50's Short Track Classic 2015 - 23-24 Albany-Saratoga

This dirt track was full of dirty racing, mostly thanks to a botched material allocation job by the track builder.  Basically, because we could have no proper pit road use (not without Black flags and DQs) damage was off and so were yellows.  This then became a demolition course on marbles.  I'll attempt to go through each human's race for highlights.

Race 1:

I managed to get the best qualy for humans and was still only 4th.  

Even though I took the lead and was running around just fine, it wasn't long before I got snagged on Mark and, while out of position, got knocked around by the 36,

I was fighting my way back and got knocked off track by Scot.  Wasn't too bad, but I would never forget.  And never forgive.

Darrel and I were tossed out at one point thanks to Hankins in the 5.

I finally got back into the groove and was desperately avoiding the wrecks on track.

And some of the humans causing them.

But as nice as I tried to be, others didn't always play the same way.  To be fair, Sandy was trying to avoid the 93.  He still hit me though.

Like everyone else, I was not exempt from having to clear a black flag from an inadvertent pit road entrance.

But after falling back deep into the teens, I fought back and even came to blows with the leader, Lee Petty.  I smashed his smug face right into the wall.

Still more avoidance and I was into the top 10.

In my attempt to push Petty even further down, I took us both out into the wall.  And he still held the lead.

As expected, Zack and I eventually knocked each other around.  He was still a lap ahead of me even though we were only a position apart.

We both recovered, although Lee Petty took Zack out shortly after.

And we were at it again.  We'll see more of this collision shortly, but basically, I was knocked sideways up the track right at Zack as he was attempting to catch his car.

And the 40 was there to hit him.  How nice.

Much give and take and I was finally working my way to the front.  I told you never forgave.  Scot actually was quite fine after this shunt though.

By the end I managed to be the last car on the lead lap in 3rd.

Mark had a decidedly more difficult race.  Starting only a few spots back from me, his variable internet connection (or VIC) made driving more than a challenge.  He found himself in all kinds of complicated situations.

He tried though, despite the technological failings.  He even took Zack out, sort of.  In the end, after flipping, he just parked it.  Zack on the other hand was going to have a wild race indeed.  This was actually the first incident he ran into within the first several laps.  He didn't really sacrifice much position either.

But sacrifice he did.

He did give it right back though, sending more than one car off into the weeds.

Actually, this was the first major incident (no fault of Scot's, even though you'd think "Maybe...").  The 67 came flying back onto the track and caught Zack's tail.

But like most of his incidents, the effects were not long lasting and he was back to avoiding destruction and dishing it out.

While pit road stops were not mandatory, several of us found our way there.

Zack kept plowing away and was eventually in the top ten, battling with Scot.  Magnets engaged.

During the course of their drag racing, Al Unser was made a fool and collected a few humans together.

Again, Zack was less hindered and kept it going with the leaders right behind and humans all around.

As shown in mine, we came together off of 4 when I got a run and he was backing out to avoid the wall.

We both kept it going and Lee Petty rewarded his efforts with a spin.

The younger Petty, Richard, would find great fun in sending Zack outside the track as well.

Despite the AI's rude behavior, Zack did team up to push cars down the track.  Although, as you'll see, he shouldn't have picked the 40 as a friend.

Zack and I were back to racing, albeit, I was a lap below him when I got sent up the track by the 40.

I couldn't miss Zack and he took a slide.

He was then struck by his friend.

The 23 was back in action and staying in the top 10 when he lost his motor from overheating, right in a pack of cars.

He was attempting to nurse it around the track when I hit the 77 of Randy Sweet.

Zack called a tow and things were looking grave.

But he managed to get back into the action and secure a top twenty.

Hankins didn't appreciate his closing lap ceremony.

Sandy had one of the most hard fought races of us all.

He was quickly moving up the order and sending cars off the track...

...in droves.

It didn't seem to matter if they were human or not.

In only a few short laps of much success, his electrons collided with Mark's

But that one and other collisions weren't really enough to keep him down.

He just came right back and kept on slugging away.

Even when Richard Petty tried his Petty Slide...

...he would not waver.

Moses Brings Plenty was the first to really send him off course.

Lee Petty was (of course) in the list of drivers who made contact.

And I was also kicked to the curb.

He even avoided cars jinking to pit road at the last second.

He did run into a hiccup when he ran into Darrel, but he kept rolling.  They both did.

Yes, Sandy was content with hitting people and would sometimes hit them more than once.  Look at all those humans.

Not all would go swimmingly, despite great avoidance and recovery efforts.

Around halfway or so, he took the 17 into the wall (well done).

But the effort sent him over.  He did get going without a tow though.

And the 98 was doing his damndest to get the 91 to flip.

Instead he himself got tossed.

Yes, Sandy was doing well and staying in the top 15.

Oooooo.

The 55 conveniently kept going while Sandy was stuck at the bottom, nose in the wall.

He did have help getting knocked loose though.

And back in it.  Even though he had trouble at the end, his good racing practices kept him up in 16th by the finish.

Darrel was the undisputed champion of terrible races.  Starting back in the 30s, Darrel was doing well and slowly moving up the order from the start.

First signs of trouble came from Doc Hudson but he still kept things in hand.

Yet more trouble.  Still, Darrel held things together for the first 7 or 8 laps.

Then the bashering came.

He had his first roll of the night and not even 10 laps in.

He wasn't back on the track long before he was in trouble again.

And the X factor was able to find him.

Despite these setbacks, Darrel kept pressing on.

Even enjoying a takedown or 5.

But some backfired.

Coming up on the 17, he got thrown into the wall.

The 75 tried hard to roll him (and did) but he was able to recover.

And back to throwing cars out.

He was back down to the low 30s when, after tossing Hudson in the previous picture, he got rolled.

But the worst one was yet to come from Richard Petty who not only rolled and spun him, but tried to roll over top of him as well.

When the 34 was back into the 20s, he seemed to still have problems.

Getting shucked about.

But Darrel did manage to break into the top 20 before the night was through via perseverance and determination.

Wrong way or right...

Finally there was Scot who started dead last.  He didn't wait long to start making passes though.

Or sending cars into the air.

Despite his fantastic progress of top 20 in 5 laps, Sandy couldn't let him have a flawless race and gave him his first nasty collision.

Scot would not be phased and pressed on through the chaos.

The next major conflagration was with Russ Wheeler who sent him down the track from an aggressive pass.

The Hotwheels car continued the march and, as always, he and Zack were nose to tail for position.

Zack watched on as the 98 made a dive for the pits right in front of Scot.

Zack couldn't slow up in time...

And shoved the 98 into Scot, pushing them both off course.

Back on target, Scot was crushing through the competition and made it into the top 10 by midway.

Then this happened.

Although he cleared Trickle, he bounced off of the 92, losing momentum.

And I was right there to turn his bumper.

Scot still pulled off an amazing 10th after a stellar performance.

Race 2:

Another 75 on the board and we're off

Again, I was the highest human in the pack, but it's not saying much.

I also managed to squander my position almost immediately by taking someone out.

And that didn't stop me from doing it repeatedly.

During my race back to the front, Scot was coming back on track and I very graciously gave him room.

Scot did not return the favor.

But he wasn't the only one trying to spoil my rise to the top.

I managed to miss most incidents.

But there was always Mark.

Because I was doing fairly well, I did my best to try and knock out the top runners.

This kept not working out in my favor.

But every now and again it did.

Careful, Scot!

Not everything went to plan as I was recovering.

Which kind of screwed things up for the 91.

To right my wrongs, I just went after as many of the other cars as possible.

And they went after me.

Then it was back to work.

Someday I'll get it right.  There goes Lee Petty taking back the lead at the end.

Thanks to Mark taking out the 003 at the end, I was able to make the pass for the win right into the last turns.

Sandy started off gaining positions but things started looking a mess as usual.

Avoiding some wrecks.

Barely staying out of others.

Or getting taken out by Lee Petty.

Yeah, he got me back.  Just showing some highlights here.

As always, Mark was involved.

And Keene not only pulled a pit road dive once...

...but twice.

Zack's race wasn't much different from the first.

While mostly clean, he was in it on several occasions.

In this case, he was rolled and had to tow.

Ooo, the 78 will have it coming.

When almost all humans were together, Mark found his mark...

And we were all in it.

At one point, Zack and I were right next to each other when Lightning McQueen pulled a sweep across us both.

Zack and Scot never fail to find each other and in the last several laps, these two were playing leapfrog for 7th.

Scot had position when he came up on the wreck that Mark had started.  The same one that got me the win.

Darrel was doing the Darrel thing.

But this race was going much better than the first.

He made it to the top 15 when 

...I went wide and got held up by Harvey.

Things sort of went down hill from there.

God, what is with Richard Petty?

At one point, Darrel was knocked way wide.

And got hit by a car while trying to get back to the track.

He did turn upside down but he never had to get a tow.

Redeeming himself from Race 1, Darrel had a good top 15 finish.  I'd show Mark's race but trying to follow him with 50% internet connection is a test in sanity.  We now move to my home track, Lake Erie Speedway.  I wish I could play the crappy commercial song for you.

Race 1

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	66	M Riggleman Jr	14.708
2	19	T Nadz	14.773
3	34	D Hamilton	15.033
4	23	Z Webster	15.081
5	01	M Max	15.163
6	001	H Smith	15.164
7	51	R Burns	15.184
8	91	T Bear	15.246
9	003	R Holbrook	15.264
10	6	B Jordon	15.324
11	24	M Lester	15.395
12	42	L Petty	15.411
13	11	M I Bannon	15.454
14	74	J DeWitt	15.508
15	5	T Hankins	15.565
16	40	B Ebsen	15.569
17	92	C Sumner	15.591
18	67	B Klock	15.596
19	002	T Mender	15.628
20	77	R Sweet	15.648
21	99	R Melindez	15.659
22	4	A Unser	15.664
23	72	A Grant	15.715
24	13	J Meeks	15.735
25	75	D Mulberry	15.752
26	36	P Rozelle	15.755
27	98	M Joyner	15.766
28	18	R Wheeler	15.782
29	1	T Daniels	15.799
30	7	J Hampton	15.810
31	61	D Hudson	15.848
32	055	C McGee	15.850
33	10	E Keene	15.857
34	3	M Benefield	15.880
35	27	L McQueen	15.881
36	17	M Downing	15.894
37	46	C Trickle	15.926
38	95	T Mater	15.966
39	9	S Greenbow	16.036
40	55	J Langford	16.055
41	93	R O'Reilly	16.070
42	22	M Brings Plenty	16.082
43	43	R Petty	16.234

Weather: Clear, 104 °F, Southeast 7 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	42	L Petty	14.644
2	51	R Burns	14.697
3	24	M Lester	14.767
4	19	T Nadz	14.774
5	66	M Riggleman Jr	14.793
6	18	R Wheeler	14.816
7	13	J Meeks	14.820
8	36	P Rozelle	14.822
9	7	J Hampton	14.850
10	43	R Petty	14.914
11	23	Z Webster	14.955
12	11	M I Bannon	14.970
13	10	E Keene	14.973
14	74	J DeWitt	14.973
15	72	A Grant	14.974
16	002	T Mender	14.993
17	91	T Bear	15.017
18	77	R Sweet	15.033
19	92	C Sumner	15.037
20	99	R Melindez	15.058
21	6	B Jordon	15.069
22	003	R Holbrook	15.087
23	67	B Klock	15.121
24	17	M Downing	15.151
25	1	T Daniels	15.155
26	75	D Mulberry	15.161
27	46	C Trickle	15.161
28	98	M Joyner	15.212
29	5	T Hankins	15.235
30	61	D Hudson	15.237
31	34	D Hamilton	15.238
32	95	T Mater	15.242
33	9	S Greenbow	15.279
34	001	H Smith	15.297
35	55	J Langford	15.307
36	055	C McGee	15.340
37	3	M Benefield	15.371
38	27	L McQueen	15.372
39	40	B Ebsen	15.444
40	93	R O'Reilly	15.490
41	22	M Brings Plenty	15.739
42	4	A Unser	15.886
43	01	M Max	16.735

Weather: Clear, 104 °F, Southeast 4 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P

#

DRIVER

TIME

Weather: Cloudy, 98 °F, West 4 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	42	L Petty	81.650	75	59*	185	Running
2	10	43	R Petty	-5.97	75	0	170	Running
3	4	19	T Nadz	-1L	74	4	170	Running
4	29	5	T Hankins	-1L	74	0	160	Running
5	19	92	C Sumner	-1L	74	0	155	Running
6	12	11	M I Bannon	-1L	74	0	150	Running
7	23	67	B Klock	-2L	73	0	146	Running
8	39	40	B Ebsen	-2L	73	0	142	Running
9	13	10	E Keene	-2L	73	0	138	Running
10	43	01	M Max	-2L	73	0	134	Running
11	3	24	M Lester	-3L	72	0	130	Running
12	18	77	R Sweet	-3L	72	0	127	Running
13	32	95	T Mater	-4L	71	0	124	Running
14	26	75	D Mulberry	-4L	71	0	121	Running
15	17	91	T Bear	-7L	68	0	118	Running
16	11	23	Z Webster	-8L	67	0	115	Running
17	24	17	M Downing	-9L	66	0	112	Running
18	34	001	H Smith	-10L	65	0	109	Running
19	20	99	R Melindez	-13L	62	0	106	Running
20	27	46	C Trickle	-15L	60	0	103	Running
21	21	6	B Jordon	-15L	60	0	100	Running
22	31	34	D Hamilton	-17L	58	0	97	Running
23	2	51	R Burns	-17L	58	12	99	Running
24	16	002	T Mender	-19L	56	0	91	Running
25	22	003	R Holbrook	-20L	55	0	88	Running
26	25	1	T Daniels	-22L	53	0	85	Running
27	38	27	L McQueen	-24L	51	0	82	Running
28	30	61	D Hudson	-27L	48	0	79	Running
29	6	18	R Wheeler	-28L	47	0	76	Running
30	28	98	M Joyner	-28L	47	0	73	DQ
31	15	72	A Grant	-29L	46	0	70	Running
32	42	4	A Unser	-35L	40	0	67	Running
33	14	74	J DeWitt	-37L	38	0	64	Retired
34	9	7	J Hampton	-38L	37	0	61	Running
35	33	9	S Greenbow	-39L	36	0	58	DQ
36	35	55	J Langford	-39L	36	0	55	Running
37	36	055	C McGee	-40L	35	0	52	Running
38	40	93	R O'Reilly	-42L	33	0	49	Running
39	37	3	M Benefield	-43L	32	0	46	Running
40	41	22	M Brings Plenty	-46L	29	0	43	Running
41	8	36	P Rozelle	-53L	22	0	40	Running
42	7	13	J Meeks	-56L	19	0	37	Running
43	5	66	M Riggleman Jr	-63L	12	0	34	Retired

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 7 (3 drivers)

Weather: Cloudy, 98 °F, West 10 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 90%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
7	66	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
8	34	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
19	23	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
16	34	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
24	23	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
24	23	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
12	66	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
30	19	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
30	19	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
23	34	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
56	01	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
56	01	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
45	34	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
65	23	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go

Race 2

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	18	R Wheeler	14.409
2	42	L Petty	14.415
3	51	R Burns	14.435
4	001	H Smith	14.442
5	5	T Hankins	14.466
6	24	M Lester	14.493
7	4	A Unser	14.494
8	78	T McEwen	14.521
9	92	C Sumner	14.534
10	43	R Petty	14.539
11	7	J Hampton	14.540
12	46	C Trickle	14.565
13	67	B Klock	14.580
14	11	M I Bannon	14.600
15	98	M Joyner	14.613
16	74	J DeWitt	14.615
17	10	E Keene	14.645
18	19	T Nadz	14.670
19	72	A Grant	14.686
20	003	R Holbrook	14.691
21	40	B Ebsen	14.698
22	77	R Sweet	14.698
23	13	J Meeks	14.736
24	1	T Daniels	14.741
25	59	B Paulsen	14.763
26	55	J Langford	14.799
27	66	M Riggleman Jr	14.831
28	61	D Hudson	14.835
29	27	L McQueen	14.856
30	35	J Foss	14.872
31	32	D Roberts	14.879
32	45	L Carbone	14.902
33	75	D Mulberry	14.914
34	91	T Bear	14.920
35	08	S Holzheimer	14.968
36	23	Z Webster	14.989
37	95	T Mater	15.017
38	34	D Hamilton	15.057
39	055	C McGee	15.086
40	102	S McBeam	15.095
41	9	S Greenbow	15.144
42	01	M Max	15.177
43	93	R O'Reilly	15.236

Weather: Cloudy, 93 °F, Southeast 1 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	18	19	T Nadz	80.003	75	24	180	Running
2	2	42	L Petty	-3.92	75	7	175	Running
3	3	51	R Burns	-6.22	75	37*	175	Running
4	4	001	H Smith	-1L	74	0	160	Running
5	12	46	C Trickle	-1L	74	0	155	Running
6	8	78	T McEwen	-2L	73	0	150	Running
7	36	23	Z Webster	-3L	72	0	146	Running
8	42	01	M Max	-3L	72	0	142	Running
9	26	55	J Langford	-4L	71	0	138	Running
10	31	32	D Roberts	-5L	70	0	134	Running
11	34	91	T Bear	-7L	68	0	130	Running
12	30	35	J Foss	-9L	66	0	127	Running
13	38	34	D Hamilton	-10L	65	0	124	Running
14	25	59	B Paulsen	-12L	63	0	121	Running
15	32	45	L Carbone	-13L	62	0	118	Running
16	7	4	A Unser	-14L	61	0	115	Running
17	20	003	R Holbrook	-19L	56	0	112	Running
18	37	95	T Mater	-19L	56	0	109	Running
19	28	61	D Hudson	-20L	55	0	106	Running
20	21	40	B Ebsen	-21L	54	0	103	Running
21	39	055	C McGee	-21L	54	0	100	Running
22	23	13	J Meeks	-25L	50	0	97	DQ
23	29	27	L McQueen	-25L	50	0	94	DQ
24	33	75	D Mulberry	-25L	50	0	91	Running
25	11	7	J Hampton	-26L	49	4	93	Running
26	16	74	J DeWitt	-26L	49	0	85	Running
27	6	24	M Lester	-26L	49	0	82	Running
28	35	08	S Holzheimer	-27L	48	0	79	Running
29	22	77	R Sweet	-28L	47	0	76	Retired
30	13	67	B Klock	-29L	46	0	73	DQ
31	24	1	T Daniels	-29L	46	0	70	Retired
32	17	10	E Keene	-30L	45	0	67	Running
33	43	93	R O'Reilly	-30L	45	0	64	Running
34	9	92	C Sumner	-33L	42	0	61	Running
35	10	43	R Petty	-34L	41	0	58	Running
36	14	11	M I Bannon	-40L	35	0	55	Running
37	41	9	S Greenbow	-41L	34	0	52	Running
38	15	98	M Joyner	-42L	33	0	49	Running
39	5	5	T Hankins	-49L	26	1	51	DQ
40	1	18	R Wheeler	-49L	26	2	48	DQ
41	19	72	A Grant	-50L	25	0	40	DQ
42	40	102	S McBeam	-53L	22	0	37	Running
43	27	66	M Riggleman Jr	-66L	9	0	34	Retired

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 9 (6 drivers)

Weather: Cloudy, 93 °F, South 2 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 90%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
3	23	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
3	91	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
1	66	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
3	66	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
20	01	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
7	66	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
24	01	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
11	66	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
32	19	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
11	66	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
35	91	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
35	91	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
40	23	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
11	66	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
53	91	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
53	91	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
51	34	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
63	91	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go
11	66	Unsafe pit exit	Stop and go