Category: Race Results

Race Report: 2022 NASCAR MADness Series, Round 3

Round 3 was finally concluded on a warm sunny day on the SR3 road course. While attendance was lighter than usual, we were able to run a full program of six races and a Concourse d’Elegance competition, in which George Peter’s Mac Tools Viper V-SPEC NASTruck took top honors.

Short Story is George also dominated the Sportsman racing action by winning five of the six events.

Round 3 Overall Results
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 865 76 11448.21
2 Jordan Walker 784 50 11487.71
3 Kevin Webster 539 38 7013.408
4 Jerry Pearson 511 28 7020.205
5 Steve Stewart 898 96 11318.63
Race 1: OS3 TFX “BOX STOCK” Camaros (IROC)

Starting the day off with some slower but more difficult-to-drive cars was not a hit with this bunch.  With little to no marshal support, the stock TFX race was a drawn-out affair and most drivers could not wait to get to the faster magnet classes. Interestingly, new Sportsman driver, Jerry Pearson did very well with the TFX and ended up in the second spot on the podium in his first-ever TFX race. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 142 13 2463.631
2 Jerry Pearson 129 11 2425.434
3 Jordan Walker 119 7 2425.703
4 Steve Stewart 150 16 2378.29
Race #2: Tyco 440-X2 Wide-Pan NASCAR Bodies

George again dominated this race with one overall heat win and four second-place heat finishes. Jerry Pearson kept Jordan Walker at bay, collecting second-place Sportsman points yet again driving the Stewart Racing Chevy Lumina #7. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 144 13 1984.844
2 Jerry Pearson 132 11 1991.218
3 Jordan Walker 126 7 2018.757
4 Steve Stewart 149 16 1971.522
Race #3: Viper V-SPEC (SPEC RACER) Lexan NASCAR Bodies **Feature**

While his father, George Peters, took the top spot in the overall race, his son Jordan managed to win two segments and second-place overall in the 300-lap feature event. Jerry Pearson also bagged a heat win in segment 8–nice!  Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 288 13 2596.459
2 Jordan Walker 279 11 2596.428
3 Kevin Webster 258 7 2603.898
4 Jerry Pearson 250 6 2603.553
5 Steve Stewart 299 16 2585.393
Race #4: Jag Hobbies Augoran (IROC) 15v

George once again dominated the TR-3 IROC event, very nearly winning overall. Jordan had a very good race taking the second podium spot with Kevin Webster in a very close third position. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
2 George Peters 97 13 1024.831
3 Jordan Walker 90 11 1028.456
4 Kevin Webster 88 7 1030.69
1 Steve Stewart 100 16 1016.167
Race #5: Jag Hobbies PR-5 “Lite” (BOX STOCK) NASCAR Bodies

Sportsman driver, Kevin Webster wins his first PR-5 event! As always, the PR-5 race was a hotly contested race with first and second only separated by two laps. Kevin had a great race, taking second in three of the segments and winning one overall. Very impressive! Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
2 Kevin Webster 96 13 1489.689
3 George Peters 94 11 1488.155
4 Jordan Walker 90 7 1495.846
1 Steve Stewart 100 16 1488.158
Race #6: Jag Hobbies NC-2 Lite (BOX STOCK) NASCAR Bodies

Another barn-burner race with George Peters finishing off an impressive day on SR3 with yet another Sportsman win and on the same lap in the overall race. Kevin Webster fought hard for another win in this final wild race of the day and came up just 3-laps short in the end. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
2 George Peters 100 13 1890.287
3 Kevin Webster 97 11 1889.131
4 Jordan Walker 80 7 1922.515
1 Steve Stewart 100 16 1879.095
Concourse d`Elegance Competition

Since he didn’t have a horse in the race, Kevin Webster judged the CdE competition. Giving George Peters the nod for best looking Viper V-SPEC car on the day. These Viper V-SPEC cars were raced in the Feature 300-lap event.

Series Points Standings after Round 3:
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 2493 223 22298.42
2 Kevin Webster 1899 151 16994.23
3 Jordan Walker 1387 75 15205.31
4 Jerry Pearson 771 49 10508.17
5 Brad Sandahl ♦ 900 55 3561.313
6 Steve Stewart ♦ 2694 282 21772.77

♦ indicates Expert Class driver. Scored separately in series.

