Our amazing 2023 racing season has ended with a final track day and potluck event. Thank you all for attending and bringing all kinds of great food, snacks, chocolates, and wine!
We had a full contingent of junior drivers, Team Johnson and Team Maddox all here. The juniors did a bunch of laps in open practice (Madeline Johnson finished practice with over 500 laps!).
We only did one fun race, A Dash race of six drivers and 35 laps. Madeline Johnson won it by 3 laps over hard-charging Junior Champ, Abe Maddox in second. Olga Rosetta (Aaron’s girlfriend and team manager) bagged the final podium spot in her first-ever slot car race–very impressive!
Madeline Johnson, Abe Maddox, Olga Rosetta
Here are some pics of the awards festivities.
Junior Points Champion, Abe Maddox.Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Driver, Jerry Pearson.2023 50/50 Extreme Series winner, Aaron Castro.2023 50/50 Xtreme Series, Aaron Castro (right), and the rest of the award and race winners.
Wow! Slot car racing is one of those activities that everyone can enjoy. It is so awesome to have such an amazing cross-section of racers participating in our program. Thank you all for making our 2023 racing season so fun and memorable.
The final race of the 50/50 Xtreme Series was decided by just one point and three laps. Our newest Sportsman driver in the mix, Aaron Castro, not only closed the deal on the series win today but also finished 2nd overall in Round 4, against two Expert drivers.
Short Story
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart*
558
236
4327.801
2
Aaron Castro
544
182
4347.334
3
George Peters*
541
181
4459.477
4
Kevin Webster
507
149
4426.83
5
Jerry Pearson
273
98
2311.258
*Expert Driver
Race 1: Jag Hobbies NC-2 70′ Boss Mustang Hardbodies
Home Cook’n, George Peters, Aaron Castro
The Jag NC-2 chassis is a very serious racing platform. However, with these stock AutoWorld Super III bodies installed, they can be a bit unpredictable.
George Peters was on fire in Race 1 with three 2nd-place segment finishes and completing the race just eight seconds behind the race winner and on the same lap! Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
140
64
1352.88
2
George Peters
140
50
1423.44
3
Aaron Castro
136
47
1291.1
4
Jerry Pearson
134
46
1365.84
5
Kevin Webster
114
28
1384.37
Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 “Modified”
Home Cook’n, Jerry Pearson, Kevin Webster
This car is the most competitive platform out there, by far. This race had three different segment winners, Jerry Pearson won two of the five segments!
In the end, Jerry Pearson finished on the same lap as the race winner and less than a fraction of a second behind. Way, way competitive racing! Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
139
53
945.131
2
Jerry Pearson
139
52
945.422
3
Kevin Webster
135
45
982.405
4
Aaron Castro
138
44
999.324
5
George Peters
134
41
976.465
Race 3: MegaG 1.7 Whelen/SK Modifieds (IROC)
Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters
We just couldn’t get enough of the MG+ platform. This set was Box Stock 1.7 chassis’ with the new “paper” bodies. Again, very competitive. George Peters drove the wheels off his cars, winning two of the four segments and holding on to a 5-point lead over Aaron Castro going into the final segment. George was sitting in a very nice position going into the final segment, just one lap and one point behind the leader. In the end, George struggled with the Blue lane. At the same time, Kevin Webster came alive, besting George by only one lap but bagging the final podium spot and dropping George to a 4th-place finish, handing Aaron the points he needed to bag the 2nd-place podium spot. Again, way close racing with the MG+ platform. Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
139
55
1036.9
2
Aaron Castro
135
47
1042.257
3
George Peters
134
46
1039.166
4
Kevin Webster
128
40
1042.051
Race 4: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” Lexan
The final race of the series, a very fast and very competitive class that is extremely competitive. This one was mostly a battle between Aaron Castro and George Peters, both bagging two 2nd-place segment finishes. In the end, George, after a couple of bad heats was five points behind Aaron going into the final segment. George needed a great segment and some luck. Aaron would finish fourth in the segment and George would finish in 2nd-place, three laps up on Aaron but tied in points. Aaron would take the 2nd-place podium spot with a 6-second better total run time. Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
140
64
992.894
2
Aaron Castro
135
44
1014.65
3
George Peters
133
44
1020.408
4
Kevin Webster
130
36
1018.002
So, there you have it. The 2023 50/50 Xtreme Series is in the books. Sportsman driver, Aaron Castro wins it over hard-charging Kevin Webster in the final round. Great driving by our newest member and congrats on the series win!
