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Oct 7 Enduro | Fall Classic
| 9/8 | 8/25 | 8/18 | 8/11 | 8/3 | 7/28 | 7/22 | 7/14
| 7/7 | 6/30 | 6/23 | 6/16
6/9 | 6/3 | 5/19 | 4/22
Goblin 100 Small Car Enduro - Oct 7 - Lake Geneva
Raceway
Goblin 100: 6th
The Fall Classic wasn't to be the last time I raced at LGR, though, because
this past Saturday (Oct 7th), I raced in the final Midwest Enduro race - the
Small Car Goblin 100.
An "enduro" is a race where the cars start from a dead stop, rather than a
rolling start. There are a lot of laps to complete - the big cars get 200 to 300
laps, the small cars get 75 to 100 laps. It's very exciting for fans and
drivers, with lots of "rubbing" going on and very few stops to the race.
So I brought the red Neon out of retirement, made it into the "209", did some
basic maintenance, strapped on some good tires and ran around.
Wow. Simply wow. I know I've been saying this all year, but this was the
craziest, most fun race I have ever had. My number was drawn in the beginning,
and I started middle front row - we started *three wide*, which on that small
1/4 mile track, was insane! My goal was to run a clean race, not push issues
since I was just a "visitor" and see how it went.
Well, to my surprise, I ended up doing really well! I started the race moving a
bit backwards as I felt out how the race was going, but after a few laps, I
started passing people! And passing, and passing... 100 laps is a lot! After
awhile, I had no idea how I running, although the very few number of times I was
lapped by the leaders, I figured I was running Top 10.
There were cars flying all around, going off the track, blowing tires, bumper
covers dragging, sliding into each other - it was just crazy! I kept a clean
race and tried to do my best to save my tires and keep moving. According to
Angie, who was scoring my laps, I was in third for a good chunk of the race, but
towards the end, a couple of cars came on strong. It was good racing at the end,
and I ended up in 6th place!
Not bad at all for a first timer! I got a nice plaque, courtesy of Kuphal
Racing, and actually a small bit of winnings! Woohoo!
That did not end the suprises of the evening, as my daughters won the
Mini-Chopper that the Techline Enduro tech crew were giving away! Wow, this is
one neat bike and what a great suprise! It's actually a very fast lil toy -
thank you Techline! (I'm not sure which "kids" will be playing with it more!
Haha!)
So now we're done racing - what a great final two events to close out a
wonderful season! We finish 4th in points, not bad for starting out - and we've
learned a lot in year.
Fall Classic (9/30 - 10/1) - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 12th
Heat Race: 7th
Feature: 13th
Over 100 Pictures - Click to view the
photo album
The Victor Ford Final Fall Classic took place last weekend (Sep 30/Oct 1)
with a huge car count and lots of exciting racing. I took the #91 Caprice out
one last time to enjoy the racing and say goodbye to the track. It was a
fantastic, fun weekend and I even did really well in comparison, with my best
qualifying time all year in the 21.300s.
The Enduro/Weapons field included other Midwest Enduro vehicles, some visiting
Rockford Roadrunners and 3 or 4 Jefferson hobby stocks. The hobby stocks and a
visting Michigan enduro machine had more modifications to them than we (Weapons)
were allowed, but we were all lumped in the same class. The heat race that I
participated in did not have the Jefferson/Michigan visitors in it, so it was
more of a "true" apples to apples type of comparison.
I started in the back row and although I could only work my way up to 7th, I had
a blast racing against, and passing, the Rockford visitors. If this was an
example of how well (and hard) they race, I am looking forward to next year! I
just didn't have enough laps to catch the front pack.
That wrapped up racing for me on Saturday. Despite some rain and long waits, it
was a fantastic day.
Sunday was a gorgeous day to see regular racing finish up at Lake Geneva. Bright
sunny skies, crisp fall air and the smell/sounds of stock cars. If you take a
look at the pictures from the Fall Classic, you'll see that there were a TON of
cars!
The Weapons/Enduro feature was an interesting race. I started close to the
front, but knowing that the Jefferson/Michigan guys were going to move quickly,
I decided to run a good, clean race without pushing issues. About midway through
the 20 lap race, I fell into a nice duel with Andy Krueger (#22 - LGR's Weapons
Champion) - he'd get close to me in each corner, but I had the car hooked up
well and was able to get away from him on exit and the straightaways. I took the
checkered flag at 13th out of 20 and was very happy to have finished the day
enjoying myself and the competition.
And so that was it for racing in the big cars at Lake Geneva. I was exhausted
after a whirlwind two days, but damned if I a hard time leaving the grand old
lady that night.
9/8 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 5th
Heat Race: 2nd
Feature: 2nd
Photos
Second place in both the heat race AND feature!
I decided that enough was enough with the experimenting and I went back to what
worked. I qualified 5th out of 6 cars in our field, but I was satisfied because
the car felt good and I knew that I was going to be OK.
