50's Short Track Classic 2015 - 39-40 Eldora

The penultimate track of the series and our final dirt track at the famous Eldora Speedway.  We expected wild racing and we got plenty of it.

Race 1:

Things started well enough for the humans in Race 1 with nearly all of us in the top 10.  But, wait, where's Sandy?  And the rest of the field?

Well, the 91 was employing some sandbagging tactics and the rest of the field was stuck on themselves.  Turns out I didn't set it for full pace lap which will cause some passing under yellow conditions.  When this thing started, there were some serious black flags happening.

Anyway, GREEN FLAG!  The humans jumped straight into action with Darrel getting a great run and cutting down to cover the inside.  I was just a few MPH slower so he wasn't able to get as low as he wanted.

Just as the three of us were starting to sort into a nice line, Scot ran up the track while about 4 wide and took some buddies to the wall.

Immediately, a Scot crash.

Like I said, that start was causing some black flags and for some reason cars were also getting serviced.  But because of how tight pit road needed to be to fit 40 cars in, there was a serious clog in the field.

Just getting to pit road was a slalom.

No humans suffered a black flag and we started off with some serious lap traffic.

Zack got his bumper buffed by Petty while trying to hold the middle.

As Lester and Richard gave him the one-two, Darrel was getting trucked by the 002 while he came down just a little too much.

Zack managed to keep things straight but Darrel got turned and another yellow happened.

Scot was only just behind this action as several more cars tried to duck out of the way or into the pits.

Another restart and we weren't even twenty laps in yet.

And we wouldn't have to wait one before another yellow was thrown.  Russ Wheeler in the 18 snuck up the outside and slapped Meyers out of the way when he moved to block.

While bouncing and bobbling back to get his car under control, contact was made with the 47 which drifted right in front of Hamilton's 34.

While spun around, The Bear tried to keep the car down but side slapped the Red Rocket.  Looks like Scot was still struggling to get that thing gathered up.

Another restart and another set of interesting circumstances.  Webster started understeering the corner while simultaneously getting hung on Lee Petty and they went up into the wall.

Through the shuffle and coming down into traffic, they collected Lester as well.

And a Scot-style wreck happened.

Although, from Scot's view, he was not involved.  That is some impressive air.

Once again, Smith couldn't pull his car down low enough and Lee Petty sort of fell across the front of his car.  I think some of this might have been caused by Zack's slightly errant internet connection, even though it was mostly settled for the important parts of the race.

While racing again, I struggled with the annoying lap traffic, even though there were only about 13-15 cars left on the track.  This opened the line for the 003 and Wheeler.

While racing back to get my top position, I hip checked the 9 of NOT Elliot and the yellow came out.

I only just made it to second while giving Wheeler a little taste of everyone else's medicine.

Green flag!  And Darrel is around on his own.  Must of had some wheel spin from cold tires.

He again struggled to get his car straightened around and got some great damage from Lester.  That 24 seems to have been in more than 50% of the wrecks here.

Racing resumed, there was a lot of good pacing and then the 9 just slid out on his own.

Green flag and we're well into this race, only about a dozen or so laps left.  Humans all in the top 10.

Once again, bained by traffic and it was the 8 ball of Holzhiemer who checked up and forced me out.

Fighting to keep the car off the wall I spun and it was back to the pack for me.

Only about 5 or 6 laps left in this one and it was all in to see who could improve their position the most.  Sandy and Zack were damaged and a little off pace.  The rest of us had a battle scars but pushed forward.

At one point Keene dove for the pits, nearly taking out Darrel and Zack.

Scot was losing momentum and working the car off of 4 when Zack came up on him too fast and they collided.

Scot was flung down the front stretch and into turn one when the yellow was finally out.

Bear just barely made it by on the outside without hitting him.

Racing to the line, I could only catch lap cars and let the 08 know how I felt about his driving.

The stunt got me turned around and I only just crossed the line ahead of Darrel for 4th.  All said and done, it was a good finish for all the humans with everyone still in it by the end and in the top 10.

Race 2:

Max Damage and another set of 50 laps on the board.  This one was set up quite differently.

The field was correctly set to start a full pace lap.  In this configuration, we were traditionally set up in diagonal show fashion meaning...

...everyone started without problems.  Suddenly starting in the back and hoping for all cars to go in was not going to work like it did in Race 1.

