Thunder Road RC Speedway will be racing this weekend. Oval racers will run Saturday; and Road Course racers on Sunday. These will be the last races before the Sue Rickman Benefit Races on July 22 (Road Course) and 23 (Oval). Check out the details at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Thunder Road RC Speedway, in Gordonsville, VA, will be running the Sue Rickman Benefit Races on July 22nd (Road Course) and July 23rd (Oval). We're putting up $250.00 in merchandise certificates for each race; and all entry fees will go directly to Tim Donley, to help with his mother's (Sue Rickman) cancer treatments. We have some great race sponsors lined up, with plenty of door prizes, and we'll be auctioning some nice hardware; all to assist a fellow racer in need. This is a chance to help out with a great cause; and have fun doing it! Directions, details, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

i get to race my two favorite cars in one weekend, what could be better. HAT TRICK! just Maybe.

practice went well last night. got some newbies that'll be there on saturday to chekc things out and they're looking to buy touring cars rolling chasiss

well it's was a nice day of racing today. had a new face to thunder road .........got to welcome Ray Darroch to his new home track! i've got a lot to learn. ray ran near the track record in the main winning the event leaving local Jesse Bean in the second spot and Scott Gregory to take third. nice relaxing day at the track. check us out tomorrow for some oval action and the final race report......

The Sue Rickman Benefit Races were run at Thunder Road in Gordonsville, VA, this past weekend. Attendance was disappointing, considering the charitable nature of the events; but the racers who showed were rewarded with some great racing and some great door prizes, courtesy of sponsors Team Associated, B-Main Motorsports, BMI, Darkside, EAMotorSports, Irrgang Racing Service, Integy, JACO, J&D Machine, McAllister, R/K Racing Products, SMC, Tekin, Trinity and Voodoo Cells. Not to mention a big pile of money; $250.00 in awards each day! Smaller items were used as door prizes (And there were a bunch of those; every one went home with a handful.) and larger items were auctioned. The generosity of the racers was evident, as plenty of extra raffle tickets were sold; and the bidding was spirited for the larger items. Anything left at the end of the day will be shipped to Tim Donley for his on line raffle.

The Road Course race was held on Saturday. All the Thunder Road regulars welcomed Raymond Darroch, the newest of the JACO/SMC team drivers, to Thunder Road. Ray promptly returned our hospitality by turning his 19-Turn Touring Car Class heat races into a procession. Ray had his Corally hooked from the first few laps; and no one could touch him. Jesse Bean and Scott Gregory took turns trying, but neither one had anything to offer Ray. Steve Simmons seemed to have an edge in the opposite heat races, while Charlie Johnson (CJ) and Harold Ruckle (in a borrowed car) took turns trying to get past. By the time the qualifier dust settled, Ray had TQ with a blistering 36/5:02.52.

CJ and his T2 bested Harold Ruckle in the B Main in a close finish. Harold’s excuse for his second place was that he was afraid of bending the track owner’s FT TC4; but we all know the owner is a pussy cat, despite persist rumors of bodies buried in the nearby woods.

Jesse Bean finally recovered the handle on his T2; and he was all over Ray Darroch at the start of the A Main. Scott Gregory and Steve Simmons lurked just behind, locked in their own battle and hoping Jesse and Ray would take each other out. Ray kept his cool; and as he started inching out a lead, Jesse smacked the wall. One mistake was all Ray needed. He ran a near record pace to the end. Jesse could match Ray’s pace for a few laps; then he would slip a few tenths worth and Ray slowly eased away. Less than a lap separated the two at the flag, as Ray ran a 36/5:05.16. Scott and Steve ran a good race; with Scott (in his new IRS chassis’ed TC3) besting Steve at the end; again, by less than a lap.

Ray Darroch showed what a class act he really is by donating most of his first place money to the Sue Rickman Benefit Fund. A good day of racing for a great cause.

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Sunday was Oval; and the Thunder Road regulars turned out to support the cause. The racers were evenly divided between SPEC and Stock Classes. Qualifying in the SPEC Class featured a series of close races between Joel White and Steve Walker (Beach); with Harold Lam keeping them honest and Ernie Padgette trying to stay out of the way. Joel took TQ with 51/4:00.41.

The Stock Class featured some of the fastest and closest racing seen in a long time. Clayton Anderson (Big Clay) and Harold Ruckle were wheeling their Hyperdrives; with Jesse Bean in a Maverick and Steve Nelson (Seven) driving his KSG/RIP hybrid. They were locked in a struggle all night; with all four cars turning almost identical times, lap after lap. And those times were at, or near, a record pace. Any one of the four could, and in fact did, lead at any time. Jesse trailed most of the evening, but got the tweak right in the third heat; setting TQ with a 53/4:01.15.

