Author: Race Director

Just an old slot car racer and Race Director at Stewart Raceway.

Open Track Day Report, November 4, 2023

Home’s Cookn’s “Paper” Modified body.

Well, for just being a track day, we sure did a lot of racing Saturday. Team Pearson, Webster Motorsports, and Castro Racing all showed up to test the new MegaG+ 1.7 “paper” Modified bodies, which by all indications, seem to have been very successful.

The paper bodies make the platform handle much better and most drivers agreed, as did their lap times. Martha Elderon had a fantastic day with the MG+ Modified platform (Jerry’s car), putting in the fastest, best average, and best median lap of the first-ever race for this class. Martha was on fire and finished the race on the podium in third place!

Check out Martha’s lap times with the MegaG+ 1.7 “paper” Modified platform.

While we had enough drivers early on, Team Pearson would exit the paddock shortly after the MG+ Modified race, which left us with just three drivers.

Box Stock TFX 68 & 71 camaros. 16ohm arms, 15T crowns.

The remaining three of us decided to keep on racing and clicked off four IROC races: TFX “Box Stock” Camaros; Jag TR-3 “Modified” Augorans; Jag “NC-2 “Lites” with George’s old Buick hardbodies; and ended the night with Kevin’s cool Wizzard Storm Extreme set.

Jag Hobbies TR-3 “Modified” with Jag Augoran bodies.

Way fun day and night! Thank you all for supporting the program and making it a very enjoyable event!

We’ll try again next week to complete Round 3 of the 50/50 Xtreme Series, which is expected to be ran on the SR3 oval course.

Okay, shut up and drive!

 

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series “Modified” Cars and Drivers

Introducing the MegaG+ 1.7 “Modified” class of 2023.

Below are shots of all the Round 2  bodies, which were picked from a batch prepared by Hammerschlagen Fabrication for the new Xtreme series. Drivers picked their bodies based on qualifying order in Round 2.

Most of these shots were taken with the bodies just sitting on a random chassis, not taped. (Right-click on image and open in a new browser tab to see full-res image)

Qualified 1st: Jerry Pearson, #69
Qualified 2nd: Aaron Castro, #7
Qualified 3rd: Kevin Webster, #47
Qualified 4th: Shaylin Maddox
Qualified 5th: Eric “Fast” Lane, #4
Qualified 6th: Grace Maddox, #6
DNS: Abe Maddox, #3

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series: Round 2 – Going to extremes

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)
Track: SR3 Road Course Fast Esses (Chicane)
Date: Oct-28-2023 12:29
Class: Mega-G+ 1.7 Support Class
Descr: F1/Indy bodies on “Lite: rules chassis
Name Lap Time Speed (Mph) Place
Steve Stewart 5.998 549 1
Jerry Pearson 6.427 512 2
Aaron Castro 6.928 475 3
Kevin Webster 7.157 460 4
Shaylin Maddox 8.04 409 5
Eric Lane 8.132 405 6
Grace Maddox 8.488 388 7

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

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 125 80 2192.957
2 Aaron Castro 121 61 2235.927
3 Jerry Pearson 113 43 2231.131
4 Eric Lane 113 41 2238.855
5 Kevin Webster 112 40 2243.482
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

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 125 77 2331.13
2 Aaron Castro 121 63 2365.839
3 Jerry Pearson 111 55 2360.755
4 Eric Lane 105 39 2351.244
5 Kevin Webster 47 31 2393.731
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

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 150 80 1595.555
2 Aaron Castro 143 59 1617.635
3 Jerry Pearson 137 48 1626.956
4 Kevin Webster 144 46 1627.687
5 Eric Lane 121 32 1629.899
Round 2 Overall Results:
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 400 237 6119.642
1 Aaron Castro 385 183 6219.401
2 Jerry Pearson 361 146 6218.842
3 Kevin Webster 303 117 6264.9
4 Eric Lane 339 112 6219.998

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:
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart* 597 353 8381.957
1 Kevin Webster 491 214 8624.812
2 Aaron Castro 385 183 6219.401
3 Jerry Pearson 361 146 6218.842
4 Eric Lane 339 112 6219.998
5 George Peters* 190 102 2353.44
6 Jordan Walker* 141 75 2213.675
7 Grace Maddox 82 45 716.313
8 Abe Maddox 81 42 789.937
9 Shaylin Maddox 88 40 870.364

* 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!

2023 50/50 Xtreme Series: Round 1 – Short but sweet!

Well, we didn’t have all of the usual suspects in the paddock but we clicked off three action packed races, all with the MegaG+ 1.7 platform.

George Peters, Abe Maddox, Jordan Walker

The first event was qualifying. We had hoped to do a new style/format for qualifying but it didn’t work so we just did an Indy-style format but with 10-laps to get the best average lap time.

Young gun, Abe Maddox, of Team Maddox fame knocked first-up qualifier, Kevin Webster, of Webster Motorsport fame off the leaderboard with a blistering 10-lap average of 6.072 putting Abe on the pole until the last qualifier, George Peters, put in another blistering 10-lap performance with an average lap time of 6.026 and an average speed of 546-mph. Neither driver appeared to have suffered a crash during their 10-lap pole setting efforts.

Qualifying
Track: SR3 Road Course Fast Esses (Chicane)
Date: Oct-21-2023 12:33
Class: Mega-G+ 1.7 Support Class “Lites”
Descr: 10-Lap Qualifying Session
Name Lap Time Speed (Mph) Place
George Peters 6.026 546 1
Abe Maddox 6.072 542 2
Kevin Webster 6.433 512 3
Jordan Walker 6.56 502 4
Shaylin Maddox 6.742 488 5
Steve Stewart 7.489 440 6
Grace Maddox 8.269 398 7
Race #1: MegaG+ “Lites” IROC (Paper Whelen Modifieds)
George Peters, Home Cook’n, Kevin Webster

These cars are fun but when you fit a super-light paper body on them, they get even more fun. The paper bodies are so light, the car handles like it doesn’t have a body at all.