Darrel couldn't quite get down on the start and was shuffled wide.

Crunching the wall, he stayed high and let the field go by so he could slip to the inside and work his way back up.

Scot, who qualied midfield, was fighting for position but also on the outside.

He too rode the lonely train to the back.

But not as error free as he got into Moses Brings Plenty.

That earned him a few smarts.

Restarting, no one was out or even in the pits.

The next casualty was Zack who was also wronged by the 22.

Right in front of him, they were 5 wide.

This didn't end well for the 002.

More racing into the race and Darrel was climbing the ladder with Zack in tow.  With the field still relatively clumped, it wasn't long before he had a run in.  But no yellow, no crash, no damage, amazingly.

No that honor went to Sandy when he was ran into by Paulsen.  Not even on the same lap, he got turned in the corner.  I saw this coming from way back but warned too late.  He went down a lap.

The next wreck happened from the 18 just sliding out.

Harmless at first until he had a reunion with Rowdy in the 51.  Hey look, Cole is coming around the corner.

More wrecking made this look a little more like what we were expecting.

Even Scot was involved!

Darrel was bouncing off of swirling cars and Zack was oversteering trying to keep out of the messes.  No extra damage to anyone.

We did get going and both Zack and Darrel continued their charge through traffic, bouncing off of whoever got in their way.

This run ended not long in when Paulsen came down on Petty going for the pits.

More cars were damaged and strewn.

Coming to the line, Scot may have run the 98 into a spin.

That contact launched him like a missile into the Hudson Hornet.  He's getting good at using other cars as projectiles.  I'll laugh if he hits the 8 ball car with a white car right into some kind of pocket.  I'd have to give him the win by default.  But only if all other cars were cleared from the track.  8 ball has to be the last one in or you lose.

Anyway, Darrel was also taking some people out coming to the green.

About 3 laps to go and Zack was pushing it to try and keep with Darrel's progress when he pushed hard off the corner into Klock.

While catching, he overcorrected.

But survived.  Sadly, this would cause us to finish under yellow.

Just after the line, I gave him a nudge to keep him going.  Thought I heard the engine sputter and didn't want him to stall.

Darrel tried to give me a victory "pat on the back" but just rolled on the floor laughing.

Not as strong a finish for the rest of the humans, although they were well away from last to be sure.  Had Chad been here, maybe things would have been different.

As we head to the final two rounds at Bristol, here is the lay of the land:

Zack, now tied with 10th with 300 points.  Your average is 18.00.  If you break into a 17 average, you get an extra 30 points which right now would place you 8th ahead of Sumner.  To break the top 5, you need 31-37 (max limit) points and a poor result by Russ Wheeler.

Scot, now 16th with 277 points.  Your average is 20.03.  If you break into a 19 average, you get an extra 40 points which right now would place you 8th ahead of Sumner.

Darrel, now 17th with 275 points.  Your average is 20.94.  If you break into a 19 average, you get an extra 35 points which right now would place you 11th ahead of Lester.  Based on the figures of those around you, you'll need two solid finishes to stay in the top 10.  Try to average at least 10 points a race and you should do it.

Sandy, now tied with 24th with 237 points.  Your average is 23.05 but that doesn't matter right now.  You need to finish 12th or higher per race or average about 22 points. to have a decent shot at breaking the top 20.  It will be close but Mulberry and McEwen are your targets.  Klock, Smith and Rozelle are between you and them but if you hit those finishes, you should do it.

OK, now for results from this most recent track....

Race 1

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	34	D Hamilton	14.309
2	19	T Nadz	14.373
3	23	Z Webster	14.726
4	91	T Bear	14.821
5	01	M Max	15.011
6	36	P Rozelle	15.048
7	003	R Holbrook	15.080
8	11	M I Bannon	15.123
9	4	A Unser	15.186
10	55	J Langford	15.226
11	17	M Downing	15.258
12	75	D Mulberry	15.381
13	055	C McGee	15.449
14	7	J Hampton	15.684
15	74	J DeWitt	15.816
16	95	T Mater	16.101
17	47	R Vining	25.199