 

Race Report: 2022 NASCAR MADness Series, Round 2

While Round 2 was expected to see a full field of drivers, five were unable to appear for Saturday’s event.

The good news was four drivers rolled through the gates in time to start racing. Well, actually a couple strolled through the gates due to a landscaping crew blocking the entrance to Stewart Raceway.

Anyway, we got a bit of a late start but with only four drivers, the schedule would certainly get compressed. In fact, after the first race, we shut down the two gutter lanes and started racing with just four of the six lanes on SR3.

The short story is George Peters remains the series points leader after two rounds. While the summary results tell a different story, the battle for this round was a lot closer. In fact, several races were lost on the final lap or final corner.  That’s exciting racing!

Overall Results
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 565 78 6145.547
2 Kevin Webster 521 66 6182.358
3 Jerry Pearson 260 21 3487.966
4 Steve Stewart 589 96 6017.514

Round 2 was NASCAR racing on the SR3 road course, which meant slightly shorter segments but still six races, including a feature race of 150-laps with Jag Hobbies NC-2 cars with NASCAR livery.

Race 1: Tyco 440-X2 “Wide-Pan” Stock Cars (15v)
Home Cook’n, George Peters, Kevin Webster

Jerry Pearson started out his racing debut with a solid second-place finish in the first heat and a very close Run Time to the winner of the heat. The number 7 Lumina body was lowered by GP Designs (George) and worked quite well. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 16 1131.07
2 George Peters 111 13 1162.899
3 Kevin Webster 102 11 1160.71
4 Jerry Pearson 95 7 1224.1
Race 2: OS3 TFX “Lites” NASCAR Bodies (18v)

This was Jerry’s first crack at a “gravity car” race but he actually did pretty well, staying very close in total laps for many heats and increasing his lap times throughout the race. George–again– was very close and he had the best median lap time.  Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 16 1497.009
2 George Peters 111 13 1537.096
3 Kevin Webster 106 11 1532.322
4 Jerry Pearson 99 7 1545.817
Race 3: Jag Hobbies TR-3 Augorans (IROC) (15v)

This was another hotly contested race with George and Kevin Webster both winning heats and Jerry besting Kevin by one lap in the final segment. The TR-3’s used are slightly hopped-up with Jag IFE fronts and DF rear wheels. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 79 16 710.183
2 George Peters 79 13 720.339
3 Kevin Webster 71 11 759.035
4 Jerry Pearson 66 7 718.049
Race 4: Jag Hobbies NC-2 “Lites” NASCAR Livery (15v)

The”Feature”race was another barn-burner with plenty of drama and controversy. We lost Jerry after the lone IROC race but the three remaining drivers soldiered on through the rest of the schedule using only three lanes and Call Buttons to manage the racing.

Home Cook’n clearly had the better car in the feature race thanks to the use of a Johnny Lightning Thunderjet500 “Pull-Back” snap-on body. We use some of their screw-on bodies for the TFX cars. They make two versions: one for T-Jet screw-on bodies; and one for snap-on AFX bodies. There was some discussion after the races about this body not being commercially available but clearly, it is. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 150 16 1388.062
2 George Peters 144 13 1422.24
3 Kevin Webster 137 11 1413.449
Race 5: Jag Hobbies PR-5 “Lites” NASCAR Livery (15v)

Yet another hotly contested race with George Peters very narrowly losing this one to Home Cook’n again. Kevin Webster kept up the good fight, only losing a couple of laps per segment, but first and second were both neck and neck on total laps and just two seconds separating them at the finish–that’s close!!  Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 60 16 697.351
2 George Peters 60 13 699.638
3 Kevin Webster 53 11 709.432
Race 6: Viper-Jet (SPEC JET) NASCAR Livery (12v) 

The final race of the day was nearly a repeat of Race 5, with only tenths of a second separating George Peters and Home Cook’n in the final two segments. Kevin Webster remained focused but didn’t have a Lexan body prepared and was forced to run a hardbody, which is obviously a disadvantage in this class.

This was also a “Concourse” race, in which George easily bagged those style points with a nicely prepared Lexan Lumina (middle).  Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 60 16 593.839
2 George Peters 60 13 603.335
3 Kevin Webster 52 11 607.41

Again, thank all of you who braved the heat and beach traffic to come out in the sticks and race little cars with us. Round 3 of the NASCAR MADness Series is slated for June 25, 2022. Stay tuned for details.

