NMRA Digital News ----------------------------------------

Final Round Results
Date: Sunday, October 5



Click here for complete eliminations results

Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Sunday, October 5 @ 10:10 PM by NMRAPaul

Bits in the Pits - Saturday
Date: Saturday, October 4



We were treated to a good old-fashioned match race today. In the second round of qualifying, Justin Burcham staged his JPC-backed supercharged/sprayed S197 that held the title of “World’s Quickest 3-Valve.” In the opposite lane was Vinny Barber in his Modular Depot-backed 88mm turbocharged S197. Burcham had an 8.93 pass in testing this morning, while Barber ran an 8.89 earlier in the day. As the pair left they were side by side with only a few thousandths separating their reaction times. When the scoreboards flashed, the win light went to Barber, 8.81 to 9.03. In addition to the first win in a series of three, Barber also eclipsed the previous 3-valve record held by Burcham, taking the title of Quickest 3-Valve.


Speaking of Justin, instead of guessing the number of jelly beans in a big jar, how about guessing how much ballast is in the back of his Factory Stock car? Somebody get that boy a sammich…


DiabloSport EFI Renegade Racer Mike Catapano ended up getting towed away from half-track yesterday after a huge wheelstand, and here’s why. Catapano got the gears sorted back out in time for today’s qualifying and put an 8.968 on the board. Transmission issues kept him from getting into the top half of the field in the third round, but the hope is that they’ll be up to speed for eliminations tomorrow.


Defending ACT Factory Stock champ Tommy Godfrey came out swinging today, cracking of an astonishing 11.099 at 120.46 miles per hour. If he can run an 11.202 or quicker tomorrow, that will give him the record along with a 50 point boost, all but ensuring a second straight title.


Keeping with the theme of smashing records, Dan Rawls piloted Wizard One to a blazing 8.41 at over 163 miles per hour. Rawls is in a tough situation as he needs a 8.494 to back up the number, but the car isn’t SFI 25.5-certified, meaning it’s not sub-8.50 legal.


With all the other records falling, why not the ProChargerSSO record? John “the Fireball” Urist ran a killer pass, stopping . . .


Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Saturday, October 4 @ 9:04 PM by NMRAPaul

Saturday Morning Update
Date: Saturday, October 4

It's ten 'till ten here at Beech Bend, and we've got bracket cars going down the track, with second round of quals up next at 11. Speaking of qualifying, it looks like the legendary Swill racers will have Scott Lovell's ride back together and ready to go in time to make two hits today and get into the show. With some help in the form of a few new parts from UPR, a little bit of welding on the radiator tank courtesy of John Urist, and a golf cart and a tow strap to yank the core support back into shape, they're at the point where they're ready to fill it back up with water and check to make sure it's good to go. The only thing they're still looking for is some matching blue duct tape for the bumper, but we're told they'll settle for gray if it's all they can find.


Let's check out the exclusive Race Pages WeatherHand for an update on conditions here at the track:


As of 9AM -
60.7 degrees F
61% relative humidity
29.67"
707 feet density altitude

Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Saturday, October 4 @ 11:05 AM by NMRAPaul

Bits in the Pits - Friday
Date: Saturday, October 4

What do you get when you combine what might be the tackiest track we’ve seen all year with cool, dry air? Lots of broken parts and scraped bumpers…


Of course, some of the damage can’t be blamed on conditions. DiabloSport EFI Renegade racer Scott Lovell started losing coolant about 60 feet out during a hit in test & tune, and put the front-right fender of his car (Bob Cook’s, actually – Lovell was tapped by Cook earlier in the season to take the wheel while Cook pilots the Sutton S197) into the wall. The good news is that Lovell is fine, and as of late Friday night, he was reporting that the car is straight from the strut towers back, and the team thinks they can get the car patched up and back into action in time for Saturday’s quals.


Believe it or not, he kept it off the wall…


Just to give you an indication of how good the track is here at Beech Bend Raceway this weekend, we had not one, but two racers eclipse the ET record in Tremec Pure Street, and we’re only through the first round of Qualifying. Ryan Hecox stormed to an incredible 10.182 at 130.73 MPH, while Rocky Mason was hot on his heels, running a 10.228 at 131.16 MPH. There are ten Pure Street cars on the property, and we can only imagine what’s in store for us on Saturday.


In another shocker, Bob Kurgan currently sits atop the qualifying ladder in BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial. Kurgan clicked off an insane 8.06 at 171.51 MPH, showing just how hard he’s been working on his combination this season. Champion John Kolivas is second on the ladder with an 8.15, while Tony Akins sits third, just a tick behind at 8.16. With twelve radial cars here in Bowling Green, a number of whom didn’t even make full passes, Saturday should be a doozy!


Speaking of Drag Radial, Joey Bridge is locked in a tough battle with Tony Akins to see who will be carrying the number two on their windshield next year, but this weekend he’s battling against transmission problems as well. After the test & tune session, Bridge was under the car swapping back to their older ‘Glide and converter, looking for a better run in the first round of qualifying. Unfortunately, he didn’t find it, and he’s got nowhere to go in the field bu . . .


Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Saturday, October 4 @ 9:35 AM by NMRAPaul

Friday Morning Update
Date: Friday, October 3



It's a beautiful morning here at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green - Not a cloud in the sky, and a brisk 47 degrees, with the forecast calling for a high just shy of 70 for this afternoon. We've got test & tune coming up at 11am, and first round of quals going off at 3pm, so jump on the Sagera live timing link (see the tab at the top of this page) to keep track of what's going on, or better yet, get your butt down here!

Update:

Here's the exclusive Race Pages WeatherHand report as of 9:30am...



62 degrees F
51% relative humidity
Barometer: 29.59
Density Altitude: 834 feet ASL

Comments (0) - Post a Comment - Posted on Friday, October 3 @ 10:03 AM by NMRAPaul