The 2013 Slant 6 racing season began as it has for many years... On "The Strip"!

That's what they call the Las Vegas Motor Speedway dragstrip.

Scott Jones repeated his win from last year by beating PJ Jesiolowski in the final.

There were only 6 racers on hand for this kick off race.

Father and son team Doug and Allen Dutra towed in from Sunnyvale, CA.

Mark Etheridge was on hand with his chop top Valiant.

Rounding out the Vegas contingent was Rookie contender Jerry Keltner that raced here last year.

So, there you have it. It has begun!!

Winner and current points leader Scott Jones has only raced at Vegas, so I don't believe he will stay at the top of the leader board for long.

Same with Rookie leader Jerry Keltner.

(Gentlemen, I would love for you both to make it to more races and prove me wrong on this! )

PJ, along with her excellent crew chief and husband Edd Jesiolowski, will surely be making another run for the Championship this year!

It's a little early in the season for very accurate predictions, but I think we'll be seeing PJ's name on quite a few race rosters this season, to include one or more on the East side of the Mississippi!

Look for the Dutra Duo to continue to put points on the board as well.

Mark Etheridge hasn't posted much along the way of his plans for setting / re-setting any records this year. He's competing in a TV series called "Won or Done" from posts I've seen recently.

Luckily for Mark, it's an "Arm Drop" start...

Next up is the re-scheduled Mo-Kan race on April 20th sponsored by Team Green. Check the Event Calendar thread for your chance to win a Winchester Shot Gun!

(Thanks to PJ for waking Snagglepuss from his winter hibernation... )

I'm Rob "Snagglepuss" Simmons, your Slant 6 "Laff-A-Lympics" Drag Racing commentator, with the first report for our 2013 racing season.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

I just got the results for the Mo-Kan race and we have a new leader in the Rookie of the Year contest.

Rusty Heisten was driving one of the original Team Green machines (the Lancer) and was able to get around veteran racer and Team Green leader Mark Goodman.

Not only that, but he ran a 6.88 in the 1/8th mile doing it!
(And that was only the third break in run on a new engine and clutch. )

Some of you that watch the records may want to check that time against the B/A record... Brent Laney still holds the 1/4 mile record from 2003 in that very same car! That 6.88 looks awfully threatening to Ron Hamby's 1/8th mile record from 2006...

Day 2 of the Mo-Kan race was rained out, so it was re-scheduled for 20 April. Check out the flyer in the Event Calendar for your chance to win a Winchester shotgun.

http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=51612

What would a Championship thread update be without the roll up?

Here ya go!

Scott Jones.......................35
PJ Jesiolowski....................25
Mark Etheridge..................15
Rusty Heisten (Rookie).......15
Allen Dutra.........................5
Doug Dutra........................5
Jerry Keltner (Rookie).........5
Mark Goodman...................5

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

The results for the second Mo-Kan race are in and we've got more Rookies on the board with one of them taking the lead from Rusty Heisten.

Apparently Rookie Austin Goodman didn't take too kindly to Rusty beatin' one of his kin at the last race, so he decided to take over the lead in the Rookie Race and win himself a nice shotgun in the process.

(Hopefully that grudge thing was settled on the track and the shotgun will just be used for hunting... )

Mo-Kan #2 was all Rookies with Austin Goodman and Emily Booker returning for their second year of Slant 6 racing taking on new comers Rusty Heisten and Bill Barksdale.

(Veteran racer and Team Green leader Mark Goodman was happy to sit back and watch the young guns duke it out. )

The leader board is all red with nothing but Killer Bees so far with almost half of them being Rookies.

Next race on the schedule is another Killer Bees race at Redding, CA the weekend of 4-5 May. Then the action will head back East with an East Coasters race at Mason-Dixon Raceway in Hagerstown, MD.

Here is the updated Leader Board:

Scott Jones - 35
PJ Jesiolowski - 25
Austin Goodman (Rookie) - 25
Rusty Heisten (Rookie) - 20
Mark Etheridge - 15
Emily Booker (Rookie) - 15
Allen Dutra - 5
Doug Dutra - 5
Jerry Keltner (Rookie) - 5
Mark Goodman - 5
Bill Barksdale (Rookie) - 5

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Killer Bees posted the points for the Redding Race.

