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Hopefully I have caught the updates, we can make changes on the fly Saturday as required...
Entry list is:
Rave Motorsports - Linda
Rave Motorsports - Kim
Team Farmiga - Ted
TeamClark - Tracy
RGU - Randy
RGU - Robert (The Silver Fox)
RGU - Craig
RGU - Jaime
RGU - Ginny
RGU - Matthew Allen
Team CASCO - Sheila
WSR - Brandon
WSR - Keith
O'Phart - Luke
O'Phart - David
See everyone tomorrow at Gateway. We checked in at Drury at 9
Qualfying 1 ResultsAttachment 49230
Thanks for the results! :greenflag::whiteflag::checkered:
Unofficial results of today's race.
1. Robert Clark
2. Jared Smith
3. Doug Seim
4. Jim Nash
Phil McSherry pulled in late in the race.
Great race to watch.
Race Results OfficialAttachment 49234. congrats to Phil McSherry on new track record!!'
Congrats to all :greenflag::whiteflag::checkered:
Sunday Qualifying results
Oops take 2- Sunday QualifyingAttachment 49248.
Looks to be a good battle today!
Be safe....:greenflag::whiteflag::checkered:
A quick spectator report.
1. McSherry
2. Seim
3. Clark
4. Nash
Clark and Smith had a get together on the first lap. The nose of Clark's car was embedded vertically in Smith's car's nose. Smith's car also suffered a broken tie rod. Clark dropped back to 8th.
McSherry and Seim had a drafting battle for the first few laps with a couple of lead swaps. Eventually McSherry pulled out a 5 or 6 second lead.
On behalf of the St. Louis Region, I would like to thank you all for coming to the race. We hope to see you next year.
Wow, too bad for Rob and Jared. Congrats to Phil, Doug and Rob. Looking forward to seeing that crash on Rob's video. Great season everyone, the series is growing and getting better and better! I will be back at some point. :greenflag::whiteflag::checkered:
This past weekend Linda and I had the absolute pleasure of having Jared Smith represent Nuveau Autosport at Gateway. He along with his father Win Smith and mother Ellen were an absolute pleasure to work with and helped us put together an outstanding weekend performance. Jared is a fine young man that represents a level of professionalism we strive for on the track, on the podium, and in the sometimes disappointing circumstances we all experience in the world of racing. Excellent job Jared bringing us a pole position and second place finish on Saturday and a second place qualifying on Sunday.
What an end to the 2014 Championship - Gateway really put on a great weekend, fun track, great people, and awesome weather we should definitely go back!
Saturday's race from my perspective was almost perfect, until the rear shock broke around lap 13 , Phil reeled me in and if it hadn't been for a small mistake he would have easily had the win. It was great to see him get the car fixed and come back on Sunday for the win.
Saturday night crew kart race event was so much fun, Ted, Brandon and Stacie put on a real show and there were some great battles up and down the field (and some sore bodies the next day - now some crew know how the drivers feel at the end of a weekend).
Only downside for me was taking out Jared in Sunday's race. My spin left him with no-where to go, and unfortunately he got the worst of the damage along with my nose cone embedded in his pedals and a broken steering arm. I recovered for 3rd but without a nose cone couldn't catch the front two.
Thanks to Butch & Barb for the lunches....and everyone for a great weekend.
What a great weekend. Weather was sunny and 70's. The event was run very well, and unlike most rovals, I found Gateway to be a real race track! A big thanks to Nuveau Autosports for the hot coffee and pastries in the morning and to Butch and Barb for the chili lunches.
It was my turn to be the benefactor of the Bill Bonow built Bend-it-Back Beam tool after clouting the tire wall Sunday morning. Butch informed me he had brought the tool with him and Larry C., Jim S., and Robert G. proceeded to lend me a hand and we had the car ready for an alignment check in less than an hour. At that point I had no trouble getting the Seim Collision & Repair crew to perform a drive-up front alignment service. They seem to do this numerous times each season for anyone finding their car out of wack during the weekend. I believe they lent a hand in getting Sunday's race winner straightened out. Doug finished second! Thanks to all that lent me a hand!
Also I want to ask anyone who has a photo of Rob's shock after he managed to win on Saturday to post it. I would not believe it if I had not been there to see for myself. After building an early gap Rob began to slow, but not by much. A tire going down? Nope, the rear shock appeared bent to a near L shape and the rear of the car was practically on the ground with a massive amount of chamber. I guess it was actually broke, not bent. How he kept going and at that pace I'll never understand. Maybe it was slowly bending as the race proceeded but as it sat in impound, I don't see how he kept going.
Great competition. Great to have our own race group. Can't wait for next year.
Jim
I would like to thank all of the drivers and teams that made our first Hoosier FFDA Championship Race a success. Until everyone came and raced at Gateway it was hard to explain in some of my past posts what a good racetrack this is. It is not your typical Roval. With Bill and I being able to have the on track experience with all of the FST Regulars helped speed our learning curve with the FST. I was able to drop my lap times over 3 seconds having a pack of cars to run with. My race with Dave Blevins was one of the most fun races I have had in my racing career. We sure hope to be on the schedule next year and in talking to Robert he said May always is a little trouble to get a date. I have talked to the St Louis Region and they are getting the days the track would be available in May. If we choose to go in May they will let us pick the best date available to accommodate us. They were so excited we choose them to put on one of the best single class shows they have ever had. If May does not work out they will feature us again in October. We are looking forward to joining all of you next year for some series races.
Chuck
Shocking...
I felt a vibration start around lap 13, the shaft broke where it threads into the end mount and luckily the spring was providing just enough reaction that the rear subframe was only bottoming on some corners. Looking back at the lap times it cost me ~2secs when it broke and about 0.5sec per lap after that.
