We will make all 8 races this season. Wendy had to declare one race a NO Points race, so she told her crew chief, "You think it's so easy, well, let's see you do it". My last drag race "on a track" was in 1959 at Old Bridge Stadium, NJ. They started you with a Green FLAG back then in the stone ages. My RT's were all over the place but the car was consistent. I did red light myself out in the 3rd round to gather 21 points for a new/old Rookie.
My appreciation level for Wendy's driving skyrocketed.

_________________
61, 62, 63, 64 Valiants
62 Lancer
64 Darts
66 Barracuda
64 D100
77 Aspen

From last years race results -------


Dart270
Board Sponsor & Moderator


Joined: 21 Oct 2002
Posts: 7645
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Post subject: (Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:04 am)


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This was a nice race with 10 cars and some notable spectators attending. Brian and Anna Mimken made it over from Butner, NC to watch and cheer and hang out.

Punchline is that Meril Bruner won the race, which I think puts him in the points lead in the East. Congrats to Mark Charapich for runner up honors in his Hyperpac 170 Valiant street machine!

Closest round was I believe between Rodney Hargis and I. Same 0.04 lights, double breakout, me by 0.023 (15.847 on a 15.87) and him by 0.019 (13.231 on a 13.25). He actually let up at the end to let me cross the line first because he thought he was going to break out!!! I think I could see that I was about 1-2 ft ahead of him at the end, and obviously so could he.

We discussed doing a 2-day race next year, and/or running eliminations on Saturday only. The Bristol track is fine with either way!

Fun stuff!

Lou

_________________
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

The trick is to get your rythm with the car, and then stop over analyzing your launch Bruce. Wendy had that, then got all serious on us. The only times I've had problems with launching the car were when I was stressed or trying to launch. Go out to the strip, and make it routine.

Now I need to listen to myself!

Whenever I stop worrying about it and just drive the car, I do well. Nothing like hitting the traps, seeing the win light come on, and saying to myself, "Really?" But then I just run the thing wide open to the end and trust to the Gods of Speed that I dialed right. I really would be better suited for running an index car, and tuning it for conditions. That would kick butt.

I've lifted a couple times when I've been so far ahead I was wondering, but I've most often been late in those instances. Since I want to know each and every time how fast the car will go, I generally keep it matted out.
Often at the expense of the race!

CJ

_________________
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Hey Bruce,

That's great!

Welcome back to the addiction! So, will it be 2 cars next year,... flip a coin each race,... arm wrestle to see who races...?

I fixed your points and put the "Rookie" moniker on ya!

(I hadn't re-sorted my spreadsheet after I added you to the list. Sorry about that. )

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Initial reports from the Bristol race indicate that two time National Champion Rodney Hargis has now shown up to race!

He took both 40 point days at Bristol to put him way up in the ranks!

This will make the last East Coast race at Clay City a very interesting one with several people within reach of the Championship!

Gary Bruner, Charlie Schmid, Ron Hamby, Lou Madsen and now Rodney Hargis will all be there at the season closer to see who from East of the Mississippi will be the Top Dog and hopefully have enough points to keep that travelling trophy on this side of the country.

I'll update the roster once I get the full report.

(Now,... How do I twist enough arms to get at least 17 cars to show up at Clay City for a 50 point race...? )

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

The Bristol results are in!

Gary Bruner wasn't able to take over the #1 spot as those darned red lights got him.

Rodney Hargis showed up and jumped into the #8 spot by winning both days! He'll be looking forward to Clay City to see if he can add a third notch to his "National Champion" belt.

Ron Hamby edged a little closer to the top by winning a round on Saturday. He's now tied for 4th with Gary.

Lou Madsen decided not to declare any points on Saturday. He wounded his Turbo Dart Saturday evening, so he didn't race it on Sunday. He was still able to drive it all the way home with a blown head gasket though!

Here's the new Points List as we prepare for another race back on the West Coast at Sacramento this weekend where the Killer Bees will have a chance to extend their lead.

