| Race: Points Race #09 Date: 8-21-2005 Location: Richmond, Va. Track: 360 West Shopping Center Temperature: 99°F & Very Humid |
|
Hot, hot, hot and humid were the conditions of the day. Club members used the usual layout (see below) to reduce setup time as weather conditions were horrid. Practice was held and after two rounds a short drivers meeting was held by David Basl.
![]() Qualifying: Qualifying began with the usual suspects rising to the top of the leader board. In 1/8th Scale Mike Bowman showed the way with a 21 lap effort in 5:07. In Nitro Touring Pro Vincent Jackson just edged out Bowman keeping him from scoring a double bonus in qualifying. Nitro Touring Sport saw Paul Knab nab the top spot for the second time this year with a 18 lap effort on a 5:17 run. Electric Touring saw Ben Wallace (Detroit Pistons) take top honors with a 14 lap effort on a 5:06 run. In the Truck Divisions Earl Ingram scored a TQ by turning in 13 lap run in Nitro Truck while Wayne Goodwin scored his TQ with a run of 11 laps in the big truck.
1/8th B-Main: With the big turn out in 1/8th scale the class was split into two heats. The winner of the B-Main would be able to advance to the A-main by virtue of the bump-up. At the starting tone the drivers fought hard a furious to earn that spot. Leading early, David Basl turned in some fast laps but Tommy Chenault, Kevin Johnson, and Tim Aberg would keep him in sight. Ben Wallace would have would have trouble and have to park his machine just before the second fuel stop. After the second round of fuel stops the positions would be shuffled with Kevin getting the advantage over Tommy. David fell off pace as his tires went away and was unable to keep the leaders in sight. Tim would be forced to retire from the event just short of conclusion. When the dust settled Kevin would earn the coveted bump up position and the rest of the field finished in this order, Tommy, David, Tim, Ben. Travis Johnson and Wayne Wallace did not start. 1/8th A-Main: Earning the bump-up was Kevin Johnson. He would assume the 8th starting position. At the tone Mike Bowman hit the bridge running hard to keep Gerry Evans, Mark Poore, Kevin Randolph, and Stan Medlin at bay. after a few laps Mark move to the front as Mike was running taller tires and didn't have the snap off the corners. Kevin Randolph moved out front briefly but touched a corner and lost positions quickly. Mark again assumed the lead with Mike shadowing his every move as if waiting for something profound to happen. Behind them Kevin was trying to make up ground as Stan, Kevin Johnson, and Terrance Brown had hooked up in a frieght train attempting to run down the leaders. Gerry ran into trouble early and wound up with a tore up car for his trouble. Back up front Mark touched a fire hose and flipped his machine as Mike who was running consistant and getting faster by the lap graciously took over the lead for good. Marks machine flamed-out while upside down as turn marshalls didn't get to it in time and required restarting putting him a couple laps back. Kevin also had his share of troubles as his throttle servo kept sticking shut causing it to sputter in some very bad places. When the smoke cleared, Mike would get his second win of the year earning 202 points for the day. Mark would get his 950R back up to second, Kevin fighting through the throttle problems would be awarded third for his troubles, Terrance made his way up the fourth, Stan not quite making the finish wound up in fifth. Bump-up driver Kevin Johnson ran enough laps to get sixth and Gerry would close out the field in seventh. Troy Woodson did not start. 1/10th Electric: Ben Wallace took the opening flag and never trailed. Early on he had a rear view mirror full of Steve Ancheta but didn't wavier from his line and started to pull away. Behind them Edsel Pinpin fell into a lap of his own and couldn't quite catch up to the leaders. Tommy and Angie Ingram both driver those little cars had their own battle of the sexes going on with Tommy getting the best of his better half. When all was done Ben took the victory, with Steve following a lap back. six laps behind him was Edsel, another lap behind him was Tommy , and Angie rounded out the field. Wayne Goodwin, Chris Davoud, and Preston Pollard did not start. Nitro Truck: From the start of this one Earl Ingram and Victor Boger battled fiercely. Tommy ingram had troubles early keeping him from being a factor but had a respectable run none the less. Victor managed to make a move about two laps from the end to secure the win as Earl finished second and Tommy third. 