Author: Race Director

Race 1: Johnny Lightning “Shaunadega” Vintage NASCAR (IROC) 18v

George Peter’s dragged these cool cars out of his archives to run on the SR3 oval. They did not disappoint anybody. These cars are a hoot to drive, fast, and loose, but very predictable. The venerable pancake motor with vintage NASCAR bodies is a blast to race on an oval. The main battle in this one was between Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, and George Peters, with Aaron finishing a close second and on the same lap as the winner. A secondary battle was going on between Sportsman drivers, Kevin Webster and Shaylin Maddox. Shaylin had never driven the SR3 oval course nor had she ever driven a Johnny Lightning “Shaunadega” car. In the end, Shaylin managed to take third in the final two segments, besting Kevin by four laps and just four points. Great driving!  Detailed Results

Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 “Modified” 18v

This relatively new class has been very interesting and competitive. The “paper” bodies transform the MG+ chassis into a real speedster by virtue of less weight and overall mass, making the MG+ 1.7 platform much more exciting to drive. Unfortunately, Team Maddox had to abandon racing after the first event due to their younger drivers favoring other interests. That would leave just four of us to complete round 3 but it was still hot and heavy racing from then on. Race was yet another barn burner with Aaron Castro putting in a fierce effort to win Race 2. In the end, each segment of the race was identical in terms of finishing order with Aaron finishing on the same lap as the leader again!  Detailed Results

Race 3: OS3 TFX “Box Stock” 1968 and 70 Camaro Hard Bodies (IROC) 18v

In the spirit of the Aurora ThunderJet, these cars are completely stock TFX chassis’. Very challenging to drive, even on an oval. Sportsman driver, Aaron Castro, dominated Race 3 winning three of the four segments and clearly demonstrating his diverse driving skills with these fast but loose cars. Expert driver and veteran T-Jet driver, George Peters, fought hard for the win in this one but Aaron clicked off four perfect 40-lap segments and sealed the deal with a convincing win in the final segment.  Detailed Results

Race 4: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” Lexan GTP 15v

One of our faster classes, these cars are essentially “box stock” Viper V-SPEC chassis’ with a Lexan body. No other mods are allowed. The fastest cars we ran in Round 3 and probably the most adrenaline-producing of the bunch. The final “official” race of the day was probably the most competitive of all with four very fast V-SPEC cars duking it out on the oval.  The big story of the day was the Sportsman points battle between Kevin Webster and Aaron Castro. Kevin was leading the points chase by 21 over Aaron going into Round 3. Kevin knew he wasn’t having his best day going into the final race and was clearly on a mission to salvage the day with a win.  Kevin came out of the gate with guns blazing and very fast laps, clinging onto second place until segment 3, when he had a disastrous run in the Blue lane only completing 34 laps.  George Peters was in a solid third position until segment 3 when Aaron Castro came out of nowhere and won the segment with a perfect 40 laps completed. That would set the stage for an epic battle in the final segment. In the end, Home Cook’n managed to hold onto a slim 2-lap lead to take the win. The final segment was very close with Aaron and George putting in a perfect 40-laps and Kevin only losing one lap but with the best median lap time of the segment.  That’s some very competitive racing, folks.  Detailed Results

Overall Results for Round 3

So cool to have Shaylin in the mix. She’s getting better and better each race and adapts amazingly well to every car, layout, and race format we throw at her. Way to go, Shaylin!

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series Points Standings after Round 3

By winning one race and coming in a close second in the other three events, Aaron Castro has rocketed into the lead in the Sportsman standings. With two more rounds to go, Kevin Webster is going to need a lot of luck and some very good driving to get back into a series-win position.

We actually didn’t stop racing after the four “official” races. The four of us clicked off four more fuel races, ending with a Fray T-Jet “slip-on” IROC race! Surprisingly, Aaron finished just two laps down on the leader having never raced a Fray car before.

Stay tuned for details on our next events at Stewart Raceway. Next weekend will be an open track and, hopefully, some junior racing. Round 4 of the series will return to the SR3 “Fast Esses” road course.

Okay, shut up and drive!

Round 2 of the series started with another qualifying session that would not only seed the subsequent races but also decide the selection order for the latest MegaG+ 1.7 “paper” bodies from Hammerschlagen Fabrications. The fastest Sportsman driver, Jerry Pearson, clicked off a very nice 5-lap average time and got the first pick of the newly minted “paper” bodies for our new MG+ Modified class.

Grace Maddox qualified first and, of course, had the pole for a brief time before getting knocked off. She had a very nice run with no offs!

Shaylin Maddox and Eric Lane had the closest rivalry in qualifying with only a 4-mph difference in top speed.

Team Maddox was without Junior ace, Abe Maddox, this round due to a “contract” dispute forcing team management to suspend him for at least one event.

Qualifying (5-lap average, 2-lap warm-up)

Team Maddox had to exit Round 2 just after qualifying and would not participate in the day’s points racing. Details

Race 1: MG+ 1.7 Vans c/o Eric “Fast” Lane’s stable

Wow, these cars were interesting. MegaG+ speed and power but with a very high and top-heavy van hardbody. This race was pretty much a battle between Home Cook’n and our newest club driver, Aaron Castro. Though Jerry Pearson was knocking on Aaron’s door quite a bit throughout the race. In the end, Aaron would win the Sportsman class and Jerry Pearson would bag second with just two points over Eric Lane. Very close racing and way fun cars!  Details

Race 2: Retro-Vipers with Maximum Leeway Lexan Bodies

This one was probably a poor choice by the Race Director. Lots of crashes and mayhem as all drivers struggled with the incredible power of the V-SPEC motor box and almost zero downforce. These cars are loose but very fast. This one was a battle between Home Cook’n and Aaron Castro most of the way. But that didn’t deter Jerry Pearson, who fought hard all the way to the end, finishing third overall with outstanding driving performance with this very difficult-to-driver cars. Webster Motorsports would abandon the race in frustration after just 5-laps into the third segment. Some guys just don’t like loose cars.  Details

Race 3: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” Lexan Bodies

This is our newest class, which is a slightly different spin on HOPRA’s SPEC STOCK rules, which allows a Lexan body instead of the hard OEM plastic or resin bodies using a body clip.

This final race was very competitive with Aaron Castro putting in an amazing run against Home Cook’n, leading several segments for long periods and generally driving extremely well. Aaron would end up second in every segment but led much of each segment. Meanwhile, Jerry Pearson and Kevin Webster would have the battle royale fighting for the final spot on the podium.

End the end, Jerry would best Kevin by just two points even though Kevin had seven more total laps. This is a very competitive class, all drivers had some very good lap times and strong stints in the lead.  Great racing by all!  Details

Round 2 Overall Results:

Home Cook’n was the lone Expert driver in the field for Round 2 with experts, Brad Sandahl, George, Peters, and Jordan Walker all no-shows. New driver, Aaron Castro gets top honors in the Sportsman ranks with a very nice showing in his first official racing event at Stewart Raceway.

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series Standings as of Round 2:

* Expert

The standings are a bit distorted due to the attendance of the first two events. However, it looks like there will be a fierce points battle in the Sportsman division between leader, Kevin Webster and chasers, Aaron Castro and Jerry Pearson. Of course, all that can change quickly but I’m sure our newest driver on the scene, Aaron Castro, is looking for not only race wins but a series win also.

Stay tuned for details on Round 3. I hope to continue the series this coming weekend if we can get enough attendance.

Okay, shut up and drive!