Category: Stewart Raceway III

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

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”

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

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

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!