Round 3 of the Formula “e” Series was yet another hotly contested event but this time with nearly a full field. Because we had nearly a full field of drivers we didn’t get to try out the new wireless call buttons–darn!
Round 3 on the SR2 straight road course got underway on schedule and with G-Man (Greg Kondrek) arriving early–again!
We ran a full program plus one redo race due speedster, Ian Douglass, reaching the minimum lap time in the “Pot Luck” MG+ IROC race.
As is now established tradition at Stewart Raceway, the first race on the schedule was the Formula “e” cars that started off the “Fe” Series back in 2019. We decided to run them at 12v instead of 15v this time, seemed to be a good move.
Race 1: Tyco-Jet IROC(12v)
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Ian Douglass | 80 | 16 | 589.716 |
| 2 | George Peters | 79 | 13 | 618.086 |
| 3 | Steve Stewart | 75 | 11 | 562.815 |
| 4 | Greg Kondrek | 75 | 7 | 596.385 |
| 5 | Russ Toy | 73 | 6 | 604.494 |
| 6 | Jordan Walker | 68 | 5 | 588.769 |
| 7 | Kevin Webster | 68 | 4 | 631.036 |
The vintage Tyco-Jet IROC cars were a lot more drive-able at 12v and the racing a whole lot closer. These cars are even fun on a road course. With Ian Douglass back in the game and very good with Tyco-Jets, it was another hard and fast race. Ian topped the field while veteran T-Jet driver, George Peters took the second podium spot. Detailed Results
Race 2: OS3 TFX “Lites” (18v)
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Ian Douglass | 80 | 16 | 574.679 |
| 2 | Steve Stewart | 78 | 13 | 580.163 |
| 3 | Greg Kondrek | 78 | 11 | 591.862 |
| 4 | Kevin Webster | 71 | 7 | 601.083 |
| 5 | Russ Toy | 71 | 6 | 607.124 |
| 6 | George Peters | 65 | 5 | 597.233 |
| 7 | Jordan Walker | 61 | 4 | 610.146 |
This race was actually pretty close between both second and third and also fourth and fifth. Ian took top honors with two laps on his closest competitors. Greg Kondrek rounded out the podium with his styling Corvette skin. However, there may be a little controversy in this race. Looking closely, Ian’s car appears to have a much wider stance than the second place car. While we haven’t published any specific rules for the TFX “Lite” platform, the agreed upon spec for the TFX Lite was to be a completely stock car with the only exception being Black Dragon magnets instead of Gray Dragons. The third place car also appears to have a wider than stock stance. Detailed Results.
Race 3: MG+ F1/Indy 1.7 IROC (18v)
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Ian Douglass | 80 | 16 | 379.173 |
| 2 | Steve Stewart | 78 | 13 | 388.058 |
| 3 | Russ Toy | 77 | 11 | 371.424 |
| 4 | Greg Kondrek | 76 | 7 | 380.609 |
| 5 | George Peters | 76 | 6 | 385.022 |
| 6 | Kevin Webster | 70 | 5 | 376.29 |
| 7 | Jordan Walker | 68 | 4 | 375.263 |
The first version of this race had to be redone since Ian kept going under the established minimum lap time for this car. We ran the whole race but Ian clearly had a whole bunch of missing laps due to the problem.
Once we reset the minimum lap time and restarted, Ian quickly established himself as the car to beat. Russ Toy also seemed to enjoy this car also, winning his first heat and then leading the race for the next three.
I can’t remember what version of the race, but Jordan Walker (JOTY) was on fire in both races. Jordan was well on his way to at least a podium spot going into his final heat but had trouble in the heat and dropped out of contention. Still, he was really liking Kevin Webster’s sweet MG+ set, for sure.
