/12th scale (ask me, I’ll tell you), and an ARC R11 from Hobby Authority Distribution. Those, and many more excellent items went out to all of our racers.
On the downside, Grant discovered the CC tire truer needs love. Luckily, Predmore had his on hand, and Grant was able to field a car. (Predmore, we don’t see enough of him, but in a single race he delivers a season’s worth of good effort for the club.)
The big upside was superb racing. Track records were set all over the place, and the mains were fierce, with barn burner clashes throughout.
I called it out in the drivers meeting, partly in jest, but also not really. Defend this house! The best friends in life challenge us, and we have friends from the Portland and Vancouver area who come up here to challenge us, keep us honest, and set us straight. Ryan Brownlee is one of those. He works hard for the Premier program in Portland, and he is a sharp racer who brings his best, always. All summer long we’ll be staring down the reality that our foundation Scale Spec class track record is in Portland. Donny did all he could, and it was agonizingly close, but Ryan took it. Just click on www.seattlercracers.com and there it is, the truth that burns. Our track record. In Portland. Gah! But…Excelsior! Redemption! Donny, our big rumbler, girded for the main battle, and with a mighty hammer blow smote the Brownlee and took the lead. Watch the main video, it was Scale Spec racing at its best. Bumping, robust, but fair. Donny muscled past at the two minute (or so) mark and held on despite Ryan’s best effort to get it back. The victory to Donny, and the club’s honor saved!
Stock 1/12th would reverse the narrative, and crush my hopes. I could despair for the outcome, but how can I begrudge a friend of the club, Alex Pate from Canada, his due? He did nothing but earn it with swift and sure driving on his part. I TQ’d the class, and was confident I could defend. But an untimely tangle, one I might have avoided with a bit more patience, cost me the early lead. But, and the rub, it stings! I got the lead again, but I handed it right back with a misjudged turn over the dots. Bitterness and gall! From there, pressure as I might while keeping it clean, Alex held on to take the victory. The TQ was ours, but the main victory goes north, across the border to Canadia, where snow tires are mandatory year-round, and the women wear fur-lined brassieres.
As it does most years, Novice kicks one of its own out of its ranks and on to greater things. Team Browers has been contesting Novice this year, with young Jack leading the way most nights. He claimed both the TQ and the victory, and for his reward, he moves on to Scale Spec in the fall, when he will start back at the bottom, and look upward at the mountain he has to climb. So it is for youth, but don’t fret for young Jack. Without much pain, no strength or fortitude for the travails of life, yes?
World GT, where art thou? Sometimes, beautiful things are born under a crossed star. When it was introduced at the IIC in 2008, it was heralded as a both a revival of 1/10th pan, and a savior of 1/10th foam. World GT has always been a sweet driving, peerlessly raceable platform. And yet…it was always riven by conflict. Spec’d as 4-cell on the cusp of the lipo revolution, raced as 2s 17.5 in many places (TZ2 among them), torn between blinky and boost, 13.5 and 10.5, and now foam and rubber. Has any class ever suffered so much from a lack of conviction? Was it supposed to be a class for pan car enthusiasts, or should it have gathered the refugees from the foam sedan crack up? Will this have been the last of the World GT races in Seattle? It’s bitter to think so. But is it a relief to be released from the anxiety of whether it will thrive? World GT…that quirky, beautiful girl, where did you go? Perhaps fittingly, Alex, who has raced pan cars in Seattle longer than anyone in the club, TQ’d and won.
Modified Touring is the biggest, baddest class on our lineup. Too much power, too much money, too, too much, and yet ever so much indeed. Dominated locally by a broody, moody, brilliant national champion, and stacked with ambitious challengers, it never fails to enthrall, and often upsets. Kody TQ’d, and looked set to close out the contest with a victory in the main. But the ECC, of all races, has been problematic for Kody, slipping from his grasp when it seemed certain. Driving tight, as he will always, the chicane collected its full toll in a single pass early in the main, sending him into the trailing angle with a whack, and breaking a rear link. He was out. Coming through were the stoutest of local challengers, Andrew and Jake, who would wage a battle for the lead until the final tone. As it was all season, they were separated by the narrowest of margins at the end, with Andrew claiming the victory by 7/10ths over Jake.
Formula One has enjoyed a resurgent year. Brought back to the Saturday class lineup, it has been supported all season long by a crew of diehards. Enjoying his trip down south, Alex again asserted himself (so unlike Canadians, generally, to be assertive) with a track record drive in qualifying, and a no-nonsense drive to victory in the main. Perhaps not unlike the full-scale version, there was little actual suspense. It was over and out almost from the tone. Sven and Russ had a nice battle for third.