The SPEC Main was more of the same; with Joel and Beach fighting it out for the lead and Ernie Padgette fighting an oddly slow chassis setup. Joel and Beach stayed within a second of each other right to the buzzer; with Joel leading by less than two tenths at the end.

The Stock Main featured a suddenly faster Jesse Bean; as he had tweaked his Mav right on the edge of loose and fast. He grabbed the lead at the start and ran like a thief; until he finally lost it between one and two. Seven, Harold and Big Clay all slipped past; leaving Jesse to fight his way back to the front. Jesse looked capable of doing it, but he got in too much of a hurry and bumped Harold trying to get past in turn four. That put Big Clay into a lead he held to the end, with Seven hanging on to his rear bumper and looking capable of going past at any time. Harold grabbed third and Jesse took fourth. Any one of the four could have taken this very close and competitive race.

The attendance could have been better; but the racing couldn’t have been much closer. Maybe the charitable nature of the day filtered over to the racing. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

We'll be running this weekend at Thunder Road RC Speedway, in Gordonsville, VA. Details, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com.

We're running Oval on Saturday and Road Course on Sunday. Don't forget we're on an abbreviated summer schedule; open at 09:00 on Saturday, race at 11:00; open at 10:00 on Sunday, race at 12:00. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

awesome day today on the oval. can't wait till tomorrow for the road coarse.

Its getting close to carpet season! Time to dust off the electric stuff, and start hunting setups. Here's the schedule for September. Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Saturday, September 2: Weekly Race (Oval)
Open at 09:00; race at 1:00
Sunday, September 3: Weekly Race (Road Course)
Open at 10:00; race at 2:00

Saturday, September 9: Closed
Sunday, September 10: Closed

Saturday, September 16: September Shootout (Road Course)
Open at 09:00; race at 3:00
Sunday, September 17: September Shootout (Oval)
Open at 10:00; race at 3:00

Saturday, September 23: Closed
Sunday, September 24: Closed

Saturday, September 30: Weekly Race (Oval)
Open at 09:00; race at 1:00
Sunday, October 1: Weekly Race (Road Course)
Open at 10:00; race at 2:00

On the weekend of September 16/17, Thunder Road RC Speedway, in Gordonsville, VA, will (depending on your point of view) celebrate the end of the summer racing season, or the beginning of the fall racing season. Either way, the September Shootout will be the place to be, in Virginia. On Saturday, the 16th, we will run the road course; and we’ll run the oval on Sunday, the 17th. Opening on Saturday will be at 9:00 AM; and racing will begin at 3:00 PM. Opening on Sunday will be at 10:00; racing at 3:00.

Road course classes will be 1:10 TC, Stock and 19-Turn; and 1:12 Scale Stock. Oval classes will be 1:10 ARCOR SPEC, Stock and 19-Turn Open.

Entry will be $25.00 for the first Class; $10.00 for additional class(es). Awards will be $250.00 in merchandise awards (Ernie Bucks) each day.

Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P.
:cool:

Time to get the carpet cars ready, Guys. The September Shootout is ready to run; and so are the racers. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Well guys; no one has indicated any conflicts; so we'll go with the schedule, just as previously posted. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Thunder Road Fall 2006 Schedule

Saturday, September 30: Oval
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, October 1: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, October 7: Road Course
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, October 14: Oval
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, October 15: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, October 21: ARCOR State Championships (OVAL)
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, October 29: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, November 5: Road Rash 2006 (Road Course $ Race)
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, November 11: Oval
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, November 12: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, November 19: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, November 25: Oval
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, November 26: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, December 2: Oval
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM
Saturday, December 9: 2006 Virginia Oval Championships (ARCOR)
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, December 17: Road Course (RWB $ Race)
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, December 23: Oval
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, December 30: Oval
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Next Saturday, the 14th, will be the last chance to run the oval, before the ARCOR State Championships on October 21st. If you need setups, this will be a great time to do your testing. We hope to see you there. Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Saturday, October 14: Oval
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, October 15: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Saturday, October 21: ARCOR State Championships (OVAL)
Open 9:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Plenty of action this past weekend, as people were looking for setups for the 2006 ARCOR State Championship Race on October 21st. To help those who still need setups, Thunder Road will be open for practice on Friday night, October 20th, starting at 6 PM. Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Be advised some of the local boys were looking pretty sharp. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Don't forget, we will be open on Friday night, starting at 6 PM, for any one wanting to practice for the ARCOR State Championship Race on Saturday. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

2006 ARCOR State Championships Race Report

The 2006 ARCOR State Championships race was run at Thunder Road RC Speedway in Gordonsville, VA on October 21st. $250.00 in merchandise awards (Ernie Bucks) and a large box of door prizes from JACO, SMC, Associated, McAllister and Trinity apparently wasn’t enough to draw the racers inside from what could only be described as a glorious fall day. Still, those racers that did show were all fast (with the possible exception of the track owner, who tends to struggle at times) and serious. The low turnout didn’t affect the racing action, which was close and competitive all day long. The racers all voted to run Stock Class, rather than divide into smaller groups.