Weather: Clear, 86 °F, West 6 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	19	T Nadz	14.298
2	34	D Hamilton	14.422
3	23	Z Webster	14.773
4	42	L Petty	14.945
5	01	M Max	15.018
6	24	M Lester	15.086
7	51	R Burns	15.088
8	18	R Wheeler	15.111
9	36	P Rozelle	15.148
10	003	R Holbrook	15.156
11	74	J DeWitt	15.200
12	7	J Hampton	15.203
13	92	C Sumner	15.210
14	46	C Trickle	15.213
15	43	R Petty	15.238
16	4	A Unser	15.239
17	40	B Ebsen	15.247
18	75	D Mulberry	15.252
19	47	R Vining	15.257
20	055	C McGee	15.259
21	88	T Bickle	15.264
22	67	B Klock	15.268
23	11	M I Bannon	15.277
24	1	T Daniels	15.282
25	001	H Smith	15.287
26	17	M Downing	15.289
27	32	D Roberts	15.299
28	35	J Foss	15.309
29	99	R Melindez	15.323
30	002	T Mender	15.334
31	93	R O'Reilly	15.344
32	95	T Mater	15.353
33	27	L McQueen	15.356
34	55	J Langford	15.358
35	77	R Sweet	15.379
36	45	L Carbone	15.412
37	08	S Holzheimer	15.415
38	10	E Keene	15.485
39	9	S Greenbow	16.181
40	91	T Bear	23.650

Weather: Clear, 86 °F, North 7 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	34	D Hamilton	14.434
2	19	T Nadz	14.530
3	23	Z Webster	14.993

Weather: Clear, 80 °F, Northwest 15 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	8	18	R Wheeler	62.436	50	6	180	Running
2	10	003	R Holbrook	-0.44	50	23*	180	Running
3	6	24	M Lester	-2.72	50	0	165	Running
4	1	19	T Nadz	-1L	49	21	165	Running
5	2	34	D Hamilton	-1L	49	0	155	Running
6	3	23	Z Webster	-1L	49	0	150	Running
7	40	91	T Bear	-1L	49	0	146	Running
8	5	01	M Max	-1L	49	0	142	Running
9	15	43	R Petty	-7L	43	0	138	Running
10	19	47	R Vining	-10L	40	0	134	Running
11	36	45	L Carbone	-13L	37	0	130	Running
12	37	08	S Holzheimer	-14L	36	0	127	Running
13	18	75	D Mulberry	-15L	35	0	124	Running
14	39	9	S Greenbow	-17L	33	0	121	Running
15	14	46	C Trickle	-20L	30	0	118	Running
16	38	10	E Keene	-21L	29	0	115	Running
17	29	99	R Melindez	-33L	17	0	112	Running
18	4	42	L Petty	-33L	17	0	109	Accident
19	28	35	J Foss	-37L	13	0	106	Running
20	30	002	T Mender	-38L	12	0	103	Running
21	35	77	R Sweet	-38L	12	0	100	Running
22	31	93	R O'Reilly	-39L	11	0	97	Running
23	20	055	C McGee	-39L	11	0	94	Running
24	32	95	T Mater	-42L	8	0	91	Running
25	21	88	T Bickle	-43L	7	0	88	Running
26	22	67	B Klock	-43L	7	0	85	Running
27	17	40	B Ebsen	-44L	6	0	82	Accident
28	34	55	J Langford	-44L	6	0	79	Running
29	16	4	A Unser	-45L	5	0	76	Tire
30	26	17	M Downing	-45L	5	0	73	Running
31	11	74	J DeWitt	-45L	5	0	70	Running
32	23	11	M I Bannon	-46L	4	0	67	Running
33	7	51	R Burns	-47L	3	0	64	Running
34	27	32	D Roberts	-47L	3	0	61	Running
35	33	27	L McQueen	-48L	2	0	58	Running
36	9	36	P Rozelle	-48L	2	0	55	Retired
37	25	001	H Smith	-48L	2	0	52	Running
38	24	1	T Daniels	-49L	1	0	49	Running
39	12	7	J Hampton	-49L	1	0	46	Running
40	13	92	C Sumner	-49L	1	0	43	Running

Caution Flags: 9 (34 laps)

Lead Changes: 2 (3 drivers)

Weather: Cloudy, 80 °F, North 11 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 98%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
0	91	Passing the pacecar	Held for 11 seconds
25	23	Passing on the inside	Stop and go
27	01	Passing on the inside	Stop and go
37	23	Unsafe pit entrance	Go to end of longest line
38	23	Unsafe pit entrance	Go to end of longest line

