2024 Summer Extreme Series, Round 5 Finale: A new expert emerges, an old expert wins the day.

In spite of a couple of expert drivers skipping the final round, we had a great turnout and were able to complete the series with some very competitive results in all categories. Round 5 was contested on the SR3 oval utilizing the MegaG+ 1.7 “Lites” platform, basically a box stock car with a F1/Indy hardbody.

Round 5 Finale Short Story
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 180 16 459.356
2 Steve Stewart 179 13 471.432
3 Jerry Pearson 170 11 469.339
4 Jared Johnson 157 7 487.252
5 Eric Lane 144 6 503.525
6 Matthew Johnson 133 5 469.217
Qualifying
Track: SR3 Oval Super Speedway
Date: Oct-12-2024 12:09
Class: MegaG+ 1.7 Lites (22V)
Descr: Progressive
Name Lap Time Speed (Mph) Place
Steve Stewart 2.146 762 1
Aaron Castro 2.181 750 2
Jerry Pearson 2.252 726 3
Eric Lane 2.511 652 4
Shaylin Maddox 2.912 550 5
Jared Johnson 3.708 441 6
Matthew Johnson 4.750 344 7

Team Maddox returned to racing in Round 5, but not in full force as young Junior driver, Abe Maddox elected not to race. Shaylin put in a nice qualifying session but did not start the days qualifier races.

B Qualifier Race (30-lap segments):

In this one, Jared Johnson was on a terror, pressuring the second-fastest qualifier, Aaron Castro, early in the race and finishing on the same lap for two of the four segments. Jared had a rough time in the Blue lane and lost significant laps in that segment but put up a great fight against Eric Lane and eventual race winner, Expert Aaron Castro.  Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 120 16 296.118
2 Jared Johnson 111 13 304.939
3 Eric Lane 102 11 302.466
A Qualifier Race (30-lap segments):

Jerry Pearson was in the hunt in this race against the fastest qualifier, finishing second but losing four laps to Home Cook’n in the Orange lane. Matthew Johnson received excellent support from his team management and finished very well as a Junior driver against two of the fastest teams in the race. In the end, we didn’t have to do the Last Chance Qualifier due to no-shows and early departures , we just transferred all drivers to the Feature.  Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 16 265.858
2 Jerry Pearson 112 13 272.122
3 Matthew Johnson 93 11 270.582
Feature Event (45 lap segments, 48 lap fuel allocation):

The feature was a pretty chaotic event. I’m not going to cover it here but let’s say it had a lot of misc chaos and self-inflicted damage. In the end, Aaron Castro emerged as the winner by a lap. You’ll have to view the video of this one, it was wild. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 180 16 459.356
2 Steve Stewart 179 13 471.432
3 Jerry Pearson 170 11 469.339
4 Jared Johnson 157 7 487.252
5 Eric Lane 144 6 503.525
6 Matthew Johnson 133 5 469.217
Total Series Points From All Races, 50/50 Races, Qualifier Transfer Heats, and Feature Events:

This isn’t representative of actual points since some drivers garnered points by going through qualifier and Last-Chance Qualifier races. However, it does represent actual points totals for those who did not earn Feature Event points with our new race format.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 1173 636 7491.16
2 Steve Stewart 1348 609 7297.468
3 Aaron Castro 1224 495 6352.578
4 Jerry Pearson 1172 491 6630.399
5 Kevin Webster 469 279 2967.587
6 Eric Lane 610 159 4266.355
7 Jared Johnson 440 136 2057.271
8 Jordan Walker 302 133 2894.16
9 Matthew Johnson 387 124 2051.404
10 Madeline Johnson 100 72 823.462
11 Shaylin Maddox 67 36 462.865
12 Abe Maddox 66 36 464.606
Total Series Points From All Feature Events:
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 972 416 5585.136
2 George Peters 764 349 5127.071
3 Aaron Castro 831 305 4434.096
4 Jerry Pearson 746 242 4532.463
5 Jordan Walker 302 133 2894.16
6 Eric Lane 440 110 3443.471
7 Kevin Webster 174 89 996.869
8 Jared Johnson 157 7 487.252
9 Matthew Johnson 133 5 469.217
Carrie Sandahl clicked off the most laps in practice (357)

It wasn’t necessary to slog through calculating the best four out of five in this case. Both George Peters and Aaron Castro missed one race, which eliminated the need to go through all that since it would not change the points positions indicated above. Nor would it change the points positions for anybody else.

