We'll be running Oval next Saturday, the 25th. Then, on Sunday the 26th, we'll switch to the Road Course. Check out the website at thunderroadrc.com for details, maps and directions.

Whether you like to turn left, or left and right, we have a large, smooth and fast track for you to run. Take a look at the pics; and come join us next weekend. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

I realize the birds are a done deal for another year but if your car is still set up for the birds this is the track! Just a little shorter, less bite (because we are not running 24/7) but the rest is as close as you can get.

Great fun... Relaxed racing... Come get ready to take Ernie's money for the big race in March. lol....

Congrats to Rob for a new track record in spec this past week.

Hope to see all at Thunder Road!

Man I can't wait to get up there and race on that track!

Hopefully another airline will open up with those cheap rates again......

Kenny@RAPTOR

Kenny; the carpet is working great! You have got to get up here and try it. And, it might not hurt for our local racers to see just how fast your new chassis runs. We have a big race set for February 11th. Come join us. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Here is the schedule of oval and road course racing at Thunder Road through the end of March. We look forward to seeing you at Thunder Road, no matter which way you turn. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

February 25: Oval

February 26: Road Course (Sunday)

March 4th: Oval

March 11th: ARCOR Race for the Green (Oval)

March 18th: Road Course

March 25th: Oval

March 26th: Road Course (Sunday)

where is this track

The track is in Gordonsville, Va. You can get directions from the web page http://thunderroadrc.com.

Thanks for fielding that one, Robbie. Dangerousminds; are you going to come play with us? I'll guarantee you a fun day of racing! Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Splitting the Oval racing and Road Course action between Saturday and Sunday definitely split the available racer pool as well; but we picked up some new road course racers and had a lot of walk in interest as well. Both programs are growing; and both will have a place in Thunder Road's future.

The oval action on Saturday featured Spec, Stock and 19-Turn modifieds. In teh Spec Class, Robbie Bingler easily won every heat; but Jesse Bean worked all evenng, looking for the handle on his NasTruck entry. When the time came for the Main, Jesse was all over the back of Robbie's truck for lap after lap. Jesse finally slipped past with a slight rub, coming out of turn two and was never headed again. The slight slip was all it took to drop Robbie to the rear of the tightly bunched field, and he was never able to again challenge for the lead. Steve Walker had run strongly in the heats, but dropped from the Main on the 21st lap. The rest of the field stayed tightly bunched until the end; as Jesse Bean lead Steve Herndon, John Foster and Robbie Bingler to the line. At the end, less than four seconds separated first from fourth.

In the Novice Class, an improving Mike Ruckle gave your's truly a run; beating me in every heat. The Main was a different story, as I got a jump at the start and managed to stay in front.

Harold Ruckle was uncharacteristically nowhere in the Stock heats; but got things sorted for the Main. Harold bested Jeff Duck, Dennis Strauss and a non-starting Buddy Hartmann, in an easy win. Jeff Duck had looked very strong in the heats; but seemed to lose the handle in the Main.

Harold Ruckle had also looked lost in the 19-Turn Class heats, letting Lin Vaughn dominate the action. Steve Herndon battled an evil handling car all evening; and seemed to find a bit of his lost package toward the end of the third heat. His car seemed to take a few laps to settle down, before he could run strongly. But, when the Main came along teh situation reversed quickly. Harold jumped into the lead, with Lin running close behind. After nine laps, the battle for the front position was settled, as Lin Vaughn headed to the pits with a broken car. Steve Herndon's car looked stronger with each passing lap, and he was running excellent times at the end; but he was never able to make up for the time lost in the first few laps.

The Road Course action on Sunday was a simple pattern. Jesse Bean had his brand new X-Ray T2 running on rails; and set a blisterng pace all night long. Jesse ran very near the existing record; but was never able to gain the very few seconds he needed to put his name on the board. Jesse easily dominated the field; and was followed home by Charlie Johnson, Clint Withrow and Ben Storrs.

The Novice Class was... interesting. I easily won the first two heats; got taken out in the third; and promptly took myself out in the main. Westley Love also crashed out; leaving Matt Glenn to collect his first win.

Several spectators stopped by to observe the road course action; and we hope to have some new competition very soon. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

The Race for the Green will be run on February 11th. This is an ARCOR sanctioned event; and details are on the website at thunderroadrc.com. I hope you join us for a great day of oval racing. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

The Race for the Green will be run on February 11th. This is an ARCOR sanctioned event; and details are on the website at thunderroadrc.com. I hope you join us for a great day of oval racing. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

You mean March 11th........ :cool:

Kenny

Yeah, I meant March 11th, Kenny. Unfortunately, when I checked the date on my calendar, the 11th date lined up in February and March. Without thinking (I do that a lot) I typed February. So, thanks for the correction.