Richard Bjerklund - 115
Andrew Howard - 105
PJ Jesiolowski - 96
Gary Bruner - 95
Ron Hamby - 95
Wendy Pine - 85
Charlie Schmid - 84
Rodney Hargis - 82
CJ Stoakes - 76
Lou Madsen - 75
Rick Covalt - 62
Mike Jeffrey - 62
Meril Bruner - 56
Micah Covalt (Rookie) - 54
Ryan Covalt - 44
Randy Ashley (Rookie) - 41
Brian Mimken - 34
George Harris - 32
Robert Evanoff - 32
Brian Droschak - 31
Aric Erickson - 31
Larry Chesney - 24
Seymour Pederson - 23
Dana Prater - 23
Dennis Schumers - 22
Ellen Chesney - 22
Courtney Bruner (Rookie) - 22
Doug Powers - 22
Bruce Pine (Rookie) - 21
Scott Jones (Rookie) - 21
Rhonda Amis - 21
Jeff Parson (Rookie) - 21
Mike Bjerklund - 15
Greg Ondayko - 14
Mark Etheridge - 12
Chris Evrard - 12
Denny Covalt - 12
Ken Anderson - 12
Lukus Bruner - 12
Jack Everhardt (Rookie) - 12
Romeo Furio - 11
Ed Thomson (Rookie) - 11
Jon Chronak (Rookie) - 11
Pat Dawson (Rookie) - 11
Neal Hines (Rookie) - 11
Bill Poehler - 11
Wayne Erickson - 11
Allen Dutra - 2
Doug Dutra - 2
Phil Stoneback - 2
Aaron Heath (Rookie) - 2
Will Burns - 2
Whitney Covalt (Rookie) - 2
Mark Charapich - 2
Mike Evans - 2
Dave Mueller - 2
Frank Wright - 2
Mike Keller - 1
Charles Brooks Jr. - 1
Ryan Peterson - 1
Althea Mueller - 1
Tim Mouton (Rookie) - 1
David Erickson - 1
Mark Murray - 1
Rick Valent - 1
Walt Sloezylas (Rookie) - 1


We added another Rookie at Bristol and word has it that he made about 40 passes! Jack Everhardt got his yellow Duster together and got enough seat time on Saturday to take a round win on Sunday with a .048 light running in the mid 20's. We'll be looking for him at Clay City!

Mark Charapich is another name added to this year's roster. He has raced with us before and was on hand both days in his street driven '63 Valiant running in the mid 20's as well.

So, we're up to a total of 66 racers so far this year with 15 of them being first time racers. Thanks again to those of you spreading the word and bringing in new faces!

Here are the answers to last week's questions:

Will Gary be able to cut some good lights and earn enough points to be #1? -.080 and -.015...

Will Bristol offer enough points to allow either Ron or Lou to win enough rounds to take over the lead? Points were there,... but so was Rodney Hargis! Rodney wasn't the one that took out any of the leaders though. Gary took himself out, Lou didn't declare points (would have had 21) and Ron won a round. He was taken out by that old fox Meril Bruner.

Gary stands the best chance if he can avoid those dreaded red lights. Would somebody please get Gary a "No Red Lights" shirt for this event? I guess no one got him a T-shirt...

Ron and Lou will be standing in Gary's way to that #1 spot. Word has it that Rodney "Mr. Consistent" Hargis will be bringing his Lancer to this event, so Gary is going to have his hands full... Yup, Rodney showed up and took home all the marbles.

Now, going into Sacramento this weekend:
The Roll Call hasn't really taken shape as of yet (or perhaps they're just planning to surprise us! )

Will the Top 5 Killer Bees all show up to compete for that #1 spot? They've all got some races left for that 7 race maximum (Top 4 for points). Richard, Andrew and Wendy have 5 while PJ and CJ both have 6. There are only 2 races left to secure their spots on the Leader Board!

This is shaping up to be an exciting end of the season with four races left to determine who will be the 2011 National Champion! There are realistically 10 people that could wind up on top!

