Just a few drivers showed up for this one but we sure did a whole lot of racing. Our newest driver, Aaron Castro, braved the Beachcomber traffic and got to the track around 12:40. Webster MotoSports arrived around noon so we got to business by 1:00.
Kevin and I were dinking around with “paper” bodies for various chassis’ when Aaron arrived. Cheap but not without their own issues. Paper bodies have been around for years. The draw is the customization possible and almost zero weight. The plan is to come up with a simple template that anyone could use to make a body. Of course, paper bodies are primarily intended for a body-clip chassis, replacing heavy and expensive plastic or 3D-printed hard bodies.
Once we figure out a workable design we’ll move the material to some thin synthetic material, which will be obviously more durable and easier to secure to the chassis.
On To Racing Action
I won’t bore you all with details but we did seven (7) Dash races, all on the same lane assignment, and all 40 laps. Aaron won the first race running our MegaG+ Support Class cars and he won the last race running Wizzard Storm Extreme cars, courtesy of Webster Motorsports. As you can see, the racing was very close and the cars were all vastly different, from very loose Box Stock TFX cars to Wizzard Storm Extreme magnet cars, we did a lot of racing for a track day.
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
239
98
2932.967
2
Aaron Castro
236
82
2954.773
3
Kevin Webster
216
66
2950.298
A very fun track day in spite of the heat wave. We stayed on SR3 instead of going indoors and enjoying SR2 in an air-conditioned environment. Had the fans going and the doors wide open.
A few hours on the SR3 straight road course and a few races. Team Maddox, Pearson Racing, and Fast Lane Racing showed up to cut some laps and run a few Dash races.
Bottom line: Jerry Pearson dominated the Dash racing with two wins. However, Shaylin Maddox (Abe’s Mom) was so close in second that we needed to review the tapes.
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Jerry Pearson
75
46
1037.239
2
Shaylin Maddox
72
41
1040.78
3
Eric Lane
62
30
1088.66
4
Steve Stewart
56
20
1050.672
5
Abe Maddox
14
11
224.264
6
Grace Maddox
11
7
225.035
Jerry won two of the three but Shaylin won one and was extremely close (1000/sec) in the other two. Both drivers were running Team Fast Lane Vipers. Way close racing!
I’m hoping to get back to some formal racing next weekend. Stay tuned for details on that.
We tried something different and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it.
Just three races were preceded by a qualifying session, which paired up the fastest drivers with the slowest drivers for a subsequent team race-off.
Qualifying
Name
Lap Time
Speed (Mph)
Place
Steve Stewart
5.173
631
1
Abe Maddox
5.322
614
2
Jerry Pearson
5.643
579
3
Shaylin Maddox
6.035
541
4
Eric Lane
6.646
491
5
Grace Maddox
11.299
289
6
Kevin Webster
DNS
Junior driver, Abe Maddox was amazingly focused on his qualifying run. His 2nd fastest lap time shows just how much. Jerry Pearson, with the third-fastest time, actually clicked off a blistering 4.9-second lap during qualifying.
Team Race Race-Off
The SR3 road course in team racing action.
So the event format was to pair the fastest qualifiers with the slower qualifiers and set up two-driver teams with the goal of making team racing more challenging and competitive. By the looks of the first team race, the format was very successful.
Second fastest qualifier, Abe Maddox and fifth-fastest qualifier, Eric Lane, were pitted against third-fastest qualifier, Jerry Pearson, and fourth-fastest qualifier Shaylin Maddox in the first team race:
If the above results aren’t a good indicator of just how successful this racing format works, I’m not sure what is. Just 4-points decided the first team race, very close racing!
Team Race Finale
Grace Maddox was amazing in the penultimate team race!
After successfully winning the first team race in the bracket, the Fastrackers team was pitted against the fastest qualifier and the slowest qualifier in the finale.
The finale should have been much closer but junior driver, Grace Maddox, drove a superb race, bagging a second-place and a third-place segment finish and 46 total laps, only 7 laps less than the second-fastest qualifier and her big brother, Abe Maddox– awesome!
