50's Short Track Classic 2015 - 1-2 O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis

The first race of a new series and it smells like fresh asphalt.  Whatever that means.  A little light with members tonight for what we were expecting but there was some good racing to be had regardless.

Race 1:
A complete restart after discovering that yellows were somehow disabled and Darrel and I basically flip flopped.  We also had an immediate mulligan.

Darrel was close to the front and started after them right into turn one.

I was only about a second back but had a ton of traffic in front of me.

Zack was about midfield and working his way up.

Sandy and Scot were both at the rear and were waiting for some low hanging fruit.

Lap one and things got off rocky as these guys were making it three wide off of two.

One of them got pinched and spun in front of the field.

Scot ended up running up on Zack as they came to the yellow.  Look at him with his beady, little eyes.

Because we were running this one at 4x, a mandatory pitstop would be required and the competition decided they'd do it right away.

Green flag and Darrel and I were right together.

But just before, Zack had a bizarre instance when the 08 came up to catch the inside lap down line when he apparently ran into the 23.

It shouldn't have happened as there was no obvious collision but all the same, Zack was backwards for the green.

There was no caution for that so Darrel ran up into me going through three, bringing out the yellow.

Meanwhile, Zack continued his role as punching bag as the 13 ran into him while he was simply driving behind the pace van.

From there, he just became a pinball.

Fusing with everything.

There may have been some venting of frustration here.  Or his brakes went out.  We'll go with that one.

Back to green and Darrel and I managed to get back to the front thanks to the field stopping back in the pits for some reason.

Sandy was in the pits to serve a black flag.

But he'd never get the chance as Scot takes out Al Unser which would but Sandy down a lap...

...and cause a big mess.

Racing to the yellow, Darrel spun it off the corner.

And had some painful hits afterwards.

Yet another round of stops.

Sadly, Scot would go out under this one  as his engine just gave and blew up.  Really unfortunate.

It would only be a couple laps before things got wadded up again.  This time the 08 is back in the news hitting someone else.  You'd think he was a football player seeing his girlfriend in every car around him.

Zack managed to avoid a lot of this pile.

And Darrel managed to get back up to the front when all of that other stuff happened and was hip checking like it was his job.

As we came back to the line, I may have gotten into the 03.

Yet more pit stops for some reason.  This should be the last.

Under caution, Sandy accidentally spun the 35 as he was trying to get to pit.

Back to green!

Zack was running about mid pack and struggling to keep it from stepping out too much.

We got several green flag laps in before Darrel and the 77 collided off of turn four and Darrel spun to the inside.

No caution for Darrel or Zack who had an identical spin at the same spot.

Even that didn't bring the yellow out.  It would take the 10 bouncing off of Zack and spinning before the pace car came out.

Starting to close in on the end and back to racing.

Zack was pushing hard and got into the 13.

The shock threw his car around and he got blasted by the 3.

Once we were going green again, Darrel took some vengeance on the the ugly ass 77.

And caused a big pile up that Sandy and Zack managed to avoid.

Only a few to go and I led them to the green.

Sandy had the thing on edge looking for positions.

Zack was too when Tow Mater bounced him off of two.

And this wreck would be it, making us finish under caution.

Which I gladly took.

Race 2:

We shortened up the race distance to 25 laps as it was getting late, although it would turn out as unnecessary since we finished really quickly.

With Darrel botching his qualifying run, I was mostly uncontested at the front.

He would be back with Sandy.  Scot and Zack were more mid-pack.

But Zack was working to improve his position in dangerous ways.

But it would be Scot who'd bring out the first caution in dramatic fashion.

And he'd be the first DNF as his engine died yet again.

Darrel was back to his hip checking ways.

And it would be Zack to bring out the next yellow.  He came into the corner too quickly and bammed the fugly 77.

From there, he was spinning and get smacked.

Fortunately, he recovered quickly enough and only lost a few positions.

Darrel spun himself again coming to take the flag.

Under this caution, Lee Petty and Foss both lost motors.  Too bad.

Back to racing and Zack still had speed in his damaged car.  Enough so that he over ran the corner again and cranked into the 81.

That wouldn't have been too bad but he rebounded off the wall...

...and into traffic.

At the same time as Zack's spin, Darrel was coming wide off of four into the number 02.

This would knock him into a world of hurt.

His ride didn't end until turn 1.  But he was still going.

Back under green and Zack's battered ride was slipping back slowly as he struggled to keep it going.

Sandy and Darrel weren't far behind while they also struggled with their rides.

On the final lap, there was a scuffle.

And it got ugly.

But that allowed Zack and others to make their moves.

Darrel blasted past to make up a few spots.

