ARIZONA HO RACING ASSOCIATION

NEWS----------RUMORS----------GOSSIP

IN OTHER WORDS, THE GOOD STUFF!

Zane Wins 1st Race of Championship!
Team MRT 1st and 2nd with LifeLikes on a BuckTrax!

The 1997 GTP/WSC SuperStock championship started out will a bang. With the biggest entry we have had in a long time. Even with several regulars not present the field of 11 was the best we’ve seen in quite a while. It was great to see old AHORA member Tom Ramsey show up. A very fast competitor and all around nice guy. If he decides to start racing again with us, look out guys! After a great qualifying effort, Team MRT ran away from the field to notch a one-two. Mark’s TQ, an oh-so-close to the 2’s, 3.073. Zane was a close 2nd with a 3.126. They were .25 sec ahead of the 3rd qualifier Greg. Greg was very helpful for Zane by reminding him to drive like he was in California. Problem is he started doing it!

The A semi lined up with all six lanes filled. Greg and James jumped into the lead with Mark 2 laps behind. Greg extended the lead to 5 with James fading with a slow motor. But Mark was closing in and when Greg hit red, Mark was hasta lavista to win with a 180. Paul was learning a BuckTrax and passed Greg for 2nd when a chipped rear gear cost Greg a lot of laps. The B semi was up with 5 and Marty cut a 30 to take the early lead. With shouts of “Drive like yer in California” Zane started a string of 30s and 31s to win over Marty. Zane got a 3 lap lead in the 2nd heat and was unable to extend it winning 178 to 175. The Last Chance had Greg running an almost perfect race with a car that still did not handle right. Starting out with a 29 on red he never went below 30 to win but the talk of the LC race was who would get the final moveup spot. James and David were tied at 159 and it went to James by a few turns. Dave was close with a 157 and Dan at 153. Mike suffered LifeLike car blues that we thought would strike Mark and Zane LifeLikes in the main. Fat chance!

The first main in the series was off with fast with excellent race directing from Dave. The first heat had Zane at 33 and a 3 way tie between Mark, Marty and Greg for 2nd. Paul and James were struggling in the 20s but it is a long race. Zane lost a little in the 2nd with Mark fading a little too. Zane 63 to Greg and Marty”s 63. In the 3rd Marty moved in to the lead with 93, Greg at 91 with Zane and Mark tied at 90. Paul was recovering with an excellent 88 and James was talking himself out of a decent race. The 4th heat was the cruncher with Zane and Mark breaking everyone’s back with super 34s on green and blue to move into a tie for the lead at 124. Marty was at 122 with Greg 120 and Paul 119. James finally decides to drive and cuts a great 34 on white which was the fastest by 4 over what anyone else did on white! With time and opportunities starting to wind down, Zane tighten his grip on the lead. The final 2 heats saw Zane check out while Mark, Marty, Greg and Paul decided 2nd place. The nod went to Mark as the others ran into trouble at the end. Zane wins the first race of the series with a record setting 192.T9 laps. A great drive against a very tough field! Everyone appeared to have a great time and remember that the points do not determine your prizes! So have lots of fun and we’ll see at the remaining races! HO SlotCar racing is alive and well in Phoenix! Good Luck and Have Fun!

Points:
PosDriver5/2
1. Zane 10
2. Mark 9
3. Greg 8
4. Paul 6
5. Marty 6
6. James 5
= David 5
7. Dave 4
8. Dan 3
= Josh 3
9. Mike 2

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