An unbelievable night
at Columbus
11 cars in the pits and ready to race on Friday July 23.
The weather was questionable but nobody could question
the dedication this group of racers has and they were
rewarded with a night of no rain Friday is hard for
many as some in the group drive a long way just to race.
The great people at Columbus have always been great to
work with and got everyone who was there before the end
of qualifying out on track and timed in. Even the late
arrivals were allowed on track after the timing system
was removed just to shake the cars down. Columbus is a
great track.
With a large group of cars we were able to run separate
heats for each division.
As the 6 mini mods hit the track for their 8 lap heat,
they lined up inverted by time.
John Demay led the group to the line with Barry Trusky
outside
The racing was close, close enough that Ken Johnson had
some minor contact and bent some sheet metal but that
was not enough to keep him from moving to the front
In a surprise drive move the seat of the number 1 was
filled with Justin Lindeman who also had his Rascal car
in the pits
The 18 of Jason Bies and the 97 of Gerry Guiliano were
in the thick of it all night.
In the end it was the 2nd of Ken Johnson taking the
checkered flag
2nd Johnson
5 Trusky
97 Guiliano
1 Lindeman
7 Demay
18 Bies
Up next was the 6 lap sprint for the Rascal cars. Tim
Roach was to lead the field but in an incredible ballsy
move he chose the outside lane and challenged everyone
by giving them the fast low lane.. That sounds a lot
better than I screwed up and forgot where I was supposed
to start. When the green flew it was Roach to the lead
for the first laps but soon an overheating issue would
force him off.
Vern Brown, Kyle Lynn, Jason Dull and Josh Felder put on
an incredible show for the fans with close exciting
racing
Dull was impressive jumping into the Lindeman car with
no seat time and finishing third. Jason is a former FIRA
driver who has recently been racing midgets but as
tonight showed, if it has wheels, he will drive the heck
out of it.
The combined feature had each group inverted but still
separated with the Rascal cars out front followed by the
Mini Mods. The starts of this division are always
exciting with the groups separating but with passing and
close racing everywhere. Out front it Roach on point
but not for long. The Kid Kyle Lynn was on a mission and
was soon to pass. The moisture in 3 and 4 was always in
play and made for some excitement as the cars tried to
avoid this area. As the 4, 38 and 17 raced hard lap
traffic brought the group together again but the 4 was
too fast tonight and would not relinquish the lead. As
Brown and Roach dueled contact was made out of 4 as
Roach got into the wet and started to come around. Brown
had no where to go and the contact sent Roach to the
pits with major damage and Brown was slowed with
alignment issues.
The racing in the Mini Mods division was just as
exciting with wheel to wheel racing all over. My results
show the 97 of Guiliano leading the group at the checker
but I apologize as I did not see it from the track. I am
sure Gerry and 2nd put on the typical great lead and
pleased the crowd
Special notes
Nobody works harder that Rob Pollock and Dennis Lynn in
the pits helping out other crews and working with the
line up.
The whole Mini Mod group works just as hard helping each
out whether it be unloading or setting up the cars or
even fine tuning the body work with a sledge hammer.
Thanks to all who raced
See you at the Sunday Aug 1 Lions Club Race
.........................
A
hot and crazy night at the
Dells Raceway Park
Saturday was a great night
to race but just getting there was difficult for three
of the drivers.
Mark Findley and Tim Roach
both suffered trailer tire failures just south of the
Dells while the Ohio drivers Dale Aikman and Mick
Guiher (YES!!!! they drove 9 hours to compete with some
of Wisconsin's fastest cars) had injector issues.
Everyone was safe and able to get to the track on time.
The Dells Raceway Park run a
great program and Saturday was no exception. Two
Looonnggg practice sessions allowed the drivers to make
sure their rides were ready. The heat in the track was
incredible and the track was slick but you would never
know it by the qualifying times. Vern Brown led the
field with an incredible 14.008 second lap, a tenth of a
second quicker than the late models.
Time Trails
38 Vern Brown
14.008
4 Kyle
Lynn 14.211
43 Mark Findley
14.361
17 Tim Roach
14.520
48 Josh Felder
15.533
88 Mike Guiher
16.270
3 Mike Findley
17.604
73 Dale
Aikman no time
With the threat of rain the
program was going to move fast. A four car inversion had
Roach on the pole for the 8 lap heat sprint, Rookie's,
in status only, Mike Findley and Josh Felder fell in
behind the fast four. The Ohio invaders rounded out the
field as we went to the green. A couple of hot laps to
scrub and heat tires (not really needed since it was 95
degrees out) and we were ready. The 17 of Roach
strategically held back and as Findley eased up on the
throttle, Roach was quick to hammer it hard and the
white log was off to a quick start. The racing was tight
and fast. Check out the race videos from the Dells and
from the in car camera of Findley on the Video page of
this site. You could throw an umbrella over the front
four and they would have appreciated the shade but it
was race time. Brown Lynn and Findley were wheel to
wheel and fighting hard for every inch. Brown was able
to work his way to the front and waged war with
Roach for the lead. Side by side the racing was
incredible. Brown drove deeper and deeper into the
corner and took the lead from Roach but the racing was
still on. With two laps remaining Brown under pressure
from Roach went too deep and pushed up into the corner
leaving the door open. Side by side racing was on again.
The last lap had Roach and Brown side by side exiting 2
and coming up on lap traffic. THREEEEEEEE WIDE into 3
and it was Roach out front for the heat win.
Close racing was all over.
Lynn and Findley fought hard for third and fourth with
Findley ahead by inches The rookies of Mike Findley and
Josh Felder ran great races as did Aikman and Guiher
maintaining lines and getting faster every lap
heat finish
is Roach, Brown, Findley Lynn, Felder, Findley, Aikman
and Guiher
Up next in the feature
showed how much the Ohio invaders want to race. Battery
issues had the team stumped but ingenious thinking and
hard work had them back on track. A tow vehicle battery
and a driver switch in the cars had them on track again
up front was an invert of the front four from the heat
with Lynn and the older of the Findley brothers (a lot
older) on the front row. A fast start and the race was
on. Wheel to wheel action for the whole race. Brown was
the class of the field moving from his third starting
position to the lead and never looking back. Brown
stretched the lead but the second third and fourth
positions were nose to tail. Felder and the young gun
Findley ran strong and fast. The smiles on their faces
after the race showed just how much fun this racing is.
Aikman had a shocking finish as the shade tree mechanic
solution came up short with the battery shorting to the
seat. More duct tape!!!!!!! Guiher was behind the wheel
of the 88 mini spring and piloted the ride safely to the
finish, first night out in the car and it was
impressive.
Check out the video on this
and you will see for yourself.
Feature finish
was Brown, Mark Findley, Lynn, Roach, Mike
Findley, Felder. Guiher and Aikman
SPECIAL NOTE
Even with a bounty on his
head in the form of cold hard cash, Mark Findley
silenced all the trash talkers as they hid at home
afraid of a whooping. Mark was all action racing hard
and finishing up front.
UP NEXT
Friday July 23 at Columbus
See you
there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.........................
A
new winner at Slinger!!!