PJ Jesiolowski took the lead in National Points with her runner up finish on Saturday.

Wendy Pine took the #2 spot over Scott Jones by winning the event.

Two other round winners for Saturday's race were Andrew Howard and Mark Murray.

The other three racers for Saturday's windy event were:

Dana Prater in his beautiful black 68 Valiant making its debut appearance

Sergio Gonzales in a borrowed vehicle he won in last year

and

Terry Scott in his '67 "Six Shooter" Dart sporting its new police light bar.

Unfortunately, Big T had some teething problems with his new engine in the Six Shooter.

Former three time National Champion Glen Terry showed up to race on Sunday, borrowing back the vehicle Sergio raced on Saturday.

Rain cancelled Sunday's race though, so the five cars ready to race got the 5 rain out attendance points.

Here's the new National Points Roster:

..............................................Total.....Index..........Wins.....Rounds
PJ..Jesiolowski...........................55......0.6667...........4...........6
Wendy..Pine..............................40......1.0000...........3...........3
Scott..Jones...............................35......1.0000...........3...........3
Austin..Goodman.(Rookie)..........25......1.0000............2..........2
Rusty..Heisten.(Rookie)..............20......0.3333............1..........3
Andrew..Howard........................20......0.3333............1..........3
Mark..Murray.............................20......0.3333............1..........3
Mark..Etheridge.........................15......0.3333............1..........3
Emily..Booker.(Rookie)..............15......0.5000............1..........2
Allen..Dutra................................5......0.0000............0..........3
Doug..Dutra...............................5......0.0000.............0..........3
Jerry..Keltner.(Rookie)................5......0.0000.............0..........3
Mark..Goodman..........................5......0.0000.............0..........1
Bill..Barksdale.(Rookie)...............5......0.0000.............0..........2
Sergio..Gonzales........................5......0.0000.............0..........3
Glen..Terry................................5......0.0000.............0..........0
Dana..Prater..............................5......0.0000.............0..........3
Terry..Scott...............................5......0.0000.............0...........3

I've started adding the "Performance Index" for each racer to keep track of their winning percentage throughout the season.

Next race on the National schedule is the East Coast season opener at Mason-Dixon Raceway in Hagerstown, MD 18-19 May sponsored by the Covalt Clan.

This race has been the East Coasters' largest event in recent years.

The Roll Call for this event is currently sitting at 18 cars (1/3 belonging to a Covalt ).

There should be more than one turbo car there with Will Burns thrashing to get his Barracuda back together in time and Brian Mimken sorting out his rear mounted turbo in the "Sixy Beast" Duster. Sam Powell will have his turbo powered '69 Dart there, but no one has been able to twist his arm hard enough to race it yet...

Will Burns made some very impressive shake down runs last year at Mason-Dixon, causing some to wonder if the A/Unlimited records owned by Dale Rose and Tom Drake will be re-set this year.

Be at Mason-Dixon Raceway 18-19 May for the racing action!

This is Rob "Snagglepuss" Simmons, your Slant 6 "Laff-A-Lympics" Drag Racing commentator, bringing you the blow by blow in the 2013 racing season.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

The first East Coaster race of the 2013 season at Mason-Dixon Raceway in Hagerstown, MD was a great success with the largest car count of the year!

Rick and the Covalt Clan once again put on a great race with hospitality and good food for all.

There were 13 racers making the call both days with many familiar faces and a couple Rookies too!

Former 3 time National Champion Ron Hamby took over the points lead from Killer Bees singer PJ Jesiolowski with the event win on Saturday and another round win on Sunday.

Professor and Mad Scientist Lou Madsen jumped into the #3 spot with his event win on Sunday driving one of his several finely tuned A bodies, "Project V".