Not sure how we decided on the team structure for the last team race but we didn’t qualify. We only had four drivers after Team Maddox had to depart to tend to some other important things (picking up a couple of new kittens). We decided to change up the racing platform from Vipers to to MegaG+ F1 cars for the last race of the day.
This one was interesting with three drivers winning two segments each. However, the “Donuts” team won four total. Eric Lane stepped up at the right time, winning two segments and sealing the deal with 74 of the team’s 156 total points.
Team Competition Points Summary
Track: SR3 Road Course Straight
Date: Sep-02-2023 12:54 Class: Mega-G+ 1.7 Support Class
Segment Length (laps): 15 Descr:
Team Name:
Dollars
Points
Team Members:
Jerry Pearson(2)
66
Kevin Webster
60
Total Team Points =
126
Team Name:
Donuts
Points
Team Members:
Steve Stewart
82
Eric Lane
74
Total Team Points =
156
So, what did the individual results look like on the day?
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Eric Lane
183
203
1666.433
2
Steve Stewart
148
178
1159.493
3
Abe Maddox(2)
110
142
860.476
4
Jerry Pearson
57
75
449.013
5
Jerry Pearson(2)
82
66
812.677
6
Shaylin Maddox(2)
54
64
470.328
7
Kevin Webster
82
60
833.123
8
Grace Maddox(2)(2)
46
58
399.498
It pays to hang in there and run as many races as you can, way to go, Eric!
Something a little different and lots of fun. Thank you all for showing up and trying something new.
The plan was to run all day exclusively on the 4-lane SR2 track. We started on SR2’s straight road course and did a bunch of hot laps before the usual suspects wanted to do some racing.
This was the first time in almost two years that we were running anything on the SR2 table. It took quite a few laps to clean the rails and get the cobwebs off the track. Due to a technical issue, we ran both practice and the only race on SR2 using Race Coordinator software, which did the job but had a couple of issues. Regardless, we were able to click off a race of six 25-lap heats using Kevin Webster’s Wizzard Storm Extreme IROC set.
Finish
Seed
Driver
Laps
Score
L1
L2
L3
L 4
1
1
Abe Maddox
87
18
7
11
16
16
2
4
Steve Stewart
94
18
11
16
13
13
3
3
Martha Elderon
91
18
7
7
16
16
4
5
Shaylin Maddox
88
17
11
7
13
16
5
2
Jerry Pearson
94
15
11
11
13
13
6
6
Kevin Webster
86
15
7
7
13
11
Just a fun race but it was very, very competitive. Abe won two heats and Martha Elderon won two heats. Only Kevin and I had experience on SR2 so it was quite impressive to see the new drivers do so well on the different course. Detailed Results
Abe’s Mom, Shaylin, wins the final heat of the Wizzard Storm race on SR2.
As seems to be the trend these days, Abe won on points and Martha bagged the final podium spot just three laps down on Home Cook’n. Not to be outdone by Abe, his Mom, Shaylin won the final heat with a perfect score of 25 laps.
Matthew Johnson didn’t race but he sure did a bunch of laps.
Abe was eager to get back to the SR3 course and let his Viper car rip. After a bunch of laps on SR3 with a whole new slew of drivers, Abe continued his dominance on the day by winning the second race on SR3. It wasn’t exactly a level playing field since Abe was running a Viper V-SPEC rig against mostly less capable cars. But Abe remained focused as ever and managed to edge out his schoolmate, Dax Schwartz, by just two laps. Madeline Johnson was just three laps behind Dax. Dax’s brother, Julian Schwartz, was just one lap behind Madeline. Extremely close racing by our neighborhood junior drivers!
Visiting adult driver, Andrew Noske, from Australia, did very well in his first-ever slot car race posting the second-fastest lap of the race! Thanks for joining us, Andrew! Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Abe Maddox
40
17
364.271
2
Dax Schwartz
38
13
369.306
3
Madeline Johnson
35
11
370.117
4
Julian Schwartz
34
7
372.34
5
Andrew Noske
32
6
369.146
Okay, there it is. A beautiful day in the mountains, with a fantastic group of slotheads, and some seriously competitive and fun racing.
