Hoosier Tire FST Rounds 1 & 2 - Milwaukee Mile

[Brad Ellingson]

Returned from my long trip for work.

Attached is a PDF copy of the new schedule, everything is as originally agreed.

Should be a great start to the 2013 Hoosier FST Race Series

Looking at the entry list....almost twice as many workers as drivers. I'd rather see the 1 FF, 1 FV moved out and let you guys have the track to yourselves. As it is now the cars mentioned above would be in a group of....uhh..5 when you add the 3 SRF's that are entered. Anyone be up for helping push this change at the track?

[Jim Nash]

Does anyone know the likelihood of getting into the track before the 6:00 pm registration time on Friday? I have sent a note to the region but I thought I would check here too.

Jim

[Brad Ellingson]

Jim...talked to a guy who works safety at the Mile and he reminded me that there is a PDX on Friday but he thought it would be over by 3:30. Previous years we have been able to go in early...not 100% sure it'll be that way this year.

[Bill Bonow]

OK, just a week away from the opening two rounds of the 2013 Hoosier FST

The schedule is set and here is the official entry list:

# 69 Bonow, William '07 Evolution Plainfield, IL
# 37 Clark, Robert '06 Evolution CM-1 TeamClark Motorsport, SRacing Rochester, MI
# 11 Deer, Aaron '08 Evolution Mk 2 Racecarsupply.com, Elgin, IL
# 17 Finegan, Brian '10 Evolution Lindstrand Motorsports, St Baldricks Plainfield, IL
# 2 Nash, Jim '09 Mission MRC-09 Mission Race Cars Bloomington, MN
# 44 Wolfe, Bill '06 Evolution Special Effort Enterprises Albuquerque, NM
# 57 Gordon, Matt Citation FST Lexington, KY
# 09 Sharp, Doug Jacer V2K2 Sharp Chiropractic & Advocare Kawkawlin, MI
# 5 Smith, Jared, Citation XTC 41 Win Smith Racing Lexington, KY

At this point, the weekend weather forecast is mid to high 60's and a 50% chance of rain. That is still way out, so anything is possible. Of course, some of us like the rain.

Strong grid for the season opener. They only get bigger from here out.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the track!

[Bill Bonow]

Will see you guys starting tomorrow!

Watch out for the construction on I-894.

[rgu]

I really tried to get there for the race. I was going to do a good job documenting and taking some pictures in addition helping Matt out with his return to racing. Not to be. The flight was delayed over 2 hours Friday night not so it wasn’t worth going. The flight this morning was delayed because the crew “needed to sleep” but the airplane was at the gate. For your consumer protection the airline’s initials are AA. Too bad the bankruptcy process is so gentle.

Anyway have fun and I’m sure I’ll see plenty of your pictures videos and reports.

Wish I was there.

[teamclark]

Attachment 39288

Results from Q1

Unfortunately Bonow made contact with wall and is out for rest of the weekend.

[rave motorsports]

Hope Bill's okay.

[rgu]

Rob's first "Ripper" of the year. Right at the existing lap record.

Good job Rob

I'm sure Bill will let us know what's bad with his car. This makes you like places like Nelson and Grattan with all that great runoff room.

Thanks for the timely post. No how did you manage to scan the results---with your camera?

[teamclark]

Race 1 Results great maiden win for Doug Sharp.

Attachment 39312

DNF with engine issues, not a great start to the season.

[rgu]

Congratulations to our podium of Doug Sharpe, Jim Nash and Bill Wolfe. Too bad I wasn't there at the awards ceremony but its great to see some new faces. Doug seems to really be getting the hang of this low horsepower momentum racing after coming over from a Mustang last year.

First it was a really good effort at WGI and the end of last season and now this which was a fitting climax. Good work guys.

I also heard that Rob's car started up after coasting in so it might have been something really simple.

Good luck to all today

[Steve Hill]

What happened to Jared Smith?

[teamclark]

Results will come later but podium was Wolfe, Nash, Deer.

My engine was terminal in qualfying and despite Jim and Larry Campbell's efforts when we swapped into the 25 it had a bad miss so I pulled out on the warm up.

[Steve Hill]

Thanks for the updates Rob, sorry you had a bad weekend. I have been there and done that

Results will come later but podium was Wolfe, Nash, Deer.

My engine was terminal in qualfying and despite Jim and Larry Campbell's efforts when we swapped into the 25 it had a bad miss so I pulled out on the warm up.

[Bill Bonow]

Hope Bill's okay.

Minor shunt, mostly wounded pride. Need to check out trans internals to make sure nothing was hurt.

Just got home and unloaded will post a few photos and results shortly.

[Bill Bonow]

The Start of Sunday's race

Dr. Doug Sharp - On Point
Jim Nash - Outside Front Row
Dr. Bill Wolfe - Inside 2nd Row
Butch Deer - Outside 2nd Row
Matt Gordon - Inside 3rd Row

[rightturntiger]

It was great to be back at the race track with an FST (and the FST people). Thanks to Bill and Jim for fielding all of our newbie questions (even the dumb ones!) and helping us get the oil system on the car straightened out. We had a challenging weekend but yesterday's race was decent and I'm looking forward to Nelson.

One question - does anybody know if lap charts for yesterday's race are available? I'd be curious to see when I turned my quickest one. Thanks!

Matt Gordon

[Bill Bonow]

Matt,

Will post more detail when I get home.

Your best was 1:20.0 in Sundays race. Fastest time of the weekend was Robert Clark at 1:16.9

[Bill Bonow]

Well, the first 2 rounds of The 2013 Hoosier Tire Formula First Championship Series is history. The general feeling was that of "new". New faces, new cars, new winners. Don't get me wrong, many of the "old guard" of the series were present, they just didn't make it happen like the new guys did. The weather was forecasted to be an issue, but like most times, the weatherman was wrong. The weekend was mostly overcast and it never rained on us.

Saturday June 1
Round 1 Qualifying:

Rob Clark started off the first session at a great pace with a qualifying time just under the track record by .042 sec. Posting a 1:16.927 to capture the pole. Bill Bonow was chasing for the first few laps until he lost grip coming back onto the oval and side slapped the wall, ending his weekend. His time still managed to yield him the outside front row at 1:18.670. Dr. Doug Sharp grabbed the 3rd spot with a 1:19.863

Round 1 Grid:

1. Clark 1:16.927
2. Bonow 1:18.670
3. Sharp 1:19.863
4. Nash 1:20.240
5. Wolfe 1:20.941
6. Finegan 1:22.092
7. Deer 1:22.601
8. Gordon 1.42.156

Round 1 Race:

Clark took off and left the field while a 4 car battle ensued behind him. Nash, Sharp, Wolfe and Deer were all together swapping positions until around lap 10, when a lap car split them into two pair. Nash and Sharp followed by Wolfe and Deer. On lap 14, Clark slowed and retired with an engine issue. Now it was Nash and Sharp for the point. the lead changed back and forth, but at the end it was Dr. Doug Sharp (2012 Rookie of the year) who crossed the line first. His first win in FST.

Round 1 Race Results:

1. Sharp
2. Nash
3. Wolfe
4. Deer
5. Finegan
6. Clark 1:17.977 Fast Lap
7. Gordon
8. Bonow DNS

Milwaukee Region arranged for us to use the Milwaukee Mile winners circle for our post race festivities, Thank you Milwaukee Region! See photos below.

Sunday June 2
Round 2 Qualifying:

Much cooler day, but all the winter rust was now off the drivers and times were quicker. Clark had problems right away and was in the pits and then the paddock pulling his time and switching to his "T' car for the race (starting from the back of the grid). Dr. Doug came out on top with a 1:18.324 with Jim Nash in the Mission outside front row with a 1:18.658. Finegan had left for Disney with the family, and Bonow is sidelined.

Round 2 Grid:

1. Sharp 1:18.324
2. Nash 1:18.658
3. Wolfe 1:19.730
4. Deer 1:20.018
5. Gordon 1:21.512
6. Clark No Time
7. Bonow No Time

Round 2 Race:

Clark has a misfire issue and pulls off after the pace lap. A good ol'fashion FST shoot out with 5 cars in line for the opening laps. Gordon falls back and the 4 cars left are in a real fight. Positions are changed multiple times per lap. Deer runs as high as P2 (not too bad for 72 years old!). On lap 13, Sharp decides to make it 3 wide into turn 1 makes minor contact with ? and spins. Sharps nose is dragging and is meatballed to pull off the nose. The point is now Nash, Wolfe and Deer with Nash and Wolfe exchanging positions. Nash tries an outside south turn (oval) pass and gets the car tail-happy with 2 laps to go. Wolfe is the man to beat today as he beats Nash to the line by a car length.

Round 2 Race Results:

1. Wolfe
2. Nash 1:18.424 Fast Lap
3. Deer
4. Gordon
5. Sharp
6. Clark DNF
7. Bonow DNS

All in all, it was a great start to the 2013 season.

Point will be posted at the official FST homepage

Next up is Rounds 3 & 4 at Nelson Ledges on June 22 and 23

Here are a few photos taken at the event

[Bill Bonow]

of the Milwaukee Mile weekend

[rgu]

It’s amazing how versatile some of our members are. Bill Bonow goes to race but encounters a bit of an issue that prevents that. He quickly morphs into that esteemed member of the forth estate Edward R. Bonow and whips of the excellent bit of coverage from the Milwaukee Mile. Very nice job and everyone appreciates this level of reporting.

I was really happy to see everyone smiling and like most people I appreciate the pictures that add a bit of life to everything. It takes time to do this but it’s crucial. My congratulations to our two winners-- Doug Sharpe and Bill Wolfe. First because it’s their first FST wins and secondly because both are great ambassadors for our class and great people to interact with. I also liked to hear about the great efforts that were put forth by everyone else at these races especially the Ford guys who did their best to create a de facto split start.

My only negative reaction extends to the folks at American Airlines. I applied for a refund lets see. On the other hand, kudos to the Best Western at the airport. They cancelled my reservation without charge when they looked up my flight

[Doug FST 5]

Waiting for someone to post video from the weekend. While we're waiting be sure to watch this one. It's really good!

http://vimeo.com/45677704

Doug FST 5

[sracing]

I watched the first couple minutes and almost stopped.. But then it got great! Excellent find.