In the end, Ian took the top podium spot with Russ Toy taking the final podium spot with a great performance. Detailed Results
Race 4: Jag Hobbies PR-5 F1/Indy “Lites” 400-Laps (16.5v)
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Ian Douglass | 399 | 16 | 1753.153 |
| 2 | Steve Stewart | 395 | 13 | 1766.428 |
| 3 | Greg Kondrek | 372 | 11 | 1741.234 |
| 4 | Russ Toy | 363 | 7 | 1786.025 |
| 5 | Kevin Webster | 338 | 6 | 1780.567 |
| 6 | Jordan Walker | 308 | 5 | 1807.999 |
| 7 | George Peters | 305 | 4 | 1797.436 |
The “Feature 400” race was another barn-burner race with Ian Douglass putting in yet another stellar driving and fuel management performance in the grueling 400-lap, dual rotation race. Actually, the whole race was very competitive with several drivers winning several 50-lap heats. Going into the final segments, it was a battle between Ian Douglass and ‘Home Cook’n. In the end, Ian took the top spot on the podium after Home Cook’n spaced his final rotation and missed the start, losing quite a few laps in the process. Detailed Results
Race 5: Jag Hobbies NC-2 GT-40 “Lites” (15v)
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Russ Toy | 79 | 16 | 375.623 |
| 2 | Greg Kondrek | 77 | 13 | 346.509 |
| 3 | Ian Douglass | 77 | 11 | 361.535 |
| 4 | George Peters | 71 | 7 | 361.082 |
| 5 | Steve Stewart | 69 | 6 | 381.621 |
| 6 | Kevin Webster | 65 | 5 | 368.177 |
| 7 | Jordan Walker | 60 | 4 | 367.033 |
This one was a all Russ Toy show. The winner of the inaugural NC-2 race back on the 2021 50-50 Racing Series, Russ proved that he’s the dominant NC-2 driver at Stewart Raceway. Greg Kondrek fought extremely hard with his well prepared GT-40, but could only get within two laps of the undisputed NC-2 points leader. Kondrek had serious pressure from Ian Douglass, both going into the final segment with the same lap count and finishing on the same lap. Kondrek would have to settle for defending his second place podium spot while Ian ended up with the the third and final spot. George Peters and Kevin Webster also had some very good heat results. In fact, nearly every driver seemed to manage a top 3 in at least one segment, which shows this class is one of the most competitive classes we run. Detailed Results
Race 6: U-Build Viper V-SPEC “Lexan” (15v)
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Greg Kondrek | 78 | 16 | 290.399 |
| 2 | Steve Stewart | 77 | 13 | 287.173 |
| 3 | Ian Douglass | 75 | 11 | 316.882 |
| 4 | George Peters | 72 | 7 | 321.26 |
| 5 | Jordan Walker | 69 | 6 | 314.172 |
| 6 | Russ Toy | 66 | 5 | 283.302 |
| 7 | Kevin Webster | 63 | 4 | 301.165 |
The final race of the day was again a barn-burner. The fastest cars we run, the Viper V-SPEC races are always close, fast, and furious. This one was more of the same. Home Cook’n was well on his way to victory after winning three of his segments with 60-laps to Kondrek’s 58-laps going into the final segment. Ian Douglass was leading the race but with only 75-laps completed, he was on the bubble. In the end, Home Cook’n had another senior moment and overshot what was supposed to be a splash & dash pit stop and lost at least a couple of laps. Kondrek took top honors with Ian Douglass rounding out the V-SPEC podium. Father and Son rivals, George and Jordan had quite a battle going themselves with George besting Jordan by just three laps at the finish. Detailed Results
Series Standings After ROund 3:
| Place | Name | Laps | Points | Total Time |
| 1 | Greg Kondrek | 2520 | 222 | 11056.27 |
| 2 | Ian Douglass | 1586 | 155 | 8082.302 |
| 3 | George Peters | 2265 | 153 | 11432.48 |
| 4 | Russ Toy | 2315 | 139 | 10775.4 |
| 5 | Kevin Webster | 1350 | 59 | 8245.118 |
| 6 | Jordan Walker | 1077 | 43 | 7360.309 |
| 7 | Brad Sandahl | 149 | 12 | 1241.092 |
While the final standings will be based on the best points from four of the five events and “Finished Ahead Of” points totals, Greg Kondrek continues to lead the “unofficial” points chase. Ian Douglass missed one event (Round 2) but moves into second place after pretty much dominating Round 3’s road course event. George Peters drops from second to third, Russ Toy and Kevin Webster round out the top 5 going into Round 4. Rookie of the Year, Brad Sandahl, has missed two races, which puts him out of contention for this series but I’m sure he’ll make another appearance on the podium before this one is over.
I’ll calculate and post the “Official” points tally ASAP.
Round 4 is slated for February 12, 2022 and will be held on the oval course. Stay tuned for details and an event registration link.
Okay, shut up and drive!