Are you ever going to make the trip to race with us? I know it's a long trip; but we only have this one big race left on the oval schedule for this season. If you don't make this one, you're going to have to wait a long time until the next big race. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

It's either a 12+ hour drive or an expensive plan ticket...... odds are, the trip would have to be planned well in advance.

But would love to run on that track..... It's HUGE!

Kenny@RAPTOR

Kenny; I still hope you make it up here, sometime. You should at least get to race on the carpet you put down. Every one remarks on how smooth the carpet is.

It really isn't huge; just very big. I get told it's huge a lot, though. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

With only a week to go before the Race for the Green, there were some fast drivers at Thunder Road on Saturday, trying to get dialed in for the big race. At the same time, a number of Thunder Road regulars were conspicuous by their absense. Were they finishing up the "honey do" list to get clear for next weekend's big race?

The Spec NasTruck heats pointed toward a fast Main; as Steve Kritikakos, aka Kriter, Robbie Bingler (Tripod), Steve Walker (Beach) and John Foster all put in fast performances. Several drivers were within a couple of seconds of the lap record throughout the night. When the A-Main rolled around, Tripod jumped Kriter at the start and lead the first few laps; before running into a slower car in turn two. The resulting spin dropped Tripod to the very back of the field; and he spent most of the race charging from the rear. Kriter assumed the lead, closely pursued by John Foster and Beach. Beach ran into traffic problems also; dropping out with a broken truck just after the halfway point. CJ (The racer formerly known as Charlie Johnson) and Mike Ruckle swapped fourth place repeatedly, until Steve Walker's abrupt departure turned their duel into a third place battle; just before both of them were overhauled by Tripod, as he stormed up from the rear.

Kriter slowly stretched his lead over John Foster; pulling away at a tenth a lap. John was finally overwhelmed by the storming Robbie Bingler in the last few laps; but Tripod ran out of time before he could get to leader Kriter. When the race ended, Robbie was only 1.3 seconds behind Kriter; as John Foster went a lap down to the leader in the last few laps. Kriter missed his assault on the lap record by less than two seconds; but promised to return next week for another shot at it.

The Stock heats pointed toward an interesting Main event, as Clayton Anderson (Big Clay), Lin Vaughn (McLin) and Steve Walker (Beach) all turned in fast performances. Harold Ruckle looked uncharateristically squirrely, with his car weaving on the straight parts and darting in the corners. Jimmy Zirk easily dominated his heats; and looked hopeful as he prepared for the Main.

In the Main, Harold Ruckle got a quick start; but McLin, Big Clay and Beach all got mixed up in traffic woes. Harold seemed to have found some extra speed, and ran like a thief all the way to the flag. McLin, Big Clay and Steve Walker continually bumped and pushed their way through traffic in an attempt to catch back up with the flying Harold. McLin finally broke something critical about 2/3 of the way along; and Steve Walker proved to be unable to mount a serious challenge for the lead. Big Clay tried hard to stay on the same lap; but finally went a lap down toward the end. Harold stroked his way to the flag, being careful in traffic and avoiding any problems.

Jimmy Zirk spun early, but recovered to finish a respectable fourth. Scott Gregory and Steve Simmons fought a race-long battle for fifth; with first one and then the other leading. In the end, Scott lead Steve by less than two seconds. At the buzzer, Harold lead Big Clay, Harold Walker and Jimmy Zirk. Scott Gregory, Steve Simmons and Bob Hall rounded out the field; as McLin was unable to repair his car in time to rejoin.

All in all, a good night at Thunder Road. The racers are all looking forward to the Race for the Green next weekend. We hope you will join us for the last big race of the season at Thunder Raod. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

It really isn't huge; just very big. I get told it's huge a lot, though. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Easy man....... this is HobbyTalk..... :cool:

Kenny@RAPTOR

Ernie you must have been watching a different stock race. I don't recall Harold getting the lead from the start at all. Should put the lap times up instead because that speaks for it self.

Big Clay; Harold got a quick start. He, Lin and Steve were close behind you, with Harold running second, if I recall, until you wrecked. That was less than a minute into the race, wasn't it? After that, Harold lead until the end. Not denying you were the man to beat; but when things are summarized, some details have to be left out.

Lap times? I'll be glad to give you a copy, buddy; and you can post them. 'Way too much typing involved. Other than the first heat, when you dropped out, you had the fastest car all night. But try summarizing a race in less than 300 words, mentioing at least the main points, and getting every one's name in; and I think you'll see some things have to be left out.

Tell you what... you write the next one; okay? Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

We'll be celebrating Saint Patricks Day at Thunder Road on March 11th, with the ARCOR Race for the Green. We'll be running Legends, Spec NasTrucks, 1:10 Scale Stock and 19-Turn Open; with $500.00 in merchandise awards up for grabs.

We have a large, flat and fast oval carpet track; and some fast competitors. Come join us for the last big Oval Race of the indoor season at Thunder Road. Details, directions and race flyer are on the website at thunderroadrc.com. We're looking forward to a good race; and would like to have you race with us. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Two to go! See you at Thunder Road on the 11th; for the ARCOR Race for the Green. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

The ARCOR Race for the Green at Thunder Road RC Speedway was run on 03/11/06. A strong field of ARCOR SPEC NasTrucks and Stock Class cars showed up; and the racing was intense. The heats pointed toward a fireball showdown; and the Mains lived up to the promise.

Kenny Fisher and Jesse Bean had dominated their respective SPEC NasTruck heats; but Steve Downs, Steve Kritikakos (the big, lovable and fast guy we call Kriter), Steve Walker (yet another Steve, this one called Beach) and Charlie Johnson (finally… some one NOT named Steve) had looked like likely contenders.

In Stock Class, Steve Downs had easily handled his heat races; as did Kenny Fisher, in his first visit to Thunder Road. The always dangerous Clayton Anderson (Big Clay, for obvious reasons) and Harold Ruckle had run fast enough to avoid being counted out, but couldn’t match Down’s pace. Jesse Bean, in a borrowed car; and Steve Nelson in his first run in a long time; were fighting handling problems; but still couldn’t be discounted when the Mains rolled around.

The Spec A-Main was run first. Practice times, including a new lap record, had indicated Jesse bean was going to dominate; and he immediately used his pole position start to assume the lead. Steve Downs edged under him going into turn two on the second lap, but Jesse was all over Downs’ rear bumper; jinking back and forth, looking for an opening. After only four or five laps, a tangle with a spun car in the middle of turns three and four put a quick end to the challenge, however. Jesse got back under way quickly, but not before Kriter had inserted his truck between Jesse and the flying Downs.

For the next three minutes and change, Jesse was all over Kriter; but could never quite get past. The two trucks bumped several times without bad effect; but Kriter refused to yield the line and never slipped enough to give Jesse an opportunity to get past. With Jesse all over him, Kriter had to drive with the mirrors; and couldn’t concentrate on moving in on Downs. A great display of driving and good sportsmanship by both drivers, and a masterful job of handling pressure by Kriter; but the result was that neither of them could mount a challenge to Downs. Downs won handily; and Kriter got to the line .1 seconds ahead of Jesse. Steve Walker was less than two seconds behind the second place battle for most of the race; waiting in vain for what seemed an inevitable crash that would have handed him second. Derek Law, CJ (the racer formerly known as Charlie Johnson) Kenny Fisher and Brad Kennett had their own dustups and highlights, but the race was between four trucks and every one knew it. Cheers from the spectators and drivers alike marked the conclusion of a great race.

The Stock A-Main was going to belong to Steve Downs. He had dominated the heats; he holds the current lap record; he set TQ; he had just won the SPEC race; and he hadn’t been beaten at Thunder Road in forever. Every one knew he was going to win Stock. Every one that is, except Clayton Anderson. Despite Downs’ pole position start, Clayton jumped into the lead on the first corner. Downs made his bid to regain the lead on the third lap; moving under Big Clay exiting turn four. The car touched ever so slightly. Downs got squirrelly; Clayton grabbed ten car lengths; and that was the race. Downs chased hard; and seemed to be pulling in on Clay at the two minute mark. He pulled to within a couple of car lengths; but then Clay, in a great display of nerves and perfect lines through the corners, slowly extended his lead. At the line, Big Clay has a clear second over Downs. Harold Ruckle ran third; but never looked like challenging the top two. Kenny Fisher, Steve Nelson and Adam Light completed the field. Jesse Bean failed to start.

Big Clay was still being congratulated when the cars got to tech. Isn’t it amazing how two tenths of an ounce can make such a big difference? Big Clay’s car was disqualified; Downs was declared the winner; and life goes on just as before. Big Clay, in one of the best displays of sportsmanship seen in a long time, simply looked at the scales and said “Yep. You’re right”. But a later remark by the unflappable Mr. Anderson may have been the best one-liner of the night. Big Clay looked at your humble author and erstwhile track owner and remarked “You need to go over to Downs and take that four leaf clover out of his pocket”. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

For all those that have not been to T-Road since the track has been enlarged and the new carpet you are missing a great place to race. Ernie has made leaps and bounds since he took over T-Road and has provided a great place for all to have fun. I ran there this past weekend and had a great time, not only is the track great, but the people are very helpful. Big Clay, Downs and Harold are some of the classiest people you can run with. They will help you with anything you ask. If you get a chance or have an off weekend from your local track, it would benefit you to take a trip up to T-Road and see Ernie.