The following are the series points standings for each racer category:

Junior Final Points Standings:
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Matthew Johnson 387 124 2051.404
2 Madeline Johnson 100 72 823.462
3 Abe Maddox 66 36 464.606
Sportsman Final Points Standings:
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Jerry Pearson 746 242 4532.463
2 Eric Lane 440 110 3443.471
3 Jared Johnson 157 7 487.252
4 Shaylin Maddox 67 36 462.865

Pearson Racing’s Jerry Pearson had a fantastic series. Jerry dominated the Sportsman ranks and often appeared on the podium, often higher than Expert drivers. After winning an official racing series as a Sportsman driver, Jerry now moves on to the Expert category ranks. Congratulations, Jerry!

Expert Final Points Standings:
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 764 349 5127.071
2 Aaron Castro 831 305 4434.096
3 Jordan Walker 302 133 2894.16
4 Kevin Webster 174 89 996.869
5 Steve Stewart 972 416 5585.136

Because both George and Aaron missed one race in this series, there was no need to calculate the best four of five points totals. It wasn’t necessary for any contest in the Sportsman or Expert ranks.

Junior Series Winner, Matthew Johnson (right)

George and Aaron duked it out in this series, often besting Home Cook’n as they battled for series points. During this series, George set two new lap records in the MegaG+ Modified class. Aaron Castro now holds the fastest lap in the “Lites” class at 5.026 in the White lane. The fastest lap on the oval with the MegaG+ 1.7 “Lite” platform is 1.713 set by George Peters in the White lane. Aaron clicked off a 1.716 in the Blue lane in the Round 5 finale.

That’s a wrap for the 2024 Summer Extreme Series. It was highly competitive, and I think everyone likes the new race format.

Congrats to George, Jerry, and Matthew for winning their respective categories in the series. Great driving!

Stay tuned for video coverage of the Finale and plans for our next engagement. Okay, shut up and drive!

2024 Summer Extreme Series, Round 5 Finale

Well, it’s taken us into the Fall, but we’re one round away from completing this incredibly competitive series.

Here are the points standings after four rounds:

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 764 349 5127.071
2 Aaron Castro 651 289 3974.74
3 Jerry Pearson* 576 231 4063.124
4 Jordan Walker 302 133 2894.16
5 Eric Lane* 296 104 2939.946
6 Kevin Webster 174 89 996.869
7 Steve Stewart 793 403 5113.704

* Sportsman Driver

Remember, the rules are such that each driver is scored on their four best appearances, which means that if you missed a round, you’re not necessarily out of the hunt for the series win.

It’s a bit of work for the Race Director, but we’re taking the best points from the four best race results for each driver to calculate the series winner. And, yes, Sportsman and Experts are scored separately. There is a Sportsman series winner, an Expert series winner, and, of course, a Junior winner. Oh, and remember, Home Cook’n doesn’t get awards or trophies. If you somehow come in second to him, you’ve still won the series!

With our new racing format, you don’t earn points unless you make the main (Feature) event. So, if you don’t see your name above, you either missed the first couple of rounds or didn’t make the main in subsequent rounds. Junior driver points will be picked separately by combining Qualifier race and Last Chance Qualifier race points for up to four rounds attended.

The final round will be on the SR3 oval course. We’ll run our latest race format but longer segments since we’re on the oval. We’ll also run fuel allocation for the Last Chance Qualifier race and the Feature event. I think the LCQ race will have 30-lap segments, and the feature race will have 45-lap segments. Fuel allocation will be announced on race day.

The weather is expected to be ideal, so leave your expensive cooled driver suits at home. We’ll only need two marshals for each race event, but please invite guests to drive, marshal, or be the Race Director.

Stay tuned for more details, the invite, and the schedule. I think we’ll run MegaG+ “Lites” at 20V. Comments and suggestions are welcome, of course.

Race Report: 2024 Summer Extreme Series, Round 4

It didn’t look good for an official race, with Team Forza and Webster Motosports not attending. However, we had four teams committed and another two tentative, so we forged ahead.

On the morning of the event, Team Johnson bailed out then later committed. Team Maddox also confirmed that it would attend. So, with six teams making an appearance, Round 4 materialized.

