Stewart Raceway Wall Of Fame

The last 2023 Wall Of Fame plaques have been nailed and we’ve completed the season with seven (7) awards:

    • Junior Champion (Abe Maddox)
    • Sportsman Champion (Kevin Webster)
    • 50/50 Series Sportsman Champ (Jordan Walker)
    • 50/50 Series Expert Champ (George Peters)
    • 50/50 “Xtreme” Series Champ (Aaron Castro)
    • Most Improved Driver (Jerry Pearson)
    • Team of the Year (Team Maddox)

There was one additional plaque hung this season. Jerry Pearson won Rookie of the Year honors in 2022 and somehow we didn’t get that plaque up on the wall in 2022. Sorry, Jerry! It’s on the wall now.

One of the cool highlights of the 2023 season was the many female drivers that competed at Stewart Raceway.  We’ve been blessed by truly great and very competitive female drivers who love to race. The drivers listed below win races and are amazing drivers who are only going to get better and better:

    • Shaylin Maddox (Sportsman)
    • Martha Elderon (Sportsman)
    • Madeline Johnson (Junior)
    • Grace Maddox (Junior)

Next season we may consider separate awards for female drivers but I fully expect at least some of the above drivers to win awards outright. They are awesome!

Okay, shut up and drive!

2023 Season Awards and Track Day

Our amazing 2023 racing season has ended with a final track day and potluck event. Thank you all for attending and bringing all kinds of great food, snacks, chocolates, and wine!

We had a full contingent of junior drivers, Team Johnson and Team Maddox all here. The juniors did a bunch of laps in open practice (Madeline Johnson finished practice with over 500 laps!).

We only did one fun race, A Dash race of six drivers and 35 laps. Madeline Johnson won it by 3 laps over hard-charging Junior Champ, Abe Maddox in second. Olga Rosetta (Aaron’s girlfriend and team manager) bagged the final podium spot in her first-ever slot car race–very impressive!

Madeline Johnson, Abe Maddox, Olga Rosetta

Here are some pics of the awards festivities.

Junior Points Champion, Abe Maddox.

Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Driver, Jerry Pearson.

2023 50/50 Extreme Series winner, Aaron Castro.

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series, Aaron Castro (right), and the rest of the award and race winners.

Wow! Slot car racing is one of those activities that everyone can enjoy. It is so awesome to have such an amazing cross-section of racers participating in our program. Thank you all for making our 2023 racing season so fun and memorable.

Have a great Christmas and New Years!

Okay, shut up and drive!

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series: Round 4 Series Finale

The final race of the 50/50 Xtreme Series was decided by just one point and three laps. Our newest Sportsman driver in the mix, Aaron Castro, not only closed the deal on the series win today but also finished 2nd overall in Round 4, against two Expert drivers.

Short Story
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart* 558 236 4327.801
2 Aaron Castro 544 182 4347.334
3 George Peters* 541 181 4459.477
4 Kevin Webster 507 149 4426.83
5 Jerry Pearson 273 98 2311.258

*Expert Driver

Race 1: Jag Hobbies NC-2  70′ Boss Mustang Hardbodies
Home Cook’n, George Peters, Aaron Castro

The Jag NC-2 chassis is a very serious racing platform. However,  with these stock AutoWorld Super III bodies installed, they can be a bit unpredictable.

George Peters was on fire in Race 1 with three 2nd-place segment finishes and completing the race just eight seconds behind the race winner and on the same lap!  Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 140 64 1352.88
2 George Peters 140 50 1423.44
3 Aaron Castro 136 47 1291.1
4 Jerry Pearson 134 46 1365.84
5 Kevin Webster 114 28 1384.37
Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 “Modified”
Home Cook’n, Jerry Pearson, Kevin Webster

This car is the most competitive platform out there, by far. This race had three different segment winners, Jerry Pearson won two of the five segments!

In the end, Jerry Pearson finished on the same lap as the race winner and less than a fraction of a second behind. Way, way competitive racing!  Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 139 53 945.131
2 Jerry Pearson 139 52 945.422
3 Kevin Webster 135 45 982.405
4 Aaron Castro 138 44 999.324
5 George Peters 134 41 976.465
Race 3: MegaG 1.7 Whelen/SK Modifieds (IROC)
Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters

We just couldn’t get enough of the MG+ platform. This set was Box Stock 1.7 chassis’ with the new “paper” bodies. Again, very competitive. George Peters drove the wheels off his cars, winning two of the four segments and holding on to a 5-point lead over Aaron Castro going into the final segment. George was sitting in a very nice position going into the final segment, just one lap and one point behind the leader. In the end, George struggled with the Blue lane. At the same time, Kevin Webster came alive, besting George by only one lap but bagging the final podium spot and dropping George to a 4th-place finish, handing Aaron the points he needed to bag the 2nd-place podium spot. Again, way close racing with the MG+ platform. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 139 55 1036.9
2 Aaron Castro 135 47 1042.257
3 George Peters 134 46 1039.166
4 Kevin Webster 128 40 1042.051
Race 4: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” Lexan

