Stock Car on the Royal – 7/23/24
The MVH Tuesday Night Retro Series headed to the American Royal to run Stock Cars this week. A field of ten racers went through tech, including eight regulars plus Larry Labounty and Ray Lee. Racing was run on the middle six lanes over ten heats.
Ray’s car was running like it was on rails, turning fast laps and giving him the early lead. Woody Hazelwood and Dave Panich were in pursuit but no match for the speed of Ray’s car or his driving skills. When John Weaver entered the rotation, he was logging more laps than Woody or Dave, but was unable to match Ray’s totals. When the dust settled, Ray took the win by over two laps with Weaver finishing second. Woody cruised away from Dave in the later heats to complete the podium with a four-lap cushion.
Further back, Joe Yates was the “best of the rest” claiming fifth place by a margin of six laps over Richard Payne. John Esposito was just one lap behind Richard in the closest race of the night. Dan Savage and Larry Labounty closed out the field as Rolly dropped out after two heats.
On his way to victory, Ray was the only driver to break the 4 second mark, which he did on every lane. His best effort was on the yellow lane, yielding a 3.888 lap, well below the existing NERR track record for race lap time (but just shy of the existing quali time…both held by John Weaver). Weaver logged the second fastest lap of the night with a 4.030 on blue.
Driver, laps completed, best lap time and lane:
- Ray Lee 260/19 3.888 YL
- John Weaver 258/7 4.030 BL
- Woody Hazelwood 246/14 4.091 YL
- Dave Panich 242/24 4.106 BL
- Joe Yates 228/23 4.348 BL
- Richard Payne 224/13 4.383 YL
- John Esposito 223/8 4.287 OR
- Dan Savage 220/5 4.389 YL
- Larry Labounty 200/18 4.504 YL
- Rolly Lapierre Jr 76 DNF 4.230 BL
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Next Week’s MVH Tuesday Night Retro Race:
July 30 F-1 on the King
Podium: (L to R):
2nd Place – John Weaver, 1st Place – Ray Lee, 3rd Place – Woody Hazelwood
Ray’s 1st Place Chassis:
Weaver’s 2nd Place Chassis:
Woody’s 3rd Place Chassis:
