Round 2 & 3 Firebird International Raceway

Phoenix in spring is a beautiful place to be. So is Firebird International Raceway with 17 Radicals on the grid. We had a great turn out and some really exciting racing. There were worries that the facility was inadequate for our series. Well the pits are tight and the track is only 1.25 miles long but all the worries went away after the first practice session. The track had some very technical sections combined with some very quick corners. The apex curbing and some fairly aggressive bumps only added to the challenge of quick laps.

Qualifying on Saturday was exciting. Having our own run group really helped with getting clear laps. It must be noted that the Phoenix local hero Matt Maddox drove his 1400cc SR3 to pole position, out qualifying all the invitational cars. Great job Matt!!! Here's how qualifying ended up.

At the drop of the green flag, it was a very close race to get through turn 1. Everyone made it through and the race was on. In the invitational Brian Johnson showed that even on a small track his SR8 had unmatched performance by passing John Morris and driving away with the win. The SR3 class had a great battle. Cyrus showed he was the car to beat until a spin took him to the back. On the closing laps Matt Merrill spun his SR3 at the exit of turn 1 causing a chain reaction crash involving Marc Futterman, Tim Day & Matt. All three cars did not finish and were damaged. Marc took the worst damage getting sandwiched between the two SR3's.

Round #2 Race Results

The Radical Ventures crew got a good work out Saturday evening getting the 14 cars we brought repaired & prepped for Sunday. Special thanks to Joe Wulff for all the fiberglass repair. Unfortunately, Bob Majorino’s car had a transmission failure so Roy Sciortino offered Bob to drive his SR8. Bob did a great job in qualifying and adapted to the SR8’s power immediately.

Sunday Qualifying

Staging for the race Brian Johnson decided to give himself an additional challenge by giving up his starting position on the pole and going to the back. The start was again hair raising as all the cars filed into turn one. They all made it and put on a great show. Brian worked his way through the field only to catch John Morris who drove the widest PRO6 ever seen. They swapped positions several times with John holding Brian off at the finish. Great job John!!!

The SR3 class saw a close race for the top three positions. Matt lead the whole way but had Cyrus and Cody on his tail looking for a mistake. He never made one and came home with a double win weekend. Great Job Matt!!!

Round # 3 Race Results

I look forward to seeing everyone at Thunderhill on April 28, 29 for Round #4 & 5 of the 2007 Radical Cup Championship. Thank you everyone for being part of such a great event. Special Thanks to everyone at Pro – Auto sports for accommodating us and running such a great show.

See you all very soon,
Jeff Shafer

Radical Ventures, Inc.

©Crago Racing 1991 — 2007
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