Category: Events

All things related to events.

Race Report: 2024 Summer 50/50 Series, Round 1

The first round of the Summer 50/50 Series is in the books…

The cookbooks, that is. It was a blisteringly hot day, and the heat and beach traffic tolled the paddock and drivers.

In Round 1, we ran on both SR2 and SR3. The first two races were on SR3’s “Fast Esses” course, and the second two races were on SR2’s “Straight” Road Course.

Short Story and Points Standings After Round 1
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 434 233 2754.266
2 Aaron Castro 415 203 2698.972
3 George Peters 408 194 2696.241
4 Jordan Walker 302 133 2894.16
5 Jerry Pearson 229 106 1710.905
6 Kevin Webster 174 89 996.869
7 Eric Lane 209 76 1794.119

Only the top three completed the entire program of four races. Between the heat, late arrivals primarily due to beach traffic, and other drama, this round took its toll on the field.

Race 1: MegaG+ 1.7 “Modifieds”

We started off with our paper-bodied MG+ 1.7 Modified cars to get things rolling. Jerry Pearson was on fire in this race, with three second-place segments and one first-place segment. Nice driving, Jerry!  Aaron Castro clicked off some blistering laps trying to overtake Jerry in the race’s final laps, tying Jerry on points and laps, but ended up with a slightly longer total runtime. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 118 58 907.571
2 Jerry Pearson 117 55 870.327
3 Aaron Castro 117 55 887.849
4 George Peters 105 42 874.183
5 Eric Lane 107 36 950.126
6 Jordan Walker 98 36 890.816
Race 2: Viper Super7 RTR NASCAR IROC Set

Again, Eric Lane graciously donated another 6-car IROC set to the program. This time, they were Viper-built Super 7 chassis with Tyco NASCAR hardbodies. These cars were close to full-punch at 15v (L10 traction mags) but often lost bodies when they came out of the slot. We’ll need to better secure the bodies and remove some of the stock glass.

George Peters was the fastest with these cars, setting the lap record at 5.203 in the Blue Lane. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 119 58 840.501
2 Aaron Castro 117 55 815.666
3 Jerry Pearson 112 51 840.578
4 George Peters 114 50 849.277
5 Eric Lane 102 40 843.993
6 Jordan Walker 93 28 859.448
Race 3: Viper V-SPEC SPEC STOCK Lexan

After a couple of teams abandoned due to the heat, we moved things indoors and ran the last two races on SR2, in a much cooler environment.

As always, this race was a barn burner. Jordan Walker didn’t make the podium, but he set new lap records for this class and track on every lane, clocking a 2.982 lap in the Blue lane.

It was a heated battle between George Peters and Home Cook’n for the top podium spot. George would tie on points but came up 3-laps short. Newly upgraded Expert driver Kevin Webster would get his first podium as an Expert in Round 1, nice!!  Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 97 53 524.294
2 George Peters 94 53 495.044
3 Kevin Webster 92 45 522.821
4 Aaron Castro 89 43 520.999
5 Jordan Walker 88 41 501.967
Race 4: Viper V-SPEC BOX STOCK Lexan (i) “Fast Lane” Set

To keep things fast and furious, we ran Eric’s previous contribution to the program, a set of Vipers with F1/Indy clip-on Lexan bodies from HCSlots. They are very nice cars, and the first time we’ve run them on SR2.

Before abandoning Round 1, Jordan Walker would click off the fastest lap and establish the SR2 Straight Road Course track record for this platform of 3.119 in the Blue lane. When Jordan’s on, he’s the fastest in the bunch.  Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 100 64 481.9
2 Aaron Castro 92 50 474.458
3 George Peters 95 49 477.737
4 Kevin Webster 82 44 474.048
5 Jordan Walker 23 28 641.929

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the video recording set up properly on either track, so we don’t have anything to share there.

Many of us were affected by the refueling bug on SR2. I’ll try to find time to film the issue and see if I can get help from the SlotTrak folks to resolve it. It only seems to occur when doing track calls without marshals. If we can’t fix it, we won’t do fuel races on SR2.

Round 2 is currently slated for July 20th; stay tuned for details. For sure, focus on your MG+ Modified and Viper V-SPEC SPEC STOCK cars. The other two “official” races will be IROC.

Thank you all for bearing the heat, traffic, and chaos of Round 1; it was hectic and grueling at times but a fun day of racing. Oh, and thanks to Eric “Fast”  Lane for all he does to make our program more fun!

Okay, shut up and drive!

 

2024 Summer 50/50 Series, Round 1, July 6, 2024

That’s right, we’re going racing again on July 6. More details on the new series and the first event are here.

If you haven’t already secured your place on the starting grid, you can do that via the Google Calendar page here.

This will be a five (5) round series. You can miss one complete race day, best points total out of four events.