The juniors picking up their Hot Wheels hardware and medals.
Next weekend is the final round of the 2023 50/50 Series. Sportsman drivers, Jordan Walker and Kevin Webster are just eleven points apart in the series. Round 5 should decide which driver wins the series and moves on to the Expert ranks of our hobby. Best of luck to both drivers! The final round will be run on SR2 and will include at least two fuel races.
We finally managed to get Round 4 of this delayed series in the books. We completed Round 3 way back on March 18, 2003!
Yea, We’ve done some “distraction” events since then but that’s quite the gap between rounds, for sure. Throughout the layoff in official racing, we’ve had a number of open track days and quite a few junior/parents team races. Those races have been very successful in generating interest and skills in the hobby from both the parents and the kids.
One of our stand-out junior drivers, Abe Maddox, who has been winning a whole lot of Dash and Team races lately was invited to race Round 4 of the series. Not only has Abe been winning, but his Mom, Shaylin, has also had some very impressive results. Shaylin has steadfastly supported Abe’s slot car racing interest since he cut his first laps on SR3 and often does practice races with us. So, it was no stretch to invite both of them to “officially” race with us in Round 4 of the 50/50 Series.
Our 50/50 Series is always a split between individually-prepared cars and house-prepared IROC-style cars so we started the day with an IROC race.
Race 1: Jag Hobbies NC-2 Mercs (i)
Home Cook’n, Jordan Walker, Jerry Pearson
Team Maddox also brought along Shaylin’s Dad, Fred Ebert, from Chicago. Fred raced 1/24’s back in the day and quickly got back into his groove. Fred won his first segment in green, a second in orange, and then finished up his rotation with a third place in white. Fred also led the race through the first two segments–very nice driving!
Sportsman driver, Jordan Walker, started slow but ended up bagging two segment wins and took over the lead after segment 2 and held on to it until segment 7. In the end, Jordan Walker hung on to second place and Jerry Pearson edged out Expert driver, George Peters, for the final podium spot. Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
120
64
919.592
2
Jordan Walker
114
52
1036.892
3
Jerry Pearson
111
51
1035.574
4
George Peters
111
50
955.726
5
Fred Ebert
106
47
1044.919
6
Kevin Webster
105
42
979.928
7
Shaylin Maddox
95
38
956.091
8
Abe Maddox
93
32
1052.479
Race 2: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC RACER” Lexan GTP
Because Team Maddox had to depart early, we decided to run the Viper “SPEC RACER” class early. Eric Lane had graciously provided a brand-new RaceMasters MegaG+ 454 Chevelle car to the winner of the MegaG+ support class, which was slated for the second race of the day. However, we decided to run the super-fast Viper V-SPEC race instead of the scheduled MegaG+ Support Class. The intent was to give Abe a shot at winning the prize MegaG+ car.
Abe didn’t waste any time getting down to business and took the checkers in the first segment of Race 2. Abe was on fire, setting the fastest lap of the segment, well over a second faster than his grandpa, Fred Ebert, with the second fastest lap. Abe would remain in the top three through the fastest race of the day until the end of the fifth segment. While Abe fought hard and stayed focused–even while sitting out for several rotations–he came up short in Segment 7 with only 14 laps. He fought hard in his final segment and was able to complete 22 of a possible 25 laps but came up short in terms of points and finished the race sixth overall, just 10 points shy of a podium spot.
To just report on this guy is inspiring. At 6 years old, he’s racing with some serious slot heads and does amazingly well! Not just winning heats or segments, he wins races!
