Race Report 011208 Jocham Takes another one
Southern California race report
Saturday January 13th... The Pits opened up just after 9am and racers started showing up to check out one of the club favs - the revived Acme Raceway. When we were all accounted for, there were initially Eleven racers ready to test their Fray racing skills once again on Willey’s old track. Carl E. and some of the other TRAC racers made a couple of good improvements to the layout. As usual, we had representation from all three Southern California Fray Teams.
The racing schedule was to feature two - timed 3 minute heat round robins after an initial practice round. The practice round finally got under way and most of the racing was very tight. The red lane was the toughest. It was no surprise that RICK JOCHAM laid down a solid 21 laps to give us all a feel for what could be done…GREG WILLEY was able to remember his way around the circuit and also clocked 21 laps on red. MIKE ENGELAGE and RICK J bested the crowd with 23’s on the white lane. MATT PAUL also brought a couple of nice rigs to the party and kept pace with the leaders. MIC WAS consistent with 22’s across the board but had difficulty on red and was only able to post a 17. When the dust settled, it was JOCHAM in first place with 90 laps including a massive 24 on blue! That’s a solid average of 7.5 seconds per lap!! RICK was followed by MIKE E. with 87 laps, followed by MATT PAUL with 85 laps, GREG WILLEY was next with 84 laps, MIC followed with 83, SCOTT DUNLAP driving a fast rig was next with 81 laps. TOM GIESE also had 81 laps but was just behind DUNLAP on track position. VICTOR LICAUSI was next at 80 laps followed by CHRIS (ACTION) JACKSON with 79 laps. Our host CARL TINUCCI clocked in with 78 laps and bringing up the rear was SCOTT ELLIS (making the trip up from San Diego) also with 78 laps having realized after the round that a rear tire was coming off the hub.
ROCKY GERMAN made the trek in time to start the featured heats and made our total twelve. ROC also had some of his spiked rum cake in tow, which many decided to enjoy. We got under way with the first round robin after switching the practice rotation from Straight to European. The racing improved, and there was some shifting in the standings. RICK J. laid down 23’s on all but red where he posted 21 laps and ended up with 90 laps again. MATT PAUL brought the heat and clocked 23’s on white & blue ending up with 89 laps. MIKE ENGELAGE posted 22’s and 21’s but one of the 21’s was on the white lane and finished with 86 laps. GREG WILLEY and SCOTT ELLIS (having fixed his traction control problem) also posted a couple of 22’s and both ended with 85 laps for 4th and 5th respectively. MICKEY HURTADO was also able to clock a couple of 22’s (blue and yellow) finishing with 84 laps. SCOTT DUNLAP was able to also post 22’s on yellow and blue ending up in 7th with 83 and beating ROCK GERMAN, also with 83, on track position. VICTOR LICAUSI was consistent and laid down 21’s on three lanes but could only get 19 on red finishing with 82 laps and 9th place. TOM GIESE was also consistent but slowed a bit from the practice round and ended up with 80 laps and 10th place, he was followed by CHRIS JACKSON with 79 laps and then came host CARL TINUCCI with 78 laps. All in all, pretty tight racing. We decided to take a short break (except for MIKE E. who brought out a secret weapon – an Eye Loop;-) – and continued to work on his rig). Carl provided an awesome lunch spread of pizza, wings, fries and drinks. Rockies cake provided dessert and a nightcap J.
In round 2, VICTOR L. had to leave bringing us back to eleven. However, it was much the same as the first round. JOCHAM continued to lead the field and ended with 89 laps for a combined total of 179 and 1st place. MATT P dropped off a bit with 86 laps and ended up overall in 2nd place with a total of 175 laps – MATT was 3rd in this round. MIKE E continued to improve and laid down a very respectable 88 laps, good for second place in this round and a total of 174 and 3rd place overall. SCOTT E. also continued to improve laying down one of only three (Jocham & Engelage) 23’s in the blue lane, this round, and ending up with another 85 but just shy of 86 for 4th place in the round and overall by having a total of 170 laps. GREG W. didn’t have his usual pace on the red lane and only clocked 19. However, he did run strong in the other lanes and also ended up with 85 laps and 5th place with a total of 169 laps. ACTION JACKSON was next having improved 4 laps over his previous totals and getting 83 laps and a total of 162, way to go Chris. SCOTT D. was 7th in the round after running 82 laps and ending up with a total 165 laps. ROCKY G. was 8th in the round with 81 laps. Rocky may have done better but experienced car trouble while driving the blue lane and was awarded 21 laps since no one did less than that. ROCKY ended up with a total of 164 laps. Next there was a tie with MICKEY H. and TOM G. WITH 80 laps each. MICKEY having dropped back 4 laps in this round and ending with a total for the day of 164 laps. TOM G. ended the day with a total of 160 laps. We added Toms first round total incorrectly on race day. Finally, our host CARL TINUCCI had 79 laps in this round and ended up with a daily total of 157 laps. CARL now knows it’s easier to race or host but doing both takes practiceJ
1. Rick Jocham
2. Matt Paul
3. Mike Engelage
4. Scott Ellis
5. Greg Willey
6. Scott Dunlap
7. Mickey Hurtado
7. Rocky German
9. Chris Jackson
10. Tom Giese
11. Carl Tinucci
Victor Licausi no second round score
We practiced until about 10:45 and Elyse got the names for the first round of IROC put into the computer. The first round was some Johnny Lightning Old N Nasty chassis that I had dusted off. We ran a JL bodied Willys in red, a black ’59 Chevy in white, a lime green Charger was in blue and the yellow lane had a purple Model Motoring ’67 Chevelle on it. The bodies were a very diverse group and after the first heat I was convinced to start back at the start finish after each heat. That was my first mistake. We tracked points and laps as the heats went on and the system didn’t allow for judging a clear cut winner. I think a good time was had by all, for a change of pace. We mixed up the starting line up of just 10 drivers and broke into a fray style race. The short straights of the tricky red international track from the HOWL website neutralized the speed of the guys who usually brought it. This was a day devoted to the best drivers of technical tracks. Red was the dreaded lane on both tracks. Only Tom and Mic scored 14 laps in the 2 minute heats. Both started in the red lane and clicked off a lap on take off. The 3 guys who ran red as their 2nd, 3rd and 4th heat were Chris Jackson, Scott Dunlap and Ty
1. Scott Dunlap 56
We broke for lunch at just before 1:00 and headed over to Zendeja’s for a bite and a drink. I requested some help loading up the tracks after we finished and encouraged racers to drop a tip in the tip jar for Elyse who put up with our crap for the entire day. I’m sure it felt like just a waste of a day for her, but she helped us out quite a bit running the program and kept us right on track. Thanks to Tom who shared his race sheet in Word format and allowed me to make some changes that allowed us to keep everyone on the right track/lane and in proper rotation. When we got back Elyse re-shuffled the driver line up and we got started with the 2nd round of IROC racing. It
We used the VRS timing and scoring system and their schematic that kicks on the relay at the beginning and end of each heat. After reminding everyone not to squeeze the trigger until after the 5th red light was displayed on the monitor, no one reminded
