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Event Reports From Rounds 7 and 8
HMSA Jefferson 500 at Summit Point
- Friday - From Peter Krause
Nobody went out in the morning, torrential rain. Afternoon session, everyone on slicks, track damp in places, but not too damp! ;)
Scott Krueger (you da MAN!) DB-2 1:20.094 in the damp!
Krause T-590 1:22.756
Simon Green P15 1:23.804
Jim Stengel RM2 1:28.909
David Hughes SC80 1:29.724
Mangum RP42 1:31.002
Rossi T-598 1:31.619
Peter Harholdt RM2 1:33.709
Crumay DB-2 1:37.425
M. Krueger T-596 1:37.904
Ash SC83 1:40.517
Greg Robison T-598 1:43.310
Rowell SC85 1:52.306
Chenoweth SC82 1:59.024
Gaither No Time
Sugg No Time
Wittman No Time
Yow No Time
Cap had a tough time with a steering shaft pinch bolt inconveniently leaving it's assigned place :eek , Harholdt and Rowell having harmless spins and a number of people with significant "moments" on the drying, treacherous track. Wittman, Sugg and Gaither wisely stood on their practice yesterday in the dry.
It was nice to see David Calafato out in the Phil Hill Cup in his Formula Ford. We had a terrific party with heavy hors d'oeuvres and great "adult beverages hosted by event coordinator Scott Krueger and his family. All in all, a wonderful atmosphere. HMSA seems pleased with our group and excited about supporting a most worthy cause, the ARK project.
-- Peter
- Friday - From Scott Krueger
GREAT SOCIAL EVENT THIS EVENING!!!!
The SRCC groups is as good as it gets.:) We had a wonderful ARK project social event this evening with lots of fellowship, food and a few drinks too. Or was it a few too many drinks. The day might have started out really crappy (torrential rain most of the morning), but the end was what these events are all about...Good times!!!!
With sunshine for tomorrow I can't wait to pick-up where we left off today.
--Scott Krueger - ARK Racing!
Saturday Race 1 - From Scott Krueger
Race #1 was UNREAL! Gaither got the jump at the start with Krause also moving into second. Krueger about lost it going through turn 3 and now Sugg has also moved to the front pack. Krause and Krueger had a huge battle for third with Krause's
missile passing on the front stretch, only to be retaken every lap, with an outside move through turn 5. After about 3 laps, Krueger
regained third and set out after the first two. Krueger finally made it past Gaither and set sail after Sugg. Sugg and Krueger checked out into a battle of their own. Numerous attempts to make the pass for the lead failed as Sugg prevailed, with Krueger tucked under his exhaust pipe at the checker and Krause in third. Top three cars all within 2 tenths and the top six all within 1.6 seconds. Tight racing in the entire field, with Harhodlt and Mangum racing hard. Whittman, Yow, Rossi and Stengel also were tight. Chenoweth, Hughes and Robison were in the next group, followed by Ash, M. Krueger, Crumay and Rowell. Simon Green had a shifter problem on the second lap. The finishing order was as follows:
1) D.Sugg (S2) 1:17.815
2) S.Krueger (S2) 1:17.623 still fastest in every session
3) P.Krause( 1st in HS2) 1:17.844
4) P.Harhodlt (SA2) 1:19.263
5) J.Gaither (S2) 1:18.331
6) M.Mangum (S2) 1:19.211
7) K.Wittman (S2) 1:21.092
8) R. Yow (S2) 1:21.869
9) L. Rossi (S2) 1:21.517
10) J. Stengel (SA2) 1:22.392
11) C.Chenoweth (2nd in Hs2) 1:23.23
12) D.Hughes (3rd in Hs2) 1:25.651
13) G.Robison (S2) 1:25.962
14) T.Ash (S2) 1:28.585
15) M.Krueger (S2) 1:30.428
16) M.Crumay (S2) 1:30.695
17) WC Rowell (S2) 1:34.735
18) S.Green (S2) 1:22.782 - Broken Shifter
Tomorrow's grid is based on today's finishing order, so tomorrow should be a real hoot!
-- Scott Krueger - ARK Racing!
Sunday Race 2 - From Scott Krueger
If you thought race #1 was a real thrill. Race #2 was full of bigger thrills and an unreal ending. Scott Krueger and Peter Krause sat on the front row for Race #2. At the green flag Krause's little rocket got the jump, AGAIN. Krueger in tow, followed by Gaither, Harholt and the rest of the group. On the second lap, Gaither got past Krueger on the front straight (I have got to figure out why my car is a total pig on the straights). He soon realized that he was holding Krueger up, and as a true gentleman racer would do, he moved over and let Krueger get after P.K..