The Covalt Clan has claimed HALF of the top 10 spots with Denny tied with Lou at #3; Ryan, Whitney and Micah all in a 4 way tie with Romeo Furio at #6 and the Patriarch Rick tied for 10th with Aaron Heath who ran a 12.44 @ 107 MPH in the Lancer!

Brian and Anna Mimken, along with their dog Dixie, drove the turbo powered Duster "Sixy Beast" to the race. Brian landed in a tie for 4th with our 2011 Champion, Wendy Pine.

Brian Droschak won a round on Sunday to put himself in a 4 way slugfest for 8th place with 3 Killer Bees (Andrew Howard, Mark Murray and Rookie Rusty Heisten).

Two Rookies showed up at Mason-Dixon and found themselves in yet another 4 way tie for the #9 spot.

Dan Gravatt returned to Slant 6 racing and won a round on Saturday. Dan raced with us once in 2006, winning two rounds in Pittsburgh.

Billy Sword is a first time Slant 6 racer and won a round on Sunday.

Dan and Billy share the #9 spot with Record collector Mark Etheridge and Rookie Emily Booker from the Killer Bees team.

Will Burns and Ken Anderson rounded out the Mason-Dixon contingent. Will blew a head gasket on his new turbo motor (all part of the challenge, he says )

Two other East Coasters that made it to Mason- Dixon, but were unable to race were Greg Ondayko and Phil Stoneback.

Greg had a bearing noise in his super lightened '68 Valiant, "Ruster" and Phil lost oil pressure in his car.

So, there is now plenty of blue on the Leader Board for 2013. Here's hoping that the rain outs will stay away throughout the season and we'll have a great run for the Championship this year!

The next races of the season will be a 2-for-1 deal at Farmington, NC on Friday, June 14th and at North Wilkesboro, NC on Saturday. The tracks are only 45 minutes apart.

The Farmington / N. Wilkesboro races are dedicated to former National Champion Dale Rose who was killed in a boating accident last year. The long standing tradition of having a Slant 6 car show at Empire Dodge Saturday morning will be a part of the show!

The following weekend the racing swings back to the Killer Bees with a race at the laid back track in Woodburn, OR where Nostalgia Rules!

................................................Points........Index........Wins.....Rounds
Ron...Hamby...............................60...........0.6250.........5............8
PJ...Jesiolowski............................55...........0.6667.........4............6
Lou...Madsen...............................50...........0.5000.........4............8
Denny...Covalt............................50...........0.5000.........4............8
Wendy...Pine..............................40............1.0000.........3............3
Brian...Mimken...........................40............0.3750.........3............8
Scott...Jones...............................35...........1.0000.........3............3
Ryan...Covalt.............................30............0.2500.........2............8
Whitney...Covalt.........................30............0.2500.........2............8
Romeo...Furio.............................30............0.2500.........2............8
Micah...Covalt.............................30............0.2500.........2............8
Austin...Goodman.(Rookie)..........25............1.0000.........2............2
Rusty...Heisten.(Rookie)..............20............0.3333.........1............3
Andrew...Howard........................20............0.3333.........1............3
Mark...Murray............................20.............0.3333........1............3
Brian...Droschak........................20.............0.1250........1............8
Emily...Booker (Rookie)..............15.............0.5000........1............2
Mark...Etheridge........................15..............0.3333........1............3
Dan...Gravatt (Rookie)...............15.............0.2500.........1...........4
Billy...Sword (Rookie).................15.............0.2500........1............4
Rick...Covalt..............................10
Aaron...Heath............................10
Glen...Terry................................5
Allen...Dutra...............................5
Doug...Dutra...............................5
Jerry...Keltner.(Rookie)................5
Mark...Goodman..........................5
Bill...Barksdale.(Rookie)...............5
Sergio...Gonzales........................5
Dana...Prater..............................5
Terry...Scott...............................5
Will...Burns.................................5
Ken...Anderson...........................5

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Thanks for the great rundown, Rob!

Hmm, I thought that your "index" only counted the rounds you actually competed in, not the total rounds possible for the race? I am no expert here, but that was my initial understanding.

In any case, I'm going to go out and t'n't Project V (and practice driving) before the NC races....