The heat race started with me in the front row next to the pole sitter and as
soon as that flagman twitched to throw the flag, I stomped the pedal and was in
the lead like a shot. The #27 car of Mark Tomasi was right behind me. I held him
off about 2 or 3 laps and he finally got around me, but I managed to stay with
him and keep in front of everyone else. I have to tell you, after the struggles
for the last few weeks, that felt like a win! I was so happy.
But I wasn't done. I had the pole position for the A Main feature race by virtue
of the field inversion. It just was special to me to take the pole on that last
race. And again, as the flagman just barely started to throw the green, I took
off like a bat outta hell and led
for ten laps! Finally, the #229 of Mark Ludtke, who was fast all night, got
around me. I saw him coming in my rearview and gave him a lane to race me
(although that might have been a different story if it was the white flag
lap...) and he pulled by and ahead by a couple of
car lengths. Once again, I managed to hit my marks and keep it rolling for a
second place finish! What a wonderful night!
So as the math works out, by virtue of a couple of guys not showing up on Friday
and because of me making every single race this season, I now hold 4th place.
We'll see what happens with the final event for the Weapons at Lake Geneva's
final Fall Classic (Sept 30 through Oct 1).
I wanted to thank all of you guys who've come to the track, or have supported me
with sponsorship or just encouragement. Quality Auto Parts out of Mundelein,
Mundelein/Jensen Disposal out of Mundelein and Flatout Gaskets out of Mundelein
gave me sponsorship this year and I hope you all give them business. I also
wanted to thank my father, Richard Shorten, for his help in getting the #91,
getting it up and running and helping out when I needed it earlier this year.
I want to congratulate Andy Krueger #22 for winning the Weapons Division
Championship. He deserves it fully for having an extremely consistent year with
fast times, fast cars and good finishes. Way to go, Andy!
8/25 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Rained out!
8/18 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Rained out!
8/11 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 6th
Heat Race: 7th
Feature: 7th
8/3 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 8th
Heat Race: 12th - accident
Feature: DNF - bent axle
Photos
7/28/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 4th
Heat Race: 7th
Feature: 5th
Photos
7/22/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: Rained Out!
Heat Race: 9th
Feature: 8th
Photos
7/14/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 3rd
Heat Race: 6th
Feature: 3rd
Photos
7/7/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 5th
Heat Race: 8th
Feature: 6th
Photos
We're starting to get our groove back, as we qualified much better last
Friday. In the heat race, we dueled for position but didn't quite make up the
ground to finish in the Top 5.
The feature race was a race of survival with two cautions, but we finished
6th.
6/30/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 7th
Heat Race: 7th
Feature: 6th
Photos
6/23/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 6th
Heat Race: 5th
Feature: 8th
Photos
Our struggles continued as the car's handling and performance has not been
the same since our June 3rd accident in qualifying. This week, major fixes are
going to be made to the 91 to try and get it back to being competitive.
Last week, we took the car for an alignment at Sears Auto Center in Hawthorn
Mall. Nothing major was found to fix, so we took the car on Friday to the track,
made some air pressure and toe (tire alignment) changes and hoped for the best.
The results were mixed amid a frantic night of trying to change something. In
the end, we just did not have the performance and setup right and we were not as
competitive as we'd like to be.
This week, thanks to our wonderful sponsors at Quality Auto, we've made some
major fixes and investigations in our front end suspension. After we get some
welding fixes (Jay R's Welding in Mundelein) and another alignment (required
after changing suspension parts), we're going back to early practice on Friday
and see how things shape up. Cross your fingers!
6/16/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 9th
Heat Race: 9th
Feature: 9th
Photos | Motorsports
Show Photos
We had a very challenging night with the car just not handling or set up right.
Time to get some things fixed!
Ever since our bump on the wall during qualifications on June 3, the car has
just not been "right" and racing this Friday proved it in spades. I thought the
car was OK and handling good during practice, but our slow speeds during
qualifications proved me wrong as we just did not have the ability to turn well
and pick up steam out of the corners.
The heat race saw me starting at the pole (as the slowest *cough*) and I just
went straight backwards! The car was pushing (moving to the right) even though I
had the steering turned full left!
I spoke with a couple of other Weapons guys and Andy Krueger (#22) suggested a
tire pressure change. Well, we tried it and unfortunately, that did not help
during the feature! Thanks to a strange inversion, I started dead last and
stayed there.
I have a couple of fixes to make this week, one of them is taking the car to an
alignment rack and see if we can't get some things fixed. We're gonna figure
this out!
Thanks to Reid #97 and Andy #22 for giving us advice and being a friendly ear
when I was completely frustrated!
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As hard as Friday night was, Saturday was a blast! We attended the 29th Annual
Lynch GM Superstore /Babicz Auto Racing Services Let's Go
Racing Motorsports Show. There were a whole bunch of race machines there,
including 2 other Weapons cars - the #27 of Mark Tomasini and #6 of Glenn
Tomasini.
The treat was seeing a few 1960s era modifieds - cars that have been restored
from their racing careers over 40 years ago. These cars had bodies from vehicles
dating to the 30s and 40s - what a treat! One of them won the "Best Car" of the
show.
We had a great time meeting fans and even got to meet a 10 year old fan from
last year! (Even though his memory of us was when the 109 Sentra went over the
wall... Hehehehe...)
We were happy to showcase our car and sponsors for the fans and we're hoping to
attend again next year!
Our next event is the Mundelein Community Days/Independence Day parade on July
2nd at 2:00pm in Mundelein, IL. Come see the #91 and hopefully the pace car from
LGR and some other racers.
6/9/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 6th
Heat Race: 4th
Feature: 8th
Photos
The 91 and Michael Shorten survived a rain-soaked track at Lake Geneva on
Friday night for some exciting racing!
Rain set in just before qualifications, so the division with treaded tires (BIC/4
cyl and the Weapons) were sent on the track to help clean it up. The slick track
made qualifications very treacherous, but we managed to make it through
qualifications without incident, but at a slower speed than we liked.
The track had the treaded tire divisions run all of their heats and feature
races, so the 91 ran almost back to back races for a total of 30 laps of
white-knuckled fun! The heat race was exciting as all of the people who've done
this before used the highest groove possible (the most dry groove) and it was a
"follow the leader and hope the guy in front slips" type of race. We came in fourth, trying
to get past the #22 car.
The feature saw the 91 start from the front row and then take the lead! We had a
lot of traffic behind us and then suddenly they all were about 6 car lengths
back! Woohoo... except... we carried a bit too much speed into turn 1 and went
up the hill into the grass. We led a total of 5 laps.
Well, it was great fun while it lasted, we hung on and fought for position and
ended up 8th. It could have been a lot worse with the weather, but everyone
raced clean it and it was great fun!
6/3/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 2nd
Trophy Dash: 4th
Feature: 7th
Photos
Saturday night did not see the same Lady Luck smiling on us, instead facing
a very treacherous racing surface and some misfortune, the 91 took some hits
and spins along the way, but finished all races running.
Practice laps showed that the track was tight in some spots, slick in the
others with no real consistency available. During qualification, we set the
fast time on our first lap but on the second lap, we hit the tire barriers out
of turn 4. The car just pushed and slid so much - as much a result of us going
for that extra bit of speed after getting tight in turn 2 as anything else.
Thanks to the great help of the #22 team and help from other racers, we
fixed the sheet metal and suspension issues and got back out on the track for
the fast dash. We were mainly concerned about feeling out how the car would
handle - and it was about the same except for track conditions, so we were
happy to place 4th without incidents.
The feature race saw some exciting moments. About lap 12 or 13, there was
some contact with another competitor and we ended up spinning around - it was
just us spinning and we both continued on, so
that was good. Then, in the closing laps, we got caught up with another car
with some racing for the inside groove; when we bumped, it sent him
spinning.
Just a really hard night - I always hope for the best and try to put on a
good race - tonight just wasn't with us! But we'll get the car ready for
racing again and be back at it this coming Friday!
5/19/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Qualification: 3rd - 21.400
Trophy Dash: 4th
Feature: 4th
Photos
This past Friday night saw the Friday Night opener for the Weapons
Division at Lake Geneva and the #91 didn't disappoint!
We updated our car's look by moving the numbers and adding on the sponsorship
decals for our favorite vendors/sponsors and the required sponsors for the
NASCAR Weekly Dodge Series, in anticipation of running at Rockford some this
year. After our practice last week gave us some indication of how the car was
acting, we made some set up changes and the hot laps showed that we were in the
ballpark!
We took 2 qualification laps:
- Lap 1: 21.400
- Lap 2: 21.415
This was good enough for us to again qualify as third fastest! This put us into
the Trophy Fast Dash and the feature event.
The Fast Dash was a 4 lap sprint which we took 4th place.
The Feature race saw us starting from the middle of the pack. The eventual
winner (and our congrats go out to..) Mark Tomasi #27 was able to clear slow
traffic, but a group of cars, including the #91, was stuck behind slower
traffic. We managed to get by the slow traffic and proceeded to run pretty much nose
to tail for the rest of the race. It was a
fantastically fun race, with the #91 again finishing fourth - our BEST FINISH
EVER in a feature race! Several times, we were side by side with competitors but
the whole race was clean and
exciting - I think it was probably the most fun race I've been in yet in my
(short) career!
4/22/06 - Lake Geneva Raceway
Our 2006 and new car opening night results:
Qualification: 3rd - 21.345
Trophy Dash: 6th
Feature: 10th
Photos
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