Sunday May 17 2009.....The Indy 500 at Dallas Slot Cars
What an incredibly fun day of racing with all the traditions of the Big Indy 500. The photo show will tell the best story but I'll give you a few more details.
13 entries for this inaugural Indy 500. Everyone vying for that beautiful trophy. I added a last minute surprise by only allowing 4 full laps for qualifying just like the big cars. To ensure drivers made it past the 500 lap mark, I ran the race with 5 1/2 min heats. In the end, only 4 drivers made it past that milestone. Everyone in this race had some sort of mechanical issue except the winner, Jay Howard.
Glen Blanchard suffered a sheered guide very early in the race. Sadly, he had the fastest car on the track. he Tq'd with a new track record. Attempting to rejoin after repairs, he suffered another problem and decided he had had enough. Everyone else finished the race.
Rhett McNair finishing 2nd, had missed about 45 seconds in one heat. That made the difference in 1st and 2nd.
Bill Perry and Randy Holden, both from Wichita Falls, both had amazing races. An impressive 2nd place for Bill and Randy won a heat. Well done guys and thanks for driving to Dallas.
Brian Cannon had a fast car but suffered a gear issue about half way through the race.
Ricky Hall had a fast car but had troubles very early in the race and missed a full heat making repairs.
David Watkins, TSRA Prez, not usually a wing racer, needs glue/wing, wants to change motors every heat, needs to clean the braid AND full time tech inspector decided to take Steve's offer for a loaner car. A respectable 6th place for a newbie!
Paul Watts and Mac both had some brilliant heats. Fast cars and winning 2 heats each, minor technical issues kept them both from placing higher.
Steve Thornton used his weekly ration of wins up on Saturday. His last race for awhile with his job taking him out of the country, but he'll be back!
Ryan and Wrett both had major mechanical issues that various racers attempted to repair. Unfortunately it wasn't their best day of racing but I'm sure they had fun and will be back for more.
Thanks to Tony for driving the pace car as wll as marshalling. Thanks to Wille for helping with repairs and marshalling.
The photos really will show the fun we had. I'm very sorry if you couldn't make it today. It was tons of fun with lots of unusual pre-race activities.
The National Anthem
Deep in the Heart of Texas
A flyover by a jet
Pace car driven by Tony Griffin
"Gentlemen Start Your Engines"
4 lap qualifying
a yard of bricks
Drinking the milk
1st Jay Howard 547
2nd Rhett McNair 528
3rd Bill Perry 506
4th Brian Cannon 503
5th Mac 496
6th David Watkins 490
7th Randy Holden 472
8th Steve Thornton 468
9th Paul Watts 462
10th Ricky Hall 416
11th Ryan Carpenter 370
12th Wrett Holt 277
13th Glen Blanchard 224 TQ 4.32 New Track Record
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