1/10th Touring Pro B: Also with a large turnout was the Nitro Touring Pro Class. Using the same bump-up format, the B-Main drivers had a tremendous battle for that special position. Darnell Washington, Terrance Brown, David Basl, Steve Ancheta, and Shaun Barnes formed the front pack as Gerry Evans, Bryan Reese, and Ben Wallace formed a second group. Drivers running into trouble early were Ben, Steve, and Brian, all of who had to retire due to destroyed machines. Of the cars left Gerry would break later leaving Darnell, David, Shaun, and Terrance to settle it between themselves. Terrance started to move away from the remaining drivers a little every a lap at first then as David, Darnell and Shaun's cars got more laps on them the distance became greater and greater till the only time they saw Terrance was when he was lapping them. In the end Terrance would get the win with Darnell, David, Shaun, Gerry, Bryan, Steve, and Ben. Stan Medlin did not start. 1/10th Touring Pro A: With Terrance Brown earning the bump-up spot, the Nitro Touring A-Main started in quick fashion. Pole sitter Vincent Jackson had a mirror full of Mike Bowman from the start. Vincent's car was super fast down the straight but Mike's cars handling and his skills were sharper as he closed back in every time they reached the infield. Behind them Tim Aberg, Troy Woodson, Chris Whitney, Tony Carthan, Gary Miller, and Melvin Aulston had one heck of a battle as these drivers would change positions so often that every lap the computer reshuffled the running order. This was by far the best race of the day. Terry Goodwin, Terrance, and Darrell Hurlind all had trouble along the way and would lose touch with the rest of the field. Back up front Vincent would stay out front but had fuel trouble and was pitting short. Mike running a more conservative engine package was getting 5 minutes out of his machine by running a smoother line and not turning the tires over like Vincent. As the race unfolded, Vincent was holding the lead by a half track as Mike's pitman calculated the remaining time. When assured that Vincent wouldn't make it on fuel, Mike went into cruise mode and waited for the inevitable death cough of Vincents dry gas tank. It didn't take long. 40 seconds from the end of the race Jacksons car ran out of fuel and Bowman cruised by to take the second win of the day. Behind them The second pack was sorted like this across the stripe, Chris in third, Troy in forth, Time in fifth, Gary in sixth, Tony in seventh, Melvin in eighth, Terry in ninth, Terrance in tenth, and Darrell in eleventh. 1/10th Touring Sport: With the Pro Class done the Sport drivers had at it. Paul Knab, the pole sitter, led this race start to finish with only Craig Jones ever giving him a serious challenge. Craig pushed the nose of his racer out front in a couple corners but was unable to keep it there as Paul had the perfered line and would pull away every time Jones attempted a pass. After a few laps Paul started to pull away and was never challenged again. About the same time as this was going on up front, Wayne Wallace who was running in the back found the hard side of a corner and promptly had to sweep up the loose parts. Lamount Dunson had a good car but had a stalling problem causing him to lose laps often. Sandra Longs also had a good run going but ran into a back marker requiring her to pit for repairs. When the dust settled on this one, Paul would get the big points for the day with a 202 going on the board. Craig who raced hard was rewarded with second, Third was Tony Carthan who had a solid run but slightly off pace, fourth was Sandra, fifth was Lamont who restarted his car enough to earn some decent points. Rounding out the field was Scott Harrell who is getting faster by the week, James Giles, and Wayne Wallace. Justin Chenault, Chris Garrett, Edsel Pinpin, and Cleveland Bey did not start the event. Nitro Monster Truck: Running unchallenged was Victor Boger who scored his third victory of the year! Travis Johnson, Wayne Goodwin, and Cleveland Bey did not start.
This does not go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated. Remember, the next points race is September 11, 2005 Hope to see you there. Until then, ---Mark Poore |