Bruce and Wendy Pine will BEE at Sacramento. We'll have to wait and see which one races this weekend. Will it be Wendy trying to climb the ladder, or is Bruce so excited about racing again that he gets the keys?

Will Richard show up to defend his #1 seat? He hasn't raced at Sacramento before. He'll probably wait for the final race of the season at Redding to up his overall point count.

Will it come down to that 1 point difference between 6 and 7 races that determines the National Championship this year? It was that 1 point that broke the tie for 2nd place last year and put Richard at #3...

Andrew has raced at both Sacramento and Redding in the past. He's got 2 races left. Which one will offer the most points for him to climb the ladder? Redding is typically a bigger race and Andrew has shown that he likes big car counts to show his stuff.

PJ is a "Redding Racer" and only has 1 race left for points, so she'll likely wait for that season finale as well.

CJ is another "Redding Racer" that will likely wait for the season finale. He has stated that he's more of a "Number Chaser", but you know he's excited about the chance to be the "Champ".

One thing's for sure: These next couple months are gonna be exciting!!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Thanks much for the reporting, Rob.

Well, I got burned on the race limit rule as I would have 96 pts now if I had taken points Saturday... That's how the dice roll.

Clay City will be very interesting, as the 5 front runners in the East should be there to duke it out, and all of us can count full points.

Lou

_________________
Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

It's my pleasure Lou.

I'm fairly confident that we will have 40 point races both days, so that's another 82 points up for grabs!

A 50 point race is a stretch, but I'm giving it a "Valiant Effort"!

Once we finish up with Clay City all eyes are gonna be on that last Redding race.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Initial feedback from Sacramento is that Wendy Pine won! Could we have another Lady Racer as our points leader?

Not sure how many points or anything else yet... Waiting for the full report.

(I guess Wendy won the coin toss or arm wrestle against Bruce to have the keys this weekend... )

More to follow...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

The Sacramento results are in! Thanks Fopar and Bruce.

Wendy Pine is our new points leader!! These Lady Racers are really comin' on strong this year!

PJ won a round to get around Andrew Howard. Two rounds and she would have edged out Richard for 2nd. (Edit: PJ did not declare points for Sacramento. She is still in 4th place and preparing for the final race of the season at Redding)

Don't you just love a close race (for the Championship )?

Wendy Pine - 126
Richard Bjerklund - 115
Andrew Howard - 105
PJ Jesiolowski - 96
Gary Bruner - 95
Ron Hamby - 95
Charlie Schmid - 84
Rodney Hargis - 82
CJ Stoakes - 76
Lou Madsen - 75
Rick Covalt - 62
Mike Jeffrey - 62
Meril Bruner - 56
Micah Covalt (Rookie) - 54
Ryan Covalt - 44
Randy Ashley (Rookie) - 41
Brian Mimken - 34
Frank Wright - 33
George Harris - 32
Robert Evanoff - 32
Brian Droschak - 31
Aric Erickson - 31
Larry Chesney - 24
Dana Prater - 24
Seymour Pederson - 23
Allen Dutra - 23
Dennis Schumers - 22
Ellen Chesney - 22
Courtney Bruner (Rookie) - 22
Doug Powers - 22
Bruce Pine (Rookie) - 21
Scott Jones (Rookie) - 21
Rhonda Amis - 21
Jeff Parson (Rookie) - 21
Mike Bjerklund - 15
Greg Ondayko - 14
Mark Etheridge - 13
Chris Evrard - 12
Denny Covalt - 12
Ken Anderson - 12
Lukus Bruner - 12
Jack Everhardt (Rookie) - 12
Romeo Furio - 11
Ed Thomson (Rookie) - 11
Jon Chronak (Rookie) - 11
Pat Dawson (Rookie) - 11
Neal Hines (Rookie) - 11
Bill Poehler - 11
Wayne Erickson - 11
David Rudd - 11
Doug Dutra - 3
Phil Stoneback - 2
Aaron Heath (Rookie) - 2
Will Burns - 2
Whitney Covalt (Rookie) - 2
Mark Charapich - 2
Mike Evans - 2
Dave Mueller - 2
Mark Murray - 2
Mike Keller - 1
Charles Brooks Jr. - 1
Ryan Peterson - 1
Althea Mueller - 1
Tim Mouton (Rookie) - 1
David Erickson - 1
Rick Valent - 1
Walt Sloezylas (Rookie) - 1
David Endres - 1