Race 2

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	19	T Nadz	14.418
2	34	D Hamilton	14.535
3	42	L Petty	15.003
4	01	M Max	15.028
5	1	T Daniels	15.113
6	78	T McEwen	15.148
7	4	A Unser	15.150
8	18	R Wheeler	15.151
9	95	T Mater	15.168
10	51	R Burns	15.170
11	003	R Holbrook	15.170
12	24	M Lester	15.179
13	36	P Rozelle	15.180
14	77	R Sweet	15.184
15	43	R Petty	15.186
16	75	D Mulberry	15.199
17	67	B Klock	15.204
18	5	T Hankins	15.233
19	46	C Trickle	15.250
20	92	C Sumner	15.251
21	11	M I Bannon	15.257
22	002	T Mender	15.266
23	45	L Carbone	15.276
24	10	E Keene	15.277
25	74	J DeWitt	15.286
26	35	J Foss	15.308
27	7	J Hampton	15.324
28	59	B Paulsen	15.375
29	13	J Meeks	15.382
30	55	J Langford	15.400
31	98	M Joyner	15.404
32	40	B Ebsen	15.406
33	07	R Hutchins	15.406
34	61	D Hudson	15.410
35	3	M Benefield	15.439
36	22	M Brings Plenty	15.468
37	27	L McQueen	15.494
38	93	R O'Reilly	15.570
39	23	Z Webster	31.287
40	91	T Bear	33.420

Weather: Clear, 91 °F, Northwest 12 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	19	T Nadz	70.749	50	50*	185	Running
2	13	36	P Rozelle	-0.83	50	0	170	Running
3	5	1	T Daniels	-1.28	50	0	165	Running
4	25	74	J DeWitt	-1.72	50	0	160	Running
5	27	7	J Hampton	-2.17	50	0	155	Running
6	24	10	E Keene	-2.62	50	0	150	Running
7	29	13	J Meeks	-1L	49	0	146	Running
8	20	92	C Sumner	-1L	49	0	142	Running
9	18	5	T Hankins	-1L	49	0	138	Running
10	12	24	M Lester	-1L	49	0	134	Running
11	21	11	M I Bannon	-1L	49	0	130	Running
12	6	78	T McEwen	-1L	49	0	127	Running
13	2	34	D Hamilton	-1L	49	0	124	Running
14	14	77	R Sweet	-1L	49	0	121	Running
15	15	43	R Petty	-1L	49	0	118	Running
16	26	35	J Foss	-1L	49	0	115	Running
17	17	67	B Klock	-1L	49	0	112	Running
18	19	46	C Trickle	-1L	49	0	109	Running
19	4	01	M Max	-1L	49	0	106	Running
20	31	98	M Joyner	-1L	49	0	103	Running
21	33	07	R Hutchins	-1L	49	0	100	Running
22	7	4	A Unser	-1L	49	0	97	Running
23	39	23	Z Webster	-1L	49	0	94	Running
24	23	45	L Carbone	-1L	49	0	91	Running
25	32	40	B Ebsen	-2L	48	0	88	Running
26	16	75	D Mulberry	-2L	48	0	85	Running
27	36	22	M Brings Plenty	-2L	48	0	82	Running
28	40	91	T Bear	-2L	48	0	79	Running
29	30	55	J Langford	-3L	47	0	76	Retired
30	37	27	L McQueen	-3L	47	0	73	Running
31	35	3	M Benefield	-4L	46	0	70	Retired
32	28	59	B Paulsen	-6L	44	0	67	Running
33	34	61	D Hudson	-9L	41	0	64	Accident
34	3	42	L Petty	-15L	35	0	61	Accident
35	11	003	R Holbrook	-16L	34	0	58	Retired
36	22	002	T Mender	-23L	27	0	55	Retired
37	10	51	R Burns	-24L	26	0	52	Accident
38	38	93	R O'Reilly	-24L	26	0	49	Retired
39	8	18	R Wheeler	-24L	26	0	46	Accident
40	9	95	T Mater	-24L	26	0	43	Accident

Caution Flags: 7 (26 laps)

Lead Changes: 0 (1 driver)

Weather: Clear, 90 °F, East 13 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 1x

AI Strength: 98%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
49	23	Dropping Fluid	Pit for repairs