Round 4 Short Story

Another barn burner main event using the MegaG+ 1.7 Modified platform. Man, these cars are fast and highly competitive.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 119 55 1101.403
2 George Peters 119 54 1157.912
3 Jerry Pearson 114 51 1092.854
4 Eric Lane 87 28 1145.827
Qualifying

Qualifying doesn’t always predict the outcome of the race day, but George Peters and Jerry Pearson established themselves as the teams to beat in Round 4. Team Maddox’s Abe Maddox put down an excellent qualifying round and sat third fastest going into the day’s program. (Details)

Track: SR3 Road Course Fast Esses (Chicane)
Date: Oct-05-2024 11:51
Class: MegaG+ Modified
Descr: Progressive
Name Lap Time Speed (Mph) Place
George Peters 5.194 634 1
Jerry Pearson 5.251 627 2
Abe Maddox 6.165 534 3
Matthew Johnson 6.286 524 4
Shaylin Maddox 6.762 487 5
Jared Johnson 6.822 482 6
Steve Stewart 6.921 476 7
Eric Lane 7.815 421 8
Race 1: Qualifier Race 2

The second fastest qualifier, Jerry Pearson, started on the pole of the first qualifier race and pretty much dominated it. Team Johnson was running house cars and could not match Pearson Racing’s pace. Jerry easily transferred to the main event with a perfect run of 80 laps and some exceedingly fast lap times. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Jerry Pearson 80 64 484.274
2 Jared Johnson 68 46 512.827
3 Matthew Johnson 66 40 502.131
4 Eric Lane 68 38 520.418
Race 2: Qualifier Race 1

The fastest qualifier heat had George Peters, Home Cook’n, and Team Maddox drivers in the mix. George dominated the race, winning three of the four segments. Team Maddox fought hard for a transfer but came up short, mostly due to car issues. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 79 61 455.329
2 Steve Stewart 78 55 459.048
3 Shaylin Maddox 67 36 462.865
4 Abe Maddox 66 36 464.606
Race 3: Feature Event

There should have been a Last-Chance Qualifier race, but Team Maddox and Team Johnson could not continue racing after their qualifier races. Instead of a Last-Chance Qualifier, all remaining teams transferred to the Feature event. The two fast qualifiers, George Peters and Jerry Pearson, both won their respective Qualifier races and were favored to win the Feature event.

George Peters burst out of the blocks, winning the first segment, Jerry Pearson won the second segment, and Home Cook’n won the third. Going into the final segment, Home Cook’n had a two-point lead on Jerry Pearson in 2nd and just a lap on George Peters in 3rd.  This was a fueling event, which always added strategy and tactics to the mix. George opted to refuel near the end of segment three, while Jerry Pearson and Home Cook’n battled for critical points and did not refuel. That meant both drivers had to refuel pretty early in the final segment.

With the points situation extremely close between all three drivers, the race was up for grabs. Jerry opted to get fuel early in the segment while Home Cook’n didn’t top off his fuel until about lap 7. George Peters gained a two lap lead after the two chasing drivers had to refuel, putting him in a comfortable position for the final segment win.

With Eric Lane not threatening the two chasing drivers, it was pretty much a dog fight between Jerry Pearson and Home Cook’n for the 2nd place points needed to win the overall race. Jerry was finishing on the more challenging Blue lane while Home Cook’n was finishing up in the faster Orange lane. In the end, Jerry would lose two laps to Home Cook’n and have to settle for 3rd in the segment and 3rd overall. Eric Lane, returning to racing after an extended layoff, ran well at times but was never able to pressure the two chasers.

George won two of the four segments and clicked off the fastest lap of the race but could not seal the deal, tying on laps and just one point shy of the overall win. George’s fastest lap set a new record in the Orange lane (5.036), nearly besting Aaron Castro’s fastest lap of 5.026 in the White lane. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 119 55 1101.403
2 George Peters 119 54 1157.912
3 Jerry Pearson 114 51 1092.854
4 Eric Lane 87 28 1145.827

Jerry’s results shows he’s ready for the move to the Expert ranks, for sure!

Stay tuned for complete video coverage of the day’s racing and the plans for the Round 5 finale!

Race Report: 2024 Summer Extreme Series, Round 3

Continuing our new racing format in Round 3, we conducted a five-lap qualifying session that divided the field into two qualifying races. The winners of each qualifier race transferred directly to the main event. The rest of the field went on to the Last Chance Qualifier race, where two more drivers (1st and 2nd) transferred to the feature race.  We had enough drivers to do a Consolation Race but opted not to.

Round 3 Feature (Main) Event Short Story
120 Lap Feature “Main” Event
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 59 588.969
2 Aaron Castro 120 50 592.295
3 George Peters 117 45 603.752
4 Jerry Pearson* 115 34 591.528
Qualifying

We changed the qualifying format for this round. Instead of a 7-lap session, drivers had a 5-lap session, two warmup laps, and three laps on the clock. Of course, if you have a crash, spin, or other mishap in the last three laps, your average lap time will suffer greatly.