1. Scott Dunlap 57
1. David Anderson 65
As promised, Santa Clarita provided us with some good summer heat. Michael, Chris and I showed up Saturday night to run some laps and get set up. Even at about 7:00 pm the mercury was high. We ran until about 10:00, or so. The pits opened on Sunday, at 8:00 am. IEHO Raceway drivers showed up, a little after 9:00 am. Michael was with me on his last day as a civilian. He has shipped out to San Diego for Marine Corps boot camp now. There were 9 participants, after Rene’ Cortez got there. We ran a round robin, after qualifying was done. I’m not sure what the results were. I forgot to get the qualifying times after the race. The first round ended as follows:
1. Tom Giese 66
2. David Anderson 63
3. Scott Dunlap 63
4. Matt Paul 61
5. Mickey Hurtado 59
6. Michael Hurtado 58
7. Willey 57
8. Rene’ Cortez 57
9. Carl 55
Tom sprung for the pizza and drinks and there were some egg rolls and salad as well. Fortunately, there was plenty to drink as the mercury continued to rise. We ran another round robin and the results were:
1. Tom Giese 68
2. David Anderson 67
3. Mickey Hurtado 65
4. Matt Paul 64
5. Scott Dunlap 64
6. Willey 63
7. Michael Hurtado 62
8. Rene’ Cortez 61
9. Carl 59
After some deliberation, we decided to run one more round robin and call it a day. I chatted with Rene’, who I discovered a few weeks ago owns a Bowman built Champion Raceway. We may get to run a fray race on his track in the next month or two. Our final round finished as shown. Again, Tom and David, owner and former owner of this layout showed the way. Both drove Jocham powered cars.
1. Tom Giese 65
2. David Anderson 62
3. Matt Paul 62
4. Scott Dunlap 62
5. Mickey Hurtado 62
6. Michael Hurtado 60
7. Rene’ Cortez 60
8. Willey 58
9. Carl 56
Encouragement and wishes of good luck were given to Michael as we loaded up for the trip home. Many thanks to Tom, for opening up his place to us. The dominance of Tom and David left nothing but scraps for the rest of us. Overall the day was just an average day of racing here in So Cal on one of the Dunlap Motorplex creations. Those who missed it, missed out on a good time. I look forward to going back to Tom’s again some time. I heard that the egg rolls were very good. The abundance of iced down drinks was great and very needed. Thanks again Tom.
The next race is scheduled for my parents place in Glendora on August 5th. They live not far from Matt’s house, just a little North. I’ll get you the particulars the week before the race. We’ll run an IROC and fray cars on my 2 plastic creations. The venue promises to be very racer friendly and probably as hot as Tom’s. There will be plenty of shaded pit area on their back patio. It is right next to the 3 car garage where we will race. I may have a test n tune the night before. We’ll just have to move the tracks to the side before we leave Friday night. A city ordinance says my Dad can’t park on the street at night in Glendora. So he’ll need his garage space Friday night. My parents look forward to having everyone over. I’ll see if we can get a fray race scheduled for Rene’ Cortez place next. Rene` lives in Burbank, CA
A little controversy, in reference to where we’d race and on what type of track, helped the tuning juices flow for a few of the combatants in this event. We ran at the Dunlap Motorplex on Scott’s first venture combining landscaping and the freeform design that Scott’s become so famous for. Scott incorporated some track pieces that didn’t make any of his previous layouts, then made sure it all lined up. If you haven’t seen the pictures, you need to take a look. This track features a pit exit, from the green lane and is, aesthetically, a piece of work. Scott’s recently painted FISA type curbing to add more of a visual enhancement. It was like driving on a real track, complete with buildings, picnic areas, and a bad accident on the curve heading towards the bridge.
The format would be a large round robin of 3 minute heats, followed by lunch. Then a second round robin that would seed a final ladder type move up opportunity. We had enough to start with a D main that allowed 2 drivers to move up and each subsequent main allowed only the top driver to move up.
The first round robin finished as shown:
1. Matt Paul 75
2. Scott Dunlap 75
3. Scott Ellis 74
4. Mickey Hurtado 73
5. Ty Brittain 73
6. Mike Engelage 72
7. Tom Giese 71
8. Willey 69
9. Frances McEntee 69
10. Carl 68
11. Rob Bowman 62
12. Kyle Bowman 60
The most challenging part of the track appeared to be the arc headed under the bridge. Fortunately, Scott had installed a track call button that allowed power to be cut while cars, that beefed it under the bridge, were retrieved. We broke for a really nice lunch over at the Buffalo Inn at their outside dining area under natural shade featuring pretty good service and choices of many types of brew on tap. Burgers seemed to be the feature item and Rocky joined us there at the restaurant. After lunch, we adjourned back at the Dunlap Motorplex and got right into the second round robin. The atmosphere was thick with the knowledge that this would seed the move-ups for the next round. Driving got better as drivers got used to the twists and turns of the tricky layout that is no place for the faint of heart. One lapse of attention could cause the whole field to grind to a sudden stop as the track call button was hit. The frequency of this declined as drivers were reminded of the decreasing radius off camber turn, at the end of the back stretch, with each head on collision with the neatly placed barriers. Lap counts increased as drivers became more familiar with the layout and the cars they were driving. Second round results ended as follows:
1. Matt Paul 79
2. Mike Engelage 77
3. Mickey Hurtado 76
4. Scott Ellis 75
5. Ty Brittain 73
6. Scott Dunlap 73
7. Francis McEntee 73
8. Tom Giese 72
9. Rocky German 70
10. Willey 70
11. Carl 65
12. Rob Bowman 65
13. Kyle Bowman 61
This set up our ladder main. This round was just 2 minute heats allowing each of the drivers to run all 4 lanes and try to make the move-up. The D main had Rob, Carl, Willey and Rocky in it. Rocky and Rob made the move-up. The heat results were lost before we had a chance to record them. The C main had Tom, Francis, Rob and Rocky. Frances took it with 49 laps. Rocky ran 48, Tom and Rob had 46. Frances went up against Scott Dunlap, Scott Ellis and Ty Brittain. Francis took it again, for his second move-up into the A main. He ran 47 laps and the rest were deadlocked at 46. The final pitted MP Racing with Matt Paul and Mike Engelage driving against the IEHO Garage with Francis McEntee and Mickey Hurtado at the controls. Matt took the honors with 52 laps, a main high count for laps. Mike was just short of 52 with a 51 lap count and had Francis along side, one lap down at 50. Mickey was passed for position in the last heat by Francis and finished just a few inches behind Mike and Francis. It was an awesome run for the guys. The B and A mains had very few wrecks. Mike Engelage was a welcome sight, back on the scene after a hiatus. It took awhile for him to shake off the rust. Congrats go out to Matt for building some awesome cars. They were quiet and fast and there was no pass and crash today, as Matt was on a mission. Mike and the IEHO guys just held on for dear life. Matt built it, brought it and finished with flying colors. Next race will be at Saugus Speedway. Thanks to Tom for inviting us out. I hope to see you all there.
