18Nov2017 Race Report
A wonderful race night with 10 heats, 57 entries, and stellar competition across the board. At the start of the season I feared the 5 o'clock starts would mean late outs, tired racers, shorthanded tear downs, and a cranky few left holding the bag. But! So far so good. Both the beginnings and ends of our nights have gone swiftly; we were ready to roll in 30 minutes from a cold gym floor, and we cleaned up just as fast at the end. For sure, it's appreciated when as many people as possible can stay, as many hands make light work, but those who stuck around got it done in a hurry!
I also want to say thanks to Alex for generously taking the mic for a good portion of the evening. He had bad luck in practice, which broke his car, so he was out for the night. It's a favor I won't ask again! It was my lightest RD duty at the gym since we moved in, giving me a chance to actually corner marshal, mind the track, and see the action from the floor. I even had a couple of conversations.
Scale Spec: Donny continues to run roughshod over the field, asking for and giving no quarter as he rumbles over the field. Gary Lewis ran a solid, uneventful second with gaps in front and behind. The real race in the main unfolded between Kerry and Justin, with Jerry not far behind. Kerry looked to have a good third place run going, but just past the halfway mark he hit a bump and gave the spot to Justin. Despite some rapid laps from Kerry which closed the gap, Justin held on for the last podium step, a nice reward for his efforts to attend after having raced up in Richmond during the day. That's dedication!
Novice: A single Cartwright made our Novice field. It looks like young Ayden will be carrying on his father's tradition. My advice bud is enjoy the track time and stick with it. When you're young, the improvements come in great leaps, enjoy the advantages that come with youth!
Stock 1/12th: Bodine continues to assert himself, as he clearly has his motor/chassis/battery package dialed in, and he is stone cold on the stand, never throwing away a fast car. What is there to say? It's a privilege to race him, and he never messes around. He frets that maybe his torch will start to sputter and dim, but for now, it's burning bright. Ron and I had a nice battle for the two-spot for about half the race until I got past after several minutes of riding his spur gear. Ron's another solid one who quietly goes about his competent way, clocking in with good runs and seldom missing his marks.
Modified Touring: After taking a break from onroad last season to race FPV drones, our illustrious national champion found his way back to the gym and quickly got sorted. Qualifying was a build up, as Kody was clearly feeling out the car, setup, tires, and all the stuff. But you could tell, it was coming. In the main he formed up in a three-car train with Andrew and Korey leading. After the inevitable tap-taps disrupted their flow, Panda got past and never looked back. Andrew made a desperate charge in the closing laps, but it was not enough to spoil Kody's return. The champ was back, but we will have to see whether our once-upon-a-time king is committed to being our future king, or if the call of flight will once again pull him away. There's no question his presence ups the stakes for everyone, so let's hope he finds his reward with us.
Formula One: When he shows, it's typical to see Mark Tveten at the front of the F1 field, but last night he had his hands full with club stalwart Russ Dyer who was clearly not content to see Mark have his way with the race. Mark opened with a strong Q1 and set the mark, but then Russ responded with an even faster Q2 run that earned him the pole for the night. After Mark declined to take the grid in the main, Russ ran a clean straight line that closed out his night with a win. Dave and Dave rolled through to fill out the podium.
Stock Touring: Let's give clear credit to Donny for logging another excellent win in the Stock class, but let's also call out newcomer Dan for delivering a beautiful drive on his maiden outing at the gym. He carved an immaculate line for 11 laps with Donny right on his tail until a bobble swapped positions. Dan quickly recovered and trailed right behind, applying pressure. Donny hung tough, but Dan served notice that there is another contender in the field. Welcome to Seattle, Dan! What a pleasant surprise to have a driver of quality simply turn up like this.
Modified 1/12th: I switched up the Team Mason tire program for the night, which for all but the last two minutes of the main left Stuart to deal with too-big tires. But fortunately, he hung in and did not get discouraged because he found his pace in the waning minutes of the night and charged through both myself and Brian to take a deserving win. The Jaco Blue touring tires are changing the game for us in 1/12th scale, as they are laying down a much darker groove than the old Team Powers specs we had been running in past seasons. The cuts I used to run won't serve now. Going forward we will be better prepared. Which gives little comfort from a competitive standpoint for those of us trying to hold off the rampaging 12-year-old. His Big Chill drive in Mod 1/12th was stellar, and unlike those of us counting our decades on a full hand or more, he's only just begun. Crikey!
Plenty of racing in the region next weekend with NORA and Rose City hosting club races, and Kelowna hosting their WCICS round. So, if the tryptophan coma has worn off come Saturday, go find a race somewhere.
Results attached.