Willow Springs is nick named the "fastest road in the west." It was also the hottest road in the west on September 1 & 2 with temperatures reaching 116° in the afternoon. A huge thunderstorm also played havoc on Saturday afternoon causing 25 power poles to go down on Rosemond Blvd. Once we were all cleaned and prepped, here's what happened.
Saturday
Late Thursday afternoon John Morris took delivery of the new SR5. Radical did a great job prepping the car as not many race cars can fly from the factory and immediately expect to perform with winning results as the SR5 did.
Dyno Don and Jet John had a great battle in the race. Don started from the pole and led the first handful of laps. Once John cleared the SR3's he reeled in Don and made the pass. John gave the SR5 a nice debut bringing it home with the win.
As the results prove, Dave Tweedlie was on fire Saturday, putting his SR3 on the front row in qualifying and drove away with it in the race. Great job Dave, you must have eaten your Wheaties on Saturday morning.
Steve Werner and Gary Hardesty made their debut in the Radical Cup Championship. With a little more seat time I'm certain we will see them fighting for the championship.
Great job guys!
The competition is no longer for second but for the title. For the third weekend in a row, Matt Maddox has struggled, consequently costing him the points lead. Fortunately luck comes in threes and that is exactly what we have left for the 2007 Radical Cup Series. With flawless delivery Tim Day is currently in the lead with the top 5 looking over his shoulder.
Qualifying Results
1.
Don Simons
Inv. / Crago
1:18.135
2.
Dave Tweedlie
SR3 / Crago
1:20.834
3.
Tim Day
Inv. / Crago
1:21.480
4.
John Morris
Inv.
1:21.859
5.
Bart Carter
Inv.
1:22.531
6.
Pete Fowler
Inv.
1:23.573
7.
Matt Maddox
SR3 / Crago
1:23.677
8.
Craig Oka
SR3 / Crago
1:23.975
9.
Ken Melgoza
SR3
1:23.993
10.
Cody Martin
SR3
1:24.917
11.
Jeff Roland
Inv.
1:26.221
12.
Steve Nicklin
SR3 / Crago
1:30.093
13.
Bob Majorino
SR3 / Crago
1:31.772
14.
Len Krick
SR3 / Crago
1:32.543
15.
Steve Werner
SR3
1:33.033
16.
Gary Hardesty
SR3
1:33.349
17.
Rene Lohr
SR3
1:34.867
Race Results
Invitational
1.
John Morris
SR5
1:21.715
2.
Don Simons
PR06 / Crago
1:22.759
3.
Bart Carter
SR8
1:24.035
4.
Pete Fowler
Prosport
1:24.039
5.
Jeff Roland
Stohr WF1
1:27.011
SR3
1.
Dave Tweedlie
1400cc / Crago
1:21.675
2.
Tim Day
1400cc / Crago
1:23.289
3.
Cody Martin
1400cc
1:24.203
4.
Craig Oka
1400cc / Crago
1:24.374
5.
Matt Maddox
1400cc / Crago
1:24.393
6.
Bob Majorino
1400cc
1:25.357
7.
Steve Nicklin
1300cc / Crago
1:31.113
8.
Len Krick
1500cc / Crago
1:33.109
9.
Rene Lohr
1300cc / Crago
1:33.391
10.
Steve Werner
1400cc
1:32.560
11.
Gary Hardesty
1500cc
1:34.433
12.
Ken Melgoza
1400cc
1:24.975
Sunday
Sunday qualifying saw similar results to Saturday.
The following is first hand account of the race Sunday from Craig Oka's perspective.
Cody passed me going into T2 at the start. Then he passed Bob. I passed Bob somewhere around lap 2 going into T1. Then I passed Cody going into T3.
Bob found his mojo and turned up the boost. He passed Cody, and then pressured me into making a mistake in T9 and blowing by me on the front straight. Cody passed me at T4 during the tangle with the back markers. Then I passed Cody for the final time going into T1.
Finally, I got Matt at the finish line!
Bob Majorino was really the sleeper in all this. As Craig mentioned, toward the middle of the race Bob found his "mojo" and went for the gold. Not only did he repass Craig, Cody and Matt, he also caught and passed Saturday's winner Dave Tweedlie, and by the final lap had caught the leader Tim Day. Bob ran out of time as the checkered flag flew, but a great effort making the most passes and setting the fastest lap of the race.
Don Simons won the Invitational class but it didn't come easy. With 7 laps to go, the regulator on his paddle shift system failed causing the car not to shift.
Bart Carter looked to be a threat with his SR8. He ran second behind Don at the beginning of the race. It looked as if he had the speed to pass him.
Unfortunately as they caught lap traffic Bart had to take evasive action to not run into a slower car, causing him to spin. Bart continued on to finish 3rd.
Qualifying Results
1.
Don Simons
Inv. / Crago
1:20.857
2.
Dave Tweedlie
SR3 / Crago
1:21.503
3.
Tim Day
Inv. / Crago
1:22.347
4.
Bart Carter
Inv.
1:22.984
5.
Bob Majorino
SR3 / Crago
1:23.358
6.
Matt Maddox
SR3 / Crago
1:23.438
7.
Craig Oka
SR3 / Crago
1:23.824
8.
Cody Martin
SR3
1:24.003
9.
Pete Fowler
Inv.
1:25.863
10.
Jeff Roland
Inv.
1:26.043
11.
Steve Werner
SR3
1:28.775
12.
Rene Lohr
SR3
1:29.983
13.
Steve Nicklin
SR3 / Crago
1:30.513
14.
Len Krick
SR3 / Crago
1:31.001
15.
Gary Hardesty
SR3
1:34.530
Race Results
Invitational
1.
Don Simons
1585cc / Crago
1:22.987
2.
Jeff Roland
1000cc
1:24.172
3.
Bart Carter
2600cc
1:23.485
SR3
2.
Tim Day
HD
1:22.746
6.
Bob Majorino
HD
1:22.320
1.
Dave Tweedlie
HD
1:23.644
4.
Craig Oka
HD
1:23.113
5.
Matt Maddox
HD
1:23.050
3.
Cody Martin
HD
1:22.878
8.
Len Krick
HD
1:29.121
10.
Steve Werner
Standard
1:29.914
9.
Rene Lohr
Standard
1:30.275
7.
Steve Nicklin
Standard
1:29.011
Special Thanks needs to go out to the boys at Spring Mountain for the great prep on the cars. With all the heat bearing down on us there were no heat related failures.
Sorry no pictures for this report. Looks like I need to hire a photographer.
Come join us at our next event @ Buttonwillow Raceway Park on September 28 — 30. See you there!!!
Jeff Shafer
Radical Ventures, Inc.