Sandy did too although he couldn't quite beat the 55 to the line for 35th.

So I destroyed him post race as part of my victory.

On to Fonda!

Race 1

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	42	L Petty	23.219
2	75	D Mulberry	23.374
3	51	R Burns	23.415
4	66	D Monroe	23.426
5	7	J Hampton	23.443
6	43	R Petty	23.512
7	78	T McEwen	23.552
8	88	T Bickle	23.591
9	34	D Hamilton	23.602
10	003	R Holbrook	23.606
11	18	R Wheeler	23.629
12	4	A Unser	23.641
13	67	B Klock	23.664
14	36	P Rozelle	23.742
15	99	R Melindez	23.752
16	92	C Sumner	23.781
17	19	T Nadz	23.849
18	77	R Sweet	23.874
19	55	J Langford	23.928
20	24	M Lester	23.933
21	32	D Roberts	23.944
22	45	L Carbone	23.958
23	46	C Trickle	24.003
24	11	M I Bannon	24.008
25	74	J DeWitt	24.018
26	3	M Benefield	24.032
27	23	Z Webster	24.154
28	95	T Mater	24.231
29	81	D O'Brien	24.245
30	002	T Mender	24.248
31	35	J Foss	24.255
32	1	T Daniels	24.269
33	40	B Ebsen	24.279
34	13	J Meeks	24.305
35	61	D Hudson	24.372
36	22	M Brings Plenty	24.484
37	27	L McQueen	24.590
38	102	S McBeam	24.686
39	01	M Max	24.707
40	9	S Greenbow	24.739
41	91	T Bear	24.793
42	08	S Holzheimer	25.086
43	10	E Keene	25.287

Weather: Clear, 80 °F, South 16 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	17	19	T Nadz	60.797	50	30*	185	Running
2	11	18	R Wheeler	-0.94	50	0	170	Running
3	25	74	J DeWitt	-1.42	50	0	165	Running
4	1	42	L Petty	-3.34	50	2	165	Running
5	6	43	R Petty	-4.29	50	1	160	Running
6	33	40	B Ebsen	-5.25	50	0	150	Running
7	32	1	T Daniels	-6.68	50	0	146	Running
8	9	34	D Hamilton	-7.46	50	4	147	Running
9	22	45	L Carbone	-9.05	50	0	138	Running
10	3	51	R Burns	-9.59	50	0	134	Running
11	16	92	C Sumner	-10.12	50	0	130	Running
12	5	7	J Hampton	-11.18	50	0	127	Retired
13	40	9	S Greenbow	-11.69	50	0	124	Running
14	2	75	D Mulberry	-12.19	50	0	121	Running
15	4	66	D Monroe	-12.78	50	13	123	Running
16	19	55	J Langford	-12.85	50	0	115	Running
17	15	99	R Melindez	-13.48	50	0	112	Running
18	30	002	T Mender	-14.03	50	0	109	Running
19	24	11	M I Bannon	-14.75	50	0	106	Running
20	7	78	T McEwen	-15.39	50	0	103	Running
21	35	61	D Hudson	-1L	49	0	100	Running
22	34	13	J Meeks	-1L	49	0	97	Running
23	28	95	T Mater	-1L	49	0	94	Running
24	26	3	M Benefield	-1L	49	0	91	Running
25	21	32	D Roberts	-1L	49	0	88	Running
26	8	88	T Bickle	-1L	49	0	85	Running
27	29	81	D O'Brien	-1L	49	0	82	Running
28	27	23	Z Webster	-1L	49	0	79	Running
29	18	77	R Sweet	-1L	49	0	76	Running
30	13	67	B Klock	-1L	49	0	73	Running
31	12	4	A Unser	-1L	49	0	70	Running
32	10	003	R Holbrook	-1L	49	0	67	Running
33	38	102	S McBeam	-1L	49	0	64	Running
34	14	36	P Rozelle	-1L	49	0	61	Running
35	20	24	M Lester	-1L	49	0	58	Running
36	31	35	J Foss	-1L	49	0	55	Running
37	23	46	C Trickle	-1L	49	0	52	Running
38	42	08	S Holzheimer	-1L	49	0	49	Running
39	37	27	L McQueen	-1L	49	0	46	Running
40	36	22	M Brings Plenty	-1L	49	0	43	Running
41	43	10	E Keene	-3L	47	0	40	Running
42	41	91	T Bear	-3L	47	0	37	Running
43	39	01	M Max	-34L	16	0	34	Valve

Caution Flags: 8 (31 laps)

Lead Changes: 7 (5 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 80 °F, Southwest 16 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 4x

AI Strength: 95%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
3	01	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
11	91	Passing under yellow	Held for 4 seconds
18	91	Passing the pacecar	Held for 21 seconds