Series Points Standings after Round 2:
Place Driver Race #1 #2 Appear Total Points Average
1 George Peters 70 57 2 129 63.5
2 Kevin Webster 49 57 2 108 49.0
3 Brad Sandahl 55 0 1 56 55.0
4 Jordan Walker 25 0 1 26 12.5
5 Jerry Pearson 0 21 1 22 10.5

Okay, shut up and drive!

Race Report: 2022 NASCAR MADness Series, Round 1

PR-5 Feature event starting grid. Top to bottom, Kevin Webster, Brad Sandhal, Jordan Walker, Home Cook’n, George Peters.

 

 

Wow! What an action-packed Day!

We had a smaller field than usual but it was as stacked as ever. The good news was that we were running an oval layout, which allowed us to use wireless call-buttons in lieu of turn marshals. Surprisingly, this actually worked out pretty well and we were able to run six races, including a 480-lap PR-5 Feature race with fuel stops and plenty of drama.

Sadly, the Race Director failed to get many pictures on the day, sorry.

Short story of results are below. George Peters leads in points after Round 1. Things may have been a bit different had Brad Sandhal not had to abandon the final two races  on the schedule due to family commitments. George dominated the NC-2 “Lites” class.

Overall Results and standings after Round 1:
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 1063 69 4704.665
2 Brad Sandahl 900 55 3561.313
3 Kevin Webster 839 47 3798.461
4 Jordan Walker 603 25 3717.603
5 Steve Stewart 1207 90 4436.628
Race 1: AFX Magna-Traction Jalopies (IROC)

These were very cool Mercury sedans prepared by GP Designs (Georgie) that were really smooth and fun to drive. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 147 16 695.992
2 Brad Sandahl 143 13 725.377
3 George Peters 139 11 717.186
4 Jordan Walker 116 7 756.994
Race 2: OS3 TFX “Lites” 18v

These cars are always fun and even more so on an oval. Brad had a slight advantage in this one since he was running a Fray-style resin body while the rest of us used NASCAR-style bodies.  Kevin Webster bested George for the final podium spot in this hotly contested race. Brad showed he hadn’t lost any of his 2021 Rookie of the Year luster, handily winning the race. (Detailed Results)

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Brad Sandahl 150 16 629.653
2 Steve Stewart 135 13 636.91
3 Kevin Webster 121 11 644.259
4 George Peters 120 7 749.468
5 Jordan Walker 100 6 705.083
Race 3: OS3 TFX “Stock” House Camaros (IROC)

These are also way fun cars on the oval. Stock isn’t exactly stock since we allow Black Dragon motor magnets to make these cars a little faster and better handling than “box stock.” Brad Sandahl actually won the final heat but some bad luck and mishaps kept him from pressuring Home Cook’n too much. Of course, George, no stranger to T-Jets, took the final podium spot. Kevin Webster was very close throughout the race and even managed a second place finish in Heat 5. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 149 16 784.276
2 Brad Sandahl 141 13 793.091
3 George Peters 113 11 795.812
4 Kevin Webster 108 7 799.975
5 Jordan Walker 83 6 808.517
Race 4: Jag Hobbies PR-5 NASCAR “Lites” Feature Race 16.5v

The “extended” feature race was–as always–full of mayhem, vicious crashes, and major amounts of adrenaline. This race, by far, is the most intense race of the day simply because of the number of laps and the overall duration of the race. Shockingly, George managed to finish on the podium in spite of being heavily distracted throughout the race trying to help/coach Jordan. who was not having a good go of it at all. Jordan actually started out well and was in third place overall after three segments but gradually lost concentration and focus as the grueling race went on. Home Cook’n miraculously avoided much of the carnage the others had to contend with to secure the win in the very fast and furious feature race. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 480 16 1408.693
2 Brad Sandahl 466 13 1413.192
3 George Peters 414 11 1435.543
4 Kevin Webster 392 7 1418.129
5 Jordan Walker 304 6 1447.009
Race 5: Jag Hobbies NC-2 “Lites” NASCAR 16.5v

With Brad out of the line-up and Jordan opting to marshal instead of driving, George was able to concentrate on his own racing, and nicely won the NC-2 race, winning three of the six segments. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 147 16 447.538
2 Steve Stewart 146 13 447.971
3 Kevin Webster 108 11 453.652
Race 6: Tyco 440-X2 Wide-Pan NASCAR Hardbody 15v

The final race of the day was a vintage-class race using our Tomahawk platforms with NASCAR-style hardbodies. George Peters clearly had the horsepower in this one but rear tire troubles plagued him throughout the six 25-lap segments. Home Cook’n manage to secure the win over the hard charging duo. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 150 16 462.786
2 George Peters 130 13 559.118
3 Kevin Webster 110 11 482.446

Many thanks to those of your who participated in making Round 1 a success. The NASCAR theme seems to be enjoyable to everyone and the oval both a fun and challenging course to race on.

Round 2 is slated for June 11, 2022 and will be run on the SR3 straight road course. Stay tuned for details.

Okay, shut up and drive!

Race Report: 2022 Formula-e Series, Round 5 Finale

The final round of the 2022 Formula “e” Series is in the books. This series was unique in that it featured one class of car in a 400-lap, endur0-thon race at each event. We’ve all done 12-hour, 24-hour, six-hour race days. This feature race is a 50-lap/segment race where each driver does two rotations in each lane to complete 400 laps. Combine this with five other 20 or 30-lap races and you get a very stressful day of adrenaline-pumping action.

Round 5 was held on the SR2 straight road course and got underway a bit later than usual.

We ran a full program of six races, including the traditional Formula “e” Tyco-Jet IROC cars.

Two of the races would include Concourse d’ Elegance judging of all cars entered in each race. Going into the final round, Ian Douglass and George Peters were tied in Concourse points. At the end of the day, they would be tied again, with Ian winning the Viper Formula V competition and George winning the Jag Hobbies PR-5 Indy/F1 competition. Both cars were incredibly detailed and beautiful works of craftsmanship and art. 2021 Rookie of the Year, Brad Sandahl, presided as CdE judge.  Since Ian’s car suffered some serious damage in the Formula V race, and he’d already taken home the CdE trophy for the 2021 50/50 Series, he graciously conceded victory to George to settle the tie. (Sorry, our “senior moment” race director failed to get a pic–again!)

Race 1: Tyco-Jet IROC(12.5v)

As always, the Tyco-Jet race was very competitive with Ian Douglass taking the win by just two laps to Home  Cook’n. Greg Kondrek would take the last podium spot. There was only one lap between second place and sixth place.

Place Name Laps Points
1 Ian Douglass 80 16
2 Steve Stewart 78 13
3 Greg Kondrek 77 11
4 Brad Sandahl 76 7
5 George Peters 76 6
6 Russ Toy 76 5
7 Jordan Walker 74 4
8 Kevin Webster 64 3

Detailed Results

Race 2: Jag Hobbies TR-3 “Lites” (15v)

We hadn’t ever raced the TR-3 in an individual race, only IROC. This race was also hotly contested with Greg Kondrek taking the win (in a borrowed Sprint car) over Russ Toy by just two laps. Brad Sandhal would bag the final podium spot. Russ seems to like the TR-3 as much as he likes the NC-2, winning two heats and second overall. Kevin Webster had a great run in this one, just missing a podium spot by one lap. These Jag platforms are producing some very competitive racing, again with second through sixth each separated by just one lap at the finish–amazing!

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Greg Kondrek 79 16 414.275
2 Russ Toy 77 13 388.949
3 Brad Sandahl 76 11 391.95
4 Kevin Webster 75 7 417.383
5 Steve Stewart 74 6 427.721
6 Ian Douglass 73 5 417.663
7 George Peters 69 4 420.891
8 Jordan Walker 66 3 450.937

Detailed Results.

Race 3: OS3 TFX “Lites” (18v)

We tried to field TFX “Modified” cars for this race but just didn’t have enough cars to go around. In the end, Home Cook’n took the win just one lap ahead of Ian Douglass. The big story in this race was Kevin Webster again fighting very hard and well on his way to a podium finish when the ugly “Pit-In” bug reared its head, not once but twice. Kevin came in second in two heats and was looking like he might just land on the podium in this one before the bug hosed him.  T-Jet “ace,” George Peters would round out the podium in his Concourse d’ Elegance winning Caddilac.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 80 16 624.439
2 Ian Douglass 79 13 633.107
3 George Peters 77 11 624.483
4 Brad Sandahl 77 7 630.741
5 Russ Toy 75 6 637.139
6 Greg Kondrek 71 5 654.764
7 Kevin Webster 71 4 655.182
8 Jordan Walker 70 3 672.171

Detailed Results

Race 4: Viper Formula “V” (12.5v)

Our newest class and the second time we’ve run these. This car is just a Viper-Jet chassis with a long wheelbase and hard F1/Indy style body. Ian Douglass dominated this one with three heat wins and a perfect score.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Ian Douglass 80 16 441.911
2 Steve Stewart 79 13 504.712
3 Greg Kondrek 78 11 510.372
4 Brad Sandahl 72 7 476.453
5 George Peters 70 6 486.183
6 Russ Toy 66 5 452.364
7 Kevin Webster 64 4 498.191
8 Jordan Walker 58 3 501.578

Detailed Results

Race 5: Jag Hobbies NC-2 GT-40 “Lites” (15v)

As usual, the NC-2 race was hot and heavy and extremely competitive with a multitude of different drivers winning heats. Expected favorite, NC-2 “Ace” Russ Toy, did not have a great run in this one and was only able to win one heat. In the end, Ian Douglass came out on the top with 79-laps. 2021 Rookie of the Year, Brad Sandahl, took second with current series points leader, Greg Kondrek landing the final podium spot.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Ian Douglass 79 16 362.047
2 Brad Sandahl 78 13 369.208
3 Greg Kondrek 76 11 368.741
4 George Peters 76 7 397.2
5 Steve Stewart 75 6 382.036
6 Russ Toy 73 5 384.532
7 Kevin Webster 63 4 379.436
8 Jordan Walker 58 3 395.694

Detailed Results

Race 6: Jag Hobbies PR-5 F1/Indy “Lites” 400-Laps (16.5v)

The Formula-e “Feature” race was saved for last this time based on input from drivers that felt it was way intense and should be the final race of the day. Don’t think many would argue that point. The Jag Hobbies PR-5 platform is very fast and a bit more difficult to drive due to the characteristics of the car that the “Box Stock” rules create.

From almost the very beginning, this race was a battle between Ian Douglass and Brad Sandahl.  Both drivers won plenty of heats but both drivers also had a few less than perfect heats and came up short in total laps, which isn’t unusual for this race format. Of course, other drivers were still in the hunt and putting pressure on both of them. Greg Kondrek, Kevin Webster, Home Cook’n, and George Peters were all very much in the hunt until about segment 13 of 16. Ian finished his rotation by winning the heat with a perfect score, putting him and Brad in first and second with 395-laps for Ian and 393-laps for Brad. Nobody could better those numbers going into the final two segments. Ian would win the feature event by just two laps over Brad Sandahl, and 17-laps over Home Cook’n in third place. The 400-lap event is all about fuel management dynamics and racing the track, not other drivers.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Ian Douglass 395 16 1752.973
2 Brad Sandahl 393 13 1797.759
3 Steve Stewart 378 11 1852.765
4 Greg Kondrek 374 7 1781.567
5 Kevin Webster 368 6 1869.674
6 George Peters 361 5 1836.832
7 Russ Toy 331 4 1796.964
8 Jordan Walker 296 3 1891.188

Detailed Results

Round 5 Overall Results
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Ian Douglass 786 82 4218.739
2 Greg Kondrek 755 61 4359.381
3 Brad Sandahl 772 58 4280.082
4 George Peters 729 39 4402.595
5 Russ Toy 698 38 4309.972
6 Kevin Webster 705 28 4438.711
7 Jordan Walker 622 19 4552.32

Hat’s off to Ian Douglass. He needed a little help to have a shot at displacing Greg Kondrek’s points lead in the series. Greg fought hard, including two spectacular performances with borrowed cars. Brad Sandahl, having missed three of the five races, and most of Round 1, came back to racing in Round 5 and showed that he’s the “real deal,” placing third overall.

Okay, so who the heck won the 2022 Formula “e” Series? Well, we didn’t know for sure on Saturday after the race due to the complexity of the points system. But now we do…

Driver #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 ** Total Out of 4
Ian Douglas 71.75 0 86 85 83.25 4 330 330
Greg Kondrek 79.25 82 70.5 64.5 64 5 365.25 301.25
George Peters 53.25 64 44 62.75 46 5 275 231
Russ Toy 41.5 52 53.5 0 44.25 4 195.25 199.25
Kevin Webster 31 0 37 42 34.25 4 148.25 152.25
Jordan Walker 16 0 33.25 30 20 4 103.25 107.25
Brad Sandahl 15 0 0 0 63.25 2 80.25 82.25

** Appearance points

Wow! Another great series and very competitive racing. Congratulations to Ian for winning his second straight Stewart Raceway series and supporting our racing program. Ian is a class act and an extremely talented and accomplished slot car racer/builder. He also has an incredible talent for tuning and campaigning some of the best performing and nicest-looking cars we’ve seen since Ted Essy abandoned us for Sac…just saying.

Also, hats off to our 2021 “Junior of the Year” driver, Jordan Walker, for putting up with all of us “old school” guys and showing up every other weekend to race little cars with us. He’s constantly improving and has clearly demonstrated that he’s got what it takes to win races.

We’ll have a “lavish” awards ceremony the next time we formally meet, including medals to the second and third-place finishers, Greg Kondrek and George Peters.  Very impressive driving by all!

Okay, shut up and drive!

Race Report: 2022 Formula-e Series, Round 4

Round 4 of the 2022 Formula “e” Series was yet another barn-burner day.

Round 4 was held on the SR2 Oval course and got underway on schedule and with G-Man (Greg Kondrek) arriving in time to attend the driver’s meeting and make the start of the first race.

We ran a full program plus one unofficial “Dirt” car race using the venerable MegaG+ w/ SK/Whelan Modified bodies.

We opened the day of racing with the first-ever Formula “e” car, the Tyco-Jet. Sort of a Stewart Raceway tradition now, we always start Fe races with the Tyco-Jet, which most guys seem to enjoy in spite of its excessively “loose” feel, even for a “Jet” car.

Race 1: Tyco-Jet IROC(12.5v)
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 16 363.732
2 Ian Douglass 120 13 364.581
3 Greg Kondrek 117 11 371.869
4 George Peters 109 7 373.295
5 Kevin Webster 87 6 372.056
6 Jordan Walker 82 5 381.673

The vintage Tyco-Jet IROC cars seem to be enjoyed by most, especially on the oval. Home Cook’n, Ian Douglass, and Greg Kondrek battled this one out with Home Cook’n and Ian finishing 1-2 and on the same lap.  Detailed Results

Race 2: OS3 TFX “Lites” (18v)
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Ian Douglass 118 16 354.852
2 Steve Stewart 118 13 371
3 George Peters 110 11 361.47
4 Greg Kondrek 108 7 367.217
5 Kevin Webster 84 6 350.858
6 Jordan Walker 81 5 366.201

Somehow I muffed a couple of podium shots on the day. This shot is actually the Concourse d’Elegance winner, George Peter’s Caddilac on the top step. Another Home Cook’n/Ian Douglass battle royal. Obviously, Ian won the race but George won the Concourse judging and the final spot on the podium in the always a blast TFX “Lites” class. Detailed Results.

Race 3: Formula V (12.5v)

Sorry, no podium shot here. This was the Formula V “F1/Indy” class debut.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 16 298.223
2 Ian Douglass 117 13 283.988
3 Greg Kondrek 106 11 289.123
4 George Peters 106 7 291.924
5 Kevin Webster 100 6 293.024
6 Jordan Walker 67 5 302.438

This class seems like it might stick. The current rules are fairly vague but the car is based on the BSRT Formula G-Jet, which is actually fairly popular nationally. I think most of us utilized Viper-Jets and just moved the front axles to the long wheel-base hole and added a Tomy SG+ F1/Indy body. Home Cookn’s car was a HCS “Sportsman” chassis, which isn’t as good as a pure BSRT Formula G-Jet but it does have a 25T crown, which was actually very smooth on the oval and seemed to come off the corners a bit quicker. I know second-place driver, Ian Douglass,  had converted his cars to the upcoming HOPRA rules, which limit the crown gear and pinions in this class to 7/23.  The third-place finisher, Greg Kondrek, was running a borrowed car with a 7/21 gear setup but with MG+ front wheels and tires, which may explain why he was off the pace. The Sportsman front-end is also higher than the Formula G-Jet but seemed to work pretty good on the oval. Detailed Results

Race 4:  Jag Hobbies PR-5 F1/Indy “Lites” 400-Laps (16.5v)
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 387 16 831.205
2 Steve Stewart 385 13 804.704
3 Ian Douglass 376 11 805.023
4 Greg Kondrek 357 7 878.33
5 Kevin Webster 352 6 827.103
6 Jordan Walker 207 5 842.132

The “Feature 400” race was another barn-burner race that was looking like another dual between Ian and Home Cook’n. Kondrek had a very fast car but was struggling with handling issues. Meanwhile, George Peters was quietly picking up laps, points, and determination. Going into the final heat, Ian was on the top of the leaderboard with 376-laps but done with his rotation. With only 376-laps, there were plenty of drivers thinking that wasn’t going to be enough.  Kevin Webster was having a pretty good run and sitting in second place, but with only 352-laps, he too was on the bubble.  George knew what he had to do and went out in the final segment and drove the wheels off his car to take the win by two laps.  Between the PR-5 chassis’ speed and the Formula “e” 50-lap/fuel format, this race is an adrenaline-overload pressure cooker, for sure.  Detailed Results

Race 5:  Retro-Vipers IROC (12v)
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Ian Douglass 120 16 356.6
2 Greg Kondrek 115 13 380.724
3 Steve Stewart 114 11 369.314
4 George Peters 114 7 388.475
5 Kevin Webster 89 6 384.786
6 Jordan Walker 72 5 382.919

The Retro-Viper is another cool car on the oval. Fast and loose, and a handful to drive. Ian Douglass nearly ran away with this one, winning three of his four rotations and out with a perfect score of 120-laps. It was another very competitive race but in the end, Ian won the race with a commanding 5-lap gap. The battle for second between Greg Kondrek, George Peters, and Home Cook’n was all that remained to be settled going into the final segment.  Home Cook’n was out with a 114-lap score, Kondrek at 85-laps, and Peters at 84-laps. The final segment was amazing to watch. And, because I was out, I could watch it unfold. When the checkered flag dropped, Kondrek would best third and fourth by just one lap and seal the deal for the second spot on the podium. Home Cook’n managed to best Peters but only by points, not total laps. Both drivers finished with 114-laps. Very close racing is what it’s all about.  Detailed Results

Race 6:  Jag Hobbies NC-2 GT-40 “Lites” (15v)

The final “official” race of the day was another very competitive race (Sorry, muffed the podium shot). The NC-2 class is another highly competitive race where you’re dealing with a stock car and limited tuning options. However, on the oval, speed is the main ingredient for success. In this one, with NC-2 ace, Russ Toy, out of the line-up racing in Rocklin, Ian seemed to have the complete package and bested the field with another perfect run of 120-laps. Greg Kondrek was closest with 113-laps, and George Peters just one lap behind rounding out the podium.  Detailed Results

All in all, it was a fantastic day of racing. Though our lone Junior driver had a rare unproductive day, he hung in there for all six “official” races, and hopefully learned a bit about sportsmanship and racing in general. Amazingly, while Jordan was struggling in the feature PR-5 400-lap race, his Dad, George, won that race while also trying to coach Jordan through his entire rotation—that takes some serious focusing skills, for sure.

We actually ran one additional “Unofficial” MegaG+ SK/Whelan Modified “Dirt car” race after the official stuff finished. Ian Douglass won that race also–by four laps!

Current “Unofficial” 2022 Formula “e” Points Standings
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Greg Kondrek 3556 300 14064.65
2 Ian Douglass 2557 240 10498.28
3 George Peters 3314 223 14488.69
4 Russ Toy 2403 146 11253.26
5 Kevin Webster 2152 95 10747.85
6 Jordan Walker 1655 73 9918.38
7 Brad Sandahl 149 12 1241.092 
These results do not include "Finish Ahead Of" points awarded to all positions after 3rd place in every race. The "Official" standings will be posted separately soon.

Greg Kondrek is still leading the series but can only use points from four of his five races. Ian is very close in points and has missed one already. The G-Man is going to need a very good Round 5 finale to seal the deal and take home the trophy for the 2022 Formula “e” Series. Be ready for more adrenaline-pumping action in the series finale in just two weeks.

Round 5 is slated for February 26, 2022 and will be held on the SR2 road course. Stay tuned for details and event registration link.

Okay, shut up and drive!