After that, Krueger set-out to catch Krause, and set another "fast time of the session" in the process (fastest in EVERY session of the weekend:lol ). With Krauses's bullet fastest in a straight line, and Krueger faster every place that required moving the wheel even slightly past 12 o'clock, the race was on! 1st and 2nd distanced themselves from the rest of the pack. Krause led the first 6 laps, Krueger the next 4. It appeared as though Krueger had gained control. But then, tires started to go away, and Krueger's gearbox again started to have a mind of its own. P.K. caught Scott and they proceeded to duel (slide all over the place side by side) with Krause leading 2 laps. Then all hell broke loose. Oil was being dropped, in serious quantity! P.K. got caught up and spun right in front of Scott, in the worst place it could have happened (turn 3). Scott managed to avoid Krause, but had to virtually stop in the process. The next thing you know two cars suddenly appeared and placed themselves in a hunt for the lead. Krueger led the next lap, with the new found hunters, Kevin Wittman and Larry Rossi right behind. Kevin and Larry had been waging a battle of their own. The two of them separated by a piece of paper for most of the race. It appears they had also done a better job of managing their tires.
At the start of lap 14 it was Krueger, Wittman, and Rossi heading into turn one. the order remained the same as they approached lap traffic in turn 5. The lap car didn't appear to realize that 1st, 2nd and 3rd were right behind him, and it took 4 turns for Krueger to get around. Only problem with lap traffic is that usually the first car to get there is at a huge disadvantage. This proved to be the case as Wittman and Rossi had a head of steam up the hill and passed Krueger going into turn 10.
With one lap to go Wittman and Rossi had a slight lead over Krueger. On the final lap the gap was closed to virtually nothing as all three cars crossed the finish line right behind the other. Wittman, Rossi and Krueger, with 0.2 seconds covering the top three positions!
Hats off to Wittman and Rossi for running a superb race! Great to see new faces on the podium.
Finishing order:
1) K. Whittman 1:18.81
2) L. Rossi 1:18.738
3) S. Krueger 1:17.992 (FTD)
4) P. Krause 1:18.437 (1st in HS2)
5) P.Harholt 1:18.239 ( 1st in S2A)
6) M. Mangum 1:19.103
7) S. Green 1:20.68 (Great to have you, make it regular)
8) J. Stengel 1:22.219 (2nd in S2A, Glad you could join us)
9) R. Yow 1:21.192 (How long till you get another S2?)
10) C. Chenoweth 1:25 (2nd in HS2)
11) J. Gaither 1:18.426
12) G. Robison 1:24.6
13) T. Ash 1:29.103
14) M. Crumay 1:29.138
15) M. Krueger 1:31.540
16) WC Rowell 1:31.373 ( glad you decided to come!)
17) D. Hughes 1:23.889 (battery)
18) D.Sugg - DNS
I want to take a minute to thank ALL of my SRCC friends! For me, this weekend was more about the ARK Project than it was about racing. You guys were instrumental in making it a huge success. Looks like we raised about $2,000 to go towards the scholarships. What could be more important. This is a very special group of friends/racers. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! This is a great organization and I am proud to call myself a member!
-- Scott Krueger - ARK Racing!
Wrap Up -- From John Gaither
As I sit here, I have a red bracelet on my left wrist. It says: "Buckle Up for Someone You Love". My friends Scott and Mike Krueger have lost someone they dearly loved - Scott's daughter Ashley - a couple of years ago. The ARK project is dedicated to saving lives and her memory. It was my privilege to be a part of this event and to make a small contribution to a terrific cause. God Bless you both and your families.
The racing: Eddie Pendry and and I (with greatly appreciated help from K&E's Dave Blum and competitor Malcolm Mangum) recovered from several challenges to post good times and competitive racing on both days. On Sunday, I made yet another good start, got going well, ran third for a good while, and spun in the carousel after finding someone's oil unexpectedly. By the time I could get her back on the hard stuff, I was too far back to challenge again. I almost caught Malcolm by the end. They said I passed under the yellow somewhere and penalized me one minute which knocked me down to 11th overall. Just not my day, but a great weekend with some memorable moments.
I was really happy that Newcomer Kevin Whittman could win and Larry Rossi finished second. These guys are wonderful additions to our merry band. We have now had FIVE winners this year in the S2 class - Sugg, Culbertson, Tank, Mangum, Whittman. And with three different makes. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!