Two wins each for Ferris, Remington and Stanley at Washtenaw RC Raceway points series opener

Washtenaw RC Raceway Points Season Opener

 

The 2016-2017 season kicked off at Washtenaw RC Raceway on November 12th with 134 entries in 10 classes. The event was well attended especially in the Novice, Stock Buggy, Stock Short Course and Stadium Truck classes. Many new faces showed up to try RC racing for the first time. The track design is a mix of technical sections but most of the experienced drivers thought it flowed well and had areas that were easy too. WRCR will be the place to enjoy lots of great racing this winter.

 

 

Historically, the WRCR program has developed new racers through the Novice class. Any 2wd 10th scale car can enter and race. In addition, there are available rental vehicles for anyone to test their skills. The Season Opener had a large turnout of new racers. Troy Wells edged out the field of 16 captured the TQ allowing him to start 1st on the grid for the A-main. The second spot was secured by Cade Riegle and the third spot went Milo Spieth. At the start of the A-main Troy entered the decision maker lane and grabbed a tube allowing Cade and Milo to pass through. Clay Hurt slipped through and by the start finish line he had passed Milo. Troy was sent back to 6th place. Milo and Clay fought hard to hold position allowing Cade to increase his lead as the laps clicked off. Troy quickly returned from his 6th place position on the first lap and joined the battle with Clay and Milo pulling Terry Bush with him. By mid race Cade had a large lead, Troy held the 2nd spot and Milo was in 3rd. The 4th position was a toss up between Terry and Clay which came down to the last lap. Cade won with a performance that could qualify him to enter the Stock class. Troy finished 2nd, Milo in 3rd and Clay in 4th.

 

 

New this season is the Open Mini class. Any Mini sized race vehicle is accepted. The Opener had TLR Mini8ight and Mini8ightT vehicles racing fast on the track handling the bumps and jumps with difficulty. These small vehicles make the technical track look large. Joe Gates was able to secure the TQ position even though his Mini8ightT only finished one heat. The A-main started and Joe, using his backup car, was challenged by Forrest Remington. Milo Spieth chasing in third. After the 5 minute main Forrest held of for the win, Joe in 2nd and Milo in third. 

 

 

The Stampede class has been growing every year and 2016-17 is no different. This class requires Stampede like chassis and tires with unlimited power plants. Reverse is allowed. This large open wheel class is fun to watch and looks really fun to race. Last season’s winner Matt Lemorie, a 19 season veteran of the program, was present to prepare for contesting his championship. His 2015-16 win was very close with Ben Belote and C.J. Boka. These three diced and bounced through qualifying with CJ securing the TQ. Ben had to settle for the 2nd spot on the starting grid and Sean Carney grabbed the 3rd position. Matt started from the 5th spot. Through the first corners Ben was able get around CJ and take over the top spot and grow a large lead in the opening laps. Sean began to pressure CJ early on. Matt was able to get around Joe Gates to take over the 4th spot early on.  A battle for the 2nd spot begin mid race between CJ, Sean, and Matt changing positions almost every lap. Matt came out on top holding the 2nd position with 10 laps completed leaving CJ and Sean to fight for 3rd. It was Sean finishing 3rd ahead of CJ. Ben captured the win, Matt in 2nd place and Sean in third. The total entry count has increased since last season up to 11 entries. Bring out your Stampede to join the fun.

 

 

A strong turnout in Stock Truck 17.5 class set the tone for the season already with last season’s champion, Danny Dresselhouse, capturing the TQ after qualifying. At the onset on the A-main it looked like he would repeat his dominance leading the pack for the opening laps. C. J. Boka, starting from the 3rd spot, was able to secure the 2nd position passing Conner Stanley at the start. Andy Dresselhouse rounded out the leaders in 4th place. Dan flipped his truck as CJ, being very close behind, was able to take advantage and assume the lead.  These two traded positions for most the main event. Just as it looked like CJ would win he coupled with a one of the 12 trucks as he was working to get by allowing both Dan and Conner to pass him. It was Conner who passed the finish line in 1st place after the 7 minute clock expired. Dan held off C.J. for 2nd place. C.J. finished in 3rd place only 1.4 seconds behind. Andy maintained 4th place over the rest of the field. 

 

 

The Stock Buggy class was the largest class last season and it looks like it will remain that way in 2016-17. With 21 entries racing was tight with qualifying being determined by fractions of seconds. It was Kenny Ferris that would grab the TQ in qualifying. His B5M buggy was looking good on the tight turns giving him some advantage. Ben Belote, with his B6D, was fast enough to capture the 2nd spot on the starting grid with Dan Dresselhouse in 3rd. The A-main was packed with fast drivers and at the start the buggies all filled through the first turns in starting order. Kenny ran a clean race unchallenged and captured the win. The racing behind him was another story. Ben held off the field for a few laps but pressure from Forrest Remington and Dan Dresselhouse was too much for him. Ben held 4th all the way to the finish. Forrest grabbed 2nd first with Dan close behind. This held for many laps until Dan got by to take over the position. Kenny captured the win with an 11 second margin over Dan. Forrest held on for 3rd even though Ben closed the gap in the later stages.