George Peters pretty much dominated this event, but Team Maddox had one heat win and several second-place finishes with Shaylin Maddox winning the final segment handily while filling in for teammate, Grace Maddox. Shaylin completed all laps of the final segment and clicked of the best lap of the segment (5.954).

Sportsman driver, Kevin Webster, quietly bagged the final podium spot with one solid segment win and solid placings in his other segments. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 98 56 889.721
2 Steve Stewart 97 52 816.236
3 Kevin Webster 89 47 898.078
4 Jordan Walker 83 47 740.99
5 Grace Maddox 82 45 716.313
6 Abe Maddox 81 42 789.937
7 Shaylin Maddox 88 40 870.364
Race #2: MegaG+ 1.7 “Lites”
Home Cook’n, Kevin Webster, George Peters

These are our pretty much box-stock MegaG+ cars with very slight mods and hardbodies, typically F1/Indy or NASCAR stock car livery.

Kevin Webster very nearly won this event with outstanding driving, Kevin and Home Cook’n were neck and neck the whole event going into the final segment. Kevin would end up one lap down after a hard crash with just a few laps left in the final segment. The crash gave Home Cook’n a good gap and Kevin was unable to close it before the race ended.

The past, present, and future of slot car racing. Team Maddox rocks!


George Peters came on very strong in the final segment placing second and on the same lap as the leader but struggled during the other heats due to distraction from erratic driving by teammate, Jordan Walker. Jordan put in some amazing laps during the race but lost his focus and would abandon after the third segment. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 100 64 1446.079
2 Kevin Webster 99 50 1461.834
3 George Peters 92 46 1463.719
4 Jordan Walker 58 28 1472.685
Series Standings after Round 1
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 197 116 2262.315
2 George Peters 190 102 2353.44
3 Kevin Webster 188 97 2359.912
4 Jordan Walker 141 75 2213.675
5 Grace Maddox 82 45 716.313
6 Abe Maddox 81 42 789.937
7 Shaylin Maddox 88 40 870.364

So, there you have it. Round 1 of the 2023 50/50 Xtreme Series is in the books. As always, you can miss one race in any series and still be in the hunt for a series win.

The MegaG+ platform has been an amazingly competitive platform and appears to be a keeper at Stewart Raceway. With the addition of the new “paper” bodies, we’re considering adding a “Modified” version of this car using the superlight paper body and maybe an independent front-end, and possibly N42 or even N52 traction magnets. Personally, I think just the paper body addition is quite the performance improvement, but some folks like to go even faster.

Stay tuned for details on Round 2 and our next track day.

Okay, shut up and drive!

Track Day Report, October 14, 2023

Well, it was kind of a staggered day with Team Maddox showing up in the AM and doing a bunch of testing laps and one full rotation race. Shaylin Maddox won the only race we did, which I think is her first full race win–Way to go!

Abe Maddox seemed to be a bit distracted but wasn’t too far off. He also won a heat or two.  Shaylin and Abe were both running Viper V-SPEC cars while I was running a bone-stock MegaG+ with a “paper” Whelen Modified body.

Normally, a V-SPEC Viper would blow the doors off a stock MegaG+ 1.7 car. However, with the paper body, the chassis is much faster and handles significantly better. Still working on the paper body design for the 1.7 MG+ but I am getting close to a simple and easy-to-install version. I’m focusing on a USAC Whelen Modified style first and will look at other designs once I sort out what works and what doesn’t.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Shaylin Maddox 174 83 2428.881
2 Steve Stewart 178 81 2443.839
3 Abe Maddox 158 76 2452.908

Later in the day, Aaron Castro showed up to test some MegaG+ cars and got to meet most of Team Maddox as they were getting ready to roll towards home. Webster Motorsports showed up shortly after Aaron’s arrival.

Team Maddox departing was a bummer but they accomplished their goals and had a great track day. The good news was we still had three drivers on the track so we did a bunch of hot lapping and then clicked off one Viper V-SPEC rotation race. The racing was very close with Aaron bagging second place overall and Kevin Webster very, very close.

We decided to tech the cars to show Aaron the process. Both Kevin’s and Aaron’s cars were relatively close in both dyno numbers and downforce, while Home Cookn’s car was substantially better in both categories.

Turns out, both drivers were running out-of-the box V-SPEC chassis’ with only timing adjustments. Kevin’s car was actually running retarded timing, which is good for small home tracks and tight courses. Aaron’s car was running fairly neutral timing. Both cars had stock Razor front ends and stock PST rear tires.

Of course, advancing the end bell timing makes a big difference in off-the-corner and straightaway speeds, installing smaller profile rear tires increases downforce considerably, and an independent front-end improves corner speed.

All this made me realize that most of our Sportsman drivers are probably running bone-stock Viper V-SPEC cars, which can be very competitive but obviously inferior to a properly setup HOPRA SPEC RACER chassis, which are the only V-SPEC rules we run at Stewart Raceway right now.

Maybe we need to revive the HOPRA SPEC STOCK class. Pretty much the same rules as SPEC RACER but is restricted to hardbodies and no adjustable brush barrels. Independent front-ends are still allowed but that is not a big game changer.

Any other ideas out there? I think the SPEC RACER rules are pretty basic but it looks like we need to bring some parity to the Viper V-SPEC class racing.

Okay, shut up and drive!