Home Cook’n, Jordan Walker, George Peters
Yes, on this day the veteran drivers managed to fill the podium in a very hotly contested race. Jordan Walker drove superbly besting his Dad, Expert driver, George Peters, by just one point. Abe didn’t outright win the race but the podium finishers all agreed that the ‘Eric “Fast” Lane’ prize belonged to Abe Maddox. Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
100
64
522.7
2
Jordan Walker
97
56
609.21
3
George Peters
100
55
522.464
4
Kevin Webster
97
50
599.636
5
Jerry Pearson
91
46
556.491
6
Abe Maddox
81
45
595.15
7
Fred Ebert
83
32
613.493
8
Shaylin Maddox
73
28
558.639
Race 3: Mega-G+ 1.7 Support Class
Hoe Cook’n, Kevin Webster, George Peters
With Team Maddox and Jerry Pearson vacating the premises after Race 2, we lost some serious competition and also corner marshals. The last two races were run with track call buttons, no marshals.
The MegaG+ 1.7 class has been an amazing addition to our program. The rules are HOPRA “BOX STOCK,” which is basically an out-of-the-package car with just tire changes allowed. This makes for some very close and competitive racing. This one did not disappoint.
The detailed results show an utter dogfight between Sportsman driver, Kevin Webster and Expert driver, George Peters. Both drivers split the four segments with two 2nd-place finishes each. In the end, they tied in total points but Kevin edged George out by just one lap. Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
100
64
1150.184
2
Kevin Webster
98
48
1166.924
3
George Peters
97
48
1162.137
4
Jordan Walker
90
28
1168.967
Race 4: Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy 1.7 (i) Lexan
Home Cook’n, George Peters, Jordan Walker
The final race was all “Eric Lane” Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy cars with Harden Creek Lexan bodies. We tried to run these cars, which originally had Viper F1/Indy hard bodies, which were simply just too fragile and broke like cheap glass at the slightest wall or Lexan barrier hit.
The Lexan tape-attached bodies had some adhesion issues but, for the most part, worked far better than the plastic bodies.
This final race of the day was actually one of the closest races. As always, George Peters, was way focused on besting Home Cook’n and Sportsman drivers, Kevin Webster and Jordan Walker were in a heated points battle for the Sportsman series win.
While George was putting massive pressure on Home Cook’n, Jordan and Kevin were duking it out for the remaining points. It was a fuel race, which adds an element of strategy and luck to the mix. George is a very clever driver when it comes to timing pit stops and calculating how to utilize the variable to his advantage.
None of that seemed to matter to Kevin and Jordan as they swapped 3rd and 4th place points every segment. In the end, Jordan would end up with the 3rd spot on the podium but did not increase his points lead over Kevin, both ending the race with 36 points. Detailed Results
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart
100
64
1284.906
2
George Peters
97
52
1294.554
3
Jordan Walker
91
36
1299.672
4
Kevin Webster
90
36
1301.433
The points gap between Sportsman drivers, Jordan and Kevin, is now only 11 points. Round 5 is going to be a barn burner between the two drivers. The winner gets a mondo trophy and advances to the Expert class.
Points Standings after Round 4:
Place
Name
Laps
Points
Total Time
1
Steve Stewart*
1521
425
11379.8
2
George Peters*
1491
367
11029.06
3
Jordan Walker
1387
270
11642.62
4
Kevin Webster
1166
259
10880.77
5
Jerry Pearson
847
146
6362.813
6
Fred Ebert
189
79
1658.412
7
Abe Maddox
174
77
1647.629
8
Shaylin Maddox
168
66
1514.73
9
Eric Lane
687
51
4394.271
10
Shaun Lee*
466
51
1629.418
11
Martha Elderon
411
29
4115.863
12
Tim Bisson
126
6
1366.187
13
Jake Bisson
89
4
1250.72
It’s all about points. The last race is really between Jordan Walker and Kevin Webster. That is going to be an epic battle, for sure.
Team Maddox driver, Fred Ebert, is sitting in 6th place after only one visit to Stewart Raceway, which is very impressive. Not sure he’ll hang around town for the final round but he’s definitely a formidable slot head, no doubt.
Okay, next weekend is an open track day on Saturday. Kids and parents are welcome. Stay tuned for more details. Looks like the following weekend will work for the final round of the series.
We finally managed to get Round 4 of this delayed series in the books. We completed Round 3 way back on March 18, 2003!