 

Stock Short Course 17.5

 

Another class that always has good turn out is the Stock Short Course Truck 17.5 class. This is a natural class for Novice racers to migrate to once they win 3 Novice events. The returning Champion Dan Dresselhouse was in attendance and as ready as always. Last season’s Mod Short Course Champion Tom Erickson also was entered setting up a battle of past champions. Qualifying was close with Dan edging out Tom for the TQ. Sean Carney was close behind starting from the 3rd position and Patrick Ferris in 4th. The start was clean as Dan selected the smoother outer lane instead of the option lane as Tom and Sean made an attempt to gain on him through the first section. The three entered the front straight in running order with Tom drifting wide allowing Sean to get by. Andy Dresselhouse closed in and passed CJ for the 4th spot. Sean did not let Dan grow a large lead as Tom was also sticking close. The top three were nose to tail on the opening laps. Sean was able to get around Dan to take over the lead with Tom following through sending Dan back to 3rd. Then, as luck would have it, Sean retired due to radio issues shifting the field by one position. Tom continued to attempt to gain time through the option lane which did not pay off flipping his truck over. This allowed Andy and CJ to get by him and charge forward as marshals attended to Tom. Dan continued to stretch out his lead as CJ and Andy continued to battle for the 2nd spot. Andy held off every charge from CJ giving up the position for a lap. CJ secured 3rd only 0.4 seconds behind. Dan won the season’s first round with Andy in 2nd and CJ in 3rd. Tom had to settle for 4th place. 

 

 

The new track design for 2016-17 is technical and challenging for most vehicles. The power of four wheels demonstrated that the 4x4 Short Course trucks are one of the fastest classes on the track. Conner Stanley was on point with his TLR SCTE securing the TQ. The Challenger in qualifying was Matt Lemorie getting very close to Conner’s TQ pace. Brian Hurt and Mark Riegle qualified 3rd and 4th. The turnout was very good for this class with10 entries. At the start, Conner took off as the rest of the field fought it out through the initial option lane.  Brian spun out letting much of the field get by. After the first lap Mark Riegle crossed the line in 2nd with Matt in 3rd. On the second lap it was Matt’s turn to get collected in the Option lane. Greg Shelton move into the 3rd position with Andy Dresselhouse right on his bumper. Brian joined into the battle as Conner continued to increase his lead. Mid way through the 7 minute main Andy passed Mark for a few laps but could not hold it. Mark and Andy drove hard for the rest of the main event leaving Brian behind to finish 4th. Conner won from start to finish, Mark held of Andy to finish in 2nd ahead by only 1.3 seconds. Andy finished the podium in 3rd place. Exciting racing already at the season opener. 

 

 

The fastest class on the track is the 4wd Buggy class. These high power-to-weight ratio vehicles piloted by some of the best drivers in the region are often tricky to control. Last season’s Champion Patrick Ferris was able to show his consistency qualifying in 2nd behind Dan Dresselhouse, last season’s runner up. Forrest Remington set a fast pace in qualifying to secure 3rd overall. The track design is challenging for these small powerful cars which was evident as drivers positions changed frequently. Conner Stanley came across the start-finish first on the opening lap with Forrest then Patrick then Ben Belote. The order flipped as Ben was able to charge to the lead as Conner dropped to 3rd. Forrest emerged as the fastest driver of the day getting past Ben to hold 1st place for much of the main event. Conner and Ben traded places many times not allowing Forrest a chance to grow his lead too much. Late in the main event Ben was able to take the lead sending Conner to 3rd and Forrest to 2nd. The dreaded washboard section flipped his B44.2 sending him back to 4th place on the last lap. Forrest was able to finish in 1st, Conner in 2nd, and Dan in 3rd. 

 

 

The Short Course classes at WRCR are solid this season. Gary Reiser handily captured the TQ in qualifying to start from the pole. Mark Riegle qualified in 2nd, Brian Hurt in 3rd position. Gary started the field off with a smooth first lap. Mark followed through as the entire field ran in running order on the opening laps. Brian held 3rd place behind Mark until Anthony Wright challenged him for the position after getting past 4th place Matt Lemorie. Anthony’s challenge payed off as he assumed the 3rd position. The top 4 trucks were spaced evenly on the track with only a few seconds between each. Anthony held off Brian for most of the main event. Brian improved his lap times staying tight to the tubes and was able to get past Anthony. The last laps were exciting as Gary made a rare mistake letting go of half of his lead. Mark did what he could to pressure Gary for the lead without success. Gary held on to the lead to cross the line in 1st place with a 9 sec advantage. Mark finished in 2nd place only 2 seconds ahead of Brian in 3rd place. Anthony never let go finishing in 4th only 3 seconds behind Brian.

 

 

The Mod Buggy class is one of the most challenging classes to race. Traction is always a balancing act with so much power in such a light vehicle. Kenny Ferris dominated last season in this class and used the Opener to set the tone again securing Top Qualifier (TQ). Johnny Walker started in 2nd ahead of Mark “Peanut M&M” Thompson. Mark entered the Mod Buggy class with a vintage RC10 Worlds edition buggy. At the start the group flowed through the first section in starting order. Kenny started to pull away from the pack.  Kenny’s consistency and speed was unmatched. He lead the 7 minute main event from start to finish without any challenge. Johnny held his starting position from start to finish even with Mark turning laps at a similar pace. Nicky Walker finished in 4th place.

 

 

The 2016-17 season started with a bang at the Season Opener. The race program was well run and finished before 9PM. Three full 5 minute qualifiers as well as the traditional King-of-the-Hill class allowed Dave Ferris to offer 7 minute A-mains. The atmosphere was charged and the heat was nice and warm. The next points event is planned for November 26th, 2016. Doors open at 8AM with racing starting at 10AM. Look for the season schedule at www.wrcr.biz or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WashtenawRcRaceway/