I appreciate the testimonial, Outlaw1. We enjoyed hosting you guys; and hope you'll be back, soon. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Ernie you got mail about the car..............NitroHyperderive

A good field of Stock Class Touring Cars turned out for our road course race on the 18th. Thanks to all the guys who hauled in from Richmond and Roanoke to run with us. We hope you had a good time; and will return for our next road course race on Sunday, March 26th. We'll be running the oval on Saturday the 25th; but the road course will be ready on Sunday.

Jesse Bean and Eddel dominated their respective heats; with Scott Gregory, Leighton Fuller, Steve Simmons and Mack looking good at times, but unable to match the pace of Eddel and Jesse. Charlie Johnson, normally a strong runner, was having an off night; and was't able to complete a full run without something going awry. Jesse Bean's times were well under Eddels; and he looked to have an easy time in the A Main.

The B Main featured a fight from the start, all the way to the finish. Ben Storrs dropped early; but Mack, Charlie Johnson and Clint Withrow swapped the lead repeatedly. Charlie seemed to have the race in hand at one point, but spun and let both Mack and Clint get past. At the finish, all three were on the same lap; within four seconds from first to third. Mack won by just over two seconds from Clint Withrow; with Charlie Johnson just over a second further back, in third. Any one of the three could easily have won this one.

Jesse Bean lined up on the pole for the A Main; knowing he could run laps at least a half second faster that Eddel, his nearest competitor. In the first three or four laps, Jesse threatened to simply disappear in the distance; pulling a quick half lap lead. And, just as quickly, he was parked on the side. Jesse's receiver had partially broken loose, and a looped wire somehow snagged on the "on-off" switch; leaving in in the "OFF" position. By the time he figured out the problem, Jesse was fifteen laps off the pace.

Eddel assumed the lead when Jesse parked his ride; and never looked threatened. In fact, the only excitement occured when Jesse rejoined and starting unlapping himself at an astonishing pace. Jesse pulled off several laps in the 8.8 range; while Eddel's fastest was in the 9.2 area. Still, Jesse was too far back to threaten for the lead; and when his receiver problem re-occured, he parked his T2.

Scott Gregory, Leighton Fuller and Steve Simmons were swapping second place repeatedly, but none of them looked to threaten Eddel's lead. Bruce Lancaster was out early after a crash; and Jesse departed as previously noted. Eddel simply kept cruising; trying to stay out of trouble and easing his way to the finish line. The five minutes expired just after Eddel had crossed the line; and all he had to do was coast around for the final lap. He drove carefully around the track; and headed into the last corner. And, right in the middle of the very last corner, his motor blew. Eddel coasted to a stop in the middle of the front straight, less than 15 feet from the finish line; and he could only watch helplessly as Scott Gregory blew past to take the win. Eddel still finished second, as Leighton Fuller and Steve Simmons were over a lap down in third and fourth respectively. Less than a second separated Leighton and Steve; and the two of them had repeatedly passed and re-passed throughout the race.

A hard way for Jesse Bean to lose a race that had seemed in the bag; and an even tougher way for Eddel to lose what had seemed to be an insurmountable lead. Scott Gregory offered his sympathy to Eddel after the race; but we all noticed he kept the money for first place.

A good crowd; nice people; some fast racing; a surprise winner; and a lot of fun. We hope you join us next week, on Sunday the 26th; for our next road course event. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

At Thunder Road RC Speedway in Gordonsville, VA, we'll be running the oval on Saturday, and the road course on Sunday. Whichever you prefer, we'll be running it this weekend; so come join us. In the oval classes, we've had a good turnout of SPEC Nastrucks and Stock Class cars lately. Stock Class Touring Cars dominate the road course cars; but there are some 1:12 Scale Sports Cars that want to run, as well. Details, directions, maps and more, at thunderroadrc.com. Come join us at Thunder Road this weekend! Thanks; Enrie P. :cool:

Don't forget this is a Double Header weekend; Oval on Saturday and Road Course on Sunday. And, to celebrate, we're having some very special prices on some nice items. Check out the website at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Just want everyone to know that the people at Thunder Road RC are extremely nice, and helpful. I have been out of the sport for about 6 years, and everyone at the track is willing to help out. I know some of my questions are stupid, and probably "old school" but everyone has been very patient with me. Anyway, I watched some great racing today, and I look forward to racing with you next weekend.
Thanks,
Joel White

Thanks for the nice words, Joel. We welcome the chance to get another racer in the hunt.

