Category: Series/Season Standings

We didn’t get racing until about 7:00 pm and had to interrupt that first race for dinner and dessert. Race 2 got underway around 9:30, and we wrapped up racing just before midnight.

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Race 1:  Jag Hobbies NC-2 Lite BOX STOCK Mustangs (i)

This race was very competitive, with nearly every driver bagging a segment win. Dustin Jolley would be the quickest Sportsman driver, with the fastest lap (6.272 on Orange) and the fastest median lap time in segment 4 (8.871). Team Clarke’s Joe Clarke won a segment overall and put down some impressive lap times, but came up a few laps and just 2 points short of the podium.

In the end, Dean Donaldson would take top Sportsman honors, besting the hard-charging Dustin Jolley for the overall win. They tied in total laps, and Dustin had the better runtime and won the last segment, but came up 7 points short of the overall win. (Details)

Race 2: Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy 1.7 (i) Lexan Eric Lane Set

After a brief warm-up, the race got underway with the stage being set quickly. The Sportsman battle was clearly going to be between Dustin Jolley and Dean Donaldson, while Team Hutchinson had their own heated battle going within the team. Dustin and Dean swapped segment wins from the start, and Dean ended Segment 5 in the lead by 3 laps and 5 points. Dean also had the fastest lap and median lap time.

To make things even more challenging for Dustin in the final segment, Harper and Rylee Hutchinson were posting increasingly faster lap times as the race progressed. Harper won the segment 4 Sportsman battle with a nice 2-place finish overall, completing all 20 laps, and posting the fastest Sportsman lap and median lap time in the Orange lane.

Unfortunately for Team Hutchinson, all three drivers would spend the final segment in “gutter” lanes. Rylee faired the best, completing 17 laps in the final segment, finishing 4th overall, and 3rd for the segment. Dustin Jolley drove the wheels off the White lane car, setting the fastest Sportsman lap and median lap time, completing all 20 laps, and winning the segment overall. But it just wasn’t quite enough to overtake Sportsman race-leader, Dean Donaldson. While they tied on points, Dean finished 3 laps ahead of Dustin for the coveted Sportsman win. (Details)

It was great to see Team Hutchinson back at Stewart Raceway, enjoying the racing, and steadily improving their lap times. Congrats to Harper on her second podium appearance in just three visits to Stewart Raceway!

This likely marks the end of the points chase for the 2025 Under The Lights season. Below are the points standings for our inaugural season:

Dean Donaldson obviously won the Sportsman class points chase. Kathy and Joe are very close, with Kathy in 2nd place and Joe in third, 23 points behind. We could have a race-off between the two to see who comes out on top. Maybe we’ll get in one more race night before the end of the year; we’ll see. I think I’ve got some pretty solid video of both races. I’ll post those on Rumble soon.

I’ve still got some number crunching to do for the regular season (Saturday) points, but a couple of notable mentions for 2025 awards are Abe Maddox (3 race wins, 25 segment wins), Jared Johnson (Most Improved), and a decision on who earned Rookie of the Year honors.

I’ve got the 13th, 17th, 19th, and 20th available for an “End of Season” celebration event. If there’s enough interest, we’ll have lunch/dinner, present awards, recognize advancements, and maybe have a Race-Off between Joe and Kathy.

Okay, shut up and drive!

Please welcome Dustin Jolley, our newest driver and slot car enthusiast out of Scotts Valley. Dustin has a 4-lane home sectional track and gets together regularly with a few friends and races Tyco 440-X2, MG+, and Vipers. Dustin did very well in his debut on SR3.

Also, a big welcome back to Tom Langell and Joe Clarke, both great drivers and way too fun to race with.

We only did two races on the night and, once again, no video or pics. 🙁

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Race 1:

Don’t remember what we raced, but I think both races were house IROC sets. Dean took the Sportsman win, but Dustin was just one lap behind in the second spot. Joe and Tom duked it out the entire race, with Joe taking the final podium spot by just one point over Tom. Pretty competitive, I’d say.  Details

Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 Modified (IROC)

We lost Joe and Tom to the demands of real life, but Dean, Dustin, and I soldiered on for one more race. Dustin, again, was knocking on Dean’s doors, only one lap off the pace and just three points short of the Sportsman win. More great racing!  Details

A way fun night, great food and hydration products, and some really good racing.

Under The Lights Season Standings

Yep, you gotta show up to be in the hunt for points. Given that there are only two months left in the 2025 season, I’d say Dean will be crowned the Sportsman champ for the 2025 “Under The Lights” season. Which means Dean is essentially an Expert-ranked driver now. Congrats, Dean!!

We’re hoping for another good turnout this coming Wednesday, October 22, 2025. Okay, shut up and drive!

Another way fun Friday Night Under the Lights event and another boom from yet another new driver. Dean brought a giant salmon fillet and queued it to perfection, Kathy cooked up a tasty pan of meat lasagna and garlic bread, and Jessica brought a very delicious bowl of sausage and vegetables. Both Team Clarke and Team DeVincenzi Cellars brought hydration products to help prevent overheating during the racing action. I chose the 2018 Meritage red; it was excellent.

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Green font denotes an Expert-ranked driver.

Race 1: Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy Lexan (IROC) (Eric “Fast” Lane’s set)

We attempted to run a set of Jag Hobbies NC-2 Mustang hardbody cars, but the group found them too challenging to drive and preferred the more “stuck” Viper V-SPEC platform. Thanks to Eric “Fast” Lane, we had a nice set of Viper V-SPEC L4 cars with Lexan F1/Indy bodies to campaign.

Sportsman driver, Dean Donaldson, came out swinging in the first segment, finishing less than a half second behind Expert driver, Home Cook’n. Dean would also click off the fastest lap of the race (5.074) in the White lane. Joe Clarke, returning from his impressive debut last Friday night, looked to be in a good position to repeat his outstanding 2nd-place podium finish with a MegaG+ “Modified” platform, having secured a solid 3rd in the first segment.

However, Frank Virgil, making his first-ever appearance at Stewart Raceway, put in an incredible run in the second segment, placing a close 2nd to segment winner Dean Donaldson and besting 3rd-place finisher, Home Cook’n, by almost four seconds. Frank would go on to finish the race in 3rd overall and earn a surprise podium visit.

Team Clarke driver Joe Clarke didn’t get into his groove in three of his later segments, finishing 4th in each one. In his final couple of segments, Joe got things turned around, bagging a 2nd in Segment 5 and a 3rd in the final segment. Frank, however, had racked up a very sizable points lead going into the final segment, and Joe would have to settle for a 4th place overall, despite Frank having a rough final segment in the Yellow lane, losing five laps, and finishing 4th behind Joe.

The lone female driver in the mix in Race 1 was Lisa Clarke, Joe’s amazing wife. I’m pretty sure this was her first slot car race, but she picked up on slot car racing very quickly, finishing fourth twice and clicking off a 6.5-second lap on her way to besting speedster, Dean Donaldson, in Segment 5 of 6.

Jessica did a few laps in practice but decided to pass on driving. But did a great job marshaling and keeping Dean’s team manager, Tucker, entertained and well taken care of.  Details

Race 2: Super G+ Lexan F1/Indy Bodies (IROC)

With dinner, hydration protocol, and all the team tactics trying to psych out the competition, we only managed to get one race completed before the attrition set in, and we lost a couple of teams early.

Kathy joined us for Race 2, and we decided on the venerable AFX Super G+ platform with Lexan F1/Indy bodies. This set has a lot of history, four of the cars came with the AFX Super International Raceway set I purchased to build my second sectional track, called Stewart Raceway I. Since the old plastic hardbodies are getting extremely scarce and expensive, we run them with cheaper Lexan bodies now.

This race had a very sketchy car in the White lane, which impacted all the drivers. We all knew that everyone had to drive the beast, so we plowed on and completed all rotations. Dean would post the fastest lap of the race (5.738) in the Green lane, but came up short by four laps and four points to Home Cook’n. Kathy had the sketchy car in the first segment and lost seven laps before rebounding in her 2nd and 3rd segments, finishing just four laps down in the end.

Dean and Home Cook’n were tied in both laps and points going into the final segment. The good news for Home Cook’n was that he had the fast Green Lane car for the finale, and Dean had the sketchy White lane car.

As expected, Dean struggled with the bad car and lost four laps in the last segment, coming in 3rd to 2nd place finisher, Kathy Stewart, who had a great run in the Orange lane with a fastest lap of 6.314 to Dean’s fastest of 6.648.  Details

Another awesome Friday Night Under The Lights event! Thanks to everyone for joining us, for all the great food and hydration products, and the competitive spirit that makes the racing so fun and exciting.

Slightly edited videos. Fast forward where necessary:

Race 1

Race 2

Check out our new team’s delicious wines at DeVincenzi Cellars and say hello to Jessica and Frank.

Okay, shut up and drive!