(In Sue?s tradition here?s a summary.)
The 2009 Racin? on the Runways event at CFB Edmonton was a great success! Over 30 closed wheel cars participated, and over 20 Exotic/Sports Car drivers took part in lapping events. Race 1 saw a lot of carnage in the Challenge Car class, and we lost a Datsun Z car to a water barrel later that day. But the CC cars came back and raced ? looking ugly or not, for the rest of the weekend. The track workers, timing team, safety and tow teams, and the Clerk of the Course kept things on track and running very smoothly for the whole weekend. Thanks go to all the Corner Marshals, Timing team, Safety crews, Officials, Organizers, and track setup and breakdown volunteers for their time, effort, and dedication to racing in Alberta.
The usual breakdowns thinned out the field by the end of the weekend, but it was overall a successful event for most drivers. No doubt someone ended their weekend cursing the racing gods, stewards, carburetors or the like, but as they say ?That?s Racing!?. Congratulations go to Lance Hogarth for winning the Enduro, and Anthony Kalcounis for eating his sand and staying on his tail for a most entertaining 40 minutes. (Pass him next time Anthony and you won?t need to repaint your front end.) Congratulations go to Brooke Carter who managed to finish first in Challenge Car and first overall on the weekend. Lance took first overall in IT-GT, and Jim Barnsley led the remaining IT group (IT1 to 3) in first place. First place in GT2 went to Bruce Willox, shared with son Jeff. First place in GT3 went to hard running Anthony Kalcounis. First place in GT-S went to Chris Saunders, who beat a 911 turbo by consistently running a turbo Festiva ice racer all weekend! (Trophies were ordered based on June 14 registration, so the policy that there needed to be 3 in a class for a trophy was not consistently followed by June 17? sorry Chris.) Our sole open wheel car, run by Joergen Krause took home the trophy in open wheel, and the mighty MGB of John Kershaw took top honours in Vintage thanks to his consistency. Guy Maris flew through the pack, generally ending in front in his incredible Stohr sports racer. Of particular note was the pass he made between corners 2 and 3 on two CC cars and Barnsley?s Neon, in which he not only treated them like moving pylons, but actually slalomed through the pylons. He claims he thought it was the safest way through, but the three drivers he passed thought it was the coolest way through!
(Results will be posted soon on www.nascc.ab.ca, and points soon after that on NASCC and ARCA sites.)
The Exotic/Sports car drivers had a spectacular time by all accounts, and left with faces tired from grinning I hear.
The next CFB Edmonton Race is August 29 and 30, the weekend before Labour day. We need to see you out there, and hope you are looking forward to it.
(I?m thinking of naming it the NASCC Alberta Race. Check out the abbreviation and tell me if that?s too cheesy!)