We’re halfway through a double header weekend at Thunder Road; so this will be an abbreviated oval race report. Sorry for the shortened report; but I’m hoping to get a couple of hours sleep before I head back to the track.

The ARCOR SPEC NasTruck Class continues to grow; and the racing is getting tighter each week. Robbie Bingler and Steve Walker dominated the heats; with little to choose between them. I missed the first heat, since both ends of my truck required some maintenance. Running the track kept getting in the way, so Lin Vaughan volunteered to do the Race Director thing. Thanks, Lin. And, as always, thanks to Betty for keeping all the racers fed. Great food, Betty!

The A Main looked to be a two truck shootout; and it proved true to form. Robbie beat Steve Walker by a lap; and Steve had a lap in hand on third place Charlie Johnson. Mike Ruckle managed to out fumble me; giving me the fourth place spot.

Clayton Anderson and Jesse Bean had some real dust ups in the Stock heats; and they continued in the Stock A-Main. Big Clay and Jesse swapped the lead several times, but Clayton was ahead when it counted. Harold Ruckle had the speed to counter both of them, but he kept getting tangled in some mishap or other; and followed them home in third. Jeff Duck had enough straightaway speed to top anyone; but he was still working out the handling bugs on his new KSG ride. When he gets the handling worked out, he’s going to be a strong contender.

In both Mains, less than two laps separated the top three cars; and the results could have been a lot different, had not one car or the other gotten tangled in one difficulty or another. No single driver dominated either class; and no one was really out of contention during the evening. As things go along, the racing seems to be tightening up; as the lap charts showed. And that’s a good thing, right? Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

The second half of our Double Header weekend could easily be summed up in two words: "Jesse Bean". Throughout the heats, and again in the Main, Jesse lead from the first lap to the last; and it was only a question of how many times he would lap second place.

In the heat races, Leighton Fuller, Clint Withrow and John Pritchett had all looked fast at times; but they were all fighting various woes, and couldn't string together the laps to challenge Jesse. Leighton couldn't seem to run a full race without blowing either a front or rear diff. Clint could run fast laps; but kept losing the handle on his Losi. Inconsistent handling also gave John Pritchett trouble throughout the evening. All three seemed to spend a lot of time working on their cars between races; but couldn't find the right combination.

During the qualifying heats, Jesse had been knocking on the door of MArk Unrath's lap record of 33 laps in 5:00 and change; set two months ago in the JACO/SMC Snowflake Classic Race. When the Stock TC A Main rolled around, Jesse pulled out all the stops. His new X-Ray T2 had been on rails all night. He bolted in his best, brand new, Eric Anderson CO27 Stock Motor, and taped down a new set of SMC 3800's. He slipped on a pair of the new JACO wraps, and dragged out his newest trick; a CRAZY RC Motor Freezer. With the latest in RC racing technology at his disposal, every one was expecting a fast pace; and Jesse didn't disappoint.

When the flag dropped, Jesse simply disappeared into the distance. Leighton, Clint and John had all done some hard work on their cars; but it simply didn't seem to matter. John parked with a broken car after 11 laps. Clint could run some fast times; but couldn't seemed to put more than two laps together before the looseness of his Losi caught up with him, putting him off line and off the pace. Leighton had finally gotten two diffs that would hang together, but he simply couldn't match Jesse's pace. When the flag dropped, all of Jesse's new tricks resulted in a blazing new record of 35 laps in 5:09:14!

In the novice class, Wayne Fuller ran hard, but inconsistent handling put him into the rails often enough to let Ernie Padgette slip past for the win.

Thanks to the boys from Richmond for making this a fun weekend. Several new faces showed up; some new racers purchased cars; and things look promising for a big road course race toward the end of April. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Okay guys; here's the schedule for April and May. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Saturday, April 1st: Oval (Don't forget the dance afterwards!!)
Sunday, April 2nd: CLOSED

Saturday, April 8th: Oval
Sunday, April 9th: Road Course

Saturday, April 15th: CLOSED
Sunday, April 16th: Road Course

Saturday, April 22nd: CLOSED: Coopers Dave Fenwick Memorial Race
Sunday, April 23rd: CLOSED: Coopers Dave Fenwick Memorial Race

