| Race: Points Race #01 Date: 3-21-2004 Location: Richmond, Va. Track: 360 West Shopping Center Temperature: 56°F |
| V.O.R.R.A.'s first points race of the 2004 season turned out to be a cold and blustery one. Temperatures only rose to mid 50's, (with the wind in your face it felt like 30) and when the sun dipped behind the clouds it really got chilly. Due to the limited number of club members on hand & some reluctant drivers, the lengthy track set-up began around 9:30. Note: If everyone pitched in, practice could start sooner, not that the people who did pitch in weren't appreciated. After practice concluded a drivers meeting was held. Among the things discussed were turn marshaling, radio frequency clips, and some club elections. I like to extend congratulations to David Basl (President), Tommy Ingram (Treasurer), Angela Ingram (Secretary), and Tommy Chenault (A Large Member).
Qualifying started around 1:00 and continued thru to the second round after a 20 minute lunch break. Nitro Touring Sport B started off the main events with Justin Chenault out running the rest of the field to the checkards as Ashley Stringer, Andre Baskin & Victor Boger finished up in that order. Lamont Dunson & Justin Jacobson were unable to start. Next up was 1/8th Open. Upon the starting tone all eight cars roared to life with Mark Poore & Jason Wyche falling out from the field early on. From there the best race on the track was between Sean Tabor & Mike Bowman. As they dueled, Tommy Chenaults racer fell to mechanical problems at lap ten and was forced to withdraw. Stan Medlin & John Pritchett also would retire before races end due to car failures. Attrition hit hard in this event and with just a 2 minutes left only 3 cars remained, at 1 minute only 2 as Bowman's racer crashed, within the last 30 seconds Ken Harris would also retire leaving just Sean Tabor as the lone Victor. Next up, those Nitro Trucks. Tommy Ingram showed why he was TQ by leaving the rest of the field in the dust. Earl Ingram challeged for the lead early on, but lost touch with the leader and was relegated to 2nd. Victor Boger fought stalling problems and a ill handling truck to finish 3rd. Nitro Touring Sport A took the racing surface next and had a few tense moments early on. Marc McLauglin out-dueled Paul Knab and held on for victory, with Paul in 2nd, David Basl 3rd, Gerry Evans, & Troy Woodson in that order. Travis Johnson was unable to start. Last on the track was Nitro Touring Pro. These guys put on a heck of a show with multiple lead changes and close racing action. Impressive for the late hour, as temps plunged into the 30's with the sinking of the sun. Tony West laid down some great laps to pull away from the field but Kevin Randolph, Jamie Donati, and Jack Honeycutt put on a driving clinic. These three guys finished within seconds of each other all with 57 laps. rounding out the field was Gerry Evans, John Pritchett, Tommy Chenault, & Terrance Brown. Paul Rush and Lamar Jones were unable to start.
All in all, I think everyone had a good day racing considering the cold conditions. Please make plans to attend the next scheduled points race on April 4. Hope to see ya there! ---Mark Poore |