Sorry for the delay in posting the race report, and a big Thank you to Loctite, er, Jesse for another kick-ass write-up.
Well, in case you haven't figured it out yet, it's officially 2018 folks. With the holiday hangover finally worn off and the club's excellent results from Victoria still fresh, we settled in to our friendly confines of Hangar 30 for the first club race of the new year. 27 entries made for a light and easy night with more than enough competition to go around. Despite the smaller size of the Hangar track, the racing it produces is second to none. Tight lanes make for good door-to-door battles throughout all classes. Still the best bang for your buck on a rainy Wednesday night. On to the results!
Novice:
The Hangar has produced solid Novice fields all season long, which is such a cool thing to see. That, coupled with the club setting aside a block of time during practice for the entry-level class to turn laps, has made racing more accessible than ever before. With points leader Paul Nortness departing the class for a stab at Scale Spec, it would be Ken Christiansen taking the TQ and then capping it off with a solid A-Main win. The ageless wonder Gary Bennett would take second, with Dalton Beckworth taking the final podium spot.
Scale Spec:
Kody Knudtson made an ultra-rare start in the scale spec class, and certainly didn't disappoint. Driving Franko's personal rent-a-wreck, Panda would put the hurt on the field all night on his way to an easy TQ and A-Main win. Mark Brown made his 2018 H30 debut and would qualify third and drive to a hard-fought second place in the Main. The club's forcefully-appointed race mechanic Mike Boyle would round out the podium and take third on the night. One quick note: Paul Nortness made the leap out of novice to the much more competitive scale spec class, and while he will undoubtedly find the learning curve a bit steep at times, its great to see the progression from the first round in September to now. Keep it up!
Stock Touring:
Stock Touring keeps bringing the goods on Wednesday nights, no matter who seems to show up. Travis Schreven and Stuart Mason would wage a war on the TQ spot over the two qualifiers, with "Mini" squeaking past Peeler by a mere 6 hundredths of a second. The Main looked to be a close one, but after a couple bobbles by Stuart, "Peeler" dropped the hammer and sprinted away with the win. Jake would ride his P3 start to a second place with Mini Mason rounding out the podium. Writer's note: I did my best "exploding car" impression after tapping the outside wall on the main straight. Safe to say the wall won, as it has all season. Learning curves can be a bitch sometimes.....
Stock 12th:
The Stock 12th class has been at the mercy of Stuart for some time now, and Wednesday night was confirmation: The rest of the field is on notice. While Todd and Brian would battle back and forth for P2 on the grid, it would be a Mason front-row lockout for the first time this season. The Main was much closer, with both Brian and Todd keeping "Mini" honest for the majority of the race. Try as they might though, Stuart would eventually take another solid victory, with Brian pipping Todd at the line for second. While the win would go to the youngster, by night's end the elders showed signs of creeping back within striking distance. The next few rounds should be fun to watch.
Another damn-fine night in the books, along with the return of 6-minute races to the program. While I quite liked the 5-minute length we'd been using, the extra minute of track time was a welcome change, as was the extra wrench time. Of course, anyone who's followed my escapades this season, knows I need all the time in between heats I can get. Judging by the "Loctite" shirt I received, my reputation has been well-recognized.
We're back this Saturday the 13th for the first Community Center race of 2013. Come on out and get your laps in, only just over two months left until the Emerald City Classic!
Results attached.
-JRoy
Results are posted below.