Saturday, April 29th: Oval
Sunday, April 30th: Road Course

Saturday, May 6th: Oval
Sunday, May 7th: Spring Smoke Road Course Race (Big race)

Saturday, May 13th: CLOSED: Coopers Gascar Race
Sunday, May 14th: CLOSED: Coopers GASCAR Race

Saturday, May 20th: Oval
Sunday, May 21st: Closed

Saturday, May 27th: Oval
Sunday, May 28th: Road Course

We're running the oval this Saturday. Come join us! Directions, details, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

After last weeks record setting road course performance by Jesse Bean, every one was looking forward to getting back on the oval this week. After getting hammered into the ground on the road course, the racers could at least look forward to getting a look at the lead on the oval course, right? Unfortunately for them, Jesse had other ideas.

The beautiful weather unfortunately meant a thin field at Thunder Road’s indoor carpet track; but the racers that showed were fast. Our newest racer, Joel White was taking his maiden foray into SPEC NasTruck Class racing; but his new car was fast, right out of the box. Steve Walker and Robbie Bingler seemed to have lost the handle on their trucks; and spent the day trying to find the few extra tenths they needed to challenge for the lead. Harold Lamb ran to fill out the field; but fought servo problems all day. Lin Vaughan was in the process of changing his cars over to outdoor configuration for Coopers racing season, and volunteered to run the computer. That left track owner Ernie Padgette with time to rebuild his truck after a shattering finish line crash in last week’s race; but he couldn’t get it back together in time to make the race.

The story line of the heat races was simple: Just how fast could Jesse Bean get around Thunder Road’s oval, in his Maverick chassis’ed SPEC NasTruck? The answer was equally simple: Very fast! In each heat, Jesse grabbed the lead early on, and simply set sail into the distance. Robbie Bingler and Steve Walker alternately took turns in second place, while fighting to keep newcomer Joel White behind them, with varying degrees of success. Jesse got it all together in the third heat; trashing the existing SPEC NasTruck lap record with a blistering 53 laps in 4:03:13. Joel got faster in each heat; and looked ready to challenge in the Main.

In the Main, Jesse grabbed a quick lead; and ran like a thief. And well he did, because Joel slotted into second place and stayed close enough to worry the leader. Jesse finally began to pull away, leaving Joel firmly in second; while Robbie and Steve fought over third place. Harold dropped out at lap 25 with yet another broken servo. Robbie finally spun, letting Steve Walker consolidate his hold on third place; and Steve immediately started working on pulling back some time on second place Joel White. Jesse Bean finished lapping the field late in the race; and that looked to be that. But, as the race wound down, Steve suddenly started making some serious inroads on Joel’s second place position. Joel’s battery was dumping; and Steve caught him on the very last lap; slipping past on the back straight, and edging Joel at the line by .23 of a second. Robbie finished three laps back in fourth.

Other than Jesse Bean proving he’s as fast on an oval as he is on a road course (And incidentally bumping up the lap record by a ton); the highlight of the weekend had to be the very close racing in the heats; between Robbie, Steve and Joel. There was little to choose between the three; and that says a lot for newbie Joel. This young man will bear watching. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

We're running all weekend at Thunder Road. Oval on Saturday and Road Course on Sunday. Directions, details, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. See you there! Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Well, this is Saturday; and we are at Thunder Road; and we're running the oval... so what's supposed to happen? Oh yeah; Jesse Bean is supposed to set a new record. So (For what? The third week in a row?), he did.

Vacations, visiting relatives, honey do's, spring fever and car shopping resulted in a thin field of ARCOR SPEC NasTrucks; but that didn't slow the pace. Robbie Bingler and Steve Walker tried hard, but couldn't do anything with Jesse; as he buzzed around at the front of the field all day long. Jesse won all three heat races and stroked the main. Another Saturday, another new track record of 53 laps in 4:00:93, and things just seem to stay the same. Maybe some one can do something with him on the road course on Sunday. But, it doesn't look promising. His T2 is looking stout! Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

My apologies; but it's late, I'm tired, and I have an early plane to catch. Plus, I couldn't find the Mains printout; so the details are a bit sketchy, right now. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Well, it was Sunday; Thunder Road; and road course. So, the only question was whether Jesse and his flying T2 would set another record, right? Well, try telling that to Eddel Veloso.

Jesse dominated his first two heats; easily handling Eddel, Clint Withrow and Mack. In the third heat, Eddel seemed to have found something. He was all over Jesse's bumper; and finally slipped past when Jesse ran into traffic. Then, on the last lap, Eddel coasted to a halt two turns before the flag; leaving Jesse with the win. Clint seemed to have found something as well; as he was running faster than he had all evening. Mack was a distant fourth and wound up in the B Main for his efforts.