With two more racers added (David Rudd and David Endres) we're up to a total of 68 racers so far this year.

Here are the answers to last week's questions:

Will the Top 5 Killer Bees all show up to compete for that #1 spot? They've all got some races left for that 7 race maximum (Top 4 for points). Richard, Andrew and Wendy have 5 while PJ and CJ both have 6. There are only 2 races left to secure their spots on the Leader Board! The two "Leading Ladies" showed up.

This is shaping up to be an exciting end of the season with four races left to determine who will be the 2011 National Champion! There are realistically 10 people that could wind up on top!

Bruce and Wendy Pine will BEE at Sacramento. We'll have to wait and see which one races this weekend. Will it be Wendy trying to climb the ladder, or is Bruce so excited about racing again that he gets the keys? It was definitely Wendy climbing the ladder ALL THE WAY TO THE #1 SPOT! Maybe she'll let Bruce race at Redding... (Maybe )

Will Richard show up to defend his #1 seat? He hasn't raced at Sacramento before. He'll probably wait for the final race of the season at Redding to up his overall point count. Yep, he's waitin' fer Redding...

Will it come down to that 1 point difference between 6 and 7 races that determines the National Championship this year? It was that 1 point that broke the tie for 2nd place last year and put Richard at #3... Redding is going to be an exciting Season Finale! Not only for the Killer Bees, but there will be about 5 East Coasters waiting anxiously for the results too!

Andrew has raced at both Sacramento and Redding in the past. He's got 2 races left. Which one will offer the most points for him to climb the ladder? Redding is typically a bigger race and Andrew has shown that he likes big car counts to show his stuff. Yeah, he's waitin' fer Redding to "Bring It" too!

PJ is a "Redding Racer" and only has 1 race left for points, so she'll likely wait for that season finale as well. Oh no she didn't! She won a round and edged past Andrew... (Edit: PJ did not declare points for Sacramento. She is still in 4th place and preparing for the final race of the season at Redding)

CJ is another "Redding Racer" that will likely wait for the season finale. He has stated that he's more of a "Number Chaser", but you know he's excited about the chance to be the "Champ". Yeah, he'll be chasin' that number at Redding.

One thing's for sure: These next couple months are gonna be exciting!! (Yeah! What he said! )

So now we get ready for the final East Coast race at Clay City on 1-2 October. That feller from Kentucky sure is tryin' hard to get a bunch of people to the race. A few folks that haven't raced yet this year (and hopefully a couple Rookies) oughta be showin' up...

Will enough racers show up to make Clay City a 50 point race both days? It'll take 17 cars to make it happen and the Roll Call isn't quite there yet...

Will Rodney Hargis repeat his showing at Bristol and make it a clean sweep in his Run for the Championship?

Will Gary Bruner be able to overcome his "Red Light Blues" and win enough rounds to stay in contention?

Will Ron Hamby "Bring It On" and make it Championship #4!?

Lou Madsen has been judicious in his points keeping (leaving 20 points on the table at Bristol). Will his calculations pay off and give him the chance at a Championship?

These questions (and many more) will be answered in a short 19 days from now.

Stay tuned...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

Rob my understanding PJ was not racing for points at Sac.

Richard

_________________
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Thanks Richard.

I'll confirm with PJ and make the adjustments.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

PJ confirmed that she waived points at Sacramento. Thanks again for the clarification Fopar.

I've adjusted the list above putting PJ back down to 4th place.