Lou

_________________
Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Hmmm,... That would certainly increase everyone's Performance Index quite a bit...

That would put you at 4 wins out of 5 rounds competed in for an index of 0.8000...

I thought it was supposed to be wins out of rounds available based on what Seymour did back in 2006...

I sure ain't the brightest bulb in the box, so if I dun sumthin' wrong I can go back & fix it. Y'all just let me know.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

I too thought it was as Lou said? But I am wrong a lot. I thought Tom Drake brought up that idea? Someone will straighten us out!!

Rick

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

It is how many rounds you won out of how many rounds were in the race.

If you entered a race that was 5 rounds and you won 3 - 3/5. If you enter 5 races with a total of 20 rounds to win all 5 but you only won 1 round - 1/20.

Makes no sense to do it the other way. It was basically a copy of the Summit PR index that IHRA ran years ago.

_________________
Nitrous cars are like old men on Viagra. Once the bottle is empty they are useless.
FJD

Thanks Tom!

Rick

_________________
2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Thanks Tom!

Whew! I'm glad I don't have to go back and re-do 15 years worth of races... again...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

What else do you have to do?

_________________
Nitrous cars are like old men on Viagra. Once the bottle is empty they are useless.
FJD

Nuthin'...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Thanks for clarifying, guys. Makes sense of course, just remembered wrong...

Lou

_________________
Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

This will be quick and dirty until I can find more time to clean it up and add some color commentary...

New points leader is 3 time National Champion, Ron Hamby!!

Lou Madsen jumped to 2nd with Brian Mimken in third.

More later. Here is the new Leader Board (without any clean up, sorry).

2013.....................................Points........Index............Wins.........Rounds
Ron..Hamby............................110.........0.5625.............9...............16
Lou..Madsen............................100.........0.5000.............8...............16
Brian..Mimken...........................70.........0.3125.............5...............16
PJ..Jesiolowski...........................55.........0.6667.............4................6
Rob..Simmons...........................50.........0.5000.............4................8
Greg..Ondayko..........................50.........0.5000.............4................8
Denny..Covalt...........................50.........0.5000.............4................8
Wendy..Pine..............................40.........1.0000.............3................3
Rick..Covalt.............................40..........0.1250............2...............16
Scott..Jones..............................35.........1.0000.............3................3
Romeo..Furio...........................35..........0.1667............2...............12
Ryan..Covalt............................30..........0.2500.............2................8
Whitney..Covalt........................30..........0.2500............2.................8
Micah..Covalt...........................30..........0.2500...........2.................8
Mark..Charapich.......................25..........0.5000...........2.................4
Matthew..Rhoades..(Rookie)......25..........0.5000...........2.................4
Austin..Goodman..(Rookie)........25..........1.0000...........2.................2
Jack..Everhardt........................20..........0.1250...........1.................8
Kay..Hamby..(Rookie)...............20.........0.1250............1.................8
Rusty..Heisten..(Rookie)............20.........0.3333............1.................3
Andrew..Howard.......................20.........0.3333............1.................3
Mark..Murray...........................20..........0.3333...........1.................3
Brian..Droschak.......................20..........0.1250...........1.................8
Emily..Booker..(Rookie)............15..........0.5000...........1.................2
Mark..Etheridge........................15..........0.3333...........1................3
Dan..Gravatt..(Rookie)..............15.........0.2500............1................4
Billy..Sword..(Rookie)...............15..........0.2500...........1................4
Lukus..Bruner..........................10
Aaron..Heath...........................10
Meril..Bruner.............................5
Gary..Bruner.............................5
Norm..Foster.............................5
Ronnie..Rhoades........................5
Allen..Dutra..............................5
Doug..Dutra..............................5
Jerry..Keltner..(Rookie)..............5
Mark..Goodman.........................5
Bill..Barksdale..(Rookie).............5
Sergio..Gonzales.......................5
Dana..Prater.............................5
Terry..Scott..............................5
Will..Burns................................5
Ken..Anderson..........................5
Glen..Terry...............................5

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser