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[Cheater]

The twelfth iteration of the Retro Revival Reunion Race (R4 in shorthand) at the famous (infamous?) Tom Thumb Hobbies in Columbus, OH, is imminent. Today is the last day of practice before the racing begins, so this morning (and likely all through the day), more racers are dribbling in from both near and far.

Florida's Doc Dougherty showed up before noon on Tuesday, making him the first out-of-town racer to make an appearance, after driving straight through from Mims, FL, in a misguided attempt to prove to himself that he was still the road warrior of his younger years. "I won't be doing that again," he admits.

Jay Guard drove up Monday from Deland, FL, to Slotblog World Headquarters in GA to overnight. ("I'm leaving at 1 PM," he said; he actually left at 4:30 PM... LOL and no surprise as that's his typical M.O.!) The plan was to head out early Tuesday once Glencoe, AL's Bobby Robinson joined us for the trip north (He had to leave home at 3 AM...). Atlanta to Columbus is an all-day drive, with the sole goal of getting to the raceway before it closed at 6 PM to snag pit spaces and unload the boxes.

The older I get, the more I forget, but one racer commented that he couldn't remember a Wednesday prior to a previous R4 where so many racers were in the house thrashing and practicing. This seems to foretell a good turn-out. And the number of top-tier, experienced, and accomplished Retro racers who will be competing this year seems (to me, at least) to be even more impressive than last year and of course prior years. The level of competition at the R4 is almost always spectacular and there's just no way that won't be the case at R4/12. All three class winners from R4/11 (Will Custer, Gil Pataky, and Jimmy Williams) are present to defend their 'titles.'

It's always nice to put faces on a few names I know from Slotblog but had never met face-to-face (Michael Gerbertz, Frankie Shaeffer; I expect there will be a few others) and to see racers and friends I only meet up with every year or two.

I snapped a few photos yesterday and this morning and as soon as I go through them, I'll start posting them.

[mppicione]

Thanks for keeping us posted, Greg.
Was ready to go this year but I am to sick to make it.

Good luck to all the racers!

[Cheater]

Most have heard the term 'trash talk.' Here's a variation that I call 'thrash pics.' Mostly random pics from Wednesday and this morning.



L, Jerry 'Boogie' Wyant, with Rowdy Walling supervising and providing the running commentary (or very possibly just his usual BS...).



Last year's R4 Can-Am and F1 champ tweaks in the shadow of his 'tower of tires.'



Tennessee's Will Brinkley is pitting all by himself in the back corner of the room behind the bank. Not sure if the racers banished him to that location and he's just anti-social... could be both!



Fireman Rick Starkey in a different role... he's not trying to cool something down, but rather attempting to heat up his race car.



R4/11's GTC Pro champion Will Custer hope to take another first place in one or more classes this year. Will is the winner of the R4's 'Skinniest Racer' award just about every year... darn him!



Brian Ambrose from Florida is attending just his second R4. As well as being a top-rank Retro racer, Brian is a nationally-known pool player. In one recent singles tournament in Las Vegas, he finished seventeenth out of 600 or so entrants!



Akron's Michael Gerbetz is attending his very first R4. Hope be brought his 'A' game!



Hopefully Eric Balicki will again race direct some at this year's R4, as he's one of the best in the business. Doesn't hurt that he's also one of the nicest guys in Retro...



Cap Henry, besides being a world-class slot racer, is a very, very good 410 Wing Sprint car hotshoe. Car owners ask him to drive their sprint cars because they know he has the ability to take the checkered, as he did at one of the races as the famed Knoxville Nationals a couple of years back.



Perennially-cheerful Steve Davidson is a local who told me he'd rather me bash him the mouth than go to where he was headed about lunch time: to the dentist to have impressions made for a couple of crowns. Of course, the most severe pain will happen when he gets the bill for those crowns!



One of four raceway owners in the building today is Clyde Romero, part of the ownership triumvirate of Atlanta Slot Car Raceway in Marietta, GA. Clyde spent some time in a certain Southeast Asia vacationaland flying first fling-wings and then F-4 Phantoms. There's no denying he went faster in the air there than he will go on the track here.



Douglasville, GA's Taylor Davis is seemingly meditating on the perversity of slot car speed and handling. Either that or he's about to fall asleep.

[Cheater]

More thrashing is underway...



Ohio's Bud Bartos probably has built as many chassis for Retro as anyone and it's a rare Retro podium anywhere where at least one of his creations isn't in the hand of a racer standing on it. Bud's name is on the US patent for the seminal Parma Flexi-Kar that started the stamped steel revolution in 1/24 slot racing. He might be an oldie, but he's way better than a goodie!



Steve Deiters has been involved in 1/24 slot racing since chassis were being carved out of wood with stone tools. He started writing for Car Model and the other slot car mags of the day in 1969, when was just 16 or 17 years old. And he's still at it!