The Season Finale at Redding is going to be one very exciting race!

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

So, as I was adjusting PJ's points I reviewed the 10 top contender's race attendance and points tallies.

Here's where we're at going into the final races of the season. There are two races left at Clay City for the East Coasters and one race left at Redding for the Killer Bees.

There were 10 races on each side of the Mississippi this year, giving a pretty even chance to both sides. The 2 Day race formats on the East Coast were a big success and will likely be taken up by the Killer Bees next year.

6 of the top 10 racers plan to use all 7 available races allowed by the rules in their Run for the Championship while another 3 will only have 6 races under their belts.

One racer, Rodney Hargis, came into the fray late with the Bristol race and will only have a total of 4 races at season's end on the East Coast! He took Bristol by storm and obviously hopes to do the same at Clay City in hopes of adding a 3rd National Championship to his belt.

4 of the top 10 have attended races and declared "No Points" in their strategy for the National Championship.

Whether it was for more "seat time" and practice or to try and deny other racers of points or "just cuz racin's fun"... They have left points on the table.

PJ gave up a round win and 10 points at Sacramento where she put Mark Etheridge (madmax/6) on the trailer.

Mark is not a points chaser, but is most definitely a Number Chaser as he set a new C/Gas record at this event and now holds all three A/B/C/Gas 1/4 mile records! He added several hundred pounds to his '62 Valiant to add this third record. He and Seymour Pederson (Exner Geek) have been battling it out in their '62 Valiants for the A and B records over the last couple years. Resetting the C/Gas record fired a shot across the bow of Mike Jeffrey that has held that record since 2005.

PJ also re-set the new D/Gas record at this event, taking it away from Dennis Schumers in his "Little Red Piggy" '66 Valiant. The D record category is a new one added this year for vehicles weighing 3200# and over.

Both Gary Bruner and Lou Madsen declared no points at the Bristol event.

On Saturday Lou left 20 points on the table when he went up against Gary Bruner in the first round and had a bye in the second. Did Lou put Gary on the trailer, or did Gary do it to himself with his -.080 red light?... Will the Bristol "No Points" be a tactical error for Lou by leaving 20 points behind going into Clay City where the competition is going to be fierce?

Sunday Gary declared no points and redlighted again with a -.015. He's going to have to bring his A game to Clay City (and maybe consider shallow staging... )

Charlie Schmid is our final "Top 10er" to give up some points when he towed all the way from Florida to Elk Creek, VA and burned a piston with his favorite drink of choice (Nitrous! ).

Larry Chesney was nice enough to let Charlie race his beautiful '64 Dart the next day where he went up against Ron Hamby and denied him some points in his quest for the Championship.

Would Ron have gone on to take more points (or the event win) at Bristol? He and event winner Rodney Hargis are the top 2 career points earners in our series and have gone up against each other in more events than anyone can remember. I'm sure Rodney would like nothing more than to tie things up with Ron and Killer Bee Glen Terry with three National Championships!

Charlie was taken out in Round 2 by our current top contender for Rookie of the Year, Micah Covalt.

By declaring no points at Elk Creek, Charlie will only have 6 races this year. He tried to make it to Bristol, but had to turn around about 130 miles from home with tire issues on his faithful little Toyota pickup tow rig. You just never know what's gonna happen. Will 6 races be enough for Charlie to take top honors? Clay City is gonna be a tough one...

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser

The Clay City Roll Call has been taking some hits the last few days...

Two of the Top 10 racers from the East Coast will not be racing at Clay City.

Charlie Schmid has an opportunity to buy some property, so he will not be making the trip up from Florida.

Gary Bruner wiped out a cam lobe at the Bristol race, so has decided to support his daughter Courtney in her attempt to win Rookie of the Year honors.

That leaves three other East Coast racers with a shot to be competitive for the Championship.

Ron Hamby, Rodney Hargis and Lou Madsen will be on hand to see who comes out on top for the East Coast.

_________________
Rob

I’m Mater
The Kentucky Poser