Category: Race Results

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!

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!

Round 3 of the Formula “e” Series was yet another hotly contested event but this time with nearly a full field.  Because we had nearly  a full field of drivers we didn’t get to try out the new wireless call buttons–darn!

Round 3 on the SR2 straight road course got underway on schedule and with G-Man (Greg Kondrek) arriving early–again!

We ran a full program plus one redo race due speedster, Ian Douglass, reaching the minimum lap time in the “Pot Luck” MG+ IROC race.

As is now established tradition at Stewart Raceway, the first race on the schedule was the Formula “e” cars that started off the “Fe” Series back in 2019. We decided to run them at 12v instead of 15v this time, seemed to be a good move.

Race 1: Tyco-Jet IROC(12v)

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Ian Douglass	80	16	589.716
2	George Peters	79	13	618.086
3	Steve Stewart	75	11	562.815
4	Greg Kondrek	75	7	596.385
5	Russ Toy	73	6	604.494
6	Jordan Walker	68	5	588.769
7	Kevin Webster	68	4	631.036

The vintage Tyco-Jet IROC cars were a lot more drive-able at 12v and the racing a whole lot closer. These cars are even fun on a road course. With Ian Douglass back in the game and very good with Tyco-Jets, it was another hard and fast race. Ian topped the field while veteran T-Jet driver, George Peters took the second podium spot. Detailed Results

Race 2: OS3 TFX “Lites” (18v)

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Ian Douglass	80	16	574.679
2	Steve Stewart	78	13	580.163
3	Greg Kondrek	78	11	591.862
4	Kevin Webster	71	7	601.083
5	Russ Toy	71	6	607.124
6	George Peters	65	5	597.233
7	Jordan Walker	61	4	610.146

This race was actually pretty close between both second and third and also fourth and fifth. Ian took top honors with two laps on his closest competitors. Greg Kondrek rounded out the podium with his styling Corvette skin. However, there may be a little controversy in this race. Looking closely, Ian’s car appears to have a much wider stance than the second place car. While we haven’t published any specific rules for the TFX “Lite” platform, the agreed upon spec for the TFX Lite was to be a completely stock car with the only exception being Black Dragon magnets instead of Gray Dragons. The third place car also appears to have a wider than stock stance. Detailed Results.

Race 3: MG+ F1/Indy 1.7  IROC (18v)

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Ian Douglass	80	16	379.173
2	Steve Stewart	78	13	388.058
3	Russ Toy	77	11	371.424
4	Greg Kondrek	76	7	380.609
5	George Peters	76	6	385.022
6	Kevin Webster	70	5	376.29
7	Jordan Walker	68	4	375.263

The first version of this race had to be redone since Ian kept going under the established minimum lap time for this car. We ran the whole race but Ian clearly had a whole bunch of missing laps due to the problem.

Once we reset the minimum lap time and restarted, Ian quickly established himself as the car to beat. Russ Toy also seemed to enjoy this car also, winning his first heat and then leading the race for the next three.

I can’t remember what version of the race, but Jordan Walker (JOTY) was on fire in both races. Jordan was well on his way to at least a podium spot going into his final heat but had trouble in the heat and dropped out of contention. Still, he was really liking Kevin Webster’s sweet MG+ set, for sure.

In the end, Ian took the top podium spot with Russ Toy taking the final podium spot with a great performance. Detailed Results

Race 4: Jag Hobbies PR-5 F1/Indy “Lites” 400-Laps (16.5v)

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Ian Douglass	399	16	1753.153
2	Steve Stewart	395	13	1766.428
3	Greg Kondrek	372	11	1741.234
4	Russ Toy	363	7	1786.025
5	Kevin Webster	338	6	1780.567
6	Jordan Walker	308	5	1807.999
7	George Peters	305	4	1797.436

The “Feature 400” race was another barn-burner race with Ian Douglass putting in yet another stellar driving and fuel management performance in the grueling 400-lap, dual rotation race. Actually, the whole race was very competitive with several drivers winning several 50-lap heats. Going into the final segments, it was a battle between Ian Douglass and ‘Home Cook’n. In the end, Ian took the top spot on the podium after Home Cook’n spaced his final rotation and missed the start, losing quite a few laps in the process. Detailed Results

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

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Russ Toy	79	16	375.623
2	Greg Kondrek	77	13	346.509
3	Ian Douglass	77	11	361.535
4	George Peters	71	7	361.082
5	Steve Stewart	69	6	381.621
6	Kevin Webster	65	5	368.177
7	Jordan Walker	60	4	367.033

This one was a all Russ Toy show.  The winner of the inaugural NC-2 race back on the 2021 50-50 Racing Series, Russ proved that he’s the dominant NC-2 driver at Stewart Raceway. Greg Kondrek fought extremely hard with his well prepared GT-40, but could only get within two laps of the undisputed NC-2 points leader. Kondrek had serious pressure from Ian Douglass, both going into the final segment with the same lap count and finishing on the same lap. Kondrek would have to settle for defending his second place podium spot while Ian ended up with the the third and final spot. George Peters and Kevin Webster also had some very good heat results. In fact, nearly every driver seemed to manage a top 3 in at least one segment, which shows this class is one of the most competitive classes we run.  Detailed Results

Race 6: U-Build Viper V-SPEC “Lexan” (15v)

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Greg Kondrek	78	16	290.399
2	Steve Stewart	77	13	287.173
3	Ian Douglass	75	11	316.882
4	George Peters	72	7	321.26
5	Jordan Walker	69	6	314.172
6	Russ Toy	66	5	283.302
7	Kevin Webster	63	4	301.165

The final race of the day was again a barn-burner. The fastest cars we run, the Viper V-SPEC races are always close, fast, and furious. This one was more of the same. Home Cook’n was well on his way to victory after winning three of his segments with 60-laps to Kondrek’s 58-laps going into the final segment.  Ian Douglass was leading the race but with only 75-laps completed, he was on the bubble. In the end, Home Cook’n had another senior moment and overshot what was supposed to be a splash & dash pit stop and lost at least a couple of laps. Kondrek took top honors with Ian Douglass rounding out the V-SPEC podium. Father and Son rivals, George and Jordan had quite a battle going themselves with George besting Jordan by just three laps at the finish.  Detailed Results

Series Standings After ROund 3:

Place	Name	Laps	Points	Total Time
1	Greg Kondrek	2520	222	11056.27
2	Ian Douglass	1586	155	8082.302
3	George Peters	2265	153	11432.48
4	Russ Toy	2315	139	10775.4
5	Kevin Webster	1350	59	8245.118
6	Jordan Walker	1077	43	7360.309
7	Brad Sandahl	149	12	1241.092

While the final standings will be based on the best points from four of the five events and “Finished Ahead Of” points totals, Greg Kondrek continues to lead the “unofficial” points chase. Ian Douglass missed one event (Round 2) but moves into second place after pretty much dominating Round 3’s road course event. George Peters drops from second to third, Russ Toy and Kevin Webster round out the top 5 going into Round 4. Rookie of the Year, Brad Sandahl, has missed two races, which puts him out of contention for this series but I’m sure he’ll make another appearance on the podium before this one is over.

I’ll calculate and post the “Official” points tally ASAP.

Round 4 is slated for February 12, 2022 and will be held on the oval course. Stay tuned for details and an event registration link.

Okay, shut up and drive!