The Villa Del Monte 500

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.

Fast Qualifier: Kevin Webster’s Box-Stock MegaG+ 1.7 on the top step!

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: SR3 Oval Super Speedway
Date: May-27-2023 11:36
Class: Mega-G+ 1.7 Support Class Qualifying
 
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!

 

Open Track Day Report

Abe and Mom in action during the first teams race.

Wow! We don’t often report on open track days but this one was noteworthy.

Having to postpone Round 4 of the 2023 50/50 Series resulted in a big day for junior drivers and parents. We had three junior drivers show up for some track time with parents. Almost everybody ended up participating in our first-ever Teams race event (8 drivers).

It was just a fun race to check out the software and get some experience running team races. We had ten drivers on the day and ended with a four-team elimination race. Not exactly a fair setup but we broke it into three brackets, and the winner takes all.

The highlights were junior driver, Abe Maddox, taking his first heat race win in the first heat of the first team race. Then, another junior driver, Harper Hutchinson, bagged two heat race wins in the second team race. Very impressive driving!

Carrie worked hard during practice to garner the most laps on the day.

The junior drivers were awesome on the day with Abe Maddox (substitute driving for Home Cook’n) and Sportsman driver, Kevin Webster, of team Unforgiven, storming to victory in the finale against a veteran team (The Pickleheads), Jerry Pearson and Eric “Fastlane” Lane.

Yet another junior driver, Carrie Sandahl, clinched the practice sessions with 329 laps over second place with 270 laps.

A way fun day and great to try something new and have parents and kids racing together. Can’t wait to try some more team racing!

Thank you all for showing up and supporting Stewart Raceway!

Okay, shut up and drive!

Open Track Day Report

Julian, Abe, and Grace cutting laps on SR3. Right-click and open a new browser window for larger pics.

Wow! I think we broke records for attendance at Stewart Raceway yesterday.

What a great turnout of junior drivers, parents, and club drivers preparing for next Saturday’s 50/50 Series opening round.

Thank you to all our friends and parents who brought their kids to the track Saturday. It was fantastic to see all lanes busy, parents helping and coaching the kids, marshaling crashes, and supporting all the young drivers as they clicked off hundreds of laps. That was cool!

Eric Lane’s healthfood contribution to the event. Thanks, Eric!

Yea, it was a bit crazy at times but what do you expect when you hand over control of a little car capable of doing 600 (scale) miles per hour? The kids like to go fast but they also like their total lap counts, which seemed to be the focus of the day.

Once again, the top junior driver was Abe Maddox. Abe clicked off the most laps in both “kids” sessions and wasn’t shy about it either.  That was his goal and he nailed it. Madeline Johnson was next best in terms of total laps in both sessions running on the outside Yellow lane. Yes, there were faster young drivers in the field today but Abe and Madeline seemed to understand the “Turtle and the Hare” story better than most. Dax Schwartz hung in there for both sessions and was a close third in total laps running in the other outside lane (Red), which is definitely not the ideal lane for total laps.

It wasn’t an “official” race but all the kids were very keen on keeping track of their lap counts and making sure their car was quickly placed in the slot after crashes. I’m amazed at the focus and attention they gave to driving these little cars for so long, totally cool.

Okay, it is clear that the kids enjoy this stuff just as much as we older “kids.” That said, I think we should have another “official” junior race soon. However, I think it might be more fun if the parents team up with the kids and do some sort of “teams” event. Anyway, I’ll look into it and see if the software we use can support it.

Thanks also to the veteran drivers who helped the kids while they patiently waited for access to the busy track. The kids eventually got bored with little cars and moved on to other things and the older kids got to get some track time in also. All in all, a great day playing with little cars.

Okay, stay tuned for details on a future parents/kids race day and get-together. Until then, next Saturday, February 4, kicks off the 2023 50/50 Racing Series. This is a “big kid” race event involving driver/owner-prepared Viper V-SPEC cars, the new Mega-G+ class, and two IROC class races. Register here. Mega-G+ car prep videos here.

Okay, shut up and drive!

 

 

 

 

Race Report: 2022 IROC Championship Series – Round 4 Finale

On a cold, windy, and rainy day in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the four top drivers in the series took the green flag for the final round of the 2022 IROC Champs Series.

The final round of the series for the Expert class was never really a question, George Peters came into the final round with an insurmountable lead in points. The big question was who was going to win the Sportsman class honors.

Kevin Webster came into the final round with a 23-point advantage over Rookie of the Year candidate, Jerry Pearson. With a maximum of 64 points and a minimum of 28 points available in this final round, Jerry had a reasonably good shot at overtaking Kevin for top honors and taking home the 2022 IROC Champs trophy.

Unfortunately, the bad weather and road conditions prevented Jerry from making the potentially hazardous trek to Stewart Raceway to compete in the finale. As a result, Kevin Webster didn’t even have to finish the final event to secure his place on the Stewart Raceway Wall of Fame.

Congratulations to Kevin Webster and George Peters, 2022 IROC Champions! And, congrats to 2021 Rookie of the Year, Brad Sandahl for winning the final round of this hard-fought series.

