Another way fun Friday Night Under the Lights event and another boom from yet another new driver. Dean brought a giant salmon fillet and queued it to perfection, Kathy cooked up a tasty pan of meat lasagna and garlic bread, and Jessica brought a very delicious bowl of sausage and vegetables. Both Team Clarke and Team DeVincenzi Cellars brought hydration products to help prevent overheating during the racing action. I chose the 2018 Meritage red; it was excellent.

Short Story

Green font denotes an Expert-ranked driver.

Race 1: Viper V-SPEC F1/Indy Lexan (IROC) (Eric “Fast” Lane’s set)

We attempted to run a set of Jag Hobbies NC-2 Mustang hardbody cars, but the group found them too challenging to drive and preferred the more “stuck” Viper V-SPEC platform. Thanks to Eric “Fast” Lane, we had a nice set of Viper V-SPEC L4 cars with Lexan F1/Indy bodies to campaign.

Sportsman driver, Dean Donaldson, came out swinging in the first segment, finishing less than a half second behind Expert driver, Home Cook’n. Dean would also click off the fastest lap of the race (5.074) in the White lane. Joe Clarke, returning from his impressive debut last Friday night, looked to be in a good position to repeat his outstanding 2nd-place podium finish with a MegaG+ “Modified” platform, having secured a solid 3rd in the first segment.

However, Frank Virgil, making his first-ever appearance at Stewart Raceway, put in an incredible run in the second segment, placing a close 2nd to segment winner Dean Donaldson and besting 3rd-place finisher, Home Cook’n, by almost four seconds. Frank would go on to finish the race in 3rd overall and earn a surprise podium visit.

Team Clarke driver Joe Clarke didn’t get into his groove in three of his later segments, finishing 4th in each one. In his final couple of segments, Joe got things turned around, bagging a 2nd in Segment 5 and a 3rd in the final segment. Frank, however, had racked up a very sizable points lead going into the final segment, and Joe would have to settle for a 4th place overall, despite Frank having a rough final segment in the Yellow lane, losing five laps, and finishing 4th behind Joe.

The lone female driver in the mix in Race 1 was Lisa Clarke, Joe’s amazing wife. I’m pretty sure this was her first slot car race, but she picked up on slot car racing very quickly, finishing fourth twice and clicking off a 6.5-second lap on her way to besting speedster, Dean Donaldson, in Segment 5 of 6.

Jessica did a few laps in practice but decided to pass on driving. But did a great job marshaling and keeping Dean’s team manager, Tucker, entertained and well taken care of.  Details

Race 2: Super G+ Lexan F1/Indy Bodies (IROC)

With dinner, hydration protocol, and all the team tactics trying to psych out the competition, we only managed to get one race completed before the attrition set in, and we lost a couple of teams early.

Kathy joined us for Race 2, and we decided on the venerable AFX Super G+ platform with Lexan F1/Indy bodies. This set has a lot of history, four of the cars came with the AFX Super International Raceway set I purchased to build my second sectional track, called Stewart Raceway I. Since the old plastic hardbodies are getting extremely scarce and expensive, we run them with cheaper Lexan bodies now.

This race had a very sketchy car in the White lane, which impacted all the drivers. We all knew that everyone had to drive the beast, so we plowed on and completed all rotations. Dean would post the fastest lap of the race (5.738) in the Green lane, but came up short by four laps and four points to Home Cook’n. Kathy had the sketchy car in the first segment and lost seven laps before rebounding in her 2nd and 3rd segments, finishing just four laps down in the end.

Dean and Home Cook’n were tied in both laps and points going into the final segment. The good news for Home Cook’n was that he had the fast Green Lane car for the finale, and Dean had the sketchy White lane car.

As expected, Dean struggled with the bad car and lost four laps in the last segment, coming in 3rd to 2nd place finisher, Kathy Stewart, who had a great run in the Orange lane with a fastest lap of 6.314 to Dean’s fastest of 6.648.  Details

Another awesome Friday Night Under The Lights event! Thanks to everyone for joining us, for all the great food and hydration products, and the competitive spirit that makes the racing so fun and exciting.

Slightly edited videos. Fast forward where necessary:

Race 1

Race 2

Check out our new team’s delicious wines at DeVincenzi Cellars and say hello to Jessica and Frank.

Okay, shut up and drive!