Saturday April 21st... The garage doors rolled up just after 8am and Gene Bellegarde was first to show up and immediately began to assist with getting the track and facilities ready for the day’s racing (thanks Geno). When we were all accounted for, there were seven very evenly matched racers ready to test their Fray racing skills once again on the Scott Dunlap masterpiece – Cowles Mtn Raceway. Not our usual showing but we were competing with Eddie Torres and had a couple of club members that had family matters to attend to [our thoughts are with Chris Jackson (very ill Father in Law) & Ty Brittain (emergency back surgery for his wife)].
We decided to start the day off with a qualifying session (1 minute) on the Blue lane. First up was Matt Paul who wasted no time by laying down a smokin’ record 6.181 fast lap. Next up was Gene Bellegarde running an IEHO sled and turning in a 6.781. It’s good having Geno back in the fold as he continues to improve. Michael Hurtado was next up and laid down a 6.477 fast lap. Local racer Francis McEntee also running an IEHO prepped car was up next and posted a very respectable 6.369. Mickey Hurtado was up next and posted a 6.440. Ron Stock was next and had a very fast lap time of 6.266. Last up was host Scott Ellis who started right out of the gate with a 6.205. However, he still had plenty of time left and seemed like a rookie until his very last lap and posted a new record 6.172 as time expired! Qualifying can be pretty anxious…
Results
Scott Ellis 6.172
Matt Paul 6.181
Ron Stock 6.266
Frances McEntee 6.369
Mickey Hurtado 6.440
Michael Hurtado 6.477
Gene Bellegarde 6.781
The racing schedule was to feature two - timed 3 minute heat round robins. The first would be a preliminary round and the second would be our final. In the first round robin, most racers were laying down laps of 23 to 26. However, there was an occasional 27 being thrown in. When the dust settled, it was host SCOTT ELLIS in first place with 106 laps followed by MATT PAUL with 104 laps, followed by FRANCIS McENTEE beating out MICKEY HURTADO by less than half a lap. They both had 103 laps (who says track familiarity doesn’t count for anything?). MICHAEL HURTADO was next with 101 laps, followed by Gene BELLEGARDE with 98 laps and finally RON STOCK with 95 laps. There was a lot of very tight racing with not much need for marshalling during that round. We decided to take a short break, had lunch, discussed everything under the sun and got ready for the final round.
In round 2 (and final), the usual improvements in lap times and counts happened once again! Scott Ellis was first again with an identical 106 laps. However, Mickey H. ran very strong in the final by over taking Matt P. but coming up just short with 105 laps for second place. Matt Paul was third posting another 104 laps followed by Francis McEntee also improving to 104 laps but losing out on track position to Matt P. Michael Hurtado and Ron Shartau were next both having 102 laps with Michael H. having track position. Gene Bellegarde was next with 97 laps after changing cars for the final. As you can see, this was a very evenly matched group of racers. Thanks to all the guys who came out for the race.
Even though we didn’t have a great showing of club members, we all had a good fun filled, and action packed race day. The final standings were…
1. Scott Ellis 106
2. Mickey Hurtado 105
3. Matt Paul 104
4. Francis McEntee 104
5. Michael Hurtado 102
6. Ron Shartau 102
7. Gene Bellegarde 97
The pits opened at 8:00 am and the IEHO guys were there on time. Matt, from MP racing fame was next up and RonStock was close behind. Michael commented to me that the serious racers were the first to show up. We had an early date at UTI for an open house and testing for a scholarship opportunity. We got a primo executive pit spot and headed out as Willey showed up. We managed to get back about 11:00, in time to find out that a small group had headed over to the airport area to have breakfast. After a few more practice laps on Scott’s newest creation, with six lanes, we headed out for a bite to eat ourselves. When we got back, Scott put out the word that qualifying would start at 12:30. We got in some more practice as Scott’s newest layout, my favorite so far, is extremely challenging. It has spots that are very fast and tricky, with gotchas in spots where you’re lulled into a false sense of security. They just sneak right up on you at the least convenient places. I love it. Qualifying, on the orange lane, produced the following results:
1. Scott Dunlap 8.512
2. RonStock 8.548
3. Michael Hurtado 8.912
4. Scott Ellis 9.093
5. Willey 9.219
6. Mickey Hurtado 9.228
7. Rocky German 9.254
8. Eddie Torres 9.294
9. Matt Paul 9.539
10. Frances McEntee 9.675
11. Kyle Bowman 9.718
12. Gene Bellegarde 9.744
13. Rob Bowman 9.929
14. Steve Kuberski 9.965
15. Chris Jackson 10.101
Rounds 1 and 2 found Ronstock and our host, Scott Dunlap at the top of the heap. This is what seeded our finals. Ronstock left early to check out racing at Irwindale Speedway and Scott had mercy on us and opted to sit out the finals. This is a good time to mention that we had some newer faces and some guys who had been absent for awhile. Steve Kuberski has come out, and joined us once before. We were happy to have him out. Gene Bellegarde hasn’t raced with us for a number of years. He hails from the San Diego area and came up with Scott and Frances. Rocky came out after a short hiatus from the regular So Cal series and Eddie Torres, of magnet racing fame, came out to help promote his next magnet car race on April 21st on his BuckTrack rendition of the old Riverside Raceway. Mickey Hurtado, writer and proprietor of IEHO Raceway, chose to race what could very well be the only race in So Cal on Scott’s track. “It’s my favorite that Scott’s ever built and the opportunity to race on it before it gets shipped out to parts unknown drew me to race, if just for the one time.” Thanks Scott. The finals ended as follows:
- Rocky German 74
- Mickey Hurtado 73
- Scott Ellis 72
- Matt Paul 71
- Willey 68
- Michael Hurtado 66
Rocky made an awesome return with his MP racing rig. There’s no one who I could think that I would rather finish 2nd to, except maybe Michael, or someone else driving an IEHO powered car. Scott Ellis’ rig was powered by Jocham power. 4th and 5th had MP racing power and 6th was also IEHO powered. The next race is scheduled for Scott Ellis’ lair in San Diego, California on my second favorite Dunlap Motorplex track. The firm date will be posted on the front page of my site.