The A Main was the property of Jesse Bean. After getting dusted in the first qualifier, Jesse had tweaked his Maverick chassis and apparently found the handle; as he won his other two heats easily. Jesse ran in front the entire way, although Joel White and Quinn Frazier (who had looked very strong in his own qualifiers) managed to stay on the same lap. Harold Ruckle threatened, but parked his Hyperdrive early on; leaving the first three cars to run in close tandem the rest of the way. In a remarkably trouble-free run, Joel and Quinn held onto Jesse’s bumper, but couldn’t mount a serious challenge. In the end, only three seconds separated the first three spots.

The B Main featured an even closer race, with, yet again, three cars staying lined up for most of the race. Steve Nelson led easily in the beginning, but began to slow as the race neared the end. The final laps featured a last minute charge by Charlie Johnson, as he set his sights on Steve’s slowing Darkside entry. Track owner Ernie Padgette looked quick at times with his KSG entry; but as the race wore on, couldn’t maintain the mental concentration to challenge the leading pair. A slip here, and a wide line there, was all it took; as first Steve and then Charlie lapped him in the final minute of the race. With Steve slowing, and Charlie trying to find a safe way past, all three cars wound up running nose to tail again for the last few laps, with Ernie P. thinking hard about trying to unlap himself. Discretion proved the better part of valor, as he backed off to allow the leading pair to decide the outcome without outside interference. On the next to last lap, Charlie finally slipped past to take the win; with only two tenths of a second between them at the end.

The low entry didn’t affect the enthusiasm of the racers or the quality of the racing action. The newly revised layout of the oval course was unanimously approved as an improvement, and everyone agreed the fall racing season was off to a good start. Hopefully, some of the missing faces will reappear as the weather cools. The revised road course will be in use next weekend; as the tippytoe crowd starts working up to the Road Rash Race on November 5th. That race will feature an “RWB” Class. RWB means “run what ya brung”. If it’s 1:10 Scale, has 5mm of ground clearance, maximum of six cells, bring it on! Any motor, any chassis, any body and everybody.

Sunday, October 29: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, November 5: Road Rash 2006 (Road Course $ Race)
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

We'll be running the road course the next two weekends. Now's the time to get set up for the Road Rash 2006 Race on November 5th. The race lineup will include an RWB Class. If it's 10 Scale, maximum of six batteries, with 5mm of ground clearance, it's legal! Pan cars; mod motors; Can Am style bodies; whatever you like. So drag out your hottest stuff and head for Thunder Road. $250.00 in merchandise awards; door prizes and a new road course layout. Details, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. See you there. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Sunday, October 29: Road Course
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

Sunday, November 5: Road Rash 2006 (Road Course $ Race)
Open 10:00 AM; Race 3:00 PM

October 29, 2006 Race Report

The newly revised road course was in use on Sunday; and the unanimous opinion of the racers was that the 13 turn layout was awesome. The main activity seemed to be centered on finding setups for next weeks Road Rash Race; with the actual racing a secondary activity. Various incidents, typically involving walls and pipes, sidelined a few cars as every one seemed to be looking for the edge of control and speed.

With everyone running 1:10 Touring Car Stock Class, the action got underway on a beautiful fall day. Kenny Yo easily dominated his heat races, leaving Ed Meadows and Oliver Campbell fighting for second. The main action was in the second group of racers, as Eddel Veloso and John Pritchett took turns dominating, with Mack trailing. Eddel took the first heat; John set a new TQ in the second; and Eddel responded with yet another TQ in the third heat.

In the A Main, John Pritchett ran a new TQ pace of 28 laps in 5:06.89. John’s only problem was that Eddel Veloso was sitting two laps out in front of him; with a blistering 30 laps in 5:04.21! Mack and Kenny Yo trailed. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Time to get it together, guys. Road Rash 2006 will be run Sunday at Thunder Road RC Speedway, in Gordonsville, VA. Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com.

$250.00 in merchandise awards; lots of door prizes; a brand new 13 turn road course layout; and a chance to run the baddest things in your parts boxes. Thats right, we're going to run the normal 1:10 Scale TC's in Stock and 19-Turn; but we're also running an "RWB" Class. For the RWB Class, if its 1:10 Scale, maximum of six batteries; and has 5mm clearance, it's legal!! PERIOD!

So drag out the swoopy bodies; your hottest motors; tear off the weights; go to work with the scissors; and let's find out who can get the power to the ground, or learn to fly low! Doors open at 10:00; racing at 3:00. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Road Rash 2006 provided a fun day of racing at Thunder Road RC Speedway on November 5th. An early decision by the racers led to a concentration on the Stock Touring Car Class; and the action was on. Eddel Veloso and Arvin Nano dominated their respective heats. Neither was seriously challenged, and we were all looking forward to seeing how they would fare when they met in the Mains.

The B Main featured a tight race between new racer Edwardo Meadows and Carl Burkhart. Carl lead early on, but starting slipping as the race wore on. Edwardo slipped past around the three minute mark, and then started easing away. Michael Burkhart, also running his first race at Thunder Road, chased hard but crashed out late in the race. In the end, Carl wasn’t able to close the gap, and wound up trailing Edwardo by two laps.

The A Main featured the showdown we had all been anticipating; Eddel and Arvin swapping paint for the marbles. Unfortunately, Eddel wasn’t in the mood to play. At the start, he jumped into a quick lead, and simply kept on keeping on. Charlie Johnson had looked capable of challenging; but various car problems had dropped him from two of the heats. His Main run lasted only three laps before he was again sidelined by a battery problem. Mack Anderson and John Pritchett were both capable of running very fast laps, but neither was consistent enough to stay in touch with the leaders. They had a good race against each other, but slowly dropped back. Mack led John for most of the race, but fell behind late, finally finishing a lap behind in fourth place.

Eddel didn’t have much of an edge on Arvin; but he kept on using it. One or two tenths a lap; and it added up to half a lap when the bell sounded. Arvin kept hoping for a slip by Eddel, but it never happened. A good race for Eddel; and a solid performance by Arvin. $250.00 in merchandise awards, and door prizes from Team Associated, JACO, SMC and Trinity ensured every one went hope happy.

We’ll be running the oval on Saturday, November 11th; and the road course again on Sunday, the 12th. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Congratulations to the Thunder Road regulars who made the hike to the Oval Masters. Jesse Bean (4th, Stock A Main), Harold Ruckle (8th, Stock A Main), Joel White (4th, Stock C Main), Steve Kritikikos, AKA Kriter (2nd, SPEC A Main), Larry Boyd (2nd, 1:12 19-Turn, B Main) and Lin Vaughn (7th, 1:12 19-Turn A Main) made the trek, and did a great job of flying the flag for the local crowd. Guys, that ain’t a bad showing! Thanks for showing folks we take our racing seriously in Virginia. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

I'm starting a separate thread for the 2006 Virginia Oval Championships, but wanted to post here first. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

Some great news, guys. Dave Irrgang of Irrgang Racing Services (as in IRS) will be down to race with us on December 9th, for the 2006 ARCOR Virginia Oval Championships. Not only will Dave be racing, he has agreed to do *two* “how to” classes for us. He will show us how to put together a killer diff, and how to correctly assemble his exciting new IRS VCS Micro shocks. What could be better? Well, Dave will have with him a complete selection of all his IRS oval goodies; for you to go ooh and aah over. So make plans now to attend the hottest upcoming oval race in Virginia. Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P.

The oval track was in use on November 11th. A rare day of late fall good weather kept a lot of RC racers doing the “honey do” thing; but a few die hard racers gathered to do battle on the carpet. While the majority of racers opted to run Stock, the selfless track owner decided to run SPEC, simply to make up a class. This allowed a couple of new racers (Paul Carver and Bo Long; welcome guys!) to get some race experience under their belt.

<Pay no attention to those people whispering in the background about the track owner taking the opportunity to beat up on a couple of new guys before they get good enough to kick the old man’s backside. Besides, the way Paul and Bo were picking up on things, it won’t be long before they are right in the thick of things. Special thanks to Larry Boyd, who spent all day showing Paul and Bo how to set up their cars. That’s what it takes to keep the sport going.>

Paul Carver and Bo Long improved steadily through the day, but still came up a bit short in the SPEC A Main. Ernie Padgette weaved his way through the traffic and was a couple of laps up on Paul and Bo at the end.

The Stock A Main was basically a repeat of the heats. Joel White grabbed a quick lead, with Lin Vaughan chasing hard. Scott Gregory could run some very fast laps, as could Steve Simmons and Charlie Johnson, but couldn’t maintain the consistency they needed to seriously challenge. As the race went on, Joel slowly eased away from every one. In the last 30 seconds of the race, Lin Vaughan suddenly started closing on the leader. Each lap he was closer; but the clock ran out with Joel still three tenths of a second in front. Scott, Steve and Charlie trailed. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

The dates have now been confirmed; and the 2007 JACO/SMC Snowflake Classic (Oval and Road Course) races will be run on January 13 (Oval) and 27 (Road Course). More later. These will be the two biggest races of our season, so please help spread the word. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

We'll be running the oval on Saturday; and the road course on Sunday. Details, directions, maps and more at thunderroadrc.com. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool: