We need to do at least one more oval course race in the 2022 NASCAR MADness Series. We either run the oval for Round 4 on July 23, or the final round on August 6. Which do you prefer? Continue reading “2022 NASCAR MADness Series: Oval or Road Course for Round 4?”
Race Report: 2022 NASCAR MADness Series, Round 3
Round 3 was finally concluded on a warm sunny day on the SR3 road course. While attendance was lighter than usual, we were able to run a full program of six races and a Concourse d’Elegance competition, in which George Peter’s Mac Tools Viper V-SPEC NASTruck took top honors.
Short Story is George also dominated the Sportsman racing action by winning five of the six events.
Round 3 Overall Results
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | George Peters | 865 | 76 | 11448.21 |
| 2 | Jordan Walker | 784 | 50 | 11487.71 |
| 3 | Kevin Webster | 539 | 38 | 7013.408 |
| 4 | Jerry Pearson | 511 | 28 | 7020.205 |
| 5 | Steve Stewart | 898 | 96 | 11318.63 |
Race 1: OS3 TFX “BOX STOCK” Camaros (IROC)
Starting the day off with some slower but more difficult-to-drive cars was not a hit with this bunch. With little to no marshal support, the stock TFX race was a drawn-out affair and most drivers could not wait to get to the faster magnet classes. Interestingly, new Sportsman driver, Jerry Pearson did very well with the TFX and ended up in the second spot on the podium in his first-ever TFX race. Detailed Results
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | George Peters | 142 | 13 | 2463.631 |
| 2 | Jerry Pearson | 129 | 11 | 2425.434 |
| 3 | Jordan Walker | 119 | 7 | 2425.703 |
| 4 | Steve Stewart | 150 | 16 | 2378.29 |
Race #2: Tyco 440-X2 Wide-Pan NASCAR Bodies
George again dominated this race with one overall heat win and four second-place heat finishes. Jerry Pearson kept Jordan Walker at bay, collecting second-place Sportsman points yet again driving the Stewart Racing Chevy Lumina #7. Detailed Results
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | George Peters | 144 | 13 | 1984.844 |
| 2 | Jerry Pearson | 132 | 11 | 1991.218 |
| 3 | Jordan Walker | 126 | 7 | 2018.757 |
| 4 | Steve Stewart | 149 | 16 | 1971.522 |
Race #3: Viper V-SPEC (SPEC RACER) Lexan NASCAR Bodies **Feature**
While his father, George Peters, took the top spot in the overall race, his son Jordan managed to win two segments and second-place overall in the 300-lap feature event. Jerry Pearson also bagged a heat win in segment 8–nice! Detailed Results
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | George Peters | 288 | 13 | 2596.459 |
| 2 | Jordan Walker | 279 | 11 | 2596.428 |
| 3 | Kevin Webster | 258 | 7 | 2603.898 |
| 4 | Jerry Pearson | 250 | 6 | 2603.553 |
| 5 | Steve Stewart | 299 | 16 | 2585.393 |
Race #4: Jag Hobbies Augoran (IROC) 15v
George once again dominated the TR-3 IROC event, very nearly winning overall. Jordan had a very good race taking the second podium spot with Kevin Webster in a very close third position. Details
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 2 | George Peters | 97 | 13 | 1024.831 |
| 3 | Jordan Walker | 90 | 11 | 1028.456 |
| 4 | Kevin Webster | 88 | 7 | 1030.69 |
| 1 | Steve Stewart | 100 | 16 | 1016.167 |
Race #5: Jag Hobbies PR-5 “Lite” (BOX STOCK) NASCAR Bodies
Sportsman driver, Kevin Webster wins his first PR-5 event! As always, the PR-5 race was a hotly contested race with first and second only separated by two laps. Kevin had a great race, taking second in three of the segments and winning one overall. Very impressive! Details
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 2 | Kevin Webster | 96 | 13 | 1489.689 |
| 3 | George Peters | 94 | 11 | 1488.155 |
| 4 | Jordan Walker | 90 | 7 | 1495.846 |
| 1 | Steve Stewart | 100 | 16 | 1488.158 |
Race #6: Jag Hobbies NC-2 Lite (BOX STOCK) NASCAR Bodies
Another barn-burner race with George Peters finishing off an impressive day on SR3 with yet another Sportsman win and on the same lap in the overall race. Kevin Webster fought hard for another win in this final wild race of the day and came up just 3-laps short in the end. Details
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 2 | George Peters | 100 | 13 | 1890.287 |
| 3 | Kevin Webster | 97 | 11 | 1889.131 |
| 4 | Jordan Walker | 80 | 7 | 1922.515 |
| 1 | Steve Stewart | 100 | 16 | 1879.095 |
Concourse d`Elegance Competition
Since he didn’t have a horse in the race, Kevin Webster judged the CdE competition. Giving George Peters the nod for best looking Viper V-SPEC car on the day. These Viper V-SPEC cars were raced in the Feature 300-lap event.