Race 2

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	10	E Keene	23.154
2	42	L Petty	23.229
3	43	R Petty	23.278
4	7	J Hampton	23.403
5	19	T Nadz	23.478
6	51	R Burns	23.491
7	92	C Sumner	23.501
8	78	T McEwen	23.512
9	4	A Unser	23.577
10	18	R Wheeler	23.644
11	88	T Bickle	23.681
12	59	B Paulsen	23.692
13	55	J Langford	23.694
14	46	C Trickle	23.706
15	1	T Daniels	23.734
16	66	D Monroe	23.763
17	77	R Sweet	23.767
18	003	R Holbrook	23.814
19	75	D Mulberry	23.819
20	36	P Rozelle	23.851
21	23	Z Webster	23.858
22	001	H Smith	23.858
23	95	T Mater	23.873
24	01	M Max	23.894
25	74	J DeWitt	23.922
26	35	J Foss	23.950
27	002	T Mender	24.037
28	055	C McGee	24.136
29	81	D O'Brien	24.187
30	40	B Ebsen	24.199
31	98	M Joyner	24.199
32	11	M I Bannon	24.210
33	22	M Brings Plenty	24.218
34	13	J Meeks	24.235
35	82	K Rodriguez	24.280
36	32	D Roberts	24.399
37	27	L McQueen	24.448
38	61	D Hudson	24.558
39	67	B Klock	24.726
40	93	R O'Reilly	24.747
41	08	S Holzheimer	24.771
42	91	T Bear	25.048
43	34	D Hamilton	26.147

Weather: Cloudy, 73 °F, Southeast 3 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	5	19	T Nadz	66.637	25	25*	185	Running
2	4	7	J Hampton	-2.39	25	0	170	Running
3	3	43	R Petty	-2.51	25	0	165	Running
4	8	78	T McEwen	-3.18	25	0	160	Running
5	10	18	R Wheeler	-5.06	25	0	155	Running
6	6	51	R Burns	-5.56	25	0	150	Running
7	1	10	E Keene	-20.66	25	0	146	Running
8	17	77	R Sweet	-21.41	25	0	142	Running
9	16	66	D Monroe	-22.22	25	0	138	Running
10	11	88	T Bickle	-23.09	25	0	134	Running
11	14	46	C Trickle	-24.05	25	0	130	Running
12	15	1	T Daniels	-25.20	25	0	127	Running
13	13	55	J Langford	-26.49	25	0	124	Running
14	12	59	B Paulsen	-1L	24	0	121	Running
15	30	40	B Ebsen	-1L	24	0	118	Running
16	20	36	P Rozelle	-1L	24	0	115	Running
17	22	001	H Smith	-1L	24	0	112	Running
18	19	75	D Mulberry	-1L	24	0	109	Running
19	39	67	B Klock	-1L	24	0	106	Running
20	31	98	M Joyner	-1L	24	0	103	Running
21	33	22	M Brings Plenty	-1L	24	0	100	Running
22	23	95	T Mater	-1L	24	0	97	Running
23	18	003	R Holbrook	-1L	24	0	94	Running
24	7	92	C Sumner	-1L	24	0	91	Running
25	29	81	D O'Brien	-1L	24	0	88	Running
26	27	002	T Mender	-1L	24	0	85	Running
27	37	27	L McQueen	-1L	24	0	82	Running
28	35	82	K Rodriguez	-1L	24	0	79	Running
29	38	61	D Hudson	-1L	24	0	76	Running
30	25	74	J DeWitt	-1L	24	0	73	Running
31	40	93	R O'Reilly	-1L	24	0	70	Running
32	21	23	Z Webster	-1L	24	0	67	Running
33	43	34	D Hamilton	-1L	24	0	64	Running
34	36	32	D Roberts	-1L	24	0	61	Running
35	28	055	C McGee	-1L	24	0	58	Running
36	42	91	T Bear	-1L	24	0	55	Running
37	41	08	S Holzheimer	-1L	24	0	52	Running
38	2	42	L Petty	-1L	24	0	49	Running
39	34	13	J Meeks	-1L	24	0	46	Running
40	32	11	M I Bannon	-2L	23	0	43	Accident
41	9	4	A Unser	-16L	9	0	40	Clutch
42	26	35	J Foss	-19L	6	0	37	Piston
43	24	01	M Max	-25L	0	0	34	Accident

Caution Flags: 4 (12 laps)

Lead Changes: 0 (1 driver)

Weather: Cloudy, 73 °F, Northwest 3 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 4x

AI Strength: 95%

PENALTIES

LAP

#

INFRACTION

PENALTY