I have finally recovered after the trip back, the time change, the fun, the comradeship, and teching Howie's cars.
Thanks to the McMasters family for sure. Their hospitality kept me in a good mood all weekend which of course was a HUGE benefit for those going through tech.
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The facility is top notch and everything was well in order for all us crazies to come have one heck of a good time. It is like a homecoming event because I get to see some folks that I haven't seen in a year. It was great to see new faces at this year's event and "younger" ones at that! Seeing my bud Sano Dave though was very, very special.
Let's see ....that was 210 entrants plus the additional tech for the F1 and the Can-Am Semi's and Mains which says
I checked out 258 cars over the 3 days. GT Coupe tech was a bit rough but by the time the rest of the classes got going tech went very smooth. Just so everyone knows, even the case of "Blue Moon" sitting on my pit table did not deter me from carrying out my duties as the giver did get bounced once.
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Thanks to Johnny "VW" Streisguth for making the trip out with me. A super congrats on his performance at this event seeing that it was the first time he attended and got to run on the track. I was very, very happy to see him win Concours too fo the Can-Am event as well as the Special Rattle Can Concours in this class. I know how much work he did in painting it and he had my vote for it.
To the rest of my Retro East crew, you guys are great and you all should be very proud in the way you represented our region. I too want to thank Wes P for all his efforts in being so helpful to so many folks. Dave DeMott had a great weekend and should be very proud. As for Jersey John, what can I say. The guy has the biggest heart in the world and I was glad to help him. He had a great weekend and I am proud of how far he has come along.
I probably prepped better for this R4 than for anyone I did before and it worked out pretty well as this was my best R4 performance ever. A super thanks to Tony P for building me on heck of an awesome Can-Am car. I wish I had Matt's reflexes because he had the same exact car and we see how he made out! He drove an awesome race in the Can-Am. He was just so smooth.
Thanks to Bill Fulmer, my tech side kick for all his help in taking the checked cars and doing all the photos.
To my SERRA buds, thanks for the laughs Sunday night at dinner. It is almost an annual tradition to have it.
A big congratulations to Ron Hershman again for his usual top notch driving and performance. I think I found out his trick and will have to work on it myself. What is it? He only blinks his eyes 3 times a lap and he does it in the EXACT same spot every time.
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Congrats to Tom Lauterbach and Jeff; a great father-son combo if there ever was one. Man they are smooth. Congrats too for James Merriman on his Stockcar win. Watching that Merry Muffin Charger going around smoothly was cool.
Of course, thanks to all the Sponsors. There were lots of goodies given away and the "goodie bag" when you checked in was great.
Congrats to the following racers who won one of my custom painted bodies through the raffle:
GT Coupe: Rick Maynard
Stockcar: Jay Guard
Formula 1: Jason Echelbarger
Can-Am: Tom Calvert
Finally, some tid bit observations for the naysayers out there.
Bodies
It was great to see a mix of them and something different used by the "fast guys". Just goes to show that not just one body is the "it" body. As both Ron and Tony noted in a different post, it's all about testing and what works for you on that track and especially what makes you feel comfortable.
Motors:
The handouts lasted just fine. If some felt theirs slowed a bit then perhaps they ran a 9 tooth or higher pinion and they might have.
The winner of the Can-Am
used a 3 year old motor. That's right. It is the famous Tony P Dracula ProSlot. That thing has been around forever.
The
TQ and 2nd TQ guys in Can-Am used "bag motors". So much for Ron and Rande having the advantage ey?
Rules:
No major issues to speak of. Perhaps a minor clarification needed here and there but nothing earth shattering.
and...Qualifying works.