Indiana isn’t the only place a 500-mile open-wheel oval track race takes place. We did one of our own Saturday in advance of the “Official” Indy 500 on Sunday.
Of course, our race was scale miles and we didn’t quite make it to 500. Instead, we stopped this race with around 450 laps (scale miles) completed on the Stewart Raceway III oval course (almost a scale mile) and called it a race.
We did, however, complete a qualifying round prior to the actual race. Kevin Webster and Brad Sandahl would be the fastest two drivers in qualifying with Kevin doing a masterful job of bagging the Pole Position for the start of the 500-lap race.
| Track:Â SR3 Oval Super Speedway | |||
| Date:Â May-27-2023 11:36 | |||
| Class: Mega-G+ 1.7 Support Class Qualifying | |||
| Â | |||
| Name | Lap Time | Speed (Mph) | Place |
| Kevin Webster | 2.033 | 788 | 1 |
| Brad Sandahl | 2.057 | 779 | 2 |
| Jerry Pearson | 2.221 | 721 | 3 |
| Steve Stewart | 2.264 | 708 | 4 |
| Eric Lane | 2.408 | 665 | 5 |
| George Peters | 2.965 | 540 | 6 |
| Jordan Walker | 3.425 | 468 | 7 |
The slot car version of our 500-lap race was on four lanes with 56-lap heats (segments), 45-lap fuel allocations, and way too many times through the rotation, which was never going to work out.
Regardless, the race went green just before noon and George Peters set the pace by leading the race by just one lap after 56 laps. Brad Sandahl, however, would set the fastest lap in the segment at 2.080.
Segment 2 was a dogfight between
Eric Lane, George Peters, and Brad Sandahl. Eric came out on top by just one lap between each of the top three in the segment. After 112 laps, it was George Peters, Brad Sandahl, and Eric Lane at the top of the Leader Board.
At the end of Segment 3, Brad Sandahl would take the lead in the race with Eric Lane moving into 2nd place. Lots of action in the pits and plenty of drama.
Brad Sandahl would remain in the lead through segment 6 (221 laps) but fast qualifier, Kevin Webster, was quietly moving through the field and would finish the segment in 2nd place overall.
Segments 6 through 12 were a Brad Sandahl/George Peters show with Brad finishing his rotations prematurely in the lead at 424 laps. George Peters would win his share of segments while Eric Lane and Jerry Pearson held solid positions in 3rd and 4th. Meanwhile, speedster, Kevin Webster was laying down 1.9s laps on his way to 2nd place in Segment 12.
Kevin Webster would take over the lead after Segment 13 with just one more segment to go but out of the rotation with a lap total of 440. George Peters stayed close to Kevin in Segment 3 and completed it on the same lap, which would allow George to seal the deal in the final segment.
The final Segment of the grueling race would have George going into it with 387 laps, Brad Sandahl was out but and sitting in second at 424 laps, and Kevin leading with 440 laps but finished with his final rotation. George only needed 54 laps to win the overall race but that’s no easy feat when fuel racing is involved, anything can happen. Hard-charging Jerry Pearson and Eric Lane could not unseat any of the top three but that didn’t stop them from trying. Both finished the final segment on the same lap with 54 laps total and speedy lap times.
In the end, it was George Peters taking the checkers over fast qualifier, Kevin Webster, by just three laps. Detailed Results
| Name | Total Laps |
Race Place |
Total Run Time |
| George Peters | 443 | 1 | 1217.93 |
| Kevin Webster | 440 | 2 | 1162.477 |
| Brad Sandahl | 424 | 3 | 1249.89 |
| Jerry Pearson | 420 | 4 | 1219.193 |
| Steve Stewart | 408 | 5 | 1183.247 |
| Eric Lane | 398 | 6 | 1222.274 |
| Jordan Walker | 359 | 7 | 1175.896 |
Because the Race Director muffed the race setup, we decided to call it a day when Brad had to exit. So we never did reach 500 laps but it was a great race anyway.
Hats off to Georgie for driving a very solid and fast race against some serious competition from both Experts and Sportsman drivers. Sportsman driver, Kevin Webster finished in 2nd place while Sportsman driver, Jerry Pearson finished in 4th place. Very competitive racing at 18v with pretty much stock MegaG+ 1.7 chassis’ and F1/Indy bodies.