Last year's R4 regular GT Coupe winner Gil Pataky, hoping to make it two wins in a row, but he's in the GTC Pro class this year due to last year's win. It'll take some luck but Gil is almost always fast and in the hunt.



Ohio's Jason Echelbarger rarely misses an R4 and his dad Gary Echelbarger usually attends with him, as is the case this year.



Ohio's Greg Fox, a very accomplished builder and racer. Greg and the lamentedly-absent Steve Koeppk have been close friends since both were teenagers.



Gary Echelbarger, father of Jason, looks to be making sure that tire is firmly attached



Jeremy Dennis, brother of Jason, showed up on Saturday to complete the Dennis racing team.



Al Rutti, among other things, is known for his unusual 'thumbing' of a pistol grip controller. Here he seems to practicing that technique or perhaps justing loosening up. The only other racer in the house who uses his thumb on the controller is Bud Bartos, who has some tendon damage that makes it easier to use his thumb.

 

 

My partner in crime, Jay Guard, who never looks a gift pit box in the mouth, or something like that.

[Bill from NH]

Good pictures, cheater! Keep up the good work!

[Cheater]

 
In these four boxes are the 125 JK Hawk Retro '9R' hand-out motors for the GT Coupe class that runs tomorrow (Friday). These were ably marked by the ever-helpful Rick Starkey. While I didn't walk over to see, I am sure there was more than one racer keeping an eagle eye on Rick to make certain the motors were all consistently engraved, so as to keep anyone from having the advantage of a deeply-engraved and thus lighter motor! LOL...
 
The motor hand-outs were just begining as I started to make this post. The GTC Pro racers can get their hand-outs now to give them time to break them in today, as the Pro Coupe qualifying starts first thing tomorrow. Then the regular Coupes qualify and race, with the Pro Coupes racing afterwards.
 
The Pro's motors have to be returned to impound before the raceway closes tonight (at 10 PM). The regular (non-Pro) GT Coupe racers get their motors tomorrow when the raceway opens, and they break them in while the GTC Pros qualify.
 
While this procedure might sound complicated, Mike McMasters is supremely organized and prepared (especially after more than a decade of R4s) and the whole process works like the well-oiled machine it is.
 

 
The approaches racers take to maximizing their chances of getting a 'silver bullet' hand-out motor vary widely.
 

 
Earl Graybill (out of the pic on the left) always gets the trackowner's better half, Cindy, to select his hand-out motors, as do Rick Starkey and Gary Eichelbarger. I'll have to ask them their motivation for this. Perhaps they feel a sensitive female touch can detect the bullets, or maybe they just think that someone else won't have their usual miserable luck with hand-outs. One racer picks his favorite motor numbers, just as with his lottery tickets.
 
I overheard one racer carping at the fact that of ten JK RH '9R' motors he baselined in the same car, with the same tires, gearing, and body, eight of them were within two or three hundredths of a second in lap time, with two of them perhaps half a tenth faster. Others have expressed opinions that the latest order of JK RH '9R's is the most consistent Retro Hawks they've seen.
 
Ain't that just like most slot racers? They complained when they felt the motors were not consistent and some are still complaining now that the motors are very consistent. I'm reasonably certain that the average slot racer would whine about receiving free sexual favors from Miss America... LOL!

[Pappy]

Who's the guy in the blue shirt in the next-to-last picture? 

[Cheater]

Some surly old guy who talks really loud on the PA system at intervals during the day... maybe I should relocate from directly below the speaker horn.

[Pappy]

I'm reasonably certain that the average slot racer would whine about receiving free sexual favors from Miss America... LOL!

 

At my age it just sounds like I'm whining. If you listen real close I'm probably just saying "oh baby, baby."  

[Cheater]

In your dreams, Butch...

[elinsley]

Thanks for the coverage, Greg!! Wish I was there.

[MattD]

Thanks, Greg.

[MSwiss]

I overheard one racer carping at the fact that of ten JK RH '9R' motors he baselined in the same car, with the same tires, gearing, and body, eight of them were within two or three hundredths of a second in lap time, with two of them perhaps half a tenth faster. Others have expressed opinions that the latest order of JK RH '9R's is the most consistent Retro Hawks they've seen.
 
Ain't that just like most slot racers? They complained when they felt the motors were not consistent and some are still complaining now that the motors are very consistent. I'm reasonably certain that the average slot racer would whine about receiving free sexual favors from Miss America... LOL!

 

The longtime phrase in slot racing is Mike McMasters could announce, "I hired blonde models to marshal practice," and someone would snap back, "What, no redheads?"

[Mike Patterson]

Thanks for the coverage, Greg. I'm hoping to make it Saturday.

[RodneyZ]

Awsome coverage. Wish l was there. Have fun.

[Cheater]

As much as it pains me to admit it, Friday morning illustrates the wisdom of track owner McMasters as exhibited in the scheduling of the Tuesday and Wednesday opening times. One recalls with fondness to ability to remain between warm sheets for several hours longer the last two days, as compared to struggling out of bed in order to arrive in some reasonable proximity to 7:30 AM today.

The tweaking, testing, and tuning is essentially over now for the racers. It's time to break 'em in and hope the often-fickle motor fairy has bestowed her blessings on the ones you received or selected.

 

A number of late arriving racers made their appearance later yesterday and this morning, and I'll highlight them in the pics below.

[Cheater]

Some more "thrash pics"...

 

 

Tennessee's Andrew Ford made it in the track yesterday and is sure to be one of the guys to beat.

 

 

Jeremy Wyant yesterday joined his dad Boogie, who was already present and accounted for.

 

 

You just knew Kyle Snyder AKA Mr. Jessica McMasters would show up eventually.

 

 

Jim Leezer, who goes by Tater on the blog, is a great source for local restaurant recommendations, especially in his home town of West Jefferson, OH. He is less of a man than he used to be, having shed 70 pounds over the last year or so!

 

Everyone was pleased to see the popular Matt Bruce and son Ryan show up this morning, although I suspect the smiles were in some cases part grimace... "Oh crap, now I have to try to beat him, too."

 

With his cap pulled down low, Thom Greene might be accused of attempting to assume a low profile, but his blindingly orange fleece (he works at Home Depot) renders that a vain effort.

[Cheater]

 
Dave 'Dandy Dave' Doerschuk is a Tom Thumb regular as he lives here in Columbus.
 

 
Another local is Jason Dennis, who was surprised everyone by being really fast when came back into slots a couple a years ago.
 

 
Joe Liguori is another one of many addicted to racing anything with four wheels. Both owning his own car and driving for others, he's been seen in 410 Sprinter, Champ, and Silver Crown cars. He likes playing in the dirt but says pavement is OK, too.
 

 
Frankie Schaffier, who lives near Fostoria, OH, is a regular at Kit and Cap Henry's HMS Speedways raceway in Bellevue, OH.



Local racer Joe Elliot engages in a bit of body barbering.

[Cheater]

GT Coupe Pro qualifying just ended and a new track record for the class has been established, something that seems to happen almost every year at the R4. 

 

Top qualifier for GT Coupe Pro is Willy Custer and his time of 4.517 secs is indeed a new track record for GT Coupe.

 

Here's the full list of the fifteen GTC Pro qualifiers.

 

1) Willy Custer - 4.517 secs

2) Jimmy Williams - 4.575

3) Rick Starkey - 4.580

4) Andrew Ford - 4.588

5) Will Brinkley - 4.589

6) Ricky Bennardo Jr - 4.590

7) Cap Henry - 4.610

8) Bud Bartos - 4.624

9) Jay Guard - 4.625

10) Greg Fox - 4.700

11) Jeremy Wyant - 4.721

12) Brian Ambrose - 4.755

13) Matt Bruce - 4.774

14) Bobby Robinson - 4.783

15) Gil Pataky - 4.852

 

 

By racer vote, Ricky Bennardo Jr was the concours winner in the GTC Pro class.

 

[Cheater]

And here's the qualifying list for the regular (non-pro) GT Coupe.

 

Top qualifier for GT Coupe is Jason Dennis at 4.618 secs.

 

1) Jason Dennis - 4.618 secs

2) Eric Shirey - 4.648

3) Taylor Davis - 4.695

4) Ryan Bruce - 4.774

5) Doc Dougherty - 4.778

6) Eric Balicki - 4.799

7) Joe Liguori - 4.803

8) Earl Graybill - 4.803

9) Jerry Wyant - 4.808

10) Rowdy Walling - 4.856

11) George Katzakis - 4.859

12) Clyde Romero - 4.910

13) Kyle Snyder - 4.912

14) Dave Doerschuk - 4.923

15) Rick Bennardo Sr - 4.959

16) Jason Echelbarger - 4.965

17) Jessica McMasters - 4.971

18) Jim Leezer - 5.018

19) Thom Greene - 5.021

20) Gary Echelbarger- 5.127

21) Mike Gerbetz - 5.137

22) Lester Lucas - 5.149

23) Frankie Schaffier - 5.155

24) Steve Deiters - 5.234

25) Joe Elliot - 5.311

26) Steve Davidson - 5.314

27) David Clarken - 5.474

 

 

By racer vote, Clyde Romero won the Concours award for GT Coupe.

[Cheater]

With 27 entries in GT Coupe, the format will be three main with nine racers each, thus there is one sit-out in each of the GTC Coupe Mains.

 

The GT Coupe C Main is starting shortly...

[MSwiss]

Willy and Jason TQ'ing. Meh.

I could have told you that two months ago.

The cool news is Earl, going top eight, will make the A Main.

[Taylor Davis]

Greg Wells, hard at work postings photos and adding captions.

 

[Cheater]

I really did comb my hair this morning, but it's pretty windy here in Columbus today...

[Cheater]

Here are the results of the GT Coupe C Main.

 

 

GTC B Main is running now...