Three competitors from Cottage Grove joined six regulars to race ProTrack NASCAR and Flexi at STR on 2/12/2024. Conspicuously absent were local racers, Joe, Mike and Lowell, all tough competitors. Nothing consequential here: Joe; vacation, Mike; roofing project and Lowell; sore back. Hopefully all three will be back in the mix for the upcoming race at Electron.
Racing ProTrack and Flexi on the same evening is a challenge because they are so different. ProTrack NASCARs are cumbersome and slow while Flexis are nimble, quick and much harder to drive consistently on a tight track like STR.
- In ProTrack NASCAR it was Dustin, Rich and Ron for first through third respectively.
- In Flexi it was Bob, Rich and Mark for first through third respectively.
This class features the old brass ProTrack or H&R chassis. A variety of power plants are permitted, but the Cheetah 4 seems to be the best fit and most drivers are migrating to that power unit.
ProTrack NASCAR Current Race
As mentioned above, we had three visitors from Cottage Grove. All required loaner cars. Bob loaned both of his ProTrack cars and ran an Econo with resistors in order to approximate the performance of the slower and more cumbersome ProTracks. Mark Colby lent out his “Home Depot” Pontiac to Mark Henderson while running a yellow Pontiac.
Dustin took full advantage of his first class loaner and finished first with 82.6 laps at a 95.23% consistency. For reference, this was only three sections off the total lap record for the class. Great job Dustin! Rich, already in the barn finished second only a section behind Dustin.
Meanwhile, Ron, Bob, Nick and Mark Colby battled for the bottom step of the podium. Racing was fierce and only about two laps separated this group. In the end, Ron finished third with 79.6 laps.
We have been running the four inch flexi class for quite some time. Most competitors are running the Champion Turboflex; however motor selection is quite varied from the Cheetah 4, Blue Motor, Pink Motor and Deathstar.
The boys from Cottage Grove run a flexi class at their local club track. That circuit has longer straight sections and larger diameter turns. As such, more powerful Hawk 7 motors are the order of the day. Unfortunately, the Hawk 7 is quite a handful at the much tighter Spare Time Raceway.
Flexi Current Race
Bob ran a fine race, leading from wire to wire and finishing first with 98.4 laps (only about a lap off of the total lap record for this class). Nobody else was even close! Second place was awarded to Rich, driving his “Sunoco Special” finishing about three and a half laps off of the pace.
Meanwhile, Mark Colby, Dustin and Ron battled it out for the bottom step of the podium. Dustin’s car was the quickest of the group but, powered by a Hawk 7 motor was very hard to handle and he suffered several offs. This allowed Mark Colby to slip into third place, finishing with 90.5 laps. Dustin was fourth only three sections behind.