2023 50/50 Xtreme Series Final Overall Standings
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Aaron Castro
1559
583
13187.46
2
Kevin Webster
1532
491
15719.91
3
Jerry Pearson
634
244
8530.101
4
Eric Lane
339
112
6219.998
5
Shaylin Maddox
214
76
1574.672
6
Grace Maddox
82
45
716.313
7
Abe Maddox
81
42
789.937
1
Steve Stewart*
1782
820
15347.45
2
George Peters*
1337
469
9458.514
3
Jordan Walker*
141
75
2213.675
*Expert
Okay, that’s it for now. Stay tuned for details on next Saturday’s Kid’s Race and 2023 Season Awards Presentations. We may do some team racing with qualifying and combining the fastest with the slowest on each team, we’ll see. Just a fun day at the track regardless.
Below is a summary of the current points standings for all “official” racing to date for the 2023 racing season.
Who will take home the Season’s trophy?
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Kevin Webster
2773
735
26066.3
2
Aaron Castro
1015
401
8840.121
3
Jordan Walker
1980
385
15915.75
4
Jerry Pearson
1511
336
14395.3
5
Eric Lane
1440
183
12701.97
6
Shaylin Maddox
637
173
4788.795
7
Abe Maddox
550
153
4541.577
8
Fred Ebert
189
79
1658.412
1
Steve Stewart*
3382
1202
26227.38
2
George Peters*
2753
705
18209.27
* Denotes Expert ranked drivers.
The trophies shown are not the actual 2023 trophies.
With just one or two more races possible this season, it looks like Sportsman points leader, Kevin Webster (Webster Motorsports), has a very good shot at the 2023 Season Championship trophy.
Based on his performance in Round 3 of the 50/50 Xtreme Series, Aaron Castro has a mathematical shot at the trophy. However, Kevin would have to miss at least one remaining round and Aaron would need another stellar day like he had in Round 3 to pull it off. I guess we’ll just have to see if we can complete one or two more rounds before the end of the year.
Jordan Walker, also a championship contender, is expected to miss at least the next round, which, unfortunately, will take him out of contention for the championship win.
Below is a summary of ALL races ran to date in 2023, this includes kids races, dash races, official series races, and any other “unofficial” race completed throughout the season. Of course, it doesn’t necessarily reflect merit since some drivers show up much more than others, and some (me) show up for every event.
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
6041
2590
59631.24
2
Kevin Webster
4649
1546
51604.85
3
Aaron Castro
2711
1043
27476.9
4
George Peters
3066
860
21576.99
5
Abe Maddox
1272
765
14974.65
6
Jerry Pearson
1943
702
21632.81
7
Shaylin Maddox
1258
611
15360.7
8
Eric Lane
1456
502
15520.8
9
Jordan Walker
1633
351
14267.18
10
Grace Maddox
335
214
5017.043
Some of our junior drivers getting ready to race.
A few things to note from the 2023 season so far:
The latest entry into our group, Aaron Castro is not long for the Sportsman ranks and will likely be the 2023 Rookie Driver of the Year and advance to the Expert ranks very soon.
Abe Maddox is clearly the 2023 Junior Driver of the Year and can race with the “Big Kids” anytime.
While I don’t believe there should be any distinction between male and female drivers in slot car racing, Abe’s Mom, Shaylin Maddox, is definitely our most active and possibly our best female driver in the group. It’s truly way cool to have women interested in racing and we have two adult women, Shaylin and Martha Elderon, who are very good slot car jockeys, for sure.
With just one more month remaining in the 2023 season, this summary isn’t likely to change much. We have two more “official” races to complete before the end of 2023. Hopefully, we can conclude them before the end of the year and give out some of these well-deserved awards.
Stay tuned for a complete summary of the “official” races of the 2023 season…
Abe Maddox pointing out his 1161 laps in practice before round 3.