Short Story Summary
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Brad Sandahl 386 50 4668.871
2 George Peters 381 46 4671.36
3 Kevin Webster 354 28 4662.525
* Steve Stewart 399 64 4557.734
Race 1: Wizzard Storm Extremes courtesy of Kevin Webster’s stable of fine cars. (15v)

These are actually pretty cool magnet cars and easy to drive. The race wasn’t all that eventful after the first segment, which was quite a dogfight between all drivers. The rest of the race was pretty much a broken record with no lead or place changes but a very close race between the top three expert drivers. (Details)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Brad Sandahl 98 13 970.665
2 George Peters 97 11 983.099
3 Kevin Webster 90 7 968.232
* Steve Stewart 100 16 926.601
Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 Super Modifieds

Recently updated from zero-downforce cars to L42 magnet cars, the MTS 3D-printed Super Modifieds are quite a bit faster and much more stable on the road course. Brad Sandahl and Kevin Webster burst from the starting line in this race to take 1-2 in the first segment.

Home Cook’n would recapture the lead after the second segment while George Peters overtook Kevin Webster for 3rd place. Brad stayed very close to Home Cook’n throughout the race but had some bad luck in the final segment in the blue lane, which forced him to have to settle for runner-up spot but valuable points towards the overall. (Details)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Brad Sandahl 96 13 1434.589
2 George Peters 93 11 1447.717
3 Kevin Webster 89 7 1435.581
* Steve Stewart 99 16 1428.958
Race 3: Viper-Jet SPEC JET

The third race of the day was the VSR Viper-Jet utilizing a Maximum Leeway Lexan body. Brad Sandahl would suffer not only a flaky car in his first segment in the white lane but also a controller malfunction that forced him to replace it in the middle of the race. Sportsman driver, Kevin Webster, took advantage of the mayhem and secured a nice second-place finish in the second segment. George Peters stayed steady and smooth throughout the race and would secure the second podium spot while Brad Sandahl recovered nicely for the final podium spot. (Details)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 93 13 1320.942
2 Brad Sandahl 92 11 1345.123
3 Kevin Webster 89 7 1335.915
* Steve Stewart 100 16 1308.07
Race 4:  Jag Hobbies TR-3 Augorans (15v)

The final race of the series was the always fast and exciting Jag TR-3. These are slightly upgraded from the stock configuration so a bit faster but smoother to drive.

This one was yet another dogfight between the three expert drivers with Sportsman driver, Kevin Webster, letting it all hang out trying to hang with the trio in every segment. Brad Sandahl stayed focused and determined and finished the day with a nice placing just ahead of George Peters by two laps and winning the final segment. (Details)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Brad Sandahl 100 13 918.494
2 George Peters 98 11 919.602
3 Kevin Webster 86 7 922.797
* Steve Stewart 100 16 894.105
Kevin obviously pleased with his efforts this season.

All in all, it was a great day of racing. Kevin secured his Sportsman IROC Champs victory by finishing well in all the races and hanging tough with a field of ALL expert drivers battling each other every lap in the finale.

George Peters secured his IROC Champs victory by showing up for all the races and garnering the lion’s share of points, as he typically does every chance he gets to race.

Georgie claims he doesn’t have room for all the hardware he’s amassed this season. I think he took it home anyway.

Hats off to Brad Sandahl today, he’s in only his second year of slot car racing and is clearly a force to be reckoned with, both now and well into the future.

So how did the “Squeeze Lane” section change work out? Well, I think we only had a couple of incidences that resulted in crashes. We’ll leave that addition in the road course for a while and see what it yields.

2022 IROC Champs Overall Final Standings
Place Name Class Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters Exp 1415 199 12128.93
2 Kevin Webster Sport 1315 126 12274.78
3 Brad Sandahl Exp 746 92 8000.819
4 Jerry Pearson Sport 641 75 5416.834
5 Eric Lane Sport 915 69 7651.906
6 Jordan Walker Sport 372 29 1608.379
7 Martha Elderon Sport 204 9 1020.019
* Steve Stewart Exp 1463 253 11894.73
Sportsman Class
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Kevin Webster 1315 126 12274.78
2 Jerry Pearson 641 75 5416.834
3 Eric Lane 915 69 7651.906
4 Jordan Walker 372 29 1608.379
5 Martha Elderon 204 9 1020.019
Expert Class
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 1415 199 12128.93
2 Brad Sandahl 746 92 8000.819
* Steve Stewart 1463 253 11894.73

* Home Cook’n results are not factored in the series points. Owning the track means enjoying a massive advantage. And even more so when you build and/or maintain many of the IROC cars being contested.

Stay tuned for details on a possible open track day before the end of the 2022 season. This race likely concludes our “official” racing season for 2022. Stay tuned for season points standings, rookie of the year, and other accolades.

Okay, shut up and drive!

2022 I.R.O.C. Champs Series Finale Is Almost Here!

The series finale is almost upon us and the trophies are being prepared now.

Round 4 will be run on the SR3 road course but with a surprise “twist” to add some more complexity to the already challenging series for the drivers.

The final round is slated for Saturday, November 26, 2022 but may be delayed until after Thanksgiving, depending on the availability of drivers over the holiday weekend, of course.

The schedule is in the works and will be announced soon. Please PM the Race Director if you have a conflict or otherwise can’t make this final round date.

IROC Championship Series Points Standings After Round 3:
Sportsman Class
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Kevin Webster 961 98 7612.257
2 Jerry Pearson 641 75 5416.834
3 Eric Lane 915 69 7651.906
4 Jordan Walker 372 29 1608.379
5 Martha Elderon 204 9 1020.019
Expert Class
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 1034 153 7457.567
2 Brad Sandahl 360 42 3331.948
* Steve Stewart 1064 189 7336.991

Okay, shut up and drive!