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
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
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.
Round 4 is tentatively slated for March 30th.
