25 replies to this topic

[akahollywood]

 

2023-2024 INDIANA HOPRA RACING SCHEDULE

 

All races (except the Gobbler Endurance Challenge) will feature HOPRA Rules for Super Stock, Spec Racer Spec Jet, Gravity, or CMPM. For class rules, see the HOPRA Rulebook. The race format for all classes will be a one-minute round robin qualifying heat seeding a four-minute main. You can win from any main. Entry fee: $8.00, includes both classes, plus food & soft drinks. $1.00 will be donated to HOPRA National Championship’s Fund. Everyone is Welcome!

 

Race #1

Saturday, September 30th

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

COBRA RACEWAY – CMPM (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

 

Race #2

Saturday, October 21st

JORDAN RACEWAY – Super Stock & Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd
Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

Race #3

Saturday, November 18th

Annual Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge

COBRA RACEWAY (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 8 am, Team Selection @ 10 am, Racing @ 12 pm

 

Race #4

Saturday, December 9th

COBRA RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Spec Jet (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Jet immediately after.

 

Race #5

Saturday, January 13th

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

COBRA RACEWAY – CMPM (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30; CMPM immediately after.

 

Race #6

Saturday, February 24th

Annual Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Gravity (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

COBRA RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 8:30 am with practice for both classes until 11:00 am.

Gravity racing* at 11:30 am, SS racing immediately after (approximately @ 2:00 pm).

Entry fee will be $20.00 for both classes. If you are racing SS only, then you will pay the normal $8.00 entry fee.

 

Race #7

Saturday, March 9th

HRENO RACEWAY – Gravity and Spec Jet (Viper 4-lane) – Terry Hreno

Location: 817 West 24^th Street, Connersville IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/ywhw9dvz9sTTdimY9

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. Gravity racing at 12:30, Spec Jet immediately after.

 

Race #8
Saturday, April 13th

JORDAN RACEWAY – HOPRA Super Stock & HOPRA Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd
Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

 

*Race #6 – Gravity mains will be 5 minutes.

 

[akahollywood]

The first race of the 2023-24 season is just two weeks from today at Tony McWilliams' motorsports complex. Are you ready to race?!?!?!?

 

We'll be racing Super Stock on the Riverside and CMPM on the Cobra. The race format for both classes will be a one-minute round robin qualifying heat seeding a four-minute main. You can win from any main. Entry fee: $8.00, includes both classes, plus food & soft drinks. $1.00 will be donated to the HOPRA National Championship’s Fund. Everyone is Welcome!

 

Race #1
Saturday, September 30th
RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
COBRA RACEWAY – CMPM (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p
Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

 

Brystal Riverside

Brystal Cobra

 

Race on!

[akahollywood]

One week from today!

 

Race #1
Saturday, September 30th
RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
COBRA RACEWAY – CMPM (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p
Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

 

Race on,

Dave

[akahollywood]

We kicked off the new season with a slim number of drivers, but made up for that with some good, fun racing at Tmac's expansive HO motorplex. After a couple hours of thrashing and practice as well as a fine lunch spread provided by Mrs. Tmac, the racing action got underway with the Super Stock 1-minute Qualifier round-robin. Yours truly squeaked by Tmac by a few sections to take TQ honors (with a Tmac- built car) with Dwayne Norris finishing third and a slightly rusty Rob Merchant coming in fourth. 

In the SS main, Tmac kicked it into overdrive and avoided most of the mayhem that the Riverside bullring always provides to take top honors. Here's the final SS finishing order:

 

After a short break, everyone got prepared to take on the mighty Cobra with the speedy CMPM monsters. Since we were down to six racers after Dwayne went through his motor allotment during morning practice, it was decided to drop a lane due to the low turnout and therefore lack of marshalls. In a blind draw, the blue lane was dropped. With this and Dwayne volunteering to marshall, we were able to pull off the CMPM qualifier and mains. In the 1-minute qualifier, Tmac took top honors followed by Rob and yours truly. 

Showing he had not forgotten how to race during his extended hiatus from pulling a trigger, Rob took top CMPM honors by one lap over Tmac. 

 

Thanks to everyone who was able to make the race. Also, big thanks to Tmac and his wife for hosting us for the day. 

 

Next race...

 

Race #2

Saturday, October 21st

JORDAN RACEWAY – Super Stock & Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd
Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

[akahollywood]

Quick reminder, the next race is less than 2 weeks away!

 

Race #2

Saturday, October 21st

JORDAN RACEWAY – Super Stock & Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd
Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

Hope to see you there!

[akahollywood]

It's a week from today! Have you made plans to be there? 

 

Race #2

Saturday, October 21st

JORDAN RACEWAY – Super Stock & Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd
Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

 

Looking forward to see you there! 

[akahollywood]

Sorry for the delay due to computer issues (crash!) in getting the results from this past weekend's race #2 of the IN HOPRA Series 2023-2024. If you weren't there, you missed a great day of racing fun! We had 10 racers turn out for the race at Merrell Todd's Jordan Raceway and as usual for this one, there was a lot of thrashing in the pits and on track during the morning practice session. When practice ended, Merrell treated everyone to hearty chili with all the fixings, homemade cookies, along with soft drinks and water. Once everyone was properly fueled up, the racing got underway. 

 

First up was the Super Stock 1-minute round-robin qualifier session. Rob Merchant took TQ honors with yours truly less than a lap behind, followed by Tony "Tmac" WcWilliams, Mike Thomas and Chuck Smale. Chuck's top 5 qualifying spot put him in the A main! 

In the SS mains, Rob had a flawless run to take the top spot, his first HOPRA win since coming back to racing on a regular basis. Mike Thomas came home a very impressive second with Dwayne taking the last podium spot in third. Here is the full SS finishing order:

 

Our second class of the day was Spec Racer. There are a few racers who really don't like this class. These cars can be tricky to set-up and more than a few have experienced overheating issues, trashed gears and broken hearts. None more so than Dwayne, with a couple cars going straight in the trash can after a race (those were quickly scooped up by certain fellow racers!). That would all change for him on this particular day. In the 1-minute qualifier, yours truly ended up TQ with Rob, Tmac, John Woollard and Dwayne rounding out the top 5. 

In the Spec Racer mains, the action was hot and heavy with the marshals kept busy. Jordan Speedway is a deceivingly tough track and it always puts drivers to the test. But, on this day, one racer would banish all  the hard luck, not to mention the dislike (putting it lightly) for this class. Yes, Dwayne had a flawless race and took top honors in Spec Racer! He was followed by me, with John Woollard taking the final podium spot. Here's the full finishing order:

 

Big thanks to Merrell for all the hours and hard work to get everything in order for us to race. Great food and track preparation! 

 

The next race on our schedule is the annual Gobbler Enduro on Saturday, November 18th. This event will be dedicated to Gary Lohkamp. This was his brainchild many years ago and he put in a lot of effort to keep it going through the years. We intend to keep it going in Gary's honor this year and into the future. Details coming soon, but in the meantime, mark your calendars now and plan on being there on 11/18.

 

 Race #3

Saturday, November 18th

Annual Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge

COBRA RACEWAY (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 8 am, Team Selection @ 10 am, Racing @ 12 pm

 

 

Race on!

 

 

Attached Images

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[akahollywood]

Just noticed a problem with the Spec Racer results for the Mains. DOH! Here is the corrected finishing order:

[akahollywood]

Less than 2 weeks away!

 

 Race #3

Saturday, November 18th

Annual Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge

COBRA RACEWAY (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 8 am, Team Selection @ 10 am, Racing @ 12 pm

 

 

Continuing the tradition started by Gary Lohkamp, IN HOPRA is proud to announce the 22nd Annual Gobbler Endurance Challenge in his memory.  This year's 4-Hour event will be hosted by Tony McWilliams on Saturday, November, 18th.  New for this year, we will be running BSRT G3RS Spec Jet (12-volt) cars with TNT rule spec silicone sponge tires from Quicker Engineering.  

Advance entry fee is $20.00, now thru 11/16. You can pay your advance entry directly to Curt Thompson during a TNT race or via PayPal Friends & Family , to howoodrace@gmail.com (Dave Lehr). On race day, entry fee will be $30.00. (Entry fees cover the cost of car maintenance and replacement parts.)

Lunch will be a “Racer Pitch-In” - Please bring a main dish, chips, dessert, snacks or soft drinks to share with your fellow racers.

 

See the attached event details for the full scoop! Hope you can make it...

 

 2023 Gobbler Endurance Challenge info sheet final.pdf   197.05KB   16 downloads

 

Race on!

 

 

 

 

 

[akahollywood]

Just a reminder...

 

The 22nd Annual Gobbler Endurance Challenge is ONE WEEK from today!

 

Save $$ with the advance $20 entry fee, but you only have until Thursday, 11/16!

 

We hope you can join us for a fun day of racing and celebrate Gary Lohkamp and the event he created so many years ago. 

[akahollywood]

The 22nd Annual Gobbler Endurance Challenge is in the books and from all reports it had the usual fun and surprises. With 12 racers on hand, that meant it would be 4 three-person teams. This year would debut new cars for the event - BSRT G3RS Spec Jet (12-volt) cars with TNT rule spec silicone sponge tires from Quicker Engineering, prepared by Dwayne Norris and Tony McWilliams. It was decided to switch from the Brystal Cobra track to the smaller Brystal Riverside track. Unfortunately, yours truly had to miss the fun due to lingering effects of a stomach bug, so this race report will be a lot more brief than usual, in fact, it will be just the results only. (I can hear the sighs of relief already!) Huge thanks to Tmac for hosting and all the preparation and to all the racers who participated. 

 

 

Next race: 

 

Race #4

Saturday, December 9th

COBRA RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Spec Jet (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Jet immediately after.

 

[akahollywood]

Race #4 is just 2 weeks away!

 

Race #4

Saturday, December 9^th,

COBRA RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Spec Jet (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Jet immediately after.

 

Everyone is invited, hope to see you there! 

 

SS on Cobra

 

Spec Jet on Riverside

[akahollywood]

Race #4 is less than a week away!

 

It's THIS SATURDAY!    12/9

 

Everyone is invited and welcome!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[akahollywood]

On a very Spring-like December day, a smaller field of racers assembled for a day of racing. In addition to the usual suspects, we had a new racer, Jason Fisher, join the fun all the way from Springfield, IL. Since yours truly was in Covid isolation at home, cub reporter/racer (Mike Thomas) provided a few helpful tidbits for this race report. The first race of the day, as usual, was SS and would be on the menacing Cobra track. In the 1-minute round robin qualifier, Tmac took top honors by a wide margin. 

The question was, could he maintain that pace in the mains. According to reports, a lap tape miscue threatened to derail Tmac, but in the end, he did recover to take the win by two laps over second-place John Roe with Mike Thomas coming in third place, followed by Rob Merchant in fourth.

Here is the full SS results:

 

The second class for the day was Spec Jet on the Riverside bullring. Rob Merchant took top honors in the qualifier with John Roe and Tmac rounding out the top three. 

]

While the Qualifier finishing order was fairly close, Rob would turn on the after-burners in the main to take top honors by 20 laps over second place finisher, John Roe. Finishing in third, from the "B" main, was none other than Chuck Smale! I believe that is Chuck's best finish ever in an IN HOPRA Series race. Congratulations Chuck!!!! 

Here are the complete Spec Jet results: 

 

Thanks to everyone who came out for what sounded like a really good day of fun racing. Special thanks to Jason for joining us. You are more than welcome to come back and race with us any time. In fact, if you are reading this report, consider this your invitation to join us too!

 

Our next race is -- 

Saturday, January 13th

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
COBRA RACEWAY – CMPM (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p
Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30; CMPM immediately after.

 

Hope to see you there!

 

In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

 

[akahollywood]

 

Our next race is less than 2 weeks away! 

 

Saturday, January 13th

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
COBRA RACEWAY – CMPM (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p
Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30; CMPM immediately after.

 

Riverside

 

Cobra

 

Everyone is invited... Hope to see you there!

[akahollywood]

deleted double post

[akahollywood]

One week from today is RACE DAY! 

 

 

Saturday, January 13th

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
COBRA RACEWAY – CMPM (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p
Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30; CMPM immediately after.

 

 

Everyone is invited! 

 

 

[akahollywood]

On a cold, windy and snowy winter's day, the racing action was fast and furious on track at Tmac's HO slot racing complex. We had 12 intrepid racers brave the weather, including Phil "Slyfinger" Stevens traveling all the way from Lexington, KY, to compete for a podium spot. The classes for the day were Super Stock on the Brystal Riverside bullring road course and CMPM on the Brystal Cobra super speedway. As usual, Tmac had the tracks and the facility ready to go for the day.

 

After a few hours of practice for both classes, Mrs. Tmac served up a very tasty Taco Bar that the racers eagerly dove into and loaded up their plates, with many going back for seconds and maybe thirds. Huge thanks to Mrs. Tmac!

 

First race of the day, as usual, was Super Stock. Dwayne Norris, Tmac, John Roe and yours truly had all set fast laps in practice with Tmac topping the charts with a blistering 1.9 lap on the Riverside, Dwayne was right on his heels and may have even dipped into the 1.9s too when no one was looking. In the 1-minute round-robin Qualifier, yours truly got lucky with a consistent and trouble-free run to take the top spot with John Roe just 2 laps back, followed by Dwayne and Tmac, who had a gear issue which was unfortunately a foreshadowing of his day. Rob Merchant and Mike Thomas both finished with identical laps and sections to take 5th and 6th respectively. In the 4-minute Mains, the action was crazy on this track, keeping the marshals busy and many drivers frustrated. When the checkered flag fell, it was yours truly taking the win, followed by John Roe in second and Mike Robertson (from the C Main) taking third by sections over Dwayne Norris. Here is the full results for Super Stock:

 

After a brief break for everyone to catch their breath and settle their nerves, the CMPM 1-minute round-robin got underway on the Cobra. This was the second and final time to race these beasts in the current season and it's a class that most racers either love or hate. In morning practice, Dwayne and Tmac had looked strong, along with Chase (aka Thor) Walker. In the 1-minute Qualifier, those three remained at the top of the results with each separated by just a lap. In the C-main, Phil "Slyfinger" Stevens had a very impressive run that would ultimately land him in 5th in the final standings and young Russell Ainslie also impressed with no "offs" during his run in the C-main. There were an unusual amount of mechanical issues for the racers in the B-Main, not to mention major crashes that drew the blood of two turn marshals, Rob Merchant and Chuck Smale. In the A-Main, Tmac's uncharacteristic mechanical issues continued, while Dwayne Norris and Chase Walker had good runs to take the top two spots respectively. Here is the full CMPM rundown:

 

Big thanks to everyone who braved the elements to come race, especially Phil "Slyfinger" Stevens for making the trip up from Lexington. Also big thanks to our host, Tmac and his wife for allowing us to invade their place for the day. Next up is our annual combo event with the Midwest Series in late February. Here are the details;  

 

Race #6
Saturday, February 24th
Annual Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series
COBRA RACEWAY – Gravity (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams
Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p
Track Opens @ 8:30 am
Practice for Gravity and SS classes until 11:00 am
11:30 am - Gravity racing (one-minute round robin qualifier with five-minute main*)
SS racing immediately after the Gravity race (approximately @ 2:00 pm)
Entry fee will be $20.00 for the day for both classes. If you are racing SS only, then you will pay the normal $8.00 entry fee.

 

Stay safe, stay warm and race on!

Dave

 

[akahollywood]

On this Super Bowl eve, I wanted to remind everyone that our next IN HOPRA Series race is just 2 weeks from today!

It's the big combo event we have with the Midwest Series every year at Tmac's HO racing complex.

 

Here are the details:

 

Saturday, February 24th 

Annual Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series 

COBRA RACEWAY – Gravity (Brystal 4-lane) 

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) 

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

 

Tracks Open @ 8:30 am Practice for Gravity and SS classes until 11:00 am 

11:30 am - Gravity racing (one-minute round robin qualifier with five-minute main*) 

SS racing immediately after the Gravity race (approximately @ 2:00 pm) 

Entry fee will be $20.00 for the day for both classes. If you are racing SS only, then you will pay the normal $8.00 entry fee.

 

Gravity racing on Cobra^

Super Stock racing on Riverside^

 

Everyone is invited... see you there!

 

Race on! 

[akahollywood]

Race #6 is just one week away!

 

Saturday, February 24th 

Annual 

Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series 

COBRA RACEWAY – Gravity (Brystal 4-lane) 

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) 

Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p

 

Track Opens @ 8:30 am Practice for Gravity and SS classes until 11:00 am 

11:30 am - Gravity racing (one-minute round robin qualifier with five-minute main*) 

SS racing immediately after the Gravity race (approximately @ 2:00 pm) 

Entry fee will be $20.00 for the day for both classes. If you are racing SS only, then you will pay the normal $8.00 entry fee.

 

Everyone is invited... see you there!

[akahollywood]

Our annual combo event with the Midwest Series is usually our biggest event of the season and this year's edition did not disappoint. A total of 25 HO racers converged on Tony McWilliams' (aka Tmac) spacious Middletown Motorplex to test their racing skills against each other on two different tracks. In addition to 13 IN regulars, we had 5 racers from southern IL, 4 from MI and 3 from IL/WI. This group of racers featured many long-time racers, several multi-time National Champions as well as some newer racers. 

 

The tracks opened promptly at 8:30 and everyone wasted no time getting on track. This 2-1/2 hour open practice for both classes saw everyone searching for that perfect combination of speed and handling. With the Gravity cars on the big, bad Cobra track, the usual suspects - Scott Terry, Joel Pennington, Tim Miller, John LoPresto Jr. and Tmac were setting the pace. Over on the Riverside bullring, many were working hard to come to grips with the challenging nature of this small road course where SS times were dipping into the :02 and under zone. Promptly at 11, the tracks were powered off and lunch was served. As usual, Tmac and his lovely wife served up a tasty spread of Italian seasoned pulled chicken, pasta salad, chips and a variety of soft drinks. Great fuel for the long day of racing to come. 

 

First up was the Gravity 1-minute round-robin qualifying with 15 racers. When the dust settled, the top 5 qualifiers were all in the 40 lap+ range with John Jr. and his Landshark taking the top spot by nearly 2 laps over Tim Miller in second. Here's the full Gravity qualifying rundown:

 

In the 5-minute Gravity mains, it would not surprisingly be the John Jr. show over-shadowing a great run by Tim Miller. Both were the only ones to break the 200 lap barrier. Best of the rest, was Scott Terry rounding out the podium in 3rd, followed by Joel Pennington and Tmac in 4th and 5th respectively. Here's the full Gravity results:

 

 

With 14 Gravity racers doing double-duty, along with 10 Super Stock only racers, the SS field was by far the largest of the season! In the fast and furious 1-minute round robin qualifying, John Jr. would again take TQ with IN regular Mike Thomas taking a well-earned second, yours truly sneaking in third and Tmac in fourth. Here's the SS qualifying results:

 

With 24 racers, it meant we'd have six 4-minute mains. On the Riverside, with race laps in the low :02 second laps, to say it was a blistering pace that kept the turn marshals on their toes would be an understatement. In the end, John Jr. would show why he's one of the best racers in the country in any and every class. He took the top spot while Tmac and yours truly battled it out for second and third respectively. Rick DeRosa took 4th exactly one lap ahead of Mike Thomas. Of special note, in the first of the six mains, Shauntel Sather overcame her qualifying mechanical issue to have a really good run in the "F" main to finish overall just outside the top 10 in 13th. Here's the full Super Stock results:

 

 

Huge thanks to all the racers who came out to race, especially those who traveled from out of state. Also, huge thanks to Tmac for all his efforts to host such a successful and fun full-day of HO racing.

 

Next up:

Race #7

March 9th

Hreno Raceway – Gravity and Spec Jet (Viper 4-lane) – Terry Hreno

Location: 817 West 24^th Street, Connersville IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/ywhw9dvz9sTTdimY9

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. Gravity racing at 12:30, Brass Jet immediately after.

 

  

 

 

 

[Rich Joslin]

Congratulations to Indiana HOPRA. Turnouts like this don't happen if racers aren't confident that the event will be well run. 

[akahollywood]

Race #7 is just 1 week from tomorrow! 

 

Saturday, March 9th

HRENO RACEWAY – Gravity and Spec Jet (Viper 4-lane) – Terry Hreno

Location: 817 West 24^th Street, Connersville IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/ywhw9dvz9sTTdimY9

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. Gravity racing at 12:30, Spec Jet immediately after.

 

[akahollywood]

On a blustery March Saturday, a small group of racers traveled to Connersville, IN and the home of Terry Hreno for race #7 of the IN HOPRA Series 2023-24 season. Only two weeks removed from our big February event, many racers had other obligations this day which caused them to miss this event held within the confines of Terry's Rhino Racing museum and raceway. That said, we did have four current and former IN HOPRA representatives in attendance - myself and Rob Merchant, Kent White and Terry. 

 

After a couple hours of practice for the Gravity class on a tight, twisty Viper road course and a very tasty lunch that featured Terry's famous Beer Stew, the 1-minute round-robin Gravity qualifier race got underway. The field featured 3 Bulldogs, 3 Landsharks and 1 vintage AFX raced by Terry. Yours truly squeaked out the TQ less than a lap ahead of Merrell Todd, with Kent White, who was making his annual appearance at this race, coming in third place. 

 

No time was wasted getting the 4-minute Gravity mains going. When the final checkered flag fell, it was yours truly taking the win, Rob Merchant in second and Kent White taking third place. Here is the final Gravity results:

 

 

The track power was lowered to 12.5 volts and we had a 1/2 hour Spec Jet practice session before the one-minute round-robin qualifier. While a few racers struggled with the transition from Gravity to this class, myself, Rob and John Woollard had pretty trouble-free runs.

In the Spec Jet Mains, Merrell Todd had a nice rebound from the qualifier to lead the way in the B main. In the A main, Rob set a blistering early pace, while yours truly had some 'stupid finger' moments that resulted in way too many off-track excursions. Even though I made up some ground in the other segments, rapid Rob cruised to the checkered flag. Myself and John Woollard took second and third respectively. Here is the final Spec Jet results: 

  

 

Thanks to everyone in attendance for a really fun day of racing. Special thanks to Terry and his wife, Judy, for hosting and the tasty lunch and refreshments during the day. 

 

Next up is our last race of the season at Merrell Todd's Jordan Raceway where the series overall winner will be determined...

Race #8
Saturday, April 13th

JORDAN RACEWAY – HOPRA Super Stock & HOPRA Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd
Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

It's a close race between the top 3 in the standings:

[akahollywood]

Yes, it's the last race of the season! Awards plates will be presented to the Overall Top 5 in points. Merrell never disappoints with lunch, so this is one you shouldn't miss! 

 

 Race #8

Saturday, April 13th

JORDAN RACEWAY – HOPRA Super Stock & HOPRA Spec Racer (M.A.R. 4-lane) – Merrell Todd

Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. SS racing at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

Everyone is invited. Hope to see you there!