Ben easily won all three of his heats; beating out Grey and Ernie Padgette easily; making his way into the A Main in the process.

Mack stroked the B Main; as Ernie was having an off night and couldn't stay off the rails. Grey trailed in third.

When the A Main started, Jesse Bean, as usual, jumped into a quick lead. Eddel slowly pulled in on him; pushing hard on every lap. Finally, Jesse made an uncharacteristic slip; nailing the wall hard and leaving Eddel with a five second lead. Jesse chased hard, but couldn't make up the deficit; winding up three seconds back. Clint ran faster than he had all night; pulling third in the bargain. Ben trailed in fourth.

This is the second time Eddel has taken a race Jesse looked to have locked up. One thing is for sure; Jesse is going to be working hard, looking for a way to even things up.

We'll be racing all weekend at Thunder Road. Oval on Saturday and road course on Sunday. Get the details at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Whether you're an oval or a road course fan, it's time to start getting your stuff together! We're running the oval on Saturday; and the Spring Smoke road course race on Sunday. So, whatever your preference, you can satisfy it this weekend, at Thunder Road RC Speedway.

The Spring Smoke will be the last big road course race of this carpet season. $500.00 in merchandise awards *guaranteed*. Directions, details maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Don't miss it. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Doors open at 9:00 AM. It's time to race! Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Sundays race looked like it was shaping up to be a good one. Wish I could have stayed through the mains. See you guys on the oval hopefully May 27th.

This past weekends racing at Thunder Road was a mixed bag; especially for the owner. The weekend got started with the Oval track on Saturday. After some quick consultation, the majority of the fast boys decided to run Stock Class, rather than SPEC NasTrucks. SPEC had been the big class the past few weekends; and with a thin field, the majority feeling was that the Stock cars needed exercise.

Big Clay managed to leave some vital bits and pieces at home; and he asked to borrow an L4 off the “For Sale” shelf. At the time, it seemed like an okay idea. Little did I know….

Throughout the heats, Big Clay was trying to get the L4 handling to his liking. Harold Ruckle, after missing the past few weeks taking care of domestic obligations, was uncharacteristically off the pace in his Hyperdrive; and I was thrashing around, trying to fix a bad “loose off” condition with my L4. That left Jesse Bean with an easy time of it. But, by the time the third heat was run, Clay, Harold and I were feeling a lot better about our cars; and looking forward to giving Jesse a run. No one else was in the hunt, so the Main looked to be a four-car contest.

At the buzzer, Jesse simply checked out. Harold had some sort of a problem and missed a couple of laps. Big Clay spun, no one else was close, and suddenly, there I was in second place. I remember thinking that I could probably hold off Clay; but that was about as far as things went. I spun in the middle of one and two, with the nose hard against the pipe. Well, at least I was out of the way, right? That’s about the time Clay arrived, with my loaner car. Why Clay was running so close to the wall is still a mystery; but the results were pretty predictable. After I finished collecting all of the bits and pieces, I had almost enough to start building a race car.

Jesse just breezed to the line, Clay nursed the L4 home without any one else getting in his way, and Harold recovered for third. A fun time, but I really have to rethink this loaner program thing. Just kidding, Big Clay. <g>

The Spring Smoke road course race on Sunday was much better attended, as the out of town crowd showed up to collect their share of the $500.00 purse. Despite my misgivings from the day before, Big Clay talked me into loaning him my spare TC4 for the race. I was too busy with the shop and running the computer to race myself; and there was no good reason to leave two good cars sitting on the bench, right? Little did I know…

The heats pointed toward some exciting racing in the Mains; as Jesse Bean spent all day running near the Stock TC record. Eddel Veloso seemed to be just a tick off his normally blazing pace; and Charlie Johnson was still working the teething problems out of his new T2. Clint Withrow just keeps getting faster and faster in his XXX-S; and Clay was looking pretty racy in his borrowed TC4.

In the 19-turn Class, Billy Spence was looking very strong with his T2. He and Jesse had some real battles in the heats, with Eddel and Jon Laster struggling to match their pace.

In the Stock Touring Car B Main, Mack Anderson managed to hold off a much improved Grey Flora, with Jason Smith trailing in third.

After the heats, Jesse Bean looked to have things all wrapped up with his T2; but some one forgot to tell Eddel Veloso the plan. Eddel had done some tweaking on his TC4; and when the A Main started he simply glued himself to Jesse’s rear bumper. At the buzzer, the two of them quickly started stretching a lead on Big Clay. Charlie Johnson was running in fourth, with Clint Withrow all over him. Eddel kept the pressure on, all the way to the finish; but Jesse ran less than three seconds off the track record to take the win. Eddel was exactly three second back in second. After doing a lot of position switching, Charlie Johnson managed to be in front of Clint Withrow at the finish. Big Clay turned in a fine performance in my spare car… until a wire came loose. By the time he got it fixed, the race was almost over; and he wound up fifth. Not a bad performance from an oval racer, Clay!

The TC 19-turn Main promised to be a real shootout between Billy Spence, Jesse Bean and Eddel Veloso; but Billy ruined it. When the race started, he simply checked out; leaving Jesse and Eddel to fight over second place. Billy turned in a spectacular performance to break Paul Lemieux’s lap record, set during the JACO/SMC Snowflake Classis roar course race, back in January. Jesse and Eddel did some swapping around, but Jesse was a lap up on Eddel for second at the finish.

As a special note, this was one race with no shortage of turn marshals. Plenty of spectators showed up to help out; and one lucky volunteer went home with an SMC 6 cell 4200 battery pack as a reward. Jaco, SMC and McAllister all donated much appreciated door prizes for the race, and we thank them for their generosity. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Thanks again Ernie. I had a blast all weekend long.

Big Clay, I'll loan you any of my cars, any time. I know when I get them back, they'll be faster than when I gave them to you. Free setup help! But I'm going to have to think hard about whether I want two of my cars in the same race, next time. <g> Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Thunder Road will be closed this weekend; so all our racers can head down to Coopers and run outdoors, under the lights. But, we'll be back racing carpet Oval on Saturday, May 20th.

The following weekend, we'll run Oval on Saturday, May 27th and Road Course on Sunday, May 28th. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

We're running the oval this Saturday, May 20th! Come join us. Directions, details, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Don't forget next weekend, May 27th and 28th, will be a double header weekend at Thunder Road RC Speedway, in Gordonsville, Virginia. We'll be running the oval on Saturday; and the Road Course on Sunday. Thunder Road will open at 9:00 AM on Saturday, and 10:00 AM on Sunday for practice. Racing will begin at 3:00 PM both days.

Whether you prefer to just go fast and turn left, or enjoy the challenge of Thunder Road's large and sweeping carpet road course, you'll find what you're looking for this weekend. Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. See you there! Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

There will be racing galore at Thunder Road RC Speedway, this weekend. We'll be racing oval on Saturday, road course on Sunday. Get the details at thunderroadrc.com. Get the honeydo's done in the morning, race the afternoon and barbecue at night. What a great way to spend the holidays.

And please don't forget we will be closed on Monday, to join all the rest of you in honoring the sacrifices made by our veterans, down through the generations. Please join in honoring their treasured memory. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Like to go fast and turn left? Or do you like to tip toe around the twisty bits and blast down the stright parts? Whichever form you prefer, we'll be running this weekend at Thunder Road; Oval on Staurday; Road Course on Sunday. We'll open at 9:00 on Saturday and 10:00 on Sunday; with the racing action starting at 3:00 PM both days. Come join us for a couple of days of great racing. Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

The Thunder Road oval crew had a fun day of racing on Saturday. Some intense racing; some racers with much improved performances; and no one ate the boards to any serious extent.

Joel White and Harold Ruckle dominated their respective heats; with neither one seriously challenged. Joel had been at the edge of the fast group in previous performances, but was looking distinctly stronger this time out. Harold Ruckle had done a fast change from Stock to SPEC NasTruck, since the SPEC Class has been the dominate class as of late; but managed the switch without losing any of his customary speed. Charlie Johnson (CJ) was having a good weekend, running hard; and Calvin R. had his new truck hooked up and capable of running some fast laps. Ernie Padgette also had a new truck and was looking racey. Robbie Bingler and Steve Walker were fighting various handling woes; but looked capable of getting to the front when they had a clear shot.

The B Main was all Mike Ruckle. Crashes took out the main competition; leaving Mike all alone at the bell. Calvin ran some very fast laps; but couldn't string enough of them together to challenge.

The A Main featured the first head to head matchup between heat winners Joel White and Harold Ruckle; with little to choose between them. CJ trailed closely all the way, unable to close on the flying pair. Ernie was shunted into the wall early on; leaving him limping with two broken wheels. Harold ran hard, but was an occasional tenth off the pace; and that was all Joel White needed. Joel ran a clean and fast race; ending with a bit less than a lap on Harold at the line.

The road course racers take to the track on Sunday; and are looking forward to another fun day. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Thunder Road RC Speedway will be racing this weekend. Road Course racers will run Saturday; and Oval on Sunday. Check out the details at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool: