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[akahollywood]

 

2024-25 INDIANA HOPRA RACING SCHEDULE

 

All races (except the Gobbler Endurance Challenge) will feature HOPRA Class Rules for Super Stock, Spec Racer, Spec Jet, Gravity, or CMPM classes. For more information, please see the HOPRA rulebook. The format for each class will be a one-minute round robin qualifying heat seeding four-minute mains*. You may win from any main. Entry fee: $11 for current HOPRA Members. $15 for non-HOPRA Members. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

 

2024

 

Race #1

Saturday, September 28

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

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

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

Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. SS at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

 

Race #2

Saturday, October 26

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

Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. SS at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

Race #3

Saturday, November 23

Annual Gobbler Four-Hour Endurance Challenge

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY (Brystal four-lane) – Tony McWilliams

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

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

Track opens at 8:00 AM, Team selection at 10 AM, Racing a 12 PM.

 

Race #4

Saturday, December 7

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

Location: 817 West 24th Street, Connersville, IN

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

Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. Gravity at 12:30, Brass Jet immediately after.

 

2025

 

Race #5

Saturday, January 11

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal four-lane) – Tony McWilliams COBRA RACEWAY – Spec Racer (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

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

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

Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. SS at 12:30; Spec Racer immediately after

 

Race #6

Saturday February 22

Annual Combo Event w/Midwest HO Series RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Gravity (Brystal four-lane) – Tony McWilliams COBRA RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal four-lane) – Tony McWilliams

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

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

Track opens at 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 mains) SS racing immediately after the Gravity race (approximately at 2:30 PM)

Entry fee will be $21 for both Gravity and Super Stock classes. If you are racing Super Stock only, the entry will be the regular 2024-25 Indiana HOPRA fee.

 

Race #7

Saturday, March 8

RED DRAGON RACEWAY – Spec Racer and Spec Jet (Bowman four-lane) – Rob Merchant

Location: 1705 Boca Raton Blvd, Kokomo, IN 46902

Directions: https://maps.app.goo...FrhFZNbi2rU4Hs6

Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. Spec Racer at 12:30, Spec Jet immediately after.

 

Race #8

Saturday, April 12

JORDAN RACEWAY – HOPRA Super Stock & CMPM (M.A.R. four-lane) – Merrell Todd

Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. SS at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

[akahollywood]

FYI - The schedule was updated to fix an error in Race #6. Thanks to the moderator (i.e. Cheater) for the help fixing my goof up. 

[akahollywood]

First race of the new season is less than 2 weeks away!

Saturday, September 28
RIVERSIDE RACEWAY – Super Stock (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams COBRA RACEWAY – CMPM (Brystal four-lane) – Tony McWilliams
Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN
Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/QVNZ4LNWu6p
Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. SS at 12:30, CMPM immediately after.

Everyone is welcome! C’mon out and race!

[akahollywood]

Race #1 of the new season kicked off with a great turnout of 17 racers, featuring many of our long-time competitors, newer racers and several long-distance special guest racers traveling in from OH, IL, MO and even NC! While the remnants of Hurricane Helene provided constant rain and power outages in the area, Tony McWilliams' HO racing complex remained dry, comfortable and, most importantly, at full power throughout the full day of racing.

 

Practice for both classes, Super Stock on the challenging Brystal Riverside bullring road course and CMPM on the big and fast Brystal Cobra road course, got underway after all the racers got settled into their pit areas and exchanged introductions and pleasantries. After a couple hours of practice and thrashing, the tracks' power was turned off for a lunch break so everyone could relax and re-fuel. Tmac's lovely wife served up a very tasty and hearty lunch featuring ham and pasta casserole, tossed salad and French bread for everyone to enjoy.     

 

With our bellies fun, the first class of the day, Super Stock, got underway with the usual 1-minute qualifier round-robin. While several racers had trouble coming to grips with the Riverside, John Woollard proved to have the little bullring figured out by taking the Top Qualifier spot. Current HOPRA National Champion, Ohio's Cory "Bodie" Glover took 2nd, followed by Indiana's Dwayne Norris and Rob Merchant rounding out the top four. Our long-distance racer all the way from North Carolina, Joey Cassiba, had a great showing coming in 6th. While track owner and usual front-runner, Tony "Tmac" McWilliams, multi-time HOPRA National champions, Rich May and Chris "Rondo" Rondinella, surprisingly struggled in the qualifier, but the odds were good they'd regain their usual form in the SS mains. Here is the full SS Qualifier results:

 When the dust settled on the SS Mains, Cory Glover took first place, followed by Tmac, John Woollard and Rich May. Rounding out the top 10 was Dwayne Norris, Rob Merchant, yours truly, Ronnie Kendall, Jason Fisher, both from IL, and Joey Cassiba. Surprisingly, Rondo had major car issues and ended up finishing dead last. Here's the full SS Mains results: 

 

Next up was the fast CMPM class on the mighty Cobra. While the field was full of experienced (and top Dog) CMPM racers, many others are still getting used to the ultrafast pace of these beasts. But that doesn't always mean the results as one would expect. While Tmac, Rondo, Dwayne and Rich took the Top 4 spots, Mike Thomas, Jason Fisher and John Woollard turned in some really good runs to finish 5th, 6th and 7th respectively. National champion, Bodie, could only manage 8th place in the qualifier. Was it an ill handling car or just plain sandbagging? Here's the full CMPM Qualifier results: 

Massive crashes, spun pinions and general chaos characterized the "D" and "C" mains in CMPM, which is kind of expected with these cars. Mike Thomas, Rob Merchant and John Woollard experienced multiple spun pinions and/or general gear issues after good showings in the Qualifier, while it was business as usual for most of the usual "hot shoes" in this class. Even though he raced in the "B" main, Bodie showed why he is the current National Champion by taking first place over 20 laps ahead of Tmac in second. Rich came in third and Rondo was fourth. Here's the full CMPM results:

 

 All in all, it was a great day of racing and a fantastic way to kick-off the new season. Huge thanks to everyone who made it to the event, especially all those who travelled far and wide to join us for a fun, full day of racing action. 

 

For race #2, we'll be here:

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

Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. SS at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.

 

 

Hope to see you all there! 

 

[Rich Joslin]

Great job on the racing recap Dave.

It's nice to see such a large turnout. 

[akahollywood]

The second race of the IN HOPRA Series 2024-25 is less than two weeks away!

 

Race #2

Saturday, October 26th

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

Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN 

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

 

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. 

SS at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.   

Entry fee: $11.00 for current HOPRA Members. $15.00 for Non-HOPRA Members.   

 

[akahollywood]

!

[akahollywood]

One week from today!

 

 

Race #2

Saturday, October 26th

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

Location: 790 Nast Chapel Lane, Martinsville, IN 

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/hkK74iYWmX22

 

Track Opens @ 9:30 am with practice until Noon. 

SS at 12:30, Spec Racer immediately after.   

Entry fee: $11.00 for current HOPRA Members. $15.00 for Non-HOPRA Members. 

[akahollywood]

On a crisp fall day, seventeen racers from IN, IL and MO made their way to Merrell Todd's country hideaway/vehicle graveyard/slot racing museum to tackle the twists and turns of the Jordan Raceway road course. Not to mention sampling the superb donuts courtesy of  Rich May and Mike Robertson. As usual, Merrell had the track prepped in fine shape for practice and racers wasted no time getting hooked up to try their best to tame this tricky road course. After a couple hours of practice and the usual thrashing in the pits, track power was turned off so everyone could get refueled with a hearty and delicious lunch featuring Merrell's famous chili as well as fresh-baked cookies from both Merrell and Vaughn Montgomery's granddaughter.

 

With full bellies, the first of four Super Stock 1-minute Qualifier Heat races took the green flag. When the checkered flag waved on the fourth Heat race, it was Jason Fisher, yours truly and Tmac taking the top 3 spots, separated by sections with 66 laps each. Mike Thomas and John Woollard were a close fourth and fifth respectively at 64 laps and separated by a mere 7 sections. Rounding out the top six was rapid Rich May. 

 

In the Super Stock 4-minute Mains, there was carnage and frustration in the "D" and "C" mains for several racers as the track lived up to its tricky reputation. Carnage of a different sort ruled in the "B" main as Rich "Carnage" May showed the way with his Ghost Cat scoring a blistering 250 laps. In the "A" main, yours truly and Tmac dueled back and forth, as did TQ Jason battled with Mike T. In the end, nobody topped Rich's 250, but yours truly got close with 249, followed by Tmac at 245 and John Roe, from the "B" main at 235. The Super Stock podium featured three different chassis: Fusion, Viper and the first win for a Ghost Cat in IN HOPRA competition.

 

After a brief break to allow everyone to catch their collective breath, the 1-minute Qualifier Heat races for Spec Racer got underway. Tmac set a blistering pace to take top honors, followed by Rob Merchant, Jason Fisher, John Woollard and John Roe. Lurking just behind the top 5, Dwayne Norris, Merrell Todd and Ronnie Kendall were separated by sections with all three running 59 laps. 

 

In the Spec Racer Mains, it was carnage and frustration once again for many racers, but this time it was in all the Mains! However, Tmac managed to miss it all and utterly dominated, taking the top spot with 275 laps, a whopping 17 laps over Dwayne Norris and Rob Merchant, both separated by mere sections at 258 laps, with Rich May rounding out the top four.

 

Huge thanks to all the racers who competed in the races, especially those who traveled from out-of-state to join us. Special thanks to Merrell Todd for hosting the event and providing us with a great facility and track to race on as well as great chili, cookies and drinks. Also special thanks to Rich and Mike R. for the donuts and to Vaughn's granddaughter for the cookies.  

 

Our next race is the annual Gobbler Enduro with Brass Jets tuned by Tmac, here's the scoop:

Race #3 

Saturday, November 23rd 

Annual Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge 

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams Location: 9728 North County Road 700 West, Middletown, IN 

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

Track Opens: 8:00 am, Team Selection @ 10 am, Racing @ 12 pm  

 

Everyone is invited, hope to see you there. 

 

Race on! 

 

[akahollywood]

Race #3 -- The Annual Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge is less than two weeks away! It features identically prepared BSRT G3RS Brass Jets and will be contested on the challenging short Riverside road course. 

Saturday, November 23rd

Annual Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge

RIVERSIDE RACEWAY (Brystal 4-lane) – Tony McWilliams

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

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

Track Opens: 8:00 am, Team Selection @ 10 am, Racing @ 12 pm

 

Race On! 

[akahollywood]

On an overcast, cool Saturday in late November, a hearty group of racers came together to see who would come out on top in the 23rd edition of the Gobbler 4-Hour Endurance Challenge. This was the second year using BSRT G3RS Spec Jet (12-volt) cars with TNT rule silicone sponge tires from Quicker Engineering, prepared by Tony "Tmac" McWilliams. Like last year, the event was held on the short bullring Riverside road course. 

 

The 2-hour open practice session with racers using their own cars got underway at 8am giving everyone an opportunity to warm up their trigger fingers. It was also a chance to begin checking out the large buffet of food pitched-in by all participants. At 10am, the power was turned off and preparations began for team captains to draw names. Twelve racers meant there would be 4 teams with 3 members and there would be 12 20-minute segments. Each team captain would participate in a 30-second qualifying session to determine lane choice with Tmac coming out on top to give his team, "The Old Guys", lane choice.

 

With qualifying complete, the lunch buffet was officially opened for all racers to fuel up for the day. It featured homemade vegetable soup, chili, meatballs, corn casserole, various cookies, cinnamon rolls and much more. After stuffing our faces, it was time to get down to the business of the day. 

 

From the very start of the race, it was clear that "The Old Guys" team had a fast, good handling car, but would it last the full 4 hours? The "Menace" team also had a good car and was doing well, following "The Old Guys". The "Red Fury" team was struggling with handling issues. While, right off the bat (pun intended), "The Bat Men" team had an issue and spent several minutes of the first segment off track repairing the car. 

 

At the 2-hour mid-point of the race, The Old Guys still had a clear lead, Menace in 2nd, but within striking distance. and The Bat Men making a spectacular recovery in 3rd, while Red Fury was still struggling in 4th. 

 

At the 3-hour mark, Red Fury appeared to turn the corner a bit and edged closer to The Bat Men to compete for 3rd place, while Menace was a comfortable 2nd and The Old Guys continued to lead.

 

At the beginning of the final hour, it was clear that The Old Guys were going to take the win unless there was some sort of issue with the car and Menace was a strong 2nd. Red Fury had managed to edge closer to The Bat Men. In the end, The Old Guys took the checkered flag in convincing fashion, followed by Menace and The Bat Men in second and third respectively, while Red Fury limped home in fourth.  

[akahollywood]

Race #4 -- CANCELLED! 

Saturday, December 7

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

Location: 817 West 24th Street, Connersville, IN

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

Track opens at 9:30 AM with practice until noon. Gravity at 12:30, Brass Jet immediately after.

[akahollywood]

Next race coming up in the new year!

 

Race #5 Saturday, January 11th

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

COBRA RACEWAY – Spec Racer (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 at 12:30; Spec Racer immediately after

 

The format for each class will be a one-minute round robin qualifying heat seeding four-minute mains. You may win from any main. Entry fee: $11.00 for current HOPRA Members, $15.00 for Non-HOPRA Members.

 

SS on the Riverside

 

Spec Racer on the Cobra