The final race of the series,  a very fast and very competitive class that is extremely competitive. This one was mostly a battle between Aaron Castro and George Peters, both bagging two 2nd-place segment finishes. In the end, George, after a couple of bad heats was five points behind Aaron going into the final segment. George needed a great segment and some luck. Aaron would finish fourth in the segment and George would finish in 2nd-place, three laps up on Aaron but tied in points. Aaron would take the 2nd-place podium spot with a 6-second better total run time. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 140 64 992.894
2 Aaron Castro 135 44 1014.65
3 George Peters 133 44 1020.408
4 Kevin Webster 130 36 1018.002

So, there you have it. The 2023 50/50 Xtreme Series is in the books. Sportsman driver, Aaron Castro wins it over hard-charging Kevin Webster in the final round. Great driving by our newest member and congrats on the series win!

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series Final Overall Standings
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 1559 583 13187.46
2 Kevin Webster 1532 491 15719.91
3 Jerry Pearson 634 244 8530.101
4 Eric Lane 339 112 6219.998
5 Shaylin Maddox 214 76 1574.672
6 Grace Maddox 82 45 716.313
7 Abe Maddox 81 42 789.937
1 Steve Stewart* 1782 820 15347.45
2 George Peters* 1337 469 9458.514
3 Jordan Walker* 141 75 2213.675

*Expert

Okay, that’s it for now. Stay tuned for details on next Saturday’s Kid’s Race and 2023 Season Awards Presentations.  We may do some team racing with qualifying and combining the fastest with the slowest on each team, we’ll see. Just a fun day at the track regardless.

Awards to be presented:
      • 2023 50/50 Xtreme Series Winner – Sportsman
      • 2023 Season Champ – Sportsman
      • 2023 Season Champ – Junior
      • 2023 Most Improved Driver
      • 2023 Rookie of the Year
      • 2023 Team of the Year

Okay, shut up and drive!

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series: Round 4 Series Finale

“Official” 2023 Season Points Standings

Below is a summary of the current points standings for all “official” racing to date for the 2023 racing season.

Who will take home the Season’s trophy?

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Kevin Webster 2773 735 26066.3
2 Aaron Castro 1015 401 8840.121
3 Jordan Walker 1980 385 15915.75
4 Jerry Pearson 1511 336 14395.3
5 Eric Lane 1440 183 12701.97
6 Shaylin Maddox 637 173 4788.795
7 Abe Maddox 550 153 4541.577
8 Fred Ebert 189 79 1658.412
1 Steve Stewart* 3382 1202 26227.38
2 George Peters* 2753 705 18209.27

* Denotes Expert ranked drivers.

The trophies shown are not the actual 2023 trophies.

With just one or two more races possible this season, it looks like Sportsman points leader, Kevin Webster (Webster Motorsports),  has a very good shot at the 2023 Season Championship trophy.

Based on his performance in Round 3 of the 50/50 Xtreme Series, Aaron Castro has a mathematical shot at the trophy. However, Kevin would have to miss at least one remaining round and Aaron would need another stellar day like he had in Round 3 to pull it off.  I guess we’ll just have to see if we can complete one or two more rounds before the end of the year.

Jordan Walker, also a championship contender, is expected to miss at least the next round, which, unfortunately, will take him out of contention for the championship win.

Okay, shut up and drive!

Current Top 10 Drivers for 2023 Season

Abe and Mom getting in some practice on SR3.

Below is a summary of ALL races ran to date in 2023, this includes kids races, dash races, official series races, and any other “unofficial” race completed throughout the season. Of course, it doesn’t necessarily reflect merit since some drivers show up much more than others, and some (me) show up for every event.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 6041 2590 59631.24
2 Kevin Webster 4649 1546 51604.85
3 Aaron Castro 2711 1043 27476.9
4 George Peters 3066 860 21576.99
5 Abe Maddox 1272 765 14974.65
6 Jerry Pearson 1943 702 21632.81
7 Shaylin Maddox 1258 611 15360.7
8 Eric Lane 1456 502 15520.8
9 Jordan Walker 1633 351 14267.18
10 Grace Maddox 335 214 5017.043

Some of our junior drivers getting ready to race.

A few things to note from the 2023 season so far:

      1. The latest entry into our group, Aaron Castro is not long for the Sportsman ranks and will likely be the 2023 Rookie Driver of the Year and advance to the Expert ranks very soon.
      2. Abe Maddox is clearly the 2023 Junior Driver of the Year and can race with the “Big Kids” anytime.
      3. While I don’t believe there should be any distinction between male and female drivers in slot car racing, Abe’s Mom, Shaylin Maddox, is definitely our most active and possibly our best female driver in the group. It’s truly way cool to have women interested in racing and we have two adult women, Shaylin and Martha Elderon, who are very good slot car jockeys, for sure.

With just one more month remaining in the 2023 season, this summary isn’t likely to change much. We have two more “official” races to complete before the end of 2023. Hopefully, we can conclude them before the end of the year and give out some of these well-deserved awards.

Stay tuned for a complete summary of the “official” races of the 2023 season…