Take care --Mic
Slideways at Eastridge
The atmosphere was a casual one as racers arrived at the home of Greg and Cindy Davis for a day of fun running fray chassis shod with Tuff One silicones out back and injection molded bodies. From the pre-race warm up, to the start of the race, it was apparent who came to win and who came for fun. Greg, who is always strong on his home track and was fresh off his best performance at the fray looked very fast and hooked up. He hooked up David Anderson, from the Pound, with a set of cut and trued rear tires and a nicely decaled Challenger body. His car looked good too. David swapped bodies after trying out a JL Camaro. Doug Brown looked right at home as he got dialed in with his car. Tom’s JL Mustang was really fast. The guy who looked the most intimidating was RonStock. He wore his game face pretty much the whole day. I got the IEHO team cars mounted with tires and bodies there at Greg’s Garage. I used a compound that was a little harder than the Wizzards most guys were running and it was a definite handicap. Frances was the sole driver of a nice looking SWB ’69 Camaro in yellow with the dual stripes. Liam got to drive an IEHO prepped ’69 Corvette which slipped through tech without so much as a second glance. It wasn’t the traditional Trans Am body, so it was dubbed the official pace car. After the first round, which I didn’t get the final results for, we broke for lunch. It was very casual and a good time was the main emphasis today. We had no whining about dust on the track or pushing the program along so that people could get home before the street lights came on. Greg’s lunch was awesome, as usual, and the brownies for dessert were excellent. Folks adjusted set ups and we ran a second round. Final results were as follows:
1. Doug Brown 78
2. Greg Davis 78
3. RonStock 75
4. David Anderson 71
5. Tom Giese 71
6. Ty Brittain 71
7. Mickey Hurtado 71
8. Michael Hurtado 71
9. Frances McEntee 70
10. Liam Anderson 58
It was about 3:00 pm and we discussed running an elimination/move-up round, but called it a day to allow some of the guys who had made a long drive the option to get home early. RonStock was prepared to pay out the bounty he had offered to the top drivers and top team in the IEHO vs San Diego match up at the fray. With the absence of anyone from San Diego, he decided to wait until another time. Most of the guys stayed for awhile longer running laps and enjoying some track time and friendly conversation about the fray and the rest of the Spring series. I will not coordinate the rest of the Spring series so that I can get my long neglected home redecorated and presentable, by my wife’s standards. She’s been a real trooper, allowing us to race there with the place as run down looking as it has become over the 20+ years we’ve lived there. The lack of communication over what the group wanted to run and discovery that slip-ons weren’t the ticket made my decision to take a break easier. I’d have loved to run fray cars again, if I had been told that from the start, some 2 months ago. Some folks just chose to not say anything until 3 or 4 days before the race day. With the time I had already invested in publicizing the series with posts on my site, communication with the guys from AZ, who planned on attending in April, and multiple attempts at trying to get some input, with little to no feedback, I chose to do right by my family and invest the time in them and their well being. I had already given over and above the call of duty, took potshots and…blah blah blah. I’ll make some local test n tunes and provide cars for my drivers, should someone decide to take the helm and fill in the blanks for the race dates that are left. I’ll be back in September to head up the Equinox in the Empire event scheduled for the Comfort Inn banquet hall again like last year, as well as the fray prep series. I’ll continue to maintain the site and post any race information that is forwarded to me.
Take care --Mic
011407 fray prep race
Gettin’ down at The Pound
Well, first I thought I should shed some light on how we got the name, The Pound. When I first started wiring up David’s old Scenic 70 Tomy magnet car track, I kept referring to it as the LB (for Long Beach) magnet car track. With LB the abbreviation for pound, the transition seemed quite natural to me.
Racers began arriving at the prescribed 9:00 am pit opening and the talk was of the cold and the fact that So Cal was experiencing an unusually cold couple of weeks. David met us out front and was finishing getting everything in order for the arrival of the racers. There was some obvious nervous anticipation on David’s part. This would be David’s first as the part of host. His new place was very racer friendly with plenty of room to pit and the whole 1.5 car garage to house the track. David had a small area heater and multiple drop lights that doubled as not just sources of heat but as illumination for the track. It had hit below freezing temperatures the night before and the So Cal contingent isn’t used to these extreme temperatures. Many thanks go out to David, his TM (track manager) Caroline and the kids for having us over. Caroline was putting the finishing touches on a large pot of soup as we welcomed ourselves into their abode.
Practice quickly ensued and we waited for people to get their cars set up just right for the Dunlap Motorplex routed track that David had just acquired. We jumped into round one and ran one big round robin with all 12 drivers in it. Our newest racer was Liam Anderson and he is officially the youngest driver to run with us in one our fray prep races. Liam is 5 and ran an IEHO prepped Greg Davis bodied 550 Maranello with a VRC controller. Liam did very well for his first time out and David says he really enjoys running the fray cars. Liam’s obviously got some skills. I look forward to seeing him at more of our races in the future. I love hearing him talk to Mom in German. At 5 years old he’s already bilingual.
I can't forget to mention special thanks to Jeremy Hurtado, who made the trip down to the pound just to run the computer and the race program for the day. Thanks a bunch Jeremy.
First round results for the 3 minute timed heats were as follows:
1. Rick Jocham 106
2. David Anderson 102
3. Greg Davis 99
4. Mike Engelage 99
5. Tom Giese 97
6. Mickey Hurtado 96
7. Scott Dunlap 96
8. Michael Hurtado 93
9. Greg Willey 93
10.Chris Jackson 91
11.Matt Paul 88
12.Liam Anderson 81
A close examination of the power supply revealed that we had run the first round on just 18 volts. We bumped her up to 20 volts for the second round. the order was shuffled and a second round robin run. Results for the 3 minute timed heats were:
1. Mike Engelage 112
2. Rick Jocham 104
3. Greg Davis 103
4. David Anderson 103
5. Scott Dunlap 103
6. Michael Hurtado 101
7. Tom Giese 100
8. Mickey Hurtado 98
9. Matt Paul 96
10.Chris Jackson 92
11.Greg Willey 91
12.Liam Anderson 78
The results from round 2 seeded the drivers for a main pitting Liam, Willey Chris and Matt to drive off in a fray style 10 lap sprint. Winner gets 4 points, 2nd place 3 points and so on. The highest scorer after everyone runs all 4 lanes was a tie among 3 drivers with 12 points each. Willey won 2 heats, the others only 1 each. Willey moves up to the next main against Tom, Mickey and Michael. Michael walked away with 4 straight wins. The senior Hurtado was next best at 10. Tom finished with 8. Wiley scored 6. Michael was up against Scott, David and Greg. The top 2 scorers in this round would run against Mike and Rick in the final. Greg scored highest with 14. Michael scored 11. They moved up. David scored 8 and Scott had 7. So it would be Greg and Michael from the B main, against Mike and Rick. Mike ran Rick’s hot rod in this second round. Rick ran a pos (joking, but not really) he borrowed. He later upgraded to something out of his box. Mike had a near perfect score. Michael stole one away from him and was second with 10. Rick scored 9 and Greg had 6. I like this format. You get some more driving and it’s a good lead in to the fray. Thanks again to David and to all of the racers who braved the cold. Liam, great job. We hope to run with you again.
