Month: November 2025

Race Report: Wednesday Night Under The Lights, November 26-27, 2025

Despite the national Thanksgiving holiday on Thurs, we had an excellent turnout for this Under The Lights event. Kathy prepared some delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup and cornbread muffins. Team Clarke brought a home-baked peach pie (I didn’t try it, but everyone else loved it). Team Jolley brought delicious tortilla chips, guac dip, as well as great cookies. Of course, plenty of good hydration products were floating around the paddock, also.

We didn’t get racing until about 7:00 pm and had to interrupt that first race for dinner and dessert. Race 2 got underway around 9:30, and we wrapped up racing just before midnight.

Short Story
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 214 156 1963.184
2 Dean Donaldson 210 133 2005.881
3 Dustin Jolley 207 126 1962.609
4 Joe Clarke 85 51 991.220
5 Harper Hutchinson 99 46 1075.561
6 Rylee Hutchinson 90 34 1042.174
7 Michael Hutchinson 89 34 969.277
8 Lisa Clarke 74 33 1004.625
Race 1:  Jag Hobbies NC-2 Lite BOX STOCK Mustangs (i)

The Jag NC-2 is a great magnet-car platform designed as an alternative to the AFX MegaG 1.5 platform. This IROC set utilizes out-of-the-box cars with paintable AutoWorld Mustang bodies. The AW hardbodies have a relatively high center of gravity, so they’re a bit tricky to drive on a road course.

This race was very competitive, with nearly every driver bagging a segment win. Dustin Jolley would be the quickest Sportsman driver, with the fastest lap (6.272 on Orange) and the fastest median lap time in segment 4 (8.871). Team Clarke’s Joe Clarke won a segment overall and put down some impressive lap times, but came up a few laps and just 2 points short of the podium.

In the end, Dean Donaldson would take top Sportsman honors, besting the hard-charging Dustin Jolley for the overall win. They tied in total laps, and Dustin had the better runtime and won the last segment, but came up 7 points short of the overall win. (Details)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 97 68 1008.684
2 Dean Donaldson 93 60 1021.363
3 Dustin Jolley 93 53 1004.292
4 Joe Clarke 85 51 991.220
5 Lisa Clarke 74 33 1004.625
Race 2: Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy 1.7 (i) Lexan Eric Lane Set

Team Hutchinson joined in the fun for Race 2 after Team Clarke had to head home to prepare for T-Day travels. Michael and his daughter, Harper, have raced at Stewart Raceway twice before, once on the SR3 oval, and once on SR3’s Fast Esses road course. Harper has a 4.0 average, and Michael has a 4.5 average. Daughter Rylee was driving for the first time. Obviously, the deck was stacked against Team Hutchinson in this one.

After a brief warm-up, the race got underway with the stage being set quickly. The Sportsman battle was clearly going to be between Dustin Jolley and Dean Donaldson, while Team Hutchinson had their own heated battle going within the team. Dustin and Dean swapped segment wins from the start, and Dean ended Segment 5 in the lead by 3 laps and 5 points. Dean also had the fastest lap and median lap time.

To make things even more challenging for Dustin in the final segment, Harper and Rylee Hutchinson were posting increasingly faster lap times as the race progressed. Harper won the segment 4 Sportsman battle with a nice 2-place finish overall, completing all 20 laps, and posting the fastest Sportsman lap and median lap time in the Orange lane.

Unfortunately for Team Hutchinson, all three drivers would spend the final segment in “gutter” lanes. Rylee faired the best, completing 17 laps in the final segment, finishing 4th overall, and 3rd for the segment. Dustin Jolley drove the wheels off the White lane car, setting the fastest Sportsman lap and median lap time, completing all 20 laps, and winning the segment overall. But it just wasn’t quite enough to overtake Sportsman race-leader, Dean Donaldson. While they tied on points, Dean finished 3 laps ahead of Dustin for the coveted Sportsman win. (Details)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 117 88 954.500
2 Dean Donaldson 117 73 984.518
3 Dustin Jolley 114 73 958.317
4 Harper Hutchinson 99 46 1075.561
5 Rylee Hutchinson 90 34 1042.174
6 Michael Hutchinson 89 34 969.277

It was great to see Team Hutchinson back at Stewart Raceway, enjoying the racing, and steadily improving their lap times. Congrats to Harper on her second podium appearance in just three visits to Stewart Raceway!

This likely marks the end of the points chase for the 2025 Under The Lights season. Below are the points standings for our inaugural season:

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Dean Donaldson 3372 2915 38657.469
2 Kathy Stewart 710 878 7171.465
3 Joe Clarke 828 855 8419.542
4 Dustin Jolley 1193 568 10955.320
5 Mike Langell 630 467 6317.622
6 Jeff Seltzer 826 301 14673.877
7 Tom Langell 375 282 4622.009
8 Frank Virgil 107 244 1075.160
9 Lisa Clarke 255 230 3264.112
10 Bill Shrum 101 144 929.429
11 Joey Vierra 136 102 2145.284
12 Joe Vargas 215 99 2111.097
13 Kevin Webster 229 97 1795.770
14 Ron Williams 205 74 3324.955
15 Mick Dudas 94 63 2116.387
16 Harper Hutchinson 99 46 1075.561
17 Rylee Hutchinson 90 34 1042.174
18 Michael Hutchinson 89 34 969.277
19 Bev Seltzer 98 28 1186.187
0 Steve Stewart 3593 3431 39283.808

Dean Donaldson obviously won the Sportsman class points chase. Kathy and Joe are very close, with Kathy in 2nd place and Joe in third, 23 points behind. We could have a race-off between the two to see who comes out on top. Maybe we’ll get in one more race night before the end of the year; we’ll see. I think I’ve got some pretty solid video of both races. I’ll post those on Rumble soon.

I’ve still got some number crunching to do for the regular season (Saturday) points, but a couple of notable mentions for 2025 awards are Abe Maddox (3 race wins, 25 segment wins), Jared Johnson (Most Improved), and a decision on who earned Rookie of the Year honors.

I’ve got the 13th, 17th, 19th, and 20th available for an “End of Season” celebration event. If there’s enough interest, we’ll have lunch/dinner, present awards, recognize advancements, and maybe have a Race-Off between Joe and Kathy.

Okay, shut up and drive!

Race Report: Saturday Night Under The Lights, November 22-23, 2025

Wow! Another fantastic night under the lights. Dean prepared an amazingly delicious beef bourguignon that everybody raved about. Joe brought a fantastic chocolate cream pie (which I sadly had to share), Mike brought a couple of packages of frozen wild pig sausage that he and his Dad took recently. Mike also brought some brownies that disappeared quicker than a Viper overshooting Turn 1. Dustin brought a very cool IROC set of Porsche 935s.

It was just a blur at 600mph…

 

Short Story
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 347 225 3260.446
2 Mike Langell 323 146 3334.943
3 Dustin Jolley 243 121 2344.601
4 Dean Donaldson 230 118 2056.539
5 Jeff Seltzer 213 84 2035.342
6 Joe Clarke 212 79 2054.991
7 Kathy Stewart 77 28 1284.974

Expert Driver

Race 1: Tyco 440-X2 Narrow Lexan (i)

Kind of a hodge-podge set, but the racing was great. Jeff Seltzer came off the line ready to rumble after a five-month layoff from Stewart Raceway. Jeff handily won the first segment, not with the fastest lap times, but with a steady pace, a perfect 20-lap segment, and the win. Jeff looked to be poised for a podium visit.

Dean Donaldson (Full Speed Racing), however, had other plans. Dean wasn’t having a great race going into segment 4, sitting last on the leaderboard and 14 points behind 3rd place, Jeff Seltzer. Dean’s chances for a podium looked pretty slim. Dean’s situation changed dramatically in Segment 4 in the White lane. Dean would run a perfect 20-lap segment, set the fastest median lap time, and win by a whole lap. Dean repeated in the final segment, with another perfect 20-lap segment, set the fastest lap of the segment in the Green lane, and stole the third spot on the podium from a hard-charging Jeff Seltzer. Talk about comebacks!

While the Comeback Kid was working his magic, Mike Langell was masterfully running his own race for a podium spot, placing no worse than 3rd in each of his rotations. Mike ended up 2nd overall with steady but fast driving. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 97 71 959.929
2 Mike Langell 93 57 959.929
3 Dean Donaldson 91 55 959.929
4 Jeff Seltzer 87 49 959.929
5 Joe Clarke 83 33 959.929
Race 2: Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy 1.7 (i) Lexan Eric Lane Set

Going from fast to faster, we opted for the venerable Viper V-SPEC L4 “Eric Lane” way-fast-and-fun IROC set for Race 2. Our newest driver, Dustin Jolley, made his fourth appearance at Stewart Raceway for this special Saturday edition of our Under The Lights series.

Other than the first segment, this one didn’t have many lead changes; it pretty much finished the way it started, from 1st through 4th.  Though the gaps in the battle for the podium spots were very narrow, the real battle was between Jeff Seltzer and Joe Clarke for 5th and 6th place. Both drivers had pretty good segment results, with Jeff bagging a 4th-place finish in segment 4, and Joe finishing 3rd in segment 5 and 2nd in the final segment. Joe also set the second fastest lap for the segment with a 5.097 in the Green lane.

Other drama in this one was Dean Donaldson and Dustin Jolley tied in laps, and Dean just two points down going into the final segment. To make it even more dramatic, both drivers would be in the gutter lanes: Dean in Yellow and Dustin in Red. Unfortunately for Dean, the Yellow lane hairpins bit him hard, and he would lose 7 laps. He would finish in 6th-place to Dustin’s 3rd-place, putting him well out of contention for the Sportsman win, but a nice podium finish and the second fastest lap of the race in the Blue lane to cap off his night. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 150 90 1071.076
2 Dustin Jolley 144 71 1091.028
3 Dean Donaldson 139 63 1096.610
4 Mike Langell 135 43 1099.802
5 Joe Clarke 129 46 1095.062
6 Jeff Seltzer 126 35 1075.413
Race 3: Tyco 440-X2 Wide-Pan Porche 935 Hardbody (i)

Dustin Jolley pulled out a set of Tyco 440-x2 widepan cars with Porsche 935 “Whale Tail” hardbodies for the final race of the night. These cars were amazingly smooth, very comparable in performance, and a hoot to drive.

