Yep, Round 3 of the 2024 Open Wheel Series was a speed fest.
The big story is George Peters (GP Sports). George is a consummate builder, master tuner, and gifted artistic talent when painting and detailing car bodies.
George put down the fastest lap with a “SPEC STOCK” Viper V-SPEC platform, clicking off a 4.270-second lap in the SR3 Orange lane during Round 3 of the 2024 Open Wheel Series.
Sportsman driver Jerry Pearson clicked off a new lap record with a MegaG+ 1.7 Modified car in the IROC race in the White lane. Jerry won the individual MegaG+ Modified race, so he has some special skills with this platform, which suits his driving style well.
Aaron Castro continues to build his legacy at Stewart Raceway, setting numerous lap records in our individual classes. In our current premier Viper class, Aaron was just .139 seconds off George’s blistering record time and in the Blue lane!
Wow! What an amazingly competitive day of racing. Round 3 was not only blistering fast; it was one of the most competitive race days we’ve had at Stewart Raceway in quite a while.
We’ve made a few changes in our racing formats using fuel allocation parameters that seem to be helping level the playing field between Sportsman and Expert drivers, who race together but are scored separately.
The key ingredient for this seems to be a slight change in fuel delivery during pit stops. All drivers are allocated the same fuel at the start of each race, but Sportsman drivers enjoy a slightly faster fuel refill time than Expert drivers: six-second tank refills for Sportsman drivers and eight seconds for Expert drivers.
This small change seems to pay big dividends to the Sportsman ranks, making the racing much more competitive and changing fuel races’ overall dynamics and excitement.
Short Story
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
471
227
3127.513
2
Aaron Castro
467
216
3141.732
3
George Peters
461
204
3114.904
4
Eric Lane
419
163
2923.108
5
Kevin Webster
396
133
3108.326
6
Jerry Pearson
230
102
1536.13
7
Martha Elderon
102
36
775.14
It was a very competitive race day! Jerry and Martha had to depart after Race 2. All others completed all four official races.
Race 1: MegaG+ 1.7 Modified (IROC)
Our latest and increasingly popular car class. It is a perfect warmup for the subsequent individual Modified class. Again, an extremely competitive race, with nearly all drivers winning at least one segment. Second through fourth were only separated by one lap at the finish, and the top three finishers were separated by just one point. While Sportsman driver Kevin Webster jumped out front, winning the first segment, Sportsman Jerry Pearson won the next three and remained in the lead until segment 5 when Expert Aaron Castro took over the lead through segments 5 and 6.
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
118
55
755.518
2
Aaron Castro
115
54
788.33
3
George Peters
114
53
759.984
4
Jerry Pearson
113
47
792.398
5
Kevin Webster
105
43
762.624
6
Eric Lane
103
41
757.853
7
Martha Elderon
102
36
775.14
Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 Modified
Not actual podium, Race Director spaced–again!
After 120 laps with an IROC version of the same car, everybody was well-prepared for this barnburner race. Jerry Pearson dominated this race with one segment win and three second-place finishes. Jerry led the race from Segment 2 through to the finish, besting a hard-charging Expert, Aaron Castro, by just two points and grabbing the top podium spot, great driving, Jerry!
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Jerry Pearson
117
55
743.732
2
Aaron Castro
119
53
780.164
3
Steve Stewart
116
52
788.384
4
George Peters
117
50
747.699
5
Eric Lane
110
44
744.725
6
Kevin Webster
96
28
770.995
Race 3: Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy 1.7 Lexan (IROC) c/o Eric Lane
Another great IROC set to prepare for the day’s finale, the Viper V-SPEC “Spec Stock” class. Sportsman driver Eric “Fast” Lane graciously donated these cars to Stewart Raceway. How many tracks have you visited that have Viper V-SPEC IROC sets? This mainly was a fast and furious battle between the three Experts, but Eric Lane put in a great effort in Segment 1, placing second to Home Cook’n just one lap down and very close on total run time–Nice driving, Eric! Aaron Castro would win two segments but came up short of Home Cook’n despite a perfect 30 laps in the final segment.
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
120
61
934.366
2
Aaron Castro
116
56
926.674
3
George Peters
112
46
950.901
4
Eric Lane
102
38
760.075
5
Kevin Webster
100
34
913.266
Race 4: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” Lexan
Pinned Lexan F1/Indy bodies.
It is always an adrenaline-pumping race, but this one was really hot! Aaron Castro blasted into the lead from the get-go, winning the first segment just ahead of George Peters but on the same lap. Aaron would hold the race lead until the final segment, but George was clicking off high-speed lap times, vying for his first race win of the day. George was clicking off faster and faster laps but missed besting Home Cook’n at the finish of the last segment. George was just .381 seconds off the race winner’s segment run time and short just four points–great effort, George!
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
117
59
649.245
2
George Peters
118
55
656.32
3
Aaron Castro
117
53
646.564
4
Eric Lane
104
40
660.455
5
Kevin Webster
95
28
661.441
Speaking of lap times, George set new lap records on three lanes during this race, and Aaron set another. George’s fastest time of the race was 4.270 seconds in Lane 4 (Orange). Aaron clicked off a 4.409-second lap in Lane 5 (Blue). Blistering pace!
We did one fun race after the official races were over, running Eric’s MegaG+ 1.7 (Scooby Doo) Vans IROC set–way fun cars, thanks Eric!
Official Series Standings After Round 3:
With two more Rounds to go, Kevin Webster and Eric Lane are in a heated contest for Sportsman honors, with just two points separating the two drivers after Round 3.
In the Expert ranks, it’s not as close, but certainly still up for grabs between the top three points earners.
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Kevin Webster
1046
349
7360.796
2
Eric Lane
1077
347
5300.734
3
Jerry Pearson
910
290
3850.142
4
Shaylin Maddox
176
88
1428.228
5
Pam Ebert
154
64
1390.808
6
Abe Maddox
148
64
1337.006
7
Martha Elderon
102
36
775.14
1
Steve Stewart*
1567
697
8659.291
2
Aaron Castro*
1557
656
8656.26
3
George Peters*
1539
606
8651.218
4
Jordan Walker*
590
140
2405.214
*Expert
Okay, Round 3 of this incredibly competitive and exciting series is in the books. Stay tuned for a post on other lap records broken in Round 3. Drivers continue to get faster and faster on SR3.
I’ve posted a few videos of the action from last Saturday’s track day. Sadly, yours truly messed up and didn’t get the race management screen in the recordings. It’s pretty boring without that but it is what it is.
The first video below is a short clip of the action before the first races if you just want to take a quick look at the paddock.
Note: If you want to watch fullscreen, right-click on link and open in a new tab or window. These videos are private, only somebody with the below links can find or view them.
Wow! Yet another way cool rainy track day filled with junior drivers and parents all from the hood. And what a spread of goodies and snacks shared by all, very nice!
We had one new neighborhood team and one returning neighborhood team join in the fun along with veteran family teams, Team Johnson and Team Maddox.
After several hours of open practice, the more serious junior drivers were ready to run a few races. We decided to stick to Dash races and started racing with six drivers and six lanes.
Race 1 Podium: Abe Maddox, Cameron Bill, and Isabel Foster
The first Dash race was very interesting as the lead changed quite often with Cameron Bill leading most of the laps. Not to be outdone, Junior driver Abe Maddox (driving for Mom, Shaylin) came from behind in the last few laps and knocked Cameron off the top podium spot to second. Our newest Junior driver at Stewart Raceway, Isabel Foster, rounded out the podium with a very impressive 3rd place finish.
Race 2 Podium: Jared Johnson, Cameron Bill, Abe Maddox
The second Dash race was an all-Jared Johnson show, with Jared winning by three laps over a hard-charging Cameron Bill in 2nd place, and an amazing 3rd place finish by Abe Maddox driving for Isabel’s Mom, Jenny Foster. Isabel had another amazing race finished in 4th place just one lap behind superstar Junior, Abe Maddox.
Overall Results of First Two Races
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Cameron Bill
52
26
421.582
2
Isabel Foster
43
18
425.308
3
Jared Johnson
30
17
212.991
4
Shaylin Maddox2
25
16
207.734
5
Madeline Johnson
32
12
435.491
6
Jenny Foster2
23
11
219.94
7
Matthew Johnson
31
10
444.515
8
Eli Bill1
20
8
211.734
Eli only participated in the first race.
Abe Maddox drove for both Shaylin and Jenny.
Nice to have all six lanes on the SR3 road course buzzing with racers! Prior to racing breaking out, Eli Bill had studiously been working on improving his lap times and, before practice ended, had bested the current lap record for the car he was driving, a MegaG+ 1.7 “Modified.” Nice driving, Eli!
All in all, amazing driving by all, especially all the first-time racers who stood on the podium after their first-ever slot car race—amazing!
Most of the teams departed after the two Dash races. However, Team Johnson wasn’t quite done for the day and we did three more Dash races with just the three of us. The first race was a straight-up 25-lap Dash, the second was a 25-lap Dash with fuel, and the third was a 30-lap Dash race with just tire changes.
Team Johnson dominated the last few races with Dad, Jared, winning two and Madeline winning the final race. Very impressive driving by Team Johnson. Jared should join us for a Big Kids race, he’s a natural. Madeline found her mojo and drove all three races extremely well.
Overall Results Of Last Three Races
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Jared Johnson
85
48
596.36
2
Madeline Johnson
80
38
591.418
3
Steve Stewart
78
37
594.015
Oh, and a very Happy Birthday wish to Matthew Johnson who just turned 4-years old! Thanks for sharing your delicious birthday cake, Matthew!
Another way cool track day with all neighborhood families in the mix. Hope everybody enjoyed it. Thank you all for supporting Stewart Raceway. Let’s do it again real soon!
We’ve added several new drivers/teams to the program in recent weeks and discovered that Saturday races or track days aren’t ideal for some.
We’d like to find out where each driver/team stands on this so we’d like you to participate in the below survey to find out what truly is the ideal day/night and time to hold races or track days.
It may well be that Saturday is still the best day for events but we may also discover that there is enough interest to do additional events on a weeknight or maybe even on Sundays.
Please take this short survey and let us know where you stand on the topic.
Yep, Round 3 of the 2024 Open Wheel Series was a speed fest.
Another great IROC set to prepare for the day’s finale, the Viper V-SPEC “Spec Stock” class. Sportsman driver Eric “Fast” Lane graciously donated these cars to Stewart Raceway. How many tracks have you visited that have Viper V-SPEC IROC sets? This mainly was a fast and furious battle between the three Experts, but Eric Lane put in a great effort in Segment 1, placing second to Home Cook’n just one lap down and very close on total run time–Nice driving, Eric! Aaron Castro would win two segments but came up short of Home Cook’n despite a perfect 30 laps in the final segment.
