| Race: Points Race #12 Date: 10-09-2005 Location: Richmond, Va. Track: 360 West Shopping Center Temperature: 81°F |
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Finally it seems we've gotten passed the humid weather. Club racers arrived on an overcast morning with temps in the upper 50's. Track setup started a little late but once the trailer arrived many drivers participated in setup of the usual layout (see below) and practice was started. After practice was concluded, a brief drivers meeting was held and qualifying order was posted.
Note: I'd like to thank all the drivers who stayed around and helped with track take down. Some of these drivers are from a good distance away and should be commended on their commitment to the club. Especially Tony Carthon (Virginia Beach area), Joe Harler & John Laster (Lynchburg area). These guys drive a long way on race day and stay around to help take down. If you would please make sure you thank them when you see them!
![]() Qualifying: Aaron Bartlett was tops in the Monster Truck class & the Nitro Touring Sport class as was Joe Harler again in the Nitro Truck division. Nitro Touring Pro saw Mike Bowman secure the top spot while John Laster took the honors in the Electric Touring division. Lastly, the 1/8th Scale division saw Mark Poore get his third TQ in a row .
1/8th A-Main: The 1/8th Scale Class tore off of the starting line in perfect synchronization as the drivers fell in line at the tone and filed through under the scoring bridge in an orderly fashion. Kevin Randolph and Carlton Coleman were late starting but would join the race late. After separating somewhat on the first lap the racing started with Mike Bowman making a charge on Pole Sitter Mark Poore followed closely by Terrance Brown, Stan Medlin, Travis Johnson, and Chuck Lienbach. After a close call in the back straight, Mark pulled away from Mike leaving him to fend off a charge from Terrance while Stan had his hands full of Chuck & Travis. John Laster was the first to run into trouble forcing him to retire early. Next Stan and Travis would have their own problems costing them precious time on the track. After the first round of fuel stops, Mark had a commanding lead of a lap while second third and fourth were being fought over. The second round of stops came and went with relatively few changes in position. When the final tone was heard Mark would celebrate his second straight victory of the year doing a burnout while a hard charging Lienbach came across the stripe in second, followed by Mike, Terrance, Stan, Kevin, Carlton, Travis, and John. 1/10th Electric: The Electric Touring class started only three of the five drivers entered in the class. Pole sitter John Laster made quick work of Joe Harler and Tony Carthon, quickly outpacing them to build a three lap lead. Tony and Joe however had a good early battle going on but Tony's car lacked the get up and go of Joe's bigger car and fell some three laps back to him over the course of the event. In the end, John, Joe, and Tony finished in that order. Nitro Truck: In Nitro Truck, It was much of the same as in weeks past. Joe Harler running consistent laps out ran Ryan, who incidentally is gaining momentum every week and could challenge Joe for the win before years end, and Victor Boger. They finished how they started in this order, Joe 1st, Ryan 2nd, and Victor 3rd. 1/10th Touring Sport:
A rain shower delayed the start of they Sport class for some 30 minutes. Club officials held an impromptu meeting to discuss how the event showed be scored in the event it was washed out. Luckily the rain moved out and the track dried quickly with the help of the track blower and Kevin Randolph's car. After a few minutes the traction came back up, (some drivers said it actually had more) and the track was deemed race ready. 1/10th Touring Pro: Moving through quickly in an effort to beat the weather Nitro Pro drivers took the track quickly and was brought to the starting line as soon as everyone checked in. In this field of six only five would start with John Laster being the lone exception for unknown reasons. The flag was raised and the racing commenced. Pole sitter Mike Bowman got a clean start and moved quickly to gain seperation from the rest of the field. Behind him Terrance Brown, David Basl, and Tony Carthon gave wild chase. On lap four, Terrance ran into some trouble and was forced to retire from the event. Tony was making a move but kept David fought back trying to keep Tony behind him. They fought hard against each other the whole time. This allowed Darnell Washington to slip away in hopes of catching Bowman. When the checkerd flag waived Darnell wouldn't have enough time to catch Mike and would finish second to Bowman. Third place would go to Tony as he eventually would get a 2 second advantage over David who finished in fourth. Terrance turned enough laps to secure fifth place points. Nitro Monster Truck: Last up, Monster Nitro Trucks. With darkness closing in Aaron Bartlett would run only two laps, but that was enough to get the win as niether Victor Boger or Cleveland Bey would start the event.
Hope to see you there. Until then, ---Mark Poore |