johnqpublic
10-25-2006, 08:46 AM
Leonard Scores Elusive First WDRA Win, Olmsted Visits Victory Lane Twice at Redneck
The 2006 WDRA Super Dirt Series returned to "The Dungeon" on Sunday for stop number 9 on the tour. For the second consecutive year the event made up the third leg of the Redneck R/C Triple Crown Weekend. Racing on the tight confines of Redneck’s indoor track made for close action, great racing and a couple of great stories.
The fight for the Modified crown continued between series Rookie Jeff Hotaling and 2004 series champion Matt Olmsted. The two title hopefuls qualified on the front row for the A-Main, with Hotaling holding the advantage for TQ honors.
When things shook out after the start, Olmsted would assume the lead with Hotaling right in his tire tracks for second. The two were pulling away from the field as they worked traffic on the tight oval, eventually lapping the field well before the halfway point. As the race wore on, Olmsted would begin to put some distance between himself and Hotaling, pulling out just over a half-track lead by the time the checkerd flag fell. Paul Brauer would run a steady race to finish third, with Jim Carr in 4th and former WDRA champion Mike Alivero rounding out the top five.
Olmsted was able to extend his point lead going into the series finale, but only by one point. With a 2 point lead, the title is up for grabs in 2 weeks at Bumps & Jumps.
In the Big Block division, Matt Olmsted would make it a sweep of the day, but not in the manner that he would have liked to. Olmsted would jump out to the early lead, but it would be 4th-starting Jeff Hotaling taking advantage of slower traffic and an altercation to take the lead early on. While all of this was happening, series point leader Dan Gill was continuing his charge after starting 6th on the grid. I say "continuing" because Gill started the mains in the third starting spot of the D-Main!
Gill would move up to third before the halfway point, but could go no further. The top 3 drivers raced within two-thirds of a lap of each other for the remainder of the race, with no one making a mistake to allow the others to gain ground. At the finish, Hotaling would cross the line first, but his car would fail post-race inspection (see noes section), handing the win to Olmsted. Gill would be bumped up to second with Shannon Pitcher third. Jeff Winzens was awarded 4th, with Pennsylvanian Steve Tyson in 5th.
In the Small Block ranks, Sean "Meatball" Leonard has been one of the fastest cars all season, and despite being the point leader since early on, had yet to find victory. That would all change on Sunday. After setting the mark to beat in qualifying, Leonard would assume the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back. The early battle on the track would find Dave Harris eventually wrestling second away from Jan Poyneer and Bob Egan in a nice battle for position.
Harris would pull away in the early going, but had nothing for Leonard, who was working lapped traffic. Harris would make a crucial mistake near the 2/3s mark allowing Egan to retake second, where he would stay for the remainder of the distance. With the race winding down, Leonard would cruise home for his first WDRA win, with Egan in second and Harris settling for third. Poyneer and Rob Hillman rounded out the top 5.
In non-WDRA sanctioned action, Bill Karl took the Truck win and the $100 bonus posted by Redneck R/C for sweeping the weekend. He was followed by Tom Hilts and Bob Egan. Butch Southard took the Sprint checkers over Dan Mackey.
The WDRA series will make its final stop of the season at the recently re-opened Bumps & Jumps R/C Raceway on November 5th. Doors will open at 9am w/ practice starting at 10:00. The WDRA touring classes will be joined by a full card of the regular Bumps & Jumps classes. The entry fee and race format will be that of a regular race day at the track. For more information, please check http://www.bumpsandjumpsrc.com (http://www.bumpsandjumpsrc.com/).
Wally’s notes:
For the first race weekend of the season, the racing surface was in great shape.
Thanks to Art, Calvin and Matt for hosting the WDRA SDS once again. I think everyone had a great time
No one felt worse about the disqualification in the Big Block Stock race than me. I’m sure that it was just an honest mistake, but everyone knows that stock armatures have to be tagged. I know they have been known to fall off, but I have to be consistent…..If we allow one untagged arm to slide by, then we have to let them all slide by. Fortunately, it will not take Jeff out of his 4th position in points, and had the win stood, it would not advance him.
Speaking of Jeff, we’re all thankful for his mom’s great cooking!
"Captain Cupcake" Bob Egan once again provided treats for the heat race winners. Thanks Bob!
Cliff Weeks took the win in the Small Block B-Main, but was unable to start the A.
Dave Harris had some bite dialed into his CDK chassis, as he was slightly lifting the "pony" wheel coming out of the corners…..it looked pretty cool!
Dan Gill drove his butt off after problems in qualifying relegated him to the D-Main. It was quite impressive to watch, and had to be the crowd favorite to take the A-Main win.
Radio problems kept Jim Cronk’s potent sprinter off the track all day.
Dylan Watier started the day off testing a homemade Terminator sprint car. It looked pretty racy, but he decided to park it to concentrate on his EDM efforts.
Jim Carr was sporting a new "flopper-style" body from CDK. The yet-to-be-lettered body had good looking lines and Jim seemed to think that it had a slight performance advantage.
Speaking of new bodies, Dale Hartzell shocked me by sporting a new FFnF creation.
Shannon Pitcher’s body was so new that it was still being built when he arrived at the track.
That’s all for now. Hope to see everyone at Bumps & Jumps.
The 2006 WDRA Super Dirt Series returned to "The Dungeon" on Sunday for stop number 9 on the tour. For the second consecutive year the event made up the third leg of the Redneck R/C Triple Crown Weekend. Racing on the tight confines of Redneck’s indoor track made for close action, great racing and a couple of great stories.
The fight for the Modified crown continued between series Rookie Jeff Hotaling and 2004 series champion Matt Olmsted. The two title hopefuls qualified on the front row for the A-Main, with Hotaling holding the advantage for TQ honors.
When things shook out after the start, Olmsted would assume the lead with Hotaling right in his tire tracks for second. The two were pulling away from the field as they worked traffic on the tight oval, eventually lapping the field well before the halfway point. As the race wore on, Olmsted would begin to put some distance between himself and Hotaling, pulling out just over a half-track lead by the time the checkerd flag fell. Paul Brauer would run a steady race to finish third, with Jim Carr in 4th and former WDRA champion Mike Alivero rounding out the top five.
Olmsted was able to extend his point lead going into the series finale, but only by one point. With a 2 point lead, the title is up for grabs in 2 weeks at Bumps & Jumps.
In the Big Block division, Matt Olmsted would make it a sweep of the day, but not in the manner that he would have liked to. Olmsted would jump out to the early lead, but it would be 4th-starting Jeff Hotaling taking advantage of slower traffic and an altercation to take the lead early on. While all of this was happening, series point leader Dan Gill was continuing his charge after starting 6th on the grid. I say "continuing" because Gill started the mains in the third starting spot of the D-Main!
Gill would move up to third before the halfway point, but could go no further. The top 3 drivers raced within two-thirds of a lap of each other for the remainder of the race, with no one making a mistake to allow the others to gain ground. At the finish, Hotaling would cross the line first, but his car would fail post-race inspection (see noes section), handing the win to Olmsted. Gill would be bumped up to second with Shannon Pitcher third. Jeff Winzens was awarded 4th, with Pennsylvanian Steve Tyson in 5th.
In the Small Block ranks, Sean "Meatball" Leonard has been one of the fastest cars all season, and despite being the point leader since early on, had yet to find victory. That would all change on Sunday. After setting the mark to beat in qualifying, Leonard would assume the lead at the drop of the green and never looked back. The early battle on the track would find Dave Harris eventually wrestling second away from Jan Poyneer and Bob Egan in a nice battle for position.
Harris would pull away in the early going, but had nothing for Leonard, who was working lapped traffic. Harris would make a crucial mistake near the 2/3s mark allowing Egan to retake second, where he would stay for the remainder of the distance. With the race winding down, Leonard would cruise home for his first WDRA win, with Egan in second and Harris settling for third. Poyneer and Rob Hillman rounded out the top 5.
In non-WDRA sanctioned action, Bill Karl took the Truck win and the $100 bonus posted by Redneck R/C for sweeping the weekend. He was followed by Tom Hilts and Bob Egan. Butch Southard took the Sprint checkers over Dan Mackey.
The WDRA series will make its final stop of the season at the recently re-opened Bumps & Jumps R/C Raceway on November 5th. Doors will open at 9am w/ practice starting at 10:00. The WDRA touring classes will be joined by a full card of the regular Bumps & Jumps classes. The entry fee and race format will be that of a regular race day at the track. For more information, please check http://www.bumpsandjumpsrc.com (http://www.bumpsandjumpsrc.com/).
Wally’s notes:
For the first race weekend of the season, the racing surface was in great shape.
Thanks to Art, Calvin and Matt for hosting the WDRA SDS once again. I think everyone had a great time
No one felt worse about the disqualification in the Big Block Stock race than me. I’m sure that it was just an honest mistake, but everyone knows that stock armatures have to be tagged. I know they have been known to fall off, but I have to be consistent…..If we allow one untagged arm to slide by, then we have to let them all slide by. Fortunately, it will not take Jeff out of his 4th position in points, and had the win stood, it would not advance him.
Speaking of Jeff, we’re all thankful for his mom’s great cooking!
"Captain Cupcake" Bob Egan once again provided treats for the heat race winners. Thanks Bob!
Cliff Weeks took the win in the Small Block B-Main, but was unable to start the A.
Dave Harris had some bite dialed into his CDK chassis, as he was slightly lifting the "pony" wheel coming out of the corners…..it looked pretty cool!
Dan Gill drove his butt off after problems in qualifying relegated him to the D-Main. It was quite impressive to watch, and had to be the crowd favorite to take the A-Main win.
Radio problems kept Jim Cronk’s potent sprinter off the track all day.
Dylan Watier started the day off testing a homemade Terminator sprint car. It looked pretty racy, but he decided to park it to concentrate on his EDM efforts.
Jim Carr was sporting a new "flopper-style" body from CDK. The yet-to-be-lettered body had good looking lines and Jim seemed to think that it had a slight performance advantage.
Speaking of new bodies, Dale Hartzell shocked me by sporting a new FFnF creation.
Shannon Pitcher’s body was so new that it was still being built when he arrived at the track.
That’s all for now. Hope to see everyone at Bumps & Jumps.