Series Points Standings after Round 3:
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | George Peters | 2493 | 223 | 22298.42 |
| 2 | Kevin Webster | 1899 | 151 | 16994.23 |
| 3 | Jordan Walker | 1387 | 75 | 15205.31 |
| 4 | Jerry Pearson | 771 | 49 | 10508.17 |
| 5 | Brad Sandahl ♦ | 900 | 55 | 3561.313 |
| 6 | Steve Stewart ♦ | 2694 | 282 | 21772.77 |
♦ indicates Expert Class driver. Scored separately in series.
Race Report: 2022 Summer Kids Race & Pool Party
So much for the pool party component. The kids focused mostly on driving little cars. Probably because the temps were actually very nice and the pool just didn’t attract as much attention.
We didn’t have any trouble filling the lanes for this event. We actually had eight drivers and eight marshals at the start of the event and six drivers and three marshals for the start of the race. As you can imagine, we needed more than three marshals for this event. However, many of the parents were busy interacting with neighbors they hadn’t met yet or hadn’t seen for quite a while, and missed much of the action-packed, mayhem-filled race.
Regardless, we started the kid’s race with a full slate of six racers, ages 3.5 to 12 years. Surprisingly, the younger kids were amazingly focused and did remarkably well considering they’d never even heard of a slot car until their sudden immersion on Saturday.
How’d they do? Well, they didn’t complete the entire race (only 4 out of 6 segments) but it was amazingly close with the top driver completing a total of 48 laps and the bottom driver clicking off 34 laps. That’s actually pretty close considering the age gaps and all the distractions they dealt with.
Unfortunately, the Race Director failed to disable the track call buttons, and the kids who knew about them thoroughly abused them. This made for a much longer race but actually worked out okay since we didn’t quite have enough marshals to cover all the crash action.
Thank goodness SR3 supports independent lane voltages. This allowed us to throttle down the younger kid’s cars, which helped them tremendously. But it was a lot of work manually changing voltages as the drivers rotated from lane to lane.
I must say I was impressed with the focus and driving skills that these kids displayed. Most of them never lost focus and completed an amazing amount of laps. And they were way competitive, always wanting to know what place they were in (and when the race ended :).
I must also say that marshaling a kid’s race is hard work! Six active lanes and mostly only two marshals are definitely ingredients for a fatiguing day. I’ll need to adjust the rules and make all drivers have to commit at least one parent to be a turn marshal.
All that said, I’m all in on doing it again. These wonderful kids are the future of slot car racing and our world in general. I’m happy to provide them with a fun family environment and to spend time with their great parents and my neighbors. Way fun!
Thank you all for helping make this event happen. I hope everybody enjoyed the get-together and we do it again soon!
Okay, shut up and drive!
Stewart Raceway Current Driver Classification
The following table shows the current driver classifications at Stewart Raceway. The Average Placings figure represents historical data where 2020 to 2022 data is not available. If a driver has an Expert classification but does not have a commensurate Average Placing, it is because they have established themselves as recognized Experts in the sport/hobby at other venues and historically.
| Driver | Average Placing | Classification |
| Kevin Webster | 5.6 | Sportsman |
| George Peters | 4.5 | Sportsman |
| Greg Kondrek | 3.1 | Expert |
| Ted Essy | 2.9 | Expert |
| Jordan Walker | 6.2 | Sportsman |
| Brad Sandahl | 3.1 | Expert |
| Ian Douglass | 2.1 | Expert |
| Russ Toy | 4.7 | Sportsman |
| Ken Stephens | 3.3 | Expert |
| Rick Voegelin | 4.7 | Expert |
| Randy Tragni | 4.6 | Sportsman |
| Dan Jiminez | 3.1 | Expert |
| Paul Leuty | 5.1 | Sportsman |
| Bruce Douglas | 5.3 | Sportsman |
| Mark Owyang | 5.2 | Expert |
| Don Riemersma | 3.8 | Expert |
| Steve Testerman | 8 | Expert |
| Randy Cook | 2 | Expert |
| Dave Mcconaughey | 4.7 | Sportsman |
| Jerry Pearson | 4.2 | Sportsman |
| Mike Andrews | 4 | Expert |
| Jeff Hurley | 5.6 | Expert |
| Mitch Valder | 5.8 | Expert |
| Jared Johnson | 5 | Sportsman |
| Ron Coaxum | 3.2 | Expert |
Keep in mind, you can request to upgrade to Expert at any time, no restrictions. You can also request a downgrade (reclassification) to Sportsman if your current Average Placing is higher than 4.0. You cannot reclassify during a race day event or during an in-progress racing series.
The only anomaly I see is George Peters being ranked a Sportsman. He’s definitely an Expert when you consider his experience. However, in the last two seasons at Stewart Raceway, he’s reporting a 4.5 placings average. And, since we don’t have any Experts running in the current series, which George is leading, I’m okay with him remaining a Sportsman driver. If he wins it, he’ll definitely be reclassified as an Expert.
Okay, shut up and drive!
Introducing Driver Classifications
We’ve discussed this issue a number of times over the last couple of seasons. Starting with our next series, Stewart Raceway is implementing a two-tiered driver classification as follows:
-
- Expert
- Sportsman
Of course, until we have participant numbers to justify it, the two different classifications of drivers will race together but scored and stats tracked separately. This means that there will be an Expert class winner and a Sportsman class winner in every race and at the end of every series at Stewart Raceway. This means more work for Race Directors, but it is much needed to increase interest and participation in our hobby/sport.
Today, we have entry-level and skilled drivers entering the scene after over 30 years or more of not driving a slot car. We also have several new drivers who have never raced slot cars until very recently. It is clearly not a level playing field to score or measure these drivers against established and much more experienced, active drivers.
The method I’ve decided on to determine a driver’s classification is to evaluate their average placings at Stewart Raceway. If a driver’s average placing at Stewart Raceway is over four (4) or lower, he or she will be considered an Expert. Any driver with average placings higher than four (4) will be considered a Sportsman level driver. This metric is taken from event statistics at Stewart Raceway since 2018.
Of course, any driver may upgrade or downgrade their classification, at any time. Upgrading (reclassification) from Sportsman to Expert has no restrictions. Downgrading (reclassification) from Expert to Sportsman can only be done if the driver currently has a higher than four (4) average placing score. Reclassifications will not be granted during a race day event or ongoing racing series.
Obviously, there are Experts out there that have not raced at Stewart Raceway for a long time. If and when such drivers return to racing at Stewart Raceway, the Race Director will determine what classification they will resume competition in. Generally, if a racer was previously classified as an Expert and has not requested a reclassification, they will resume racing as an Expert.
Why no Pro class? Well, we don’t run any “Pro-level” cars. On the national level, pretty much all of the cars and rules we’ve been running are Amateur level. Yes, the SPEC-JET, SPEC-STOCK, and SPEC-RACER are more advanced than the BOX-STOCK classes, but they are not intended as exclusive Pro-level classes.
I’m all in on higher-level platforms but we just don’t have the interest in our current group right now. Hopefully, as we grow, interest and participation increases, and we’ll introduce a SUPER STOCK or MODIFIED class at some point. We actually have the TFX “Modified” class now but only a few have built cars for that class.
Anyway, I’ll follow this post with a listing of Stewart Raceway drivers and their current classification levels based on SR2 and SR3 results since January 2020.
Okay, shut up and drive!