| Race: Points Race #09 Date: 8-1-2004 Location: Richmond, Va. Track: 360 West Shopping Center Temperature: 94°F Very Humid |
Points race # 9 again started out much the same way asd races # 6, 7, & 8 did......with the threat of rain! Once again club members relied on gut instincts and set the track up anyway! The same layout as races #7& #8 was chosen due to it's simplicity. (See diagram below)
![]() Track setup went quickly followed by registration, and a 2 hour practice. When qualifying began Sean Tabor secured the TQ for 1/8th scale with a quick 23 lap effort on a 5:05.53 to become the third driver in as many races to earn that spot. Drivers in other classes earning this honor were John Laster in Electric Touring as well as Nitro Touring Pro, Spencer Atkinson in Nitro Truck, Ashley Stringer in Nitro Sport, and Victor Boger in Nitro Monster Truck. In an effort to try a beat the gloomy skies, qualifying was run straight thru without a break between rounds. The Mains started after a very short break and were shortened to 10 minutes. 1/8th Scale took to the track first. Sean Tabor took to the task of disposing of his competition early and quickly moved away for the field. John Laster gave chase but could do little to match Seans quickening pace. Back in Third, Mark Poore found himself facing going a lap down just two and a half minutes in. John's car started to run poorly and was forced to retire. Then suddenly Tabors car stopped counting under the scoring bridge. Could it be foul play? Nope! When one's receiver pack starts to die the first thing a personal transponder does is stops counting, then the steering starts to get sluggish, and lastly the brakes fade away. Sean was paying attention and removed his car from the track before a runaway occurred & effectively ended his race there and then. Marks car also suffered some problems as it began to cough in the corners as the engine temp continued to rise. He would be able to maintain enough of a pace to come away with a victory but not without having to work hard to pass a reluctant Tommy Chenault. Tommy fought hard for two laps but got caught out of position giving Poore enough room to make the pass. A consistent running Ken Harris finished second followed by Tommy, Sean, John, Stan Medlin, Terrance Brown, and Mike Bowman. The latter five falling out due to mechanical problems. Next up were the Electric Touring drivers. Again pole sitter John Laster paced the field from the starting tone with Ben Wallace in tow. Wallace came close on several occasions but was never able to make the pass for good. Eventually Wallace's car got hung up and would lose a lap. Joe Harler having a good run finished in third just two laps back. The rest of the field finished in this order: Spencer Atkinson, Kevin Randolph, Angie Ingram, Tommy Ingram. Nitro Truck smoked up the air next with Spencer Atkinson showing the same form he did in qualifying in route to victory. Stan Medlin however made his run a little harder. Stan pursued Spencer with reckless abandon and almost came away with the win finishing just a few turns behind. Finishing out the class in third place was Victor Boger who had problems that forced him to retire early. Nitro Touring Sport Class took the track next and had probably the best battle of the day. Justin Chenault, Joe Harler, and David Basl got after it for the full ten minutes with all three drivers finishing with 30 laps. When the green flag flew David's Koyosho would take the Win with Justin & Joe finishing in that order behind him. The remainder of the field looked like this: Billy Groben in fourth, TQ, Ashley Stringer in fifth, Chris Booberg in sixth, Craig Jones in seventh, Tony Groben in eighth, and Josh Wallace who was unable to start was relegated to ninth. Nitro Touring Pro saw John Laster with another one of his patented drive away from the field performances. Kevin Randolph fought hard early to keep John in view but lost touch with the leader mid way through and fell off the pace. Third place finisher, Paul Rush gave a solid performance as did fourth place finisher, Mike Bowman who was in contention until his pitman (I won't mention my name) ran him out of fuel. Fifth place finisher Terrance Brown had to do some repairs half way through the event and lost too much ground to make up as did Tommy Chenault, sixth place, and Stan Medlin, seventh, who rounded out the field. Victor Boger ran unopposed in Nitro Monster Trucks so he was never in danger of losing. Nice Run Victor!
Don't forget the next points race (#10) will be made up on August 22nd.. Make plans to be there. ---Mark Poore |