Can-Am on the Sovereign – 6/25/24
Can-Am on the “Purple Mile” was on tap for this past week’s race in the MVH Tuesday Night Retro Series. Nine drivers ran in the 4-on/4-off format over 18 heats, running the outside lanes first and then the inside.
Nine Can-Am Racers in Tech:
As usual, John Weaver took an early and unsurmountable lead, but there was some close racing behind him. By the move to the inside lanes, Weaver’s 100 lap total put him nine laps up on second place. However, second through fifth places were separated by just four laps with Bob “Woody” Hazelwood one lap up on Cody Pare (90 laps) who was one lap ahead of Rob Hayes while Rolly Lapierre Jr. was running in fifth with 87 laps. Richard Payne, at 84 laps, was in a race for sixth with Joe Yates who trailed by two while John Esposito was running in eighth, one lap ahead of Dan Savage.
Espo got the distance award for the night as he launched from the banking with his car landing in his own pit box, coming to rest comfortably on his own chair! Meanwhile, Dan Savage had to resort to a backup car as he blew a bearing after a major hit.
Where it landed:
The move to the somewhat more challenging inside lanes saw Weaver stretch his lead to 14 laps to take the win. Cody was able to slip past Woody to take second place by one lap while Rob’s one lap deficit at the midway point in the race turned into a three-lap gap when time ran out, leaving him to finish fourth. At the rear of the field Dan got around Espo, taking eighth by six laps.
Weaver’s 6.922 on yellow was the fastest lap of the night. Cody’s best effort was over a quarter of a second off Weaver’s pace as he managed a 7.187 on purple with Rob was just slightly slower at 7.195.
Finishing order, laps completed, best-lap time and best-lap lane:
- John Weaver 195/34 6.922 YL
- Cody Pare 181/38 7.187 PU
- Woody Hazelwood 180/37 7.250 BL
- Rob Hayes 177/29 7.195 OR
- Rolly Lapierre Jr. 175/20 7.577 BL
- Richard Payne 169/18 7.477 PU
- Joe Yates 164/34 7.742 PU
- Dan Savage 161/26 7.688 YL
- John Esposito 155/7 7.797 OR
UPCOMING EVENTS:
MVH Tuesday Night Retro Race Schedule for July:
July 2 F1 on the King
July 9 Can-Am on the Figure 8
July 16 Coupe on the Aristocrat
July 23 Stock Car on the Royal
July 30 F1 on the King…again
Podium (L to R):
3rd Place – Bob Hazelwood, 1st Place – John Weaver, 2nd Place – Cody Pare
Weaver’s 1st Place Chassis:
Cody’s 2nd Place Chassis:
Woody’s 3rd Place Chassis:
Racers at the Line (L to R):
Master Sergeant Richard Payne, Dan “The Savager”,
John “Ya Wanna See Distance?” Esposito, and
Rolly “Where’s my Car” Lapierre Jr.
Thanks to Dan Savage for the race photos and Rob Hayes for the shots of the drivers in action and Espo’s car’s landing spot.