Modified 1/12th was a small affair, and but for the friendly other Canadian, Jason Melnyk, it would have been a mere trio. Korey TQ’d and won. Interestingly, he tried the aluminum chassis conversion of the Roche, a fine car, but it was not preferable to the standard carbon on our sweetly medium grip track. Aluminum pan 1/12th is strictly for the high grip madness of the new school rug.
Finally, and inevitably, the Stock Touring grudge match. And it did not fail to disappoint in the conflict department as two of our mod gods were in the thick of it. With both Kody and Dave in the field, Mike and Devin, both Stock stalwarts, would have to battle against the incursions of the big-time team drivers. Devin, arguably the best of the Northwest’s stock racing talent, was able to split the difference. We don’t see enough of Devin these days, but it’s hard to hold him to too hard account, as the Salem/Albany driver has no local club to race with since RC Plus abandoned onroad (or did onroad abandon RC Plus? Let’s get into that one…not). But, the talent is still there, and while he was unable to do anything with the rampant Panda, who TQ’d and won going away, Devin was able to fend off Dave for the runner-up spot, by a mere 1/10th! It was a classic Stock duel, and to think they came all the way to Seattle to battle between themselves…but it was worth it, as they added luster to the event, and Devin defended the honor of Stock racers with his effort.
Thank you to all who attended this year’s Emerald City Classic, you made it another successful event and an excellent culmination of our racing season. We’ll be back in the Fall with a full schedule of races.
Results attached.
Turning over this year’s Emerald City Classic in my mind as I raked the backyard, I had conflicting, though ultimately positive thoughts. On the first, positive side, the race was amply supported by locals, who showed not only to race, but also to set up, tear down, and help manage the track and program all day long. Many thanks go to Dean Forbes for volunteering on the tech table, and to Alex and Kyle for taking turns on the mic to call races. Stuart, too. He helped tech and call races as well.
On the downside, I messed up the trophy order and did not discover the oversight until awards time: there were no F1 trophies…Ugh! We will find a way to make it up; something good and not BS.
On the upside, Kyle Predmore worked his annual magic and collected a healthy amount of tickets for the fundraising raffle which is always so important for keeping the club’s accounts in the black over a season. Our sponsors were very generous, and everyone went home with something. I will say that this year’s raffle was one for the ages. Four kits! A VBC F1 from Gripworks RC, a WTF-1 from CRC, a Roche P12 from a clubbie who loves 1/12th scale (ask me, I’ll tell you), and an ARC R11 from Hobby Authority Distribution. Those, and many more excellent items went out to all of our racers.
On the downside, Grant discovered the CC tire truer needs love. Luckily, Predmore had his on hand, and Grant was able to field a car. (Predmore, we don’t see enough of him, but in a single race he delivers a season’s worth of good effort for the club.)
The big upside was superb racing. Track records were set all over the place, and the mains were fierce, with barn burner clashes throughout.
I called it out in the drivers meeting, partly in jest, but also not really. Defend this house! The best friends in life challenge us, and we have friends from the Portland and Vancouver area who come up here to challenge us, keep us honest, and set us straight. Ryan Brownlee is one of those. He works hard for the Premier program in Portland, and he is a sharp racer who brings his best, always. All summer long we’ll be staring down the reality that our foundation Scale Spec class track record is in Portland. Donny did all he could, and it was agonizingly close, but Ryan took it. Just click on www.seattlercracers.com and there it is, the truth that burns. Our track record. In Portland. Gah! But…Excelsior! Redemption! Donny, our big rumbler, girded for the main battle, and with a mighty hammer blow smote the Brownlee and took the lead. Watch the main video, it was Scale Spec racing at its best. Bumping, robust, but fair. Donny muscled past at the two minute (or so) mark and held on despite Ryan’s best effort to get it back. The victory to Donny, and the club’s honor saved!
Stock 1/12th would reverse the narrative, and crush my hopes. I could despair for the outcome, but how can I begrudge a friend of the club, Alex Pate from Canada, his due? He did nothing but earn it with swift and sure driving on his part. I TQ’d the class, and was confident I could defend. But an untimely tangle, one I might have avoided with a bit more patience, cost me the early lead. But, and the rub, it stings! I got the lead again, but I handed it right back with a misjudged turn over the dots. Bitterness and gall! From there, pressure as I might while keeping it clean, Alex held on to take the victory. The TQ was ours, but the main victory goes north, across the border to Canadia, where snow tires are mandatory year-round, and the women wear fur-lined brassieres.
As it does most years, Novice kicks one of its own out of its ranks and on to greater things. Team Browers has been contesting Novice this year, with young Jack leading the way most nights. He claimed both the TQ and the victory, and for his reward, he moves on to Scale Spec in the fall, when he will start back at the bottom, and look upward at the mountain he has to climb. So it is for youth, but don’t fret for young Jack. Without much pain, no strength or fortitude for the travails of life, yes?
World GT, where art thou? Sometimes, beautiful things are born under a crossed star. When it was introduced at the IIC in 2008, it was heralded as a both a revival of 1/10th pan, and a savior of 1/10th foam. World GT has always been a sweet driving, peerlessly raceable platform. And yet…it was always riven by conflict. Spec’d as 4-cell on the cusp of the lipo revolution, raced as 2s 17.5 in many places (TZ2 among them), torn between blinky and boost, 13.5 and 10.5, and now foam and rubber. Has any class ever suffered so much from a lack of conviction? Was it supposed to be a class for pan car enthusiasts, or should it have gathered the refugees from the foam sedan crack up? Will this have been the last of the World GT races in Seattle? It’s bitter to think so. But is it a relief to be released from the anxiety of whether it will thrive? World GT…that quirky, beautiful girl, where did you go? Perhaps fittingly, Alex, who has raced pan cars in Seattle longer than anyone in the club, TQ’d and won.
Modified Touring is the biggest, baddest class on our lineup. Too much power, too much money, too, too much, and yet ever so much indeed. Dominated locally by a broody, moody, brilliant national champion, and stacked with ambitious challengers, it never fails to enthrall, and often upsets. Kody TQ’d, and looked set to close out the contest with a victory in the main. But the ECC, of all races, has been problematic for Kody, slipping from his grasp when it seemed certain. Driving tight, as he will always, the chicane collected its full toll in a single pass early in the main, sending him into the trailing angle with a whack, and breaking a rear link. He was out. Coming through were the stoutest of local challengers, Andrew and Jake, who would wage a battle for the lead until the final tone. As it was all season, they were separated by the narrowest of margins at the end, with Andrew claiming the victory by 7/10ths over Jake.
Formula One has enjoyed a resurgent year. Brought back to the Saturday class lineup, it has been supported all season long by a crew of diehards. Enjoying his trip down south, Alex again asserted himself (so unlike Canadians, generally, to be assertive) with a track record drive in qualifying, and a no-nonsense drive to victory in the main. Perhaps not unlike the full-scale version, there was little actual suspense. It was over and out almost from the tone. Sven and Russ had a nice battle for third.
Modified 1/12th was a small affair, and but for the friendly other Canadian, Jason Melnyk, it would have been a mere trio. Korey TQ’d and won. Interestingly, he tried the aluminum chassis conversion of the Roche, a fine car, but it was not preferable to the standard carbon on our sweetly medium grip track. Aluminum pan 1/12th is strictly for the high grip madness of the new school rug.
Finally, and inevitably, the Stock Touring grudge match. And it did not fail to disappoint in the conflict department as two of our mod gods were in the thick of it. With both Kody and Dave in the field, Mike and Devin, both Stock stalwarts, would have to battle against the incursions of the big-time team drivers. Devin, arguably the best of the Northwest’s stock racing talent, was able to split the difference. We don’t see enough of Devin these days, but it’s hard to hold him to too hard account, as the Salem/Albany driver has no local club to race with since RC Plus abandoned onroad (or did onroad abandon RC Plus? Let’s get into that one…not). But, the talent is still there, and while he was unable to do anything with the rampant Panda, who TQ’d and won going away, Devin was able to fend off Dave for the runner-up spot, by a mere 1/10th! It was a classic Stock duel, and to think they came all the way to Seattle to battle between themselves…but it was worth it, as they added luster to the event, and Devin defended the honor of Stock racers with his effort.
Thank you to all who attended this year’s Emerald City Classic, you made it another successful event and an excellent culmination of our racing season. We’ll be back in the Fall with a full schedule of races.
Results attached.
04-03-2016, 08:47 PM
#63
Tech Initiate
. Thanks for continuing the high bar of quality racing.
04-04-2016, 09:40 AM
#65
Great race, as per usual. Thanks Todd for a great 1/12 races as well. I think it's time to get annihilated in mod 12 next year.
04-04-2016, 04:13 PM
#66
Not to say there were no computers involved, of course
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