50's Short Track Classic 2015 - 7-8 Drummond

Our second dirt track of the year and it had some strange oddities with it.  First, pit road was set off to the right behind grandstands and AI behavior on it forced me to eliminate pit stops for this run.  Second, the race starts almost immediately instead of coming to the flag stand since the pace car has to loop around through pit road for another mile!  Well maybe not that far, but that's the deal.  We also decided to remove cautions for this track as yellow flag laps were just too strange to deal with.  60 laps per race and here we go!

Race 1:

The first round started off with Zack and me towards the front and Scot not far behind.  Everyone else was further down the order.  

After a couple laps, I pulled into the lead and started the game called Avoidance.

Zack was working his way up through traffic and doing OK.

That was until the 36 gave him a fender.

Which wouldn't have been so bad had he not rolled up off of the corner...

...and then back down into traffic.

It really made a mess of things.

Darrel also had some nasty run-ins within the first few laps as he got caught up on some competition.

Then caught some air!

Serious air.

Almost simultaneously, Hagerty found himself in the same spot performing a barrel roll.  That turn one high side is treacherous.

Around a quarter of the way through and Scot was pounding on traffic and fighting hard.

Zack's early damage and intermittent connection issues had him back in the field where he collided with Sandy.

Darrel was still in it but it wasn't long before he got in trouble again.

This spin nearly cost him the race.

Fortunately I was able to clear his black flag DQ before he was tossed.

Approaching 1/3 of the race and three humans found themselves within close proximity.

I can't imagine this going poorly.

Well, they were fine until Darrel and Scot made contact.

Darrel swung low and over corrected which nearly tossed him up into Scot.  Fortunately everyone kept going without damage.

Zack then found himself in the feared turn one wreck lane.  But it wasn't entirely his fault since he was glitching around and got spun.

I guess some langoliers ate a hole in the track while they were eating his connection.  That might explain why everyone flips there...

It wasn't all humans wreaking havoc.

But there usually was one.  Here, Scot got into the 92 sending him up into the 80 something.

That slowed him up enough that the 55 got him out of sorts.

That wouldn't have been too bad had the 75 not slammed the snot out of the hotwheels machine.

That wasn't enough to humble him though and Scot was right back on the attack.

Slamming the snot out of the 1.

And getting rolled.

Speaking of Zack, he was still in it to win it but Rowdy Burns wasn't making it easy on him.  Hey, look!  Scot's still going!

But Zack wasn't going as well.  By the way, this was about halfway.

What a way to celebrate!  Sandy and I just barely made it out of the way.

Shortly thereafter, Zack pulled over and parked it taking another DNS.  This is really too bad considering he's actually here for these races.

Scot eventually found the 51 again to take out some serious revenge.

Seriously.

He killed him.

With 5 to go, I looped the thing after running a completely clean race.

But managed to get it going and take my victory crash.

Race 2:

Damage full and things started a little better for the front runners.  Zack and I started pulling away from the field and Scot wasn't far behind.

Back in the pack,the 82 killed an engine before the green, causing a big slow up for everyone behind.

Hagerty was in such a hurry to get to the flag, he rolled himself.  Two races in a row where he died before finishing a lap.  Terrible.

He wouldn't be the only one.  The wreckfest started early with a lot of cars getting taken out.

Scot was hip checking and got spun.

And would lose his top ten start to get stuck on the inside wall.

After the startup shenanigans, we made it a third in.  Darrel was cresting the top twenty.

I was leading with Sandy staying in the top 30.  Scot was around the top 25 with Zack in 5th and falling back.

He was having a hard time getting his car to hook up properly and kept back sliding.

Scot was must of had some linkage problems as he was really tight and swinging it wide.

Eventually he had a roll.

Coming back on track, he got smeared by Lee Petty.

He tried to get going again and then Cole Trickle took a chunk.

As did several others.

The car was running but his oil trail and crew's lack of enthusiasm would cause him to take a DNF.

Around two thirds, I caught Darrel and we ran a few laps side by side in traffic.  Fun.

With 10 to go, I pulled the same folly as Race 1, doing the old slow slide through turn one.

Then Darrel and I repeated our side by side racing from earlier.  In this case, Darrel was fighting for a top 15 between petty and the 35.  Zack was just up the track and also inside the top 15.

I managed to hold off the 35 for Darrel and took my victory claim on Lee.

Back to asphalt next week with Mansfield Night.

