The Viper Pit is a killer shop with a drivers Blue King, Engleman, and Orange track. All three tracks are some of the best I've driven on. Since there are only about three retro racers and builders in FL, what better place to kick off the races but at The Viper Pit which is centrally located between the GRRR racers, the SERRA guys, and Pablo's group from Mississippi. Most out-of-towners had around a four-hour trip but it was worth it.
The fast guys arrived on Saturday to practice with Noose having the longest trip of all from NJ via air with a multi-hour stop over due to ice storms. I had to work Saturday so I figured I was OK coming in Sunday morning; after all it was a King and I had run a few laps on it when Marty and I had a road trip up there a month or so to check out the place. Debbie and I got up at 3 AM and hit the road by 4 for the four-hour long drive. Well, when I walked in the door and saw Billy Gerhart from back home I knew I had to forget about F1 and make sure my Can-Am was up to snuff for the King, as Billy is "The Man" up north right now. Billy was on his way to Daytona to crew chief his brother Bob's car. Noose I knew was coming but Billy was a total surprise. What a nice suprise it was for everyone who attended.
"The Man" himself Billy Gerhart!
Tech was handled by Marty Stanley. What we tried was teching in both the Can-Am and F1 cars at the same time to save some time. It seemed to work fine and it also allowed everyone to vote for both concours events at the same time.
The field from the bottom. A bigger table is needed for next time.
F1 concours, Marty Stanley's Noose painted Lotus third, Noose's Lotus second, and Joe McIntosh's Cooper first.
Joe, Noose, and Marty.
In the Can-Am concours event it was the same three, with Marty swapping places with Noose for second.
F1 was the first even up and it was on the Engleman. The top qualifier was Ralph Thorne. (I do not have the actual times but the order for the F1 races.)
Qualifying
A Main
1. Ralph Thorne
2. Jay Guard
3. Chris Barnes
4. James Merriman
5. Greg Gilbert
6. tonyp
B Main, two move-ups to the "A"
1. Billy Gerhart
2. Noose
3. Joe McIntosh
4. Tommy Flythe
5. Rick Moore
6. John Clow
C Main, two move-ups to the "B"
1. Greg Wells
2. Marty Stanley
3. Raymond "Speedy" Gonzales
4. Ken Lauder
5. Keith Bernstein.
Main Results:
The "C" was the first to run with Greg Wells and Marty Stanley taking the move-up to the "B". Marty did not feel well and gave up his spot to third place finisher Keith Bernstein.
C Main
1. Greg Wells - 230 laps
2. Marty Stanley - 220
3. Keith Bernstein - 219
4. Raymond "Speedy" Gonzales - 219
5. Ken Lander - 211
6. Pablo Wolcott - 209
Bill Gerhart and Noose traded the lead back and forth to run away with the "B" and make the move into the "A".
B Main
1. Billy Gerhart - 238 laps
2. Noose - 236
3. Greg Wells - 229
4. Rick Moore - 225
5. Tommy Flythe - 224
6. Keith Bernstein - 223
7. John Clow - 219
8. Joe McIntosh - 213
The A Main was a SERRA runaway, with the top three drivers four laps apart at the end. Pretty good for a first race on a track no one had seen until the day before. Third Ralph Thorne, first Jay Guard, and second James Merriman.
A Main
1. Jay Guard - 249 laps
2. James Merriman - 246
3. Ralph Thorne- 245 (TQ)
4. Noose - 242
5. Greg Gilbert - 219
6. Billy Gerhart - 200 (broken leadwire in first heat)
7. tonyp - 149 (DNF, blown gear)
8. Chris Barnes - 83 (controller blew up, walling car)
Jay Guard's winner, Pablo chassis, O/S Cooper, 7/27, Red Fox guide, Speedshop treated rears, JK fronts, 103.1 grams, Ruddock controller.
Jame's second place car, JK chassis, O/S Cooper, 8/28, Parma guide, JK rears, Sonic fronts, 107.9 grams, JayGee controller.
Ralph's TQ and third place car. Jobiwan chassis I believe, O/S Cooper, 7/28, Parma guide, JK front and rears, 107 grams, Difalco controller.
Can-Am up next!
