Open Track Report: June 22, 2024

Well, so much for testing, driver development, and working on cars. We  raced all day!

We had eight races total, nearly all IROC, ending with a Viper SPEC STOCK tuner’s race. I think we ran four races on the SR3 Fast Esses road course and four races on SR2’s Straight road course.

Sadly, we didn’t get to run any fuel races since a monitor was failing on SR3 and some sort of bug on SR2. Both problems are resolved and we’re good to go for the next event. Bug fixed on SR2 and new 50″ monitor on SR3. Now the monitors on SR3 are the same size.

Summary Of All Races
Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Kevin Webster 822 170 8456.623
2 Aaron Castro 781 165 7399.218
3 George Peters 337 144 2695.61
4 Jordan Walker 316 127 2738.839
5 Eric Lane 217 91 1838.66
6 Jerry Pearson 218 82 1875.337
7 Brad Sandahl 117 49 1097.331
8 Carrie Sandahl 95 34 1051.222
9 Steve Stewart 951 238 8313.851

Of course, the above is just a summary of points for all races run. Not all drivers ran every race. Only Kevin, Aaron, and Home Cook’n competed in all the races.

It was a fabulous day, and it was finally great to get back to slot car action at Stewart Raceway. We raced on SR3, about four races, and finished the final four on SR2.

A couple of notable races: The first was an IROC race utilizing Jag Hobbies NC2 chassis with AutoWorld Mustang hard bodies. I screwed that one up and didn’t get the minimum lap time set correctly. As a results, a few drivers were exceeding the minimum lap time and not scoring laps. Oh well, in the end, the two fastest drivers could not keep their lap times under the minimum and handed that race to Aaron, who was way down on laps with a lousy car but managed to win the race.

The second notable race was when Aaron, running on SR2, hooked up in the wrong lane for a heat. There were just three of us racing, and Aaron was supposed to be in the White lane but mistakenly hooked up in the Blue lane. Aaron actually led that heat from start to finish but did not log any laps or points—oops! Kevin bagged second in that one!

All in all, it was a fun day of pretty much all racing. Aaron finally got to run on SR2, which he adapted to extremely well.

Hopefully, we can get back to our routine now. I’m hoping to have another open track day this coming weekend and start a new racing series the following weekend.

Stay tuned for details.

 

2024 Open Wheel Series: Round 5 Finale Video Coverage Posted

2024 Open Wheel Series

We ran three “official” races, but your favorite Race Director failed to push the record button for the first race. Major bummer since that was a very competitive and exciting race, sorry.

The other two races are now posted on Rumble for viewing.

Race 2:  MegaG+ “Modified” Paper Bodies

Race 3: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” F1/Indy Lexan

Both recorded races were also extremely competitive and exciting. Enjoy!

Race Report: 2024 Open Wheel Series, Round 5 Finale

Aaron Castro’s Viper V-SPEC with a Lola T800 Indy Body

We weren’t sure we were racing until the last team and driver arrived in the paddock. We ended up with roughly 11 drivers, and three racing teams entered in Round 5.

Team Maddox fielded two drivers under their ace driver, Abe Maddox’s, name. Team Johnson fielded two drivers under their ace driver, Madeline Johnson’s name. Team Forza fielded two drivers racing individually, Olga Rossetta and Aaron Castro. GP Designs fielded two individual drivers, Jordan Walker and George Peters. Webster Motorsports and Stewart Raceway contested Round 5 with one driver each.

Round 1 was hectic and chaotic as four junior drivers competed against four experts and two Sportsman drivers. The numbers below don’t tell the whole story since the juniors only completed one race on the day. Madeline and Abe did exceptionally well, and Abe even won a Race 1 segment against three Expert drivers.

Short Story

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart* 415 201 2717.036
2 Aaron Castro* 412 198 2755.511
3 George Peters* 391 169 2779.946
4 Jordan Walker* 356 134 2724.92
5 Kevin Webster 349 128 2799.694
6 Olga Rossetta 328 107 2805.608
7 Abe Maddoxj 141 50 1292.387
8 Madeline Johnsonj 133 41 1315.998

* Expert driver, J Junior Driver

Race 1: Super G+ F1/Indy Lexan (IROC)

The first race was a crash fest but also amazingly competitive. The compelling thing was that Team Johnson bagged 3rd and 4th segment wins, with Madeline constantly holding 3rd place during her segments. Abe Maddox would win a segment and follow that up with a 3rd-place segment finish. In Abe’s fantastic segment six win, he also posted the fastest and best average times for that segment. Abe and Madeline are amazing! Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 177 87 1250.797
2 Aaron Castro 175 78 1293.026
3 George Peters 161 68 1296.303
4 Kevin Webster 152 56 1302.96
5 Abe Maddox 141 50 1292.387
6 Jordan Walker 139 45 1262.127
7 Madeline Johnson 133 41 1315.998
8 Olga Rossetta 133 39 1306.807

Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 Modifieds (Paper Bodies)

Team Maddox and Team Johnson decided to call it a day after their spectacular results in Race 1. It was a long race against some very stiff competition, but they persevered and represented very well.

Aaron Castro would dominate Race 2 with three segment wins, the fastest lap time, and the fastest median lap time. The lead changed a few times, and George Peters held the lead through segments 4 and 5. In the end, Aaron Castro won his final rotation in segment six and the race over Home Cook’n by one lap and three points. Jordan Walker bagged the final podium spot with one segment win and one second-place segment finish.  Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 120 61 753.887
2 Steve Stewart 119 58 771.257
3 Jordan Walker 113 49 770.582
4 George Peters 114 46 748.634
5 Olga Rossetta 102 36 782.328
6 Kevin Webster 97 32 776.931

Race 3: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” Lexan

As always, the V-SPEC class was a scorcher. So much so that Olga Rossetta handed over driving responsibility to teammate Aaron Castro for the final segment of this super-heated race. Aaron Castro dominated the race from beginning to end, leading the race from the gun to the checkered flag. Besides Jordan Walker and Kevin Webster bagging some top segment finishes through segments 2 and 3, the only real battle was between George Peters and Home Cook’n. George would hold onto the second podium spot through segments 4 and 5 with a 15-point lead over Home Cook’n.  Yours truly needed a win in the final segment to garner enough points to bag the second podium spot. George was done with his rotation, but Home Cook’n had Jordan Walker, Kevin Webster, and Aaron Castro (driving for Olga Rossetta) to contend with. Not an easy feat to pull off, especially in the final segment. The good news was that he had a full tank of gas; the bad news was that he was up against three drivers who could easily relegate him to a second or third-place finish, robbing him of the 16 points he needed to knock George off the second podium spot.

In the end, Aaron Castro laid down some blistering lap times, both for the best lap and the best median lap. Crashes would be the deciding factor, and only Jordan Walker could pressure Home Cook’n to the end. Jordan would come up just short but in second place, just two laps down. Home Cook’n bagged the 16 points needed, besting George by just one point. It just doesn’t get more competitive!  Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 117 59 708.598
2 Steve Stewart 119 56 694.982
3 George Peters 116 55 735.009
4 Jordan Walker 104 40 692.211
5 Kevin Webster 100 40 719.803
6 Olga Rossetta 93 32 716.473

Final Series Standings

Webster Motorsports proves again that persistence pays off. Kevin raced in all five Open Wheel Series events, amassing an unbeatable amount of points. Both Eric Lane and Jerry Pearson were always knocking on the door but missed too many races to mount a serious threat to Kevin’s points lead.

Abe Maddox also missed a race or two but managed an impressive fourth-place finish in the final standings and some very impressive wins throughout the series. Abe’s Mom, Shaylin, rounded out the top five with excellent driving throughout the series.

The big story is the number of female drivers competing in this crazy fast racing series. Thank you all for participating in the racing and making it all much more fun!

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
Sportsman
1 Kevin Webster 1983 685 15626.61
2 Eric Lane 1047 345 5316.846
3 Jerry Pearson 889 306 6106.648
4 Abe Maddox* 470 152 3146.146
5 Shaylin Maddox 369 123 1877.628
6 Olga Rossetta 328 107 2805.608
7 Madeline Johnson* 133 41 1315.998
8 Martha Elderon 102 36 775.14
9 Pam Ebert 77 32 695.404
Expert
1 Steve Stewart 2466 1130 16194.72
2 Aaron Castro 2434 1055 16191.52
3 George Peters 2372 964 16384.04
4 Jordan Walker 940 282 5178.93

* Junior Driver

This is Kevin’s second or third Sportsman series win, which should be good news for Sportsman and Junior drivers since Kevin will now advance to the Expert ranks. Congratulations, Kevin!

Just what Home Cook’n needs: another hotdog Expert driver to contend with. This series was highly competitive at all skill levels. Home Cookn’s home-court advantage dwindled with each event. Aaron Castro missed taking the overall Expert win in this final round by just three points! And, of course, George Peters, with an average race placing of 2.3, makes Home Cookn’s race days pretty stressful.

Once again, yours truly spaced and didn’t get a video of Race 1, which is very disappointing since there were some very impressive crashes and wins in that race. Very sorry! I did capture the other two races and will post those soon.

Next weekend will be an open track day and some fun racing if there is enough interest. If anybody has any ideas on our next racing series format, please let me know. Since they are the most competitive, I’m big on sticking with the MegaG+ “Modified” and the Viper V-SPEC “Spec Stock” platforms. I’m also hoping to have SR2 retrofitted with independent power control at the driver stations so we can run a race or two on that track in the next series.

Okay, shut up and drive!

2024 Open Wheel Series: Round 4 Video Coverage

2024 Open Wheel Series

All four “official” races were recorded and are now posted on Rumble for viewing.

Race 1: MegaG Whelen/SK Modifieds (IROC)

Race 2:  MegaG+ “Modified” Paper Bodies

Race 3: MegaG+ “Lites” AFX Alpha Romeo F1 Team Cars (IROC)

Race 4: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” F1/Indy Lexan

Race 1 was pretty much a crash fest, so be patient. The fastest (and shortest) video was Race 4.

 

Race Report: 2024 Open Wheel Series, Round 4

Wow! Another barn burner race day in this super-fast open-wheel series. We opened the day with slower and loose MG+ Whelen/SK Modifieds, which are way more fun on an oval course. However, in the spirit of open-wheel competition, we ran them on the road course anyway. Happy Easter!

Short Story

This was another example of the highly competitive nature of the cars we’re running these days. I spaced and forgot to set the longer fuel fill times for Expert drivers in this round, but the results show that the racing was very competitive.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart* 477 235 4447.139
2 Aaron Castro* 467 212 4389.815
3 George Peters* 458 194 4603.055
4 Kevin Webster 404 142 4416.555
5 Jerry Pearson1 319 110 3413.512

* Expert (1 Jerry Pearson completed three races, not four.)

Race 1:  MegaG 1.7 Whelen/SK Modifieds IROC

Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters

Okay, it may not be the best choice to start the day, considering the lineup for the following three races, but it was pretty intense once everybody made some controller adjustments and settled into the race. Aaron Castro jumped into the lead early, winning the first segment by 3 seconds over Home Cook’n. Aaron would go on to win two segments and led the race after segment four but completed his rotation with 117 laps. Home Cook’n needed to finish the final segment second or better to steal the top podium spot, which he did with a perfect 30 laps and the win. George Peters fought hard for the second podium spot but came up short by six points. The big story in this one was Sportsman driver, Jerry Pearson, who was driving these very loose and unpredictable cars exceptionally well for a guy who prefers much more downforce. Jerry ended up with two third-place segment finishes and bested his Sportsman rival, Kevin Webster, by two laps and four points. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 61 1594.322
2 Aaron Castro 117 56 1646.073
3 George Peters 112 50 1694.095
4 Jerry Pearson 105 36 1635.197
5 Kevin Webster 103 32 1594.884

Race 2: MegaG+ 1.7 “Modified”

Aaron Castro, Home Cook’n, George Peters

This race was the fastest MG+ “Modified” race ever. Aaron Castro would crush his previous race lap record of 5.146 in the Orange lane, clicking off a blistering 5.026 in the White lane, winning segment two by five laps! Aaron would win the following two segments, but the lead had already changed three times going into segment four. Aaron held the lead by six points and three laps into the final segment. George Peters would be the spoiler in the last segment by taking the win and the points second place finisher, Home Cook’n needed to overtake Aaron Castro for the overall win. Aaron and Home Cook’n tied in points, but Aaron edged out the win with just one more lap over Home Cook’n. Not to be outdone by the Expert drivers, Kevin Webster and Jerry Pearson both notched second-place segment finishes in this one. Blistering pace! Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Aaron Castro 118 55 729.94
2 Steve Stewart 117 55 833.805
3 George Peters 112 49 834.142
4 Jerry Pearson 105 38 751.684
5 Kevin Webster 105 38 761.6

Race 3: MegaG+ 1.7 “Lites” AFX Alpha Romeo F1 Team Cars IROC

Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters

Could be the first and last time these limited edition AFX cars see IROC action anywhere. Aaron bought a set, and Home Cook’n bought a set, so we decided to run them in our open-wheel series. Aaron’s set was in the White and Green lanes, and Home Cookn’s set was in the Orange and Blue lanes. Aaron blasted out front early, winning the first segment and holding onto the race lead through segment three. Kevin Webster held on to second place after the first two. In the end, Home Cook’n seemed to fair the best with these totally “Box Stock” cars, winning the race by six seconds and five laps. Sportsman driver Kevin Webster would finish fourth but tied in points with 3rd place finisher George Peters. Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 64 952.757
2 Aaron Castro 115 47 958.644
3 George Peters 116 44 1001.05
4 Kevin Webster 106 44 980.686
5 Jerry Pearson 109 36 1026.631

Race 4: Viper V-SPEC “SPEC STOCK” F1/Indy Lexan

Home Cook’n, Aaron Castro, George Peters

Yet another barn burner Viper V-SPEC main event. Once again, Aaron Castro jumped into the lead, winning the first segment and clicking off a new lap record of 4.251 in the Orange lane in the process. Home Cook’n would take over the lead after segment two, but Aaron would come roaring back, winning segment three with a roughly 8-second better runtime and leading the race into the final segment. Aaron and Home Cook’n were separated by just one point going into the final segment with Aaron ahead by one point but down two laps. George Peters would once again prove the spoiler by winning the final segment by two seconds over Home Cook’n, but this time, Aaron would lose one lap and come up short by just one point, finishing third in the segment and second overall.  It doesn’t get much closer than that! Detailed Results

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 55 1066.255
2 Aaron Castro 117 54 1055.158
3 George Peters 118 51 1073.768
4 Kevin Webster 90 28 1079.385

Points Standings After Round 4

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart* 2044 932 13106.43
2 Aaron Castro* 2024 868 13046.08
3 George Peters* 1997 800 13254.27
4 Kevin Webster 1450 491 11777.35
5 Jerry Pearson 1229 400 7263.654
6 Eric Lane 1077 347 5300.734
7 Jordan Walker* 590 140 2405.214
8 Shaylin Maddox 176 88 1428.228
9 Pam Ebert 154 64 1390.808
10 Abe Maddox 148 64 1337.006
11 Martha Elderon 102 36 775.14
NOTE: This is a best out of four series. If you're behind because you missed a round, the series points winners will be determined by their best four rounds points totals, not all five.

Race 5: Tyco 440X2 Narrow F1/Indy “Box Stock” IROC

While we usually do a bunch of racing after the official racing is over, we only did one “unofficial” race after Round 4 wrapped up. This was a four-car rotation using Webster Motorsports prepared cars, which were very fun to drive and soothing after the blistering pace of the Viper V-SPEC cars in race 4.

Place Name Laps Points Total Time
1 Steve Stewart 120 64 1225.128
2 Aaron Castro 115 52 1251.755
3 Kevin Webster 105 44 1264.05

I can’t remember which race it was right now, but we had a strange finish in a segment where the leader thought they had a lap on a pursuing driver and stopped to get fuel before the next segment. When the pursuing driver went through the pits, he won the race. These could have been perfectly legitimate results, but we definitely need to review the tapes.

Speaking of tapes, we got all the “official” and “unofficial” action on tape this time. I’ll process that video ASAP, post the individual races on Rumble, and update this post with links.

I have no idea how the final points standings will play out since they’re still very close in both the Expert and Sportsman ranks. The final standings will be based on your total points from your best four of the five rounds.

Stay tuned for a post on the video action for Round 4 and the schedule for the rest of the series.

Okay, shut up and drive!