Attachment 49368Attachment 49369Attachment 49370
The track is pretty unique among rovals. It flows and goes!
The excellent coffee and nosh every morning was a great touch. My paddock mates hope I don't go for that much caffeine on a race day ever again.
Hot chili on a beautiful fall day? Excellent!
The FST racing was terrific but the Crew Challenge was a stroke of genius. We are SOO doing that again!
Thanks to Bill and Chuck for talking us into adding this one to the calendar.
Thanks to Nuveau for the morning goodies.
Thanks to Butch and Barb for lunch on Saturday. Add Scuderia Farmiga for their additions for Sunday's lunch.
Congrats to Rob and Jim for putting together a great season.
How long before we get to do all this again?
Doug FST 5
Barb and I just got home after 2 beautiful days in the eastern ozarks about 60 miles south of the track. Great weather, good hiking, a great Lead mining museum, and good BBQ.
We had a wonderful time at the race with the great hospitality of the host region.
This last weekend is the perfect example of why we race FST. First of all, as new comers to this group we have been treated with the upmost respect. To Linda and I it's more than competing on the track. We enjoy the competition and strive to be the best, just as everyone does but, it goes beyond that. We enjoy people plain and simple and as the FST family grows it's important to keep our fellowship. Other race classes have had that and lost it. If the fun of this goes away it's time to quit. Last weekend was a blast and that's why we race! Fun on the track racing hard, bench racing in the paddock, and just plain meeting up with new and old friends every month or so. That's why we race Formula First!
Linda says she can't wait till the 2015 season to make it the biggest and best season ever!
This year was a very good year for FST racing., Penny and I had a great time at all the races. A special thank you needs to go out to Robert G. who has spent considerable time and effort to make the series happen each year. As Robert will quickly point out, he has had a lot of help from many people working with their local regions which host the FST events. Without Robert and his group of helpers- this series would not be nearly as nice.
For those on the fence, with cars in process, or those harboring a garage queen- it is time to start thinking about 2015. May 2015 may seem a long way off, but if you wait until April to start working on your car- you are likely way behind. Plan early, get your car ready- 2015 should be even better.
Larry Campbell
Campbell Motorsport
I got back from St Louis about midnight Sunday and needed to hit the ground running Monday so I can’t get to any of my impressions until today. I’m going to avoid duplicating what everyone else said and just stick to my personal impressions.
First the racing was good both days and FST racers are proving to be a tough group. By that I mean when the car is in a shunt or suffers a tricky problem instead of going home, they fix the car and of course they get help in doing so. At Gateway everything that was fixable got fixed. The ones that did not get fixed will be back in business for races soon.
Everyone who talked to me about the track was pleasantly surprised. Those who raced at places like New Hampshire said that as a facility that was nicer, but the St Louis racetrack was far more entertaining. It was incredibly easy to get to, the lodging was first class (for us racers) and close to the track.
A track is just a place but the organization determines everyone’s basic response to an event. The ease of registration was something everyone should emulate and the marshalling was superb. We had a great organizers in Chuck Udell and Sheila Burkett who were both first class folks. Gad they even negotiated pace car speed with us. That has never happened before.
I developed a sore back Saturday so I couldn’t partake of the kart race but it was a fabulous race all through the field. Our folks were a little tentative in the beginning but they watched an office pool shootout with some veterans and boy did they ever learn fast. With all the body English, head tucking on the straight and jumping in the seat I’m glad I saved my back.
A couple of things were really phenomenal. First a couple of our group came over to watch the kart race and thus were late for the track dinner and when they got there the dinner was over and the food gone. Well Chuck Udell took them across the street to get supper. Wow- how often does that happen??
Secondly the Rod Clark Saturday victory with the L-shaped shock is one that has to go in the record book right along with Doug Seim winning at Grattan a few years ago with no front shocks. Rob had about 12 degrees of rear negative camber in that thing. He reported to Jim over the radio that a tire seemed to be going down and how he managed to only be a second or so slower than normal. He had some laps in the nines during the last part of the race. Amazing. Think about this the next time you wonder whether to 85psi in your canister or 90psi.
Big thanks to Jim Schings for making sure our drivers all had clean drivers suits. Everyone got a suit cleaner do0r prize, Chuck Singletary and Dave Blevins won the best fight prize, Phil McSherry won a Longacre Acculevel for being Rookie of the Year. Now we can really know what Rob’s rear camber was. Did anyone mention Phil set a new lap record on Saturday? He has a certificate saying so. Doug Seim was just a tick off that on Sunday.
Lastly Bill and Linda Gray were actually co-organizers at this race and I thank them especially their initial ground work and making the event special.
Did I say the weather was great??? 2015’s scheduling starts after Thanksgiving.
Well,I just want to mirror what everyone else is saying about the wonderful folks who put sooooo much effort into making sure things happened in a timely and orderly fashion.Not only that,but I think these folks actually enjoyed doing it,( they were always smiling).
I had about as much fun as is legally possible. I don't think there's a finer group of people to be associated with than the fst group. Congratulations to Rob on an excellent season.Gateway looks like the place to be next year,thanks for your first class event.
Dave Blevins
Would like to thank Bill Gray, Rave Motorsports and the entire FST group for their hospitality this past weekend at Gateway. Incredibly nice group of people.
Was great to see all of the different chassis and everyone went out of their way to answer any questions I had about their cars. Bill even let me do a few laps in his car on the test day which I really appreciate and it gives me a better understanding of why they are so enthusiastic about their class.
Certainly the cars, the class and the people have a lot to offer.
Again, thank you Bill.
Bill Johnson
Hey Jim,
How about posting the final season points here, or better yet on www.formula-first.org?
Doug FST 5
I'll start a new thread with final points