Dustin set the fastest lap of this race with a 7.129 in the White lane. Dustin was on a mission in this one, with three Sportsman segment wins and the fastest lap.  Young gun Mike Langell came out swinging with a Sportsman win in the first segment and a blistering pace in the final segment. Mike was 3 laps down but just 2 points behind going into the final segment and seemed to find his groove in the Orange lane, setting the fastest median lap time of the race.

Unfortunately, Dustin drove the wheels off his car in the White lane with a perfect 25 laps, very nearly winning the segment, but a crash in the final corners of the last lap of the race dashed an otherwise great run in just his fourth appearance.  Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 100 64 1229.441
2 Dustin Jolley 99 50 1253.573
3 Mike Langell 95 46 1275.212
4 Kathy Stewart 77 28 1284.974

No need to tally points for this series since Dean has that in the bag already. I’ll post the final standings in December, and we’ll celebrate Dean’s departure from the Sportsman ranks to an Expert driver.

Thank you to all of you who attended our first Saturday night event, it was way fun, great food, and hydration products. The next Under The Lights event is this Wednesday. It could be a light turnout due to the Holiday, we’ll see.

Stay tuned for limited video coverage. Had some technical issues on that…again!

Okay, shut up and drive!

Race Report: Wednesday Night Under The Lights, November 12-13, 2025

New drivers, new track records, and new curfew!

Weeknight racing seems to be outpacing Saturdays these days. We had six local drivers show up for this one. Full Speed Racing sponsored the event and provided locally caught, fresh, cracked crab, a delicious, homemade (and spicy) pasta dish, and all the fixings for eating fresh crab. Team Langell brought in apple/berry pie from Summit Store, and the house kitchen provided brownie bites. Of course, plenty of good wine, beer, and spirits were also available to keep the drivers hydrated.

Short Story
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 228 164 2127.358
2 Dean Donaldson 218 141 2093.944
3 Mike Langell 202 133 2098.865
4 Joey Vierra 136 102 2145.284
5 Tom Langell 133 93 2385.587
6 Mick Dudas 94 63 2116.387
Race 1: Tyco 440-X2 Narrow Lexan (IROC)

We ran this rag-tag set of old Tyco 440-X2 Narrow cars in this one. Not the best call with two new drivers in the mix, but we managed to complete the 20-lap fuel race without too much delay. Mike Langell came out swinging in this one, winning the first and third segments. New driver Joey Vierra, had a great opening race, winning the fourth segment in the white lane with the fastest lap, and bagging a 2nd place finish in the final segment, just one lap down from the leader.

The big story was Mike Langell’s 3rd-place and final podium position. In only his second visit to Stewart Raceway, Mike is enjoying the racing and is poised for a race win very soon.  (Details)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 116 80 1193.942
2 Dean Donaldson 109 66 1160.528
3 Mike Langell 102 61 1165.449
4 Joey Vierra 101 59 1211.868
5 Tom Langell 99 52 1452.171
6 Mick Dudas 79 30 1182.971

Expert

Race 2: Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy 1.7 Lexan Eric Lane Set (IROC)

We started this final race just before midnight, and attrition hit some drivers hard after only two segments. Joey Vierra, Tom Langell, and Mick Dudas called it a night and abandoned the race. Joey was actually in 3rd place at the end of two segments, but he’d had enough fun for the night and departed the paddock with Mick and Tom.

Instead of just bagging the race and ending there, Dean, Mike, and Home Cook’n soldiered on and completed the race. With field thinned down to just three drivers, things got even more heated with Mike Langell winning the third segment in the blue lane with the fastest median lap and a perfect score of 20 laps. Home Cook’n won segments four and five, and Dean Donaldson won the final segment with a perfect 20 laps score, and a new lap record for the Eric Lane Viper IROC set in the blue lane. (Details)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 112 84 933.416
2 Dean Donaldson 109 75 933.416
3 Mike Langell 100 72 933.416
4 Joey Vierra 35 43 933.416
5 Tom Langell 34 41 933.416
6 Mick Dudas 15 33 933.416
New Lap Record!

In the second race, Full Speed Racing’s Dean Donaldson clicked off a 4.645 record lap in the Blue lane with Eric Lane’s awesome V-SPEC IROC set. Not an easy feat in the blue lane, but Dean was in a battle for both the win against Home Cook’n and the second podium spot against a hard-charging Mike Langell. Nice driving, Dean!

Needless to say, this event finished in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

Okay, we’ll see how RSVP’s shape up for Saturday. Stay tuned and keep it in the slot!