Race 1: Johnny Lightning “Shaunadega” Vintage NASCAR (IROC) 18v
JL “Shaunadega” NASCAR podium: Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters
George Peter’s dragged these cool cars out of his archives to run on the SR3 oval. They did not disappoint anybody. These cars are a hoot to drive, fast, and loose, but very predictable. The venerable pancake motor with vintage NASCAR bodies is a blast to race on an oval. The main battle in this one was between Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, and George Peters, with Aaron finishing a close second and on the same lap as the winner. A secondary battle was going on between Sportsman drivers, Kevin Webster and Shaylin Maddox. Shaylin had never driven the SR3 oval course nor had she ever driven a Johnny Lightning “Shaunadega” car. In the end, Shaylin managed to take third in the final two segments, besting Kevin by four laps and just four points. Great driving! Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart*
156
59
702.416
2
Aaron Castro
156
55
681.966
3
George Peters*
152
53
697.333
4
Shaylin Maddox
126
36
704.308
5
Kevin Webster
122
32
714.1
Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 “Modified” 18v
MG+ Modified podium: Hone Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters
This relatively new class has been very interesting and competitive. The “paper” bodies transform the MG+ chassis into a real speedster by virtue of less weight and overall mass, making the MG+ 1.7 platform much more exciting to drive. Unfortunately, Team Maddox had to abandon racing after the first event due to their younger drivers favoring other interests. That would leave just four of us to complete round 3 but it was still hot and heavy racing from then on. Race was yet another barn burner with Aaron Castro putting in a fierce effort to win Race 2. In the end, each segment of the race was identical in terms of finishing order with Aaron finishing on the same lap as the leader again! Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart*
158
56
405.562
2
Aaron Castro
158
55
405.935
3
George Peters*
154
49
405.545
4
Kevin Webster
141
28
406.317
Race 3: OS3 TFX “Box Stock” 1968 and 70 Camaro Hard Bodies (IROC) 18v
TFX Podium: Aaron Castro, Home Cook’n, George Peters
In the spirit of the Aurora ThunderJet, these cars are completely stock TFX chassis’. Very challenging to drive, even on an oval. Sportsman driver, Aaron Castro, dominated Race 3 winning three of the four segments and clearly demonstrating his diverse driving skills with these fast but loose cars. Expert driver and veteran T-Jet driver, George Peters, fought hard for the win in this one but Aaron clicked off four perfect 40-lap segments and sealed the deal with a convincing win in the final segment. Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Aaron Castro
160
61
1029.151
2
Steve Stewart*
155
55
1028.422
3
George Peters*
146
44
1037.697
4
Kevin Webster
120
28
1042.492
Race 4: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” Lexan GTP 15v
Viper V-SPEC Podium: Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters
One of our faster classes, these cars are essentially “box stock” Viper V-SPEC chassis’ with a Lexan body. No other mods are allowed. The fastest cars we ran in Round 3 and probably the most adrenaline-producing of the bunch. The final “official” race of the day was probably the most competitive of all with four very fast V-SPEC cars duking it out on the oval. The big story of the day was the Sportsman points battle between Kevin Webster and Aaron Castro. Kevin was leading the points chase by 21 over Aaron going into Round 3. Kevin knew he wasn’t having his best day going into the final race and was clearly on a mission to salvage the day with a win. Kevin came out of the gate with guns blazing and very fast laps, clinging onto second place until segment 3, when he had a disastrous run in the Blue lane only completing 34 laps. George Peters was in a solid third position until segment 3 when Aaron Castro came out of nowhere and won the segment with a perfect 40 laps completed. That would set the stage for an epic battle in the final segment. In the end, Home Cook’n managed to hold onto a slim 2-lap lead to take the win. The final segment was very close with Aaron and George putting in a perfect 40-laps and Kevin only losing one lap but with the best median lap time of the segment. That’s some very competitive racing, folks. Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart*
158
61
501.295
2
Aaron Castro
156
47
503.668
3
George Peters*
154
40
505.022
4
Kevin Webster
151
40
505.363
Overall Results for Round 3
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart*
627
231
2637.695
2
Aaron Castro
630
218
2620.72
3
George Peters*
606
186
2645.597
4
Kevin Webster
534
128
2668.272
5
Shaylin Maddox
126
36
704.308
So cool to have Shaylin in the mix. She’s getting better and better each race and adapts amazingly well to every car, layout, and race format we throw at her. Way to go, Shaylin!
2023 50/50 Xtreme Series Points Standings after Round 3
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart*
1477
686
15573.7
2
Aaron Castro
1456
604
15715.95
3
Kevin Webster
1256
398
16165.68
4
Jerry Pearson
541
190
8600.651
5
George Peters*
606
186
2645.597
6
Eric Lane
339
112
6219.998
7
Martha Elderon
180
60
2304.775
8
Shaylin Maddox
126
36
704.308
By winning one race and coming in a close second in the other three events, Aaron Castro has rocketed into the lead in the Sportsman standings. With two more rounds to go, Kevin Webster is going to need a lot of luck and some very good driving to get back into a series-win position.
Vintage Fray T-Jets podium: Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters
We actually didn’t stop racing after the four “official” races. The four of us clicked off four more fuel races, ending with a Fray T-Jet “slip-on” IROC race! Surprisingly, Aaron finished just two laps down on the leader having never raced a Fray car before.
Stay tuned for details on our next events at Stewart Raceway. Next weekend will be an open track and, hopefully, some junior racing. Round 4 of the series will return to the SR3 “Fast Esses” road course.
Below is a summary of the current points standings for all “official” racing to date for the 2023 racing season.
With just one more month remaining in the 2023 season, this summary isn’t likely to change much. We have two more “official” races to complete before the end of 2023. Hopefully, we can conclude them before the end of the year and give out some of these well-deserved awards.
