We only have two races left at the Hangar this season, but turnouts have been better than I recall seeing in the 3 years we’ve been back. Thanks to all of you who come early, help us break-in to the closet when I lose my key, bring friends and new racers, and stick around to break down so we can keep the fryer going at the Wedgewood Broiler.
Formula 1 was a small group, but that set the stage for current track record holder Mark Brown to take a awing at improving his time. Mark nibbled at the fast lap ion Q1 and Q2, getting within a tenth a couple of times, but couldn’t quite make the fast lap happen. The run over 6 minutes was another story, with a happy ending this time as Mark bested his time set back in January of 2016 by 0.6 seconds, setting the F1 bar at 33/6:06.842. Mark of course claimed TQ as well, running the main our front from bell to bell, with Bill Swadener 2nd and Adam Shelton unable to start due to mechanical issues.
Novice saw the veteran Gary Bennett take TQ with a very solid drive. In the main, the rest of the field battled through attrition and each other, with Gus Wells and Ayden Cartwright (yes, that Cartwright
) falling victim to breakdowns before the time has elapsed. At the final tone, Gary took the win with protégé Ryan Yasuda taking a person best 2nd place.
Stock Touring saw the elder Cartwright grab TQ with a blistering 37 lap run, only 6 seconds off the record in fact. In the Main, Mike Boyle lined-up all dead last after some rough qualifying runs. When the stating tone sounded, Mike leveraged lightning-quick reflexes (and a fair amount of luck
) to catch two cars in front of him sleeping. From the middle of the straight to the timing loop, Mike managed to gain 2 positions, not a bad start. Up front, Andrew lit the afterburner and disappeared, leaving Bill Swadener to play chase and later in the race, play defense from Mike. When the cars crossed the line, Bill was 1.7 seconds ahead of Mike, with Andrew taking the win.
Stock 1/12 was a packed affair, with Todd Mason receiving his just rewards in the form of TQ honors for his equal measures of consistency and speed. Brian, on the other hand, was clearly focusing on raw speed, resetting his fast lap record with a 9.367. Stuart qualified 2nd and Brian 3rd. The Main saw the top 3 cars disappear into a freight train of foam dust, chattering polycarbonate, and the occasional trash talking jab. Brian and Stuart swapped positions a couple of times, keeping Todd in their sights as the sliced their way through traffic. After 8 long minutes, Stuart crossed in 3rd, Brian 2nd and Todd led from bell to bell for a perfect 101 points on the night.
Scale Spec was packed, with Ryan Lence taking the win in the B and Franko Roberts grabbing TQ. Franko caught trouble in the first minute, dropping to 3rd while Chris Perry and Gary Lewis moved up to 2nd and 1st respectively. That would only last a lap, when a couple of slow laps allowed Franko to get past Chris for 2nd. A couple of incidents swapped positions between Franko and Chris while Gary got to work, with only one mishap, never relinquishing the lead. When 6 minutes were up, Franko was 3rd, Chris 2nd and Gary took the win.
Updated track records, season points and nightly results are posted below.