I’d also like to introduce at least one new car class in this series. I’m thinking of any of the following cool platforms:

I’m bullish on the Jag Hobbies platforms but open to anything the group considers a good choice. Please review the links above and let me know what platforms you’d be okay adding to the mix by completing the following survey.

New Platform Survey
Looking to add a new car class to our program soon. We currently run two predominant classes: the MG+ 1.7 "Lites" and "Modified" classes and the Viper V-SPEC "SPEC STOCK" Lexan class. I'm proposing one of the following platforms be added to our racing program.

Please review the choices below and select any platform that you feel might be a fun car to add to the mix.

Other than the Viper V-SPEC chassis at ~$50.00, all the others are relatively cheap. The Jag Hobbies TR-3, for example, is only $25.00 for a complete rolling chassis. In any case, expect to invest roughly $50 to $75 to procure any of these platforms with the appropriate body.

Jag Hobbies Platform Info

Race Report: 2024 Open Wheel Series, Round 4

Wow! Another barn burner race day in this super-fast open-wheel series. We opened the day with slower and loose MG+ Whelen/SK Modifieds, which are way more fun on an oval course. However, in the spirit of open-wheel competition, we ran them on the road course anyway. Happy Easter!

Short Story

This was another example of the highly competitive nature of the cars we’re running these days. I spaced and forgot to set the longer fuel fill times for Expert drivers in this round, but the results show that the racing was very competitive.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart* 477 235 4447.139
2 Aaron Castro* 467 212 4389.815
3 George Peters* 458 194 4603.055
4 Kevin Webster 404 142 4416.555
5 Jerry Pearson1 319 110 3413.512

* Expert (1 Jerry Pearson completed three races, not four.)

Race 1:  MegaG 1.7 Whelen/SK Modifieds IROC

Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters

Okay, it may not be the best choice to start the day, considering the lineup for the following three races, but it was pretty intense once everybody made some controller adjustments and settled into the race. Aaron Castro jumped into the lead early, winning the first segment by 3 seconds over Home Cook’n. Aaron would go on to win two segments and led the race after segment four but completed his rotation with 117 laps. Home Cook’n needed to finish the final segment second or better to steal the top podium spot, which he did with a perfect 30 laps and the win. George Peters fought hard for the second podium spot but came up short by six points. The big story in this one was Sportsman driver, Jerry Pearson, who was driving these very loose and unpredictable cars exceptionally well for a guy who prefers much more downforce. Jerry ended up with two third-place segment finishes and bested his Sportsman rival, Kevin Webster, by two laps and four points. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 61 1594.322
2 Aaron Castro 117 56 1646.073
3 George Peters 112 50 1694.095
4 Jerry Pearson 105 36 1635.197
5 Kevin Webster 103 32 1594.884

Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 “Modified”

Aaron Castro, Home Cook’n, George Peters

This race was the fastest MG+ “Modified” race ever. Aaron Castro would crush his previous race lap record of 5.146 in the Orange lane, clicking off a blistering 5.026 in the White lane, winning segment two by five laps! Aaron would win the following two segments, but the lead had already changed three times going into segment four. Aaron held the lead by six points and three laps into the final segment. George Peters would be the spoiler in the last segment by taking the win and the points second place finisher, Home Cook’n needed to overtake Aaron Castro for the overall win. Aaron and Home Cook’n tied in points, but Aaron edged out the win with just one more lap over Home Cook’n. Not to be outdone by the Expert drivers, Kevin Webster and Jerry Pearson both notched second-place segment finishes in this one. Blistering pace! Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 118 55 729.94
2 Steve Stewart 117 55 833.805
3 George Peters 112 49 834.142
4 Jerry Pearson 105 38 751.684
5 Kevin Webster 105 38 761.6

Race 3: MegaG+ 1.7 “Lites” AFX Alpha Romeo F1 Team Cars IROC

Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters

Could be the first and last time these limited edition AFX cars see IROC action anywhere. Aaron bought a set, and Home Cook’n bought a set, so we decided to run them in our open-wheel series. Aaron’s set was in the White and Green lanes, and Home Cookn’s set was in the Orange and Blue lanes. Aaron blasted out front early, winning the first segment and holding onto the race lead through segment three. Kevin Webster held on to second place after the first two. In the end, Home Cook’n seemed to fair the best with these totally “Box Stock” cars, winning the race by six seconds and five laps. Sportsman driver Kevin Webster would finish fourth but tied in points with 3rd place finisher George Peters. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 64 952.757
2 Aaron Castro 115 47 958.644
3 George Peters 116 44 1001.05
4 Kevin Webster 106 44 980.686
5 Jerry Pearson 109 36 1026.631

Race 4: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” F1/Indy Lexan

Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters

Yet another barn burner Viper V-SPEC main event. Once again, Aaron Castro jumped into the lead, winning the first segment and clicking off a new lap record of 4.251 in the Orange lane in the process. Home Cook’n would take over the lead after segment two, but Aaron would come roaring back, winning segment three with a roughly 8-second better runtime and leading the race into the final segment. Aaron and Home Cook’n were separated by just one point going into the final segment with Aaron ahead by one point but down two laps. George Peters would once again prove the spoiler by winning the final segment by two seconds over Home Cook’n, but this time, Aaron would lose one lap and come up short by just one point, finishing third in the segment and second overall.  It doesn’t get much closer than that! Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 55 1066.255
2 Aaron Castro 117 54 1055.158
3 George Peters 118 51 1073.768
4 Kevin Webster 90 28 1079.385

Points Standings After Round 4

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart* 2044 932 13106.43
2 Aaron Castro* 2024 868 13046.08
3 George Peters* 1997 800 13254.27
4 Kevin Webster 1450 491 11777.35
5 Jerry Pearson 1229 400 7263.654
6 Eric Lane 1077 347 5300.734
7 Jordan Walker* 590 140 2405.214
8 Shaylin Maddox 176 88 1428.228
9 Pam Ebert 154 64 1390.808
10 Abe Maddox 148 64 1337.006
11 Martha Elderon 102 36 775.14 
NOTE: This is a best out of four series. If you're behind because you missed a round, the series points winners will be determined by their best four rounds points totals, not all five.

Race 5: Tyco 440X2 Narrow F1/Indy “Box Stock” IROC

While we usually do a bunch of racing after the official racing is over, we only did one “unofficial” race after Round 4 wrapped up. This was a four-car rotation using Webster Motorsports prepared cars, which were very fun to drive and soothing after the blistering pace of the Viper V-SPEC cars in race 4.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 64 1225.128
2 Aaron Castro 115 52 1251.755
3 Kevin Webster 105 44 1264.05

I can’t remember which race it was right now, but we had a strange finish in a segment where the leader thought they had a lap on a pursuing driver and stopped to get fuel before the next segment. When the pursuing driver went through the pits, he won the race. These could have been perfectly legitimate results, but we definitely need to review the tapes.

Speaking of tapes, we got all the “official” and “unofficial” action on tape this time. I’ll process that video ASAP, post the individual races on Rumble, and update this post with links.

I have no idea how the final points standings will play out since they’re still very close in both the Expert and Sportsman ranks. The final standings will be based on your total points from your best four of the five rounds.

Stay tuned for a post on the video action for Round 4 and the schedule for the rest of the series.

Okay, shut up and drive!

Track Day Report: March 23, 2024

Sadly, there is nothing much to report since we only did one race, and nobody took any pictures to prove it even happened.

Team Maddox MegaG+ 1.7 Modifieds ready for action.

Team Maddox showed up first with drivers Abe and Shaylin. Then Team Johnson showed up with almost their entire team: Madeline, Matthew, and Dad Jared.

The race was a battle royal of 45 laps in a Dash format. Abe Maddox led the race from the get-go, but Madeline Johnson stayed close until the last five laps. Shaylin was charging hard as Madeline and Abe fought for the lead and managed to overtake Madeline with just a few laps left.

Team Johnson still made the podium, though, because Dad, Jared, kept fighting the whole race and managed to claw his way back into contention almost at the same moment Shaylin went ahead of Madeline.

Meanwhile, Home Cook’n didn’t have a chance against these two teams going at it and had his battle fighting off the other Team Johnson driver, Matthew, who was drilling it in the yellow lane with a Tyco 440X2 wide-pan car. Matthew had Home Cook’n on the ropes, but there weren’t enough laps to seal the deal.

Yep, no video, no pictures, just this post.

Name Avg Fast Median Laps Points Place
Abe Maddox 9.625 5.713 6.861 45 17 1
Shaylin Maddox 10.34 6.136 7.642 43 13 2
Jared Johnson 10.986 5.733 9.66 40 11 3
Madeline Johnson 11.439 6.047 10.564 38 7 4
Steve Stewart 15.153 7.394 14.657 29 6 5
Matthew Johnson 14.169 10.093 11.94 28 5 6

Thanks for spending part of your busy day at Stewart Raceway today. I may have gotten whipped in the racing action, but I fixed some lingering race management issues and got a few broken controllers working again.

Hopefully, we can pull off Round 4 of the Open Wheel Series next weekend; we’ll see what happens.

Okay, shut up and drive!

March 2, 2024 Track Day Video

I’ve posted a few videos of the action from last Saturday’s track day. Sadly, yours truly messed up and didn’t get the race management screen in the recordings. It’s pretty boring without that but it is what it is.

The first video below is a short clip of the action before the first races if you just want to take a quick look at the paddock.

Note: If you want to watch fullscreen, right-click on link and open in a new tab or window. These videos are private, only somebody with the below links can find or view them.

https://rumble.com/v4h3pxe-track-day-march-2-2024.html

The following are clips of three of the five races we did after practice ended.

Madeline Johnson finds her mojo and wins the final race of day!

https://rumble.com/v4h40qx-track-day-march-2-2024-final-race-of-the-day.html