Race 1

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	18	R Wheeler	19.878
2	19	T Nadz	19.928
3	4	A Unser	20.107
4	42	L Petty	20.483
5	5	T Hankins	20.596
6	51	R Burns	20.601
7	66	D Monroe	20.624
8	95	T Mater	20.635
9	23	Z Webster	20.762
10	78	T McEwen	20.810
11	92	C Sumner	20.832
12	001	H Smith	20.838
13	36	P Rozelle	20.866
14	24	M Lester	20.882
15	01	M Max	20.962
16	7	J Hampton	21.034
17	77	R Sweet	21.061
18	74	J DeWitt	21.061
19	10	E Keene	21.067
20	13	J Meeks	21.075
21	43	R Petty	21.108
22	11	M I Bannon	21.116
23	40	B Ebsen	21.149
24	46	C Trickle	21.152
25	6	B Jordon	21.173
26	1	T Daniels	21.197
27	35	J Foss	21.311
28	99	R Melindez	21.349
29	67	B Klock	21.367
30	75	D Mulberry	21.440
31	003	R Holbrook	21.452
32	17	M Downing	21.509
33	055	C McGee	21.548
34	12	M A Bannon	21.607
35	55	J Langford	21.616
36	32	D Roberts	21.628
37	82	K Rodriguez	21.682
38	3	M Benefield	21.787
39	22	M Brings Plenty	21.810
40	08	S Holzheimer	21.924
41	8	S Hagerty	--
42	34	D Hamilton	--
43	91	T Bear	--

Weather: Clear, 57 °F, Southwest 9 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	19	T Nadz	19.703
2	34	D Hamilton	19.905
3	51	R Burns	20.009
4	91	T Bear	20.020
5	01	M Max	20.295
6	23	Z Webster	20.377
7	24	M Lester	20.552
8	67	B Klock	20.692
9	46	C Trickle	20.802
10	55	J Langford	20.817
11	055	C McGee	20.882
12	95	T Mater	20.931
13	003	R Holbrook	20.950
14	17	M Downing	21.039
15	08	S Holzheimer	21.052
16	3	M Benefield	21.124
17	82	K Rodriguez	21.260
18	22	M Brings Plenty	21.444
19	8	S Hagerty	26.633

Weather: Cloudy, 75 °F, Southeast 10 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	2	19	T Nadz	89.580	60	60*	185	Running
2	4	42	L Petty	-6.76	60	0	170	Running
3	18	74	J DeWitt	-15.84	60	0	165	Running
4	13	36	P Rozelle	-17.47	60	0	160	Running
5	14	24	M Lester	-1L	59	0	155	Running
6	21	43	R Petty	-1L	59	0	150	Running
7	7	66	D Monroe	-1L	59	0	146	Running
8	1	18	R Wheeler	-1L	59	0	142	Running
9	10	78	T McEwen	-1L	59	0	138	Running
10	16	7	J Hampton	-1L	59	0	134	Running
11	3	4	A Unser	-1L	59	0	130	Running
12	17	77	R Sweet	-1L	59	0	127	Running
13	25	6	B Jordon	-1L	59	0	124	Running
14	12	001	H Smith	-1L	59	0	121	Running
15	30	75	D Mulberry	-1L	59	0	118	Running
16	23	40	B Ebsen	-1L	59	0	115	Running
17	26	1	T Daniels	-2L	58	0	112	Running
18	31	003	R Holbrook	-3L	57	0	109	Running
19	35	55	J Langford	-3L	57	0	106	Running
20	32	17	M Downing	-3L	57	0	103	Running
21	38	3	M Benefield	-3L	57	0	100	Running
22	27	35	J Foss	-4L	56	0	97	Running
23	15	01	M Max	-4L	56	0	94	Running
24	43	91	T Bear	-4L	56	0	91	Running
25	6	51	R Burns	-5L	55	0	88	Accident
26	28	99	R Melindez	-5L	55	0	85	Running
27	34	12	M A Bannon	-7L	53	0	82	Running
28	37	82	K Rodriguez	-8L	52	0	79	Accident
29	8	95	T Mater	-9L	51	0	76	Accident
30	11	92	C Sumner	-19L	41	0	73	Accident
31	24	46	C Trickle	-20L	40	0	70	Accident
32	19	10	E Keene	-21L	39	0	67	Accident
33	33	055	C McGee	-22L	38	0	64	Accident
34	40	08	S Holzheimer	-23L	37	0	61	Accident
35	29	67	B Klock	-27L	33	0	58	Accident
36	36	32	D Roberts	-34L	26	0	55	Accident
37	9	23	Z Webster	-34L	26	0	52	Retired
38	42	34	D Hamilton	-46L	14	0	49	Header
39	20	13	J Meeks	-54L	6	0	46	Accident
40	22	11	M I Bannon	-55L	5	0	43	Accident
41	5	5	T Hankins	-56L	4	0	40	Accident
42	41	8	S Hagerty	-57L	3	0	37	Retired
43	39	22	M Brings Plenty	-59L	1	0	34	Accident

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 0 (1 driver)

Weather: Cloudy, 74 °F, Southeast 13 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 91%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
6	34	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
26	23	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
28	23	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go

Race 2

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	19	T Nadz	19.346
2	13	J Meeks	20.370
3	23	Z Webster	20.375
4	01	M Max	20.380
5	42	L Petty	20.462
6	51	R Burns	20.476
7	18	R Wheeler	20.726
8	98	M Joyner	20.726
9	24	M Lester	20.755
10	66	D Monroe	20.784
11	36	P Rozelle	20.834
12	74	J DeWitt	20.870
13	78	T McEwen	20.881
14	46	C Trickle	20.936
15	43	R Petty	20.984
16	40	B Ebsen	21.014
17	10	E Keene	21.035
18	7	J Hampton	21.037
19	77	R Sweet	21.065
20	67	B Klock	21.069
21	11	M I Bannon	21.085
22	1	T Daniels	21.159
23	002	T Mender	21.205
24	35	J Foss	21.242
25	45	L Carbone	21.317
26	4	A Unser	21.338
27	99	R Melindez	21.343
28	5	T Hankins	21.353
29	54	T Smith	21.380
30	61	D Hudson	21.413
31	55	J Langford	21.423
32	75	D Mulberry	21.454
33	32	D Roberts	21.456
34	95	T Mater	21.487
35	82	K Rodriguez	21.534
36	34	D Hamilton	21.597
37	3	M Benefield	21.649
38	8	S Hagerty	21.681
39	27	L McQueen	21.681
40	22	M Brings Plenty	21.789
41	08	S Holzheimer	21.794
42	93	R O'Reilly	21.971
43	91	T Bear	--

Weather: Cloudy, 77 °F, Southwest 4 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	19	T Nadz	89.357	60	60*	185	Running
2	7	18	R Wheeler	-12.73	60	0	170	Running
3	5	42	L Petty	-1L	59	0	165	Running
4	11	36	P Rozelle	-1L	59	0	160	Running
5	12	74	J DeWitt	-1L	59	0	155	Running
6	14	46	C Trickle	-1L	59	0	150	Running
7	22	1	T Daniels	-1L	59	0	146	Running
8	18	7	J Hampton	-1L	59	0	142	Running
9	10	66	D Monroe	-1L	59	0	138	Running
10	19	77	R Sweet	-1L	59	0	134	Running
11	16	40	B Ebsen	-1L	59	0	130	Running
12	21	11	M I Bannon	-1L	59	0	127	Running
13	28	5	T Hankins	-1L	59	0	124	Running
14	23	002	T Mender	-1L	59	0	121	Running
15	3	23	Z Webster	-2L	58	0	118	Running
16	36	34	D Hamilton	-2L	58	0	115	Running
17	24	35	J Foss	-2L	58	0	112	Running
18	31	55	J Langford	-2L	58	0	109	Running
19	26	4	A Unser	-2L	58	0	106	Running
20	29	54	T Smith	-2L	58	0	103	Running
21	32	75	D Mulberry	-2L	58	0	100	Running
22	33	32	D Roberts	-2L	58	0	97	Running
23	30	61	D Hudson	-2L	58	0	94	Running
24	25	45	L Carbone	-2L	58	0	91	Running
25	37	3	M Benefield	-3L	57	0	88	Running
26	39	27	L McQueen	-3L	57	0	85	Running
27	41	08	S Holzheimer	-3L	57	0	82	Running
28	43	91	T Bear	-3L	57	0	79	Running
29	40	22	M Brings Plenty	-3L	57	0	76	Running
30	34	95	T Mater	-4L	56	0	73	Running
31	8	98	M Joyner	-6L	54	0	70	Running
32	4	01	M Max	-27L	33	0	67	Accident
33	20	67	B Klock	-43L	17	0	64	Retired
34	17	10	E Keene	-54L	6	0	61	Retired
35	13	78	T McEwen	-56L	4	0	58	Accident
36	15	43	R Petty	-56L	4	0	55	Accident
37	2	13	J Meeks	-56L	4	0	52	Accident
38	9	24	M Lester	-56L	4	0	49	Retired
39	42	93	R O'Reilly	-57L	3	0	46	Accident
40	6	51	R Burns	-58L	2	0	43	Accident
41	27	99	R Melindez	-59L	1	0	40	Retired
42	35	82	K Rodriguez	-60L	0	0	37	Header

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 0 (1 driver)

Weather: Cloudy, 77 °F, East 5 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 90%

PENALTIES

LAP

#

INFRACTION

PENALTY