It seemed like the first race of the Midwest Series was so far off and then all of a sudden it was here before you knew it. Going into the weekend the big story was Mother Nature! For the entire week it was predicted that it was going to be a washout. I know of at least a few people who decided the risk was too high of not getting the race in and stayed home. Well if we haven't learned by now that predicting the weather is a crapshoot, the weekend in Mentor should show that racing can and did win out over the weather man.
The track this year in Mentor was similar to last year except for a little additional length gained from using every inch of parking lot. The layout was still fun and worked very well with the natural ups and downs of the pavement. One thing the Mentor track had that most tracks don't is a very long pit lane. I can't speak for everyone but I thought it was a fun hitting second gear down a 3 foot wide lane.
The Mentor club had the track ready to go Saturday morning so there was no wait for those who wanted all the practice they could get. For some drivers it was the first time out this year and they spent the open track time setting the “two-speed” and working out other bugs. The drivers meeting was held under skies that couldn't make up their mind and the first round of qualifying was started shortly after. After 2 heats of Sedan and part way through the GT heat the cars were pulled from the track due to rain. What looked like a few hours of rain on the radar turned out to be a quick sprinkle and the cars were back on the track in short time. The weather turned out pretty nice the rest of the day and after all was said and done we had 4 rounds of qualifiers finished.
After 4 rounds of qualifying it was Mike Pulfer showing the way in 1/8 th 4WD followed by Mark Unger and Mike McBride. Sedan was led by Andy Power followed by Jason Conely and Chris Doseck. The GT class had Mike Copper out front with Marty Waldhelm and Jerome Rogers trying to catch him.
There was still time for practice after Qualifying or the option of heading out early for dinner and a relaxing night at the hotel cursing the weather channel and the rain clouds they rode in on.
Waking up and looking outside first thing Sunday morning didn't exactly give a warm fuzzy feeling to those looking to finish out the weekend on the track. To most everyone's surprise the sun came out in the late morning and the Mentor club had the track dried, sprayed, and ready for business. Someone else who came ready for business with his last minute Sunday morning entry was Paul Ciccarello. With not even close to the normal practice time he prefers Paul was looking at the 5 th and final qualifier. The track was not quite as sticky as Saturday so most of the qualifying orders held up except for 1/8 th 4WD. After the final round it would be “Chicky” grabbing the 1/8 th 4WD Open TQ. Mark under who was not far behind Paul took 1/8 th Masters TQ honors. Andy Power held onto TQ in Open Sedan with Allen Denzine grabbing TQ for Masters Sedan. Mike Cooper looked like Noob when he first hit the track Saturday but knocked the rust off to find his way to the TQ spot in GT. TQ awards this year will have a “Bud Pole” flare to them with each Top Qualifier getting an etched Pilsner glass and a Bud Light to fill it up with. If you manage to TQ at all the races this year you can work yourself into a six-pack.
The mains kicked off with the Sedan B-Main. With some quick and consistent laps throughout the race Shih-Hang Lee was able to hold onto a win over Mike Parker who was followed by Phillip Neiswinger who had some trouble early in the race. The final results for the B-main are as follows:
1 st Shih-Hang Lee 76 Laps 30:18.574
2 nd Mike Parker 71 Laps 30:09.311
3 rd Phillip Neiswinger 54 Laps 30:15.754
4 th Michael Estep 49 Laps 29:39.754
5 th James Palansky 26 Laps 23:37.556
6 th Karl Ennulat 0 Laps
Next up was the Sedan A-Main. With the track a little slick and a lot of throttle being used it seemed like it was going to be a race to see who could stay out front and keep the tires on the car. Early on it was Andy Power, Chris Doseck, and Jason Conely until Chris had some trouble that took him off the track for a little bit. Andy and Jason talked tire strategy on the drivers stand and before the end of the race Jason had to pit for some fresh rear rubber. Andy held on to win with Jason just holding on to second followed by Elliot Hart. The final results for the A-main are as follows:
1 st Andy Power 87 Laps 30:17.789
2 nd Jason Conely 83 Laps 30:00.521
3 rd Elliot Hart 82 Laps 30:02.505
4 th Chris Doseck 82 Laps 30:21.093
5 th Steve Lazarus 81 Laps 30:15.336
6 th Dax Maddeu 80 Laps 30:02.118
7 th Allen Denzine 76 Laps 30:10.829
Sedan was followed by the GT main. Everyone in the GT class has a little something different to show off out on the track. Some of the guys were hooked up and others seemed to go more for the drift style. Mike Cooper went with the smooth and hooked up choice and it carried him to win. Marty and Gary Waldhelm each had some trouble at different times during the race and Gary came sooooo close to getting around Marty at the end for second but just missed it. The final results for the GT main are as follows:
1 st Mike Cooper 69 Laps 30:09.456
2 nd Marty Waldhelm 57 Laps 29:18.051
3 rd Gary Waldhelm 57 Laps 29:49.189
4 th Jerome Roberts 55 Laps 30:21.777
5 th Bob Rexrode 39 Laps 24:31.217
6 th James Palansky 30 Laps 30:21.717
7 th Karl Ennulat 29 Laps 21:10.221
8 th Scott Takacs 0 Laps
The final race of the day would be the 1/8 th 4WD. Without his typical amount of practice Paul ciccarello had a bunch of energy to burn and he used it to stay out front and hold on to the top spot. Mike Pulfer kept him honest and finished up in second. Mike McBride was determined to make it a Serpent top 3 and managed to make it happen. With Mike running 1/8 th his F-bombs in Sedan were missed. The remaining results are as follows:
1 st Paul Ciccarello 92 Laps 30:02.921
2 nd Mike Pulfer 90 Laps 30:12.319
3 rd Mike McBride 81 Laps 30:19.628
4 th John Schweitzer 70 Laps 30:15.241
5 th Mike Chiappetti 65 Laps 30:18.070
6 th Dennis Young 63 Laps 30:26.082
7 th Allen Denzine 38 Laps 21:02.397
8 th Mark Unger 28 Laps 09:47.510
9 th Marvin Davis 0 Laps
10 th Lon Burling 0 Laps
I hope all who came out enjoyed the racing and all those who listened to the weather man will have more faith in a dry track next time. Thanks to the Mentor club for all the hard work! See you all at the next race in Joliet, IL.
Andy Power – Series Director
Email: andyp.323@gmail.com
Mike Cooper – Webmaster, GT rules author.