Fast qualifier and 2nd place finisher, Kevin Webster would also clock the fastest lap during the race at 1.907 seconds.
After the main event, we tried an IROC race with a set of Viper V-Specs cars that Eric Lane graciously donated to the track. Sadly, the F1/Indy hardbodies didn’t handle wall time too well with this bunch of drivers. Two of us put two different cars into the wall early on and the bodies shattered like snowflakes against the wall. We aborted and tried a set of AW Super III NASCAR rigs. That didn’t work out so well either. We aborted the race after four segments due to axles popping out on wall contact. Jordan Walker was on top of the leaderboard when that one ended.
Okay, next time will get the race setup right and complete 500 or 600 laps. Until then, shut up and drive!
Round 3 was another fast and furious race day with a pretty well-rounded (no pun intended) group of slot heads, as well as several guest appearances, including veteran slot car racer, Shaun Lee, all the way from Roseville, CA.
Starting off a little wild with a loose but fast platform. Of course, we allowed everyone warm-up time to adjust to these very different cars. While the Experts duked it out, Eric “Fastlane” Lane, drove to victory in Segment 3, in the Blue lane! Eric followed that feat up with a second-place finish in Segment 4, in the Yellow lane! Very nice driving! (
Special guest, Shaun Lee, didn’t waste much time establishing himself with a nice win in the new MegaG+ support class. This class provides some amazingly competitive racing. Expert, Shaun Lee, put on a show as he managed to best Hone Cook’n by a lap in the end. Not to be outdone by the Experts, Sportsman driver, Jordan Walker, put in a very impressive effort and very nearly overtook Expert, Home Cook’n, for the second spot on the podium. Nice close racing, for sure. Jordan showed why he’s the current Sportsman-class points leader with some very nice driving. (
The third race was yet another hotly contested battle between both the Experts and the Sportsman drivers. This IROC set was comprised of four brand new “box stock” Jag Hobbies NC-2 platforms with Georgie’s classic Mercury sedan hard bodies. The NC-2 is a magnet car but with these bodies installed and utilizing only the four inside lanes of the oval course, they can be really challenging to drive. George Peters proved he’s the real deal with a convincing win, besting Home Cook’n yet again by two laps while Shaun Lee pressured for the second podium spot the whole race. The Sportsman class was also very close with Jordan Walker besting Eric Lane by only two laps with Kevin Webster only one lap down. That’s competitive racing, folks! (
The final race of the day and the feature event was the venerable Viper V-SPEC class. Shaun Lee clearly had a well-prepared car and seemed to have a slight top-speed edge. In fact, Shaun set a new V-SPEC lap record on the day with a 1.658-second lap in the tight Yellow lane. In spite of Shaun’s speed advantage, George Peters took advantage of his fuel management skills and bagged the win by just one lap over the hard-charging Shaun Lee in second.
Speaking of blasting, the second race was hot and heavy with very close racing in both the Expert and Sportsman ranks. George Peters held off for the overall win against Home Cook’n by just one lap and Kevin Webster and Jerry Pearson tied on total laps with Kevin taking the final podium spot on run time.
Race 3 was as always blistering fast with everybody running V-SPEC Vipers with either GTP or NASCAR-style bodies. Sportsman driver, Jordan Walker, impressed us all with a standout performance in this one. The battle initially was hot and heavy between Home Cook’n and George Peters. However, George would have a couple of offs in his second segment costing him a couple of laps. Jordan started his rotation in the third segment and would finish first or second in the first three and third in his final segment, which put him just one lap ahead of George in second overall. Nice driving by Jordan!
The final race of Round 2 was back to the “Honor System” of marshaling since we only had four drivers participating. Once again, Jordan Walker proved he’s the real deal with a very good run of 75 laps, two 2nds a 3rd, and winning the final segment. It may look like a Home Cook’n show on paper but it was a lot more than that as fuel strategies came into play for almost all drivers in the final segment. (
While the weather didn’t cooperate, the slot car faithful certainly did. Nice turnout in spite of the rainy conditions and lack of shuttle service from the parking lots to the paddock. Oh well, 1/64 scale shuttles can’t transport many “real” people anyway.
Race 2: Mega-G+ 1.7 “Super Modifieds” IROC (18v)
Race 3: Viper V-SPEC “Lexan” (15v)
Race 4: Viper Jet “Maximum Leeway” Lexan (15v)