I spoke with Chris, and he's agreed to hold the last fray prep day at Action Speedway with the lock and joiner and the routed track open for racing. Once all are there, we will decide if we want to run a race or just a testing and final tuning session in prep for our quest for the fray. Thanks to Chris and Cynthia for allowing us to invade their space for the 3rd time in as many months.
Fray Racing Series
(Presented by IEHO Racing)
A Division of TRAC
Jocham Wins Another Tough Battle
At Scott Ellis’ – Cowles Mtn Raceway
Saturday December 16th... The garage doors rolled up just after 8am and racers started showing up and grabbing the prime pitting spots. When we were all accounted for, there were twelve racers ready to test their Fray racing skills once again on the Scott Dunlap masterpiece – Cowles Mtn Raceway. As usual, we had representation from all three Southern California Fray Teams.
The racing schedule was to feature two - timed 3 minute heat round robins with. The laps would be added together from the round robins for seating in the championship round which would be run Fray style (10 lap heats). In the first round robin, most racers were laying down laps of 23 to 25. However, there was an occasional 26 or 27 being thrown in. When the dust settled, it was track builder SCOTT DUNLAP in first place with 104 laps followed by TY BRITTAIN with 103 laps, followed by RICK JOCHAM, MATT PAUL and host SCOTT ELLIS all at 101 laps. GREG DAVIS and FRANCIS McEntee both had 100 laps with MICHAEL and MICKEY HURTADO coming in with 98 laps, VICTOR LICAUSI was next at 97. TOM GIESE was next with 96 laps and CHRIS JACKSON had 94 LAPS. We decided to take a short break (except for SCOTT DUNLAP who went back to his pit and decided to build another rocket) and go right into the second round robin and race until Scott E’s lovely wife SUSAN showed up with lunch.
In round 2, it was obvious that the racers were becoming more familiar with the track’s layout as lap times started going down and lap counts began to climb. JOCHAM finally tuned his sled just right and laid down a whopping 108 laps. TOM GIESE also racing a re-tuned Jocham special was next at 105 laps. That was a seven lap improvement over round 1 – Tom continues to show he’s come down a steep learning curve and plans to be a force in the club. DUNLAP and BRITTAIN were next with 105 laps each followed by SCOTT ELLIS with 104 laps. MICHAEL HURTADO was next with 103 laps followed by MATT PAUL & GREG DAVIS WITH 102 laps each. FRANCIS McEntee and MICKEY HURTADO both had 98 laps followed by CHRIS JACKSON at 96 and VICTOR LICAUSI (who had a couple of really good cars) at 94 laps.
We used the lap totals from round 2 to break any ties…when the lap totals were added together it was JOCHAM and DUNLAP both at 209 laps and advancing to the Final, followed by local racer TY BRITTAIN at 208, then ELLIS with 205. Next was MATT PAUL with 203, DAVIS with 202, TOM G. and MICHAEL H. with 201, F. McEntee with 198, MICKEY H. with 196, VICTOR L. with 191 and ACTION JACKSON with 190 laps. We finished lunch, made final adjustments to our cars and prepared for the very difficult Fray Style Championship Round.
The Championship Round would be two quarter final races with one racer from each moving into a semi-final race against BRITTAIN & ELLIS. Then two racers from the semi-final round would move into the Final against JOCHAM & DUNLAP.
The 1st quarterfinal matched Francis McEntee, Mickey H, Licausi. and Jackson for the prized move-up. Licausi finally seemed to get it together and won three of the four heats for 14 points and moving up to the semi-final. Jackson had three seconds grabbing 10 points followed by Francis McEntee and Mickey both at 8 points with Francis having won one heat and taking third place.
The 2nd quarterfinal matched M. Paul, Tom G., Greg D and Michael H. for the last coveted move-up. It was M. Paul finally putting it together and taking two of the four heats for 13 points and moving up. Tom G. and Greg D. both had 11 points with Tom having being slightly more consistent than Greg followed by Michael H. who never seemed to have his usual strongly prepped IEHO car this day.
The semi final was set… Brittain, Ellis, Licausi and Paul were ready to battle for two prized move-up spots and a chance at Jocham and Dunlap who both needed NO extra tuning time! When the semi final round got going, host Ellis took no chances, had some luck staying out of trouble and won all four heats, grabbing a perfect 16 points and the first move-up. Next was fellow Team San Diego driver Paul with 10 points and a move-up followed by IEHO teammates Licausi and Brittain with 8 and 6 points and finishing 5th & 6th respectively? It was Brittian who seemed to have had bad luck in the semi-final and finishing the day in sixth place. Ty had a very strong car all day.
The Final was set…Jocham, Dunlap, Ellis and Paul vying for king of the day! When the final round got under way, it was Jocham and Dunlap battling for 1st and 2nd. When the dust finally settled, it was Jocham in first place with 13 points, Dunlap in second place with 11 points, Ellis in third place with 9 points and Paul in fourth place with 7 points.