Track: SR3 Road Course Fast Esses (Chicane)
Class: Viper V-SPEC SPEC STOCK Lexan
Descr: 5 laps, average time of last three laps
Name Lap Time Speed (Mph) Place
George Peters 4.617 713 1
Aaron Castro 4.710 699 2
Steve Stewart 4.854 678 3
Kevin Webster 5.247 627 4
Jerry Pearson* 6.470 509 5
Madeline Johnson* 6.836 481 6
Jared Johnson* 7.439 442 7
Matthew Johnson* 9.743 338 8

* Sportsman Driver

Qualifier Heat 2 (80 laps, winner transfers to Main)

Team Johnson’s Junior drivers didn’t stand much of a chance against two Expert drivers vying for that single transfer spot to the main event. Aaron won all four of the segments, Kevin came in second in four. Madeline Johnson found her groove in the final segment and put some serious pressure on Kevin Webster, finishing third but just one lap down and posting a slightly faster median lap time than Expert Kevin Webster. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 80 64 453.176
2 Kevin Webster 75 52 464.196
3 Madeline Johnson 57 40 472.893
4 Matthew Johnson 52 32 463.234
Qualifier Heat 1 (80 laps, winner transfers to Main)

This qualifier race pitted the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th fastest qualifiers against one another, with only one driver transferring to the main event. The two Expert drivers, George Peters and Home Cook’n, looked to be the favorites to win, but Sportsman Jerry Pearson (Pearson Racing) was having none of that. Jerry took second in three of the four segments and second overall against a hard-charging George Peters. Team Johnson’s Jared Johnson was introduced harshly to our fastest class of cars, the Viper V-SPEC chassis. Jared did amazingly well against two experts, including a seasoned and highly motivated sportsman, Jerry Pearson. Jared also found his groove in the final segment, posting his fastest race lap. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 80 61 400.107
2 Jerry Pearson* 74 50 417.555
3 George Peters 72 49 411.908
4 Jared Johnson* 55 28 417.161
Last Chance Qualifier (60 laps, 1st & 2nd transfer to Main)

Sportsman driver, Jerry Pearson was on fire again in the Last Chance Qualifier. Only two drivers would transfer to the Main Event, and Jerry was determined to be one of them. Jerry won three of his four segments and bagged second in his final segment. Also vying for one of the two transfer spots, George Peters won three of his four segments and took a second in the other. In the end, George and Jerry tied in laps and total points, but Jerry took the top podium spot by just 1.18 seconds. This is competitive racing at its finest! This was Team Johnson’s first “official” race day with the more serious crowd, but they all finished every stage and segment of the event and recorded some impressive results. Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Jerry Pearson 60 61 331.906
2 George Peters 60 61 333.086
3 Kevin Webster 56 50 340.214
4 Jared Johnson 49 42 335.092
5 Matthew Johnson 43 36 346.24
6 Madeline Johnson 43 32 350.569
Feature “Main” Event (120 lap Sprint)

After experiencing a hiccup with SlotTrak’s latest version (scoring and fuel management feature failures), we abandoned the planned fuel stop component of the main event. We continued with a straight-up sprint race with 30 lap segments and no fuel stops. This race was an adrenaline party. Team Forza’s Aaron Castro put the heat on Home Cook’n and everybody else with three 2nd place segments and just missing a 1st in the first segment by 4/10’s of a second. Pearson Racing’s Jerry Pearson and GP Design’s George Peters would prove to be spoilers in the last two segments: Jerry put in a fabulous effort in the third segment, taking 2nd place to Home Cook’n by just 2/10’s of a second; George bagged the win in the final segment with the fastest runtime of the segment at 145.139. Both driver’s late-race performances robbed Aaron of valuable points that could have put him on the top of the main event podium had Home Cook’n not won three of the four segments. What a blisteringly fast race! Details

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 59 588.969
2 Aaron Castro 120 50 592.295
3 George Peters 117 45 603.752
4 Jerry Pearson 115 34 591.528
Series Points Standings After Round 3
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 852 470 4999.727
2 Aaron Castro 828 408 5027.041
3 George Peters 815 399 4980.924
4 Jerry PearsonS 636 291 3979.904
5 Kevin Webster 330 185 2056.297
6 Jordan Walker 302 133 2894.16
7 Eric LaneS 209 76 1794.119
8 Madeline JohnsonJ 57 40 472.893
9 Matthew JohnsonJ 52 32 463.234
10 Jared JohnsonS 55 28 417.161

S = Sportsman drivers, J = Junior drivers
Note: Jerry Pearson is well on his way to the Expert ranks—two more events.

Stay tuned for Round 4 details, might be a day on one of the ovals. Okay, shut up and drive!

Race Report: 2024 Summer “Extreme” Series, Round 2

Yeah, we were in the throws of the 2024 Summer 50/50 Series, but we couldn’t seem to get to round 2. Summer is challenging, with school out, then back in, vacations, and many other things to do.

We’ll combine the points from Round 1 of the 50/50 series with this new “Extreme” Series, Round 2. The new series differs greatly from what we’ve been doing regarding race day formats.

The Extreme Series focuses a race day on just one platform and a series of events that start with time-trial qualifying, a series of main event qualifier races (winner advances to the main event), a last-chance main qualifier (top 2 finishers advance to the main event), and a consolation race (for all drivers who did not transfer to the main (Feature) event. This format ensures that all drivers who start the event can race at least three of the five races in the days official schedule.

We completed Round 2 today with just five drivers, which worked well despite the low turnout, but some felt that the qualifier races were not full enough, and the Consolation race only had one driver in it (easy podium if you don’t DNF). On the brighter side, the format provided more marshals for each race except the Main (Feature) event, which made the racing more intense. We’ll play around with this new format for a few races and see how it goes.

Round 2 Short Story

The final feature event of the day was a dogfight between Home Cook’n and GP Designs, George Peters. The two tied on laps and total points, but Home Cook’n managed to squeak out the win by just 1/10th of a second over 120 laps of racing–amazingly close racing!

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 56 669.066
2 George Peters 120 56 669.166
3 Jerry Pearson 118 40 667.837
4 Aaron Castro 116 36 683.473
Qualifying

The chosen platform for this Round was the venerable AFX/Racemasters MegaG+ 1.7 chassis with a taped-on paper body instead of a traditional plastic hardbody.

 

Track: SR3 Road Course Fast Esses (Chicane)
Date:  Sep-07-2024 11:35
Class: MegaG+ 1.7 Modified
Descr: Qualifying 5-lap Average

Name                Lap Time      Speed (Mph)   Place         
Steve Stewart       5.333         617           1             
Jerry Pearson       5.942         554           2             
George Peters       5.977         551           3             
Aaron Castro        6.206         530           4             
Kevin Webster       8.033         410           5
“B” Qualifier Race
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Jerry Pearson 100 61 592.079
2 Aaron Castro 97 55 599.125

Sportsman driver, Jerry Pearson was on fire Saturday, second fastest in qualifying and transferring to the Main Event in his first qualifying race. Jerry bested Expert driver, Aaron Castro by 3 laps, setting up expectation that he just might win the Feature event. Detailed Results

“A” Qualifier Race
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 98 61 587.319
2 George Peters 98 55 599.857
3 Kevin Webster 81 44 595.232

After car issues before and during his qualifying session, George seemed to get the car dialed in and nearly forced Home Cook’n to have to get into the Main Event via the Last Chance Qualifier. Detailed Results

Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) Race
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 George Peters 100 61 563.909
2 Aaron Castro 96 55 570.063
3 Kevin Webster 83 44 571.076

With only two drivers transferring to the Main Event, George put in a perfect run in the LCQ race, besting Aaron by a whopping 4 laps.
Detailed Results

Consolation Race

Webster Motosports, Kevin Webster. Didn’t have to run this one. Kevin didn’t have a great day, but he runs his own bodies and fought hard all day.

Main (Feature) Event
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 56 669.066
2 George Peters 120 56 669.166
3 Jerry Pearson 118 40 667.837
4 Aaron Castro 116 36 683.473

In what just might be the closest race ever recorded on any Stewart Raceway course, the dogfight between Home Cook’n and George Peters continued in the Main Event. After a whole lot of sweat, adrenaline, and superb driving by all, Home Cook’n squeaked out the win by just 1/10 of a second over the GP Designs Expert driver, George Peters. It really doesn’t get closer than this, race fans. George won two segments, Home Cook’n won two segments. They tied on laps, tied in points, and just one-tenth of a second in total runtime separating the two drivers at the end—simply amazingly close racing!

Many of us expected Jerry Pearson to take the win in this one. He drove the wheels of the car, but the three battling Expert drivers pushed the pace just a bit too fast for Jerry to bag a segment win or two. Jerry took close 2nd place finishes in two segments but 4th in the other two segments, indicating extreme pressure from the three Expert drivers he was up against in the Main Event.
Detailed Results

Stay tuned for a possible Round 3 next weekend.

Comment nicely or shut up and drive!