This was a chilly race day but we all endured, had a good fun filled, and action packed race day. I’ll take a shot a the final standings…
Final Finishing Order
1. Rick Jocham
2. Scott Dunlap
3. Scott Ellis
4. Matt Paul
5. Victor Licausi
6. Ty Brittain
7. Tom Giese
8. Greg Davis
9. Chris Jackson
10. Francis McEntee
11. Mickey Hurtado
12. Michael Hurtado
Action Speedway
120206 Redhill Fray prep race
Qualifying
1. Mike Engelage 7.254
2. Michael Hurtado 7.274
3. Matt Paul 7.472
4. Greg Davis 7.483
5. Ron Stock 7.511
6. Doug Brown 7.590
7. Scott Ellis 7.703
8. Mickey Hurtado 7.778
9. Victor Licausi 7.855
10. Tom Giese 7.896
11. Ty Brittain 8.098
12. Action Jackson 8.150
13 Frances McEntee 8.469
San Gabriel Valley Raceway
111906 Fray prep race
1. Matt Paul 7.680 winner A main
2. Ron Stock 7.685
3. Scott Ellis 7.877
4. Rick Jocham N/A
5. Douge Brown 7.896 winner B main
6. Michael Hurtado 7.932
7. Mickey Hurtado 8.069
8. Mike Engelage N/A
9. Scott Dunlap 7.728
10. Vic Licausi 7.983 winner C main
11. Greg Willey 7.920
12. Greg Davis 7.880
13. Ty Brittain 7.946
14 David Anderson 7.856 winner D main
15. Tom Giese 8.186
16. Chris Jackson 7.982
17. Francis McEntee 8.788
18. Joe Castellanos 9.361
A Main
Matt
Scott E
Rick
Ron
B Main
Mike
Doug
Michael
Mickey
Scott D
C Main
Willey
Victor
Ty
Greg D
D Main
Chris
Joe
Francis
David
Tom
Dunlap Motorplex fray prep race
November 4th, 2006
The day started early with racers arriving well after the posted 7:00 am opening for practice. Qualifying started at about 10:30am. Here are the results
1. Rick Jocham 5.27
2. Scott Dunlap 5.28
3. Mickey Hurtado 5.32
4. Doug Brown 5.33
5. Michael Hurtado 5.35
6. Greg Davis 5.36
7. Matt Paul 5.39
8. Andrew Davis 5.52
9. Greg Willey 5.62
10. Tom Giese 5.63
11. Chris Jackson 5.73
12. Rob Bowman 5.75
13. Kyle Bowman 5.81
Doug Brown qualified for Rick Jocham and ran a better time than his own. Rick arrived right after qualifying and jumped right in to marshal during the first few heats. Due to a problem getting accurate information, the rest of this is winged. I only know the top 5 finishing positions. The first round, I’m not sure how we finished. Due to time constraints, a second round robin, the same as the first was run. The So Cal drivers were the class of the field. Rick and Doug pretty well walked away with the top 2 positions after Michael Hurtado jumped lanes and elected to unhook and walk away during the second round. He was lured back after being informed that Greg Davis’ front end had detached itself from the chassis. He and Scott Dunlap appeared to be the only ones who had anything for the fray individual finalists from the 2006 fray. The top 5, by my recollection were:
Rick Jocham 133 laps
Doug Brown 131 laps
Scott Dunlap 131 laps
Mickey Hurtado 125 laps
Tom Giese 125 laps
The next race will be at San Gabriel Raceway in Covina, CA. It’s Matt’s place, where he is characteristically strong. The silly season is in full force as the So Cal teams jockey for new members and a new alignment. Nothing has been set in stone, only speculation, with the founding of the new Inland Empire team. Rock Island/LA now appears to be defunct as members of its team, Mickey Hurtado, Michael Hurtado and Vic Licausi are the foundation for the IEHO team. Ty Brittain, former founding member of the San Diego team, will join the new Inland Empire team. The rest of the team is yet to be determined. The So Cal team and San Diego team are still in a state of change and I’ll give their line ups as soon as they’ve been determined.
Chris Jackson has acquired the Bowman routed track previously owned by Gary Patton, a former So Cal team member. Acquisition of this track puts the Southern California group in a prime position to be very set up for the Bowman routed tracks up at the fray. Chris has committed to hold the December 2nd race at Action Speedway, and will feature the introductory race on the former Arlington Raceway. It will be a B.Y.O.L. (bring your own lunch) affair. There are many fast food joints within a close proximity of the Action Speedway in Upland, CA. I’ll report on the race at the San Gabriel raceway as soon after the race as possible and assure that I get accurate and complete results prior to leaving Matt’s place.
Action Speedway fray prep race
October 21, 2006
The morning was beautiful in the foothills of Upland, California. Racers began arriving about 8:30 for the second fray prep race of the TRAC (Thunderjet Racing Association of California) season. The venue is a six lane lock and joiner facsimile of the blue track up in Ferndale, California. 13 drivers rolled in and by 10:30 am we lined up for a quick tech involving a check of width and weight. IEHO made some changes to bring up our cars to the 20 gram minimum. Everyone else adjusted front axle keepers or pushed in rear tires to get under the 1.3125” max width allowed. For a change of pace we ran qualifying laps for a minute in the orange lane. It was immediately evident who were contenders and who were pretenders. TQ was Michael Hurtado in his IEHO prepped Moonstone Mustang with a lap of 9.229. Matt Paul with his MP racing Toyota was 2nd @ 9.245 and Ty Brittain rounded out the top 3 with his IEHO prepped Enzo @ 9.254. We went into a round robin of the top six qualifiers with fray style scoring. That was followed by a second round robin of the lower qualifying seven drivers. The overall results were surprising, not that Scott Ellis from the San Diego team took the top spot with 33 points, great job Scott, but that our newest racer, Tom Giese ran his IEHO prepped Alfa to a second overall spot with 26 points. Greg Davis and Doug Brown, both So Cal drivers, were tied at 25 points with Doug getting the nod with his higher qualifying position. Mickey Hurtado was fifth with 24 points and then Ty in a 3 way tie with Chris Jackson and Francis McEntee at 21 points got the sixth spot with 21 points.
Chris Wife, Cynthia treated us to a delicious buffet of tacos with two choices of meat and all of the fixins. Thanks so much to Chris and Cynthia for having us and for all of their work prepping the track. Mickey, Cynthia and Chris spent about 14 hours peeling off the old lane marking tape and applied ¼” round circles, cut in half to each and every lane of each and every piece of lock and joiner in Chris’ layout. The results were very clean looking and there were no problems marshalling as the lane color indicators made it very clear what the lane colors were.
The afternoon race was run as timed heats of 3 minutes in each lane and each driver picked up where they left off on the last lane they ran. Drivers came in on the toughest blue lane and exited on red making it a straight rotation across the track from left to right.
This was a bit more grueling than the 10 lap and done race from the morning. Rick Jocham had joined us for the afternoon race. There was a lot of racing action and the marshalling was pretty good all day long with only a couple of marshals caught grandstanding instead of watching their areas. Karma can be a bear, so you guys who were the culprits, better watch out. We ran 2 round robins of 7 drivers and the first group marked their finishing positions until the second finished. The first round had Mickey at the top with 98 laps, Matt was second with 97 laps, Greg, Tom and Ty all tied at 96 laps with Ty taking it, by position, over Greg and Tom respectively. Tom lost nearly a full lap when he hooked up his controller wrong when on the yellow lane. Then came Francis with 94 laps and Kyle with 83 laps.
The second round was stepped up quite a bit. Doug Brown took top honors with 101 laps. That’s why they call him the Iceman. Michael Hurtado was on fire and finished with 99 laps. Rick Jocham followed with 98 laps using an experimental car. Thanks for having mercy on us. Then came Scott Ellis with 96 laps, Andrew Davis with 94 laps Chris Jackson with 93 laps and Rob with 89 laps. Mickey Hurtado had to leave for work and missed the finals, which involved the top six from the combined 2 rounds.
Rick kicked it up a notch for the win, Doug Brown took second, Ty Brittain took third, Matt Paul was fourth, Michael Hurtado was fifth and Greg Davis who stepped in for Mickey Hurtado was sixth. It was a fun day. I wish that I could’ve stuck around for the fun in the finals, but duty called. The next race will be at Scott Dunlap’s Dunlap Motorplex, just down the road a piece, also in Upland, California.
Rick Jocham, Chris Jackson, Mickey and Michael Hurtado will be joining the BAYHOGGs at SFHORA this weekend for some hot laps on Saturday night and racing on Sunday. It promises to be a hotly contested race as some of So Cal’s best tuners and racers, of late, go up against the HOGGs on their home turf. This will be fray prep at it’s finest as So Cal faces off again against the Bay Area. All three of their fray teams will be represented as will all 3 of So Cal’s fray teams. I’m looking forward to some great racing and better camaraderie. It promises to lift the level of competition even more at the next fray.
Come on down to Scott’s on Saturday, November 4th. Scott’s offered up 2 tickets to any out of town racer who’s willing to make the flight out and will put them up for the night as well, if needed. Contact myself or Scott for more details.
Remember, it’s just toy car racing. Enjoy it. Later --Mic
Inland Empire HO
Racing
2006
Thunder Rumbles at Eastridge
A cool, late-April day and the allure of some heated competition, brought 13 racers to Greg Davis’ sweet, sweeping 4-lane Tomy creation …. The Eastridge Raceway. A location that finds one only minutes from Southern California’s finest skiing, it was a long schlep for many of the racers but, undaunted, several drove 2-4 hours to face off on the track…oh yes..AND for the opportunity to talk some trash! For the second consecutive race, GLENN GORDON from the AHORA gang in Arizona, joined in the competition. This time, he brought with him, a newcomer to our So Cal racing, a nice guy and good competitor, MICHAEL ALLBRIGHT, who would drive a Frayjet for his very first time. That was great to see. When you’re used to JL’s with slip-ons, a Frayjet is like a Formula 1 car! Watching Michael’s face on his first few frayjet laps was great. Welcome, Michael…we’re glad to have you race with us!
After a leisurely couple of hours of practice, it seemed as though everyone had an Old n’ Nasty car that was acceptable to race so, we decided to scrap the IROC format for this class. It was great to see all of these old school cars dukin’ it out! Admittedly, this class is swiftly becoming a favorite of this writer/racer, and several others. It’s great racing and the competition is fierce.
After the flip of the coin to see which class would be run first, the racing began. The Old n’ Nasty Series was first. Since it was not going to be an IROC race, we decided to forego the qualifying and jump right into the racing. In an effort to give everybody good track time, we decided to run a big, long Round Robin, consisting of (4) 3-minute heats. The top 6 racers would move up to a Semi and a Final.
Davis Duo DominatesAs the racing began, heat totals were hovering in the 15-17 lap neighborhood. There were a few 13’s and 14’s, as well, and the dreaded Red lane became quickly recognized as ‘The Survival Lane’. About midway through the field, host GREG DAVIS stepped up to the track and turned up the heat, posting a 17 on Red, surrounded by a pair of 18’s and the day’s first 19, for a slammin’ 72 lap total! A few racers later, the only other 19 of the day was recorded by SCOTT DUNLAP, who finished closest to DAVIS but, still 3 laps back, with a 69. MICKEY HURTADO and FRANCIS MCENTEE were both right in the hunt as well, each with 68 laps. The last two to make the move up to the Semi-Final, were ROCKY GERMAN and ANDREW DAVIS, both posting 67 lap totals. Narrowly missing the move up were SCOTT ELLIS and, returning after a LONG layoff, TY BRITTAIN, both finishing with 66 laps. Welcome back TY!
In the Semi-Final, the format changed to lap racing, with 10-lap heats. At the onset of the action, it was the younger DAVIS out to the early lead, taking the first heat and collecting 4 points. This young racer has come a long way in a short amount of time to become a racer that’s a major competitor and a force to be reckoned with. MCENTEE was just off the pace and took the runner up spot for the heat. In the next heat, GERMAN stepped up from an unlikely place, the Yellow gutter lane, to take heat #2. DAVIS was right behind and added 3 more points to his total. At this point of the race, MCENTEE was at the bottom of the heap with 4 points but, had yet to hit either of ‘The Money Lanes’. Once he did, he made his presence known, as he moved to the front and took first place on both the White and the Blue lane. MCENTEE’S efforts were just enough to sneak by DAVIS, as he took the top honors by a 12-11 score! Awesome run, Francis! HURTADO and GERMAN fought a hard battle but, both came up short, with 9 and 8 points, respectively.
The Final/Main Event was set, as GREG DAVIS and DUNLAP entered the arena with MCENTEE and ANDREW DAVIS. Once again, it was A. DAVIS stepping up and capturing the first heat, from the White lane. G. DAVIS was right behind on the Yellow lane, capturing second place and 3 points. MCENTEE took the third spot and DUNLAP, on the survival lane, did just that, collecting 1 point for the fourth spot. At this point, G. DAVIS proceeded to ‘clean house’, posting two consecutive wins for 8 more points, and all but wrapped up a first place finish. In the last heat of the race, MCENTEE made his last effort to make the podium, which proved to be successful, by virtue of his first place finish on the White lane, giving him a total of 8 points and a tie with DUNLAP for the third spot on the podium. A. DAVIS ran a very consistent race as he quietly amassed 11 points, finishing off the DAVIS one-two punch.
GREG DAVIS’ winning car was a sweet 1966 Ford Fairlane, from Johnny Lightning. The car was well tuned and looked as good as it ran! Congratulations, Greg, for a job well done!
Davis Continues DominanceAfter a break for lunch, provided by Greg and his Mrs., (and I might add, quite a nice spread of homemade fried chicken, tater salad, and more!), the qualifying for the Fray portion of the day began. This time, the race was in the IROC format and proved to be a good, close one. DAVIS, by virtue of his Old n’ Nasty win, was first to qualify. After a couple of laps to get up to speed, DAVIS set the mark, laying down a blazing 8.366 second lap. The younger DAVIS was next up and he laid down a very fast 8.577. A couple more racers laid down times in the high 8’s and the low 9’s, until DUNLAP stepped up with his speedy frayjet, and stole the ‘outside pole’ from ANDREW DAVIS, burning up the track with a lap of 8.480. MICKEY HURTADO was next up with a speedster of his own, posting an 8.888 (crazy 8’s) lap, making his the fourth car to be used in the race. That was a good plan until SCOTT ELLIS drove his Corvette to an 8.860 second lap, swiping the spot of the fourth IROC car by 28/1000 of a second!
The qualifying was just a preview of what was to come in the race, with regards to how close so many of the drivers were. We tried something that was a bit confusing at the onset but, got easier as the race went on and proved to be a successful format. What that was, was an IROC round robin, comprised of timed heats (3 minutes each). Once we got the system figured out, it provided for an extremely close race.
As racing began, most drivers were posting 18 and 19 lap heat totals. There were a few 20’s and then (guess who..) GREG DAVIS laid down the day’s only 21! When the round was over, DAVIS emerged as the winner of the round robin, with a 79 lap total, a full 3 laps ahead of EVERYBODY else! However, from second place on down the list, this was one of the closest battles that we’ve ever seen, as 10 of the remaining 12 drivers had between 74 and 76 laps. The move-up was not set until the final heat!
The move-up was the top 6 finishers, with 3 thru 6 facing off in a Semi Final, with the top 2 finishers going to the Final/Main against the top 2 finishers from the round robin. Needless to say, DAVIS was sitting on top and had a bye, followed by a trip directly to the Main. The battle for that second ‘sit out’ spot was a great battle between the younger DAVIS and ROCKY GERMAN, both finishing with 76 laps, well on their way to 77. DAVIS prevailed by a matter of a few feet, and joined his dad to watch the Semi, where GERMAN would now have to keep his pace up to move into the Main. Joining GERMAN in the Semi, were 4th place round robin finisher, FRANCIS MCENTEE , with 76 laps, finishing just behind GERMAN, and 5th and 6th place finishers, MICKEY HURTADO and TY BRITTAIN, both with 75 laps. Missing the Semi by one lap or less were MICHAEL HURTADO, SCOTT DUNLAP, SCOTT ELLIS, MATT PAUL, and GLENN GORDON! That is 11 of 13 racers who could have made it to the Semi and or Main! How close do ya want it?!!
In the Semi, the format went to lap races (10 per heat), with fray style scoring. As it began, GERMAN continued the pace he had established in the Round Robin, taking 3rd place on the 2 gutter lanes, accompanied by 1st place finishes on both of the middle lanes, totaling 12 points and enough to win the Semi and move up to the Main. Going into the last heat, that second move up spot was still undecided. Any of the other 3 drivers had a chance to make that move but, it was MCENTEE, rising to the occasion, capturing that last heat and the 4th spot in the Main. MCENTEE’S final heat burst, propelled him to an 11 point finish. BRITTAIN and HURTADO finished the battle with 9 and 8 points respectively. A great run for both of you racers and a special ‘attaboy’ goes out to BRITTAIN, for such a strong performance after such a long absence!
It was time for the main and the DAVIS DUO stepped up to the track to see if they would continue their dominance. In the first heat, G DAVIS had his way with the field, taking the win from the Blue ‘money’ lane, and collecting 4 points. Running strong on the other inside lane was MCENTEE, who held on to take second in the heat and the three points to go with it. A DAVIS had a strong run on the Yellow gutter lane, trying to keep pace with MCENTEE , falling just short for the third place finish and 2 points. GERMAN ate his helping of Red lane ‘humble pie’ and took his one point. In the second heat, the DAVIS’ were on the gutter lanes and much of the race was in the middle lanes between GERMAN and MCENTEE. This was one of several battles between these two drivers, throughout the Main, and MCENTEE held off the GERMAN attack, time after time to always get the extra point. In this heat, MCENTEE collected 4 big points and GERMAN added 3 to his total. The senior DAVIS won the battle of the gutters, collecting 2 points, leaving one for son, ANDREW. G DAVIS nearly edged out GERMAN for the second position, as a last minute attempt to pass led us to our first ‘Instant Replay’ ever. The IEHO video crew was on scene and shooting the Main. As GERMAN and DAVIS crossed the line, it was actually too close to call. Everybody saw the finish but, it was just tooo close! So, we all looked to MICHAEL HURTADO, who was running the camera. We went back and viewed the finish, several times and in slow motion, finally to determine that GERMAN did indeed hold off DAVIS by about a half of an inch! Aaahhh, technology! At the halfway point, it was MCENTEE, poised to upset the pole sitting host, as he had 7 points to DAVIS’ 6 points. The third heat is the heat that made the entire difference and revealed who would win the race, as G DAVIS actually won the heat from the Red lane! This was the only time during the entire day that this happened and it turned out to be the right time. This cinched the race for DAVIS…he couldn’t be beaten or even tied! So, the big race was for second place. GERMAN eliminated himself from the running, posting a last place finish on the Blue lane (where you’re supposed to finish first!), and securing a strong hold on a 4th place finish for the race. MCENTEE had A DAVIS by 3 points going into the last heat but, he was on the dreaded Red lane. A DAVIS was on the Blue lane but, Dad was on the other inside lane. ANDREW needed to win the heat to tie MCENTEE. It was a great last heat, as the two DAVIS’ really duked it out but, alas, age won out over youth, as G DAVIS won the heat, collecting 4 points, en route to a 14 point race total for the win! Awesome run, Greg! MCENTEE’S lead over the younger DAVIS did prove to be just insurmountable, as he took second place honors by one point, 10-9. Great job, Francis! And a great job by young ANDREW! Could we be looking at a possible future Rookie of the Year at a future Fray?...
This was a really fun, highly competitive race day that was enjoyed by all, regardless of finishing order. Everybody saw some good, close race action. Thanks to all who made the journey to Greg’s Garage. It was a class event and well worth the drive. Next race will be at Rick Jocham’s in May. C ya there!!
Finishing OrderOld n’ Nasty Frayjet
1. Greg Davis 1. Greg Davis
2. Andrew Davis 2. Francis McEntee
3. Scott Dunlap 3. Andrew Davis
3. Francis McEntee 4. Rocky German
5. Mickey Hurtado 5. Ty Brittain
6. Rocky German 6. Mickey Hurtado
7. Scott Ellis 7. Michael Hurtado
8. Ty Brittain 8. Scott Dunlap
9. Michael Hurtado 9. Scott Ellis
10. Matt Paul 10. Matt Paul
11. Michael Allbright 11. Glenn Gordon
12. Glenn Gordon 12. Michael Allbright
13. Joe Castellanos
R Mickey Hurtado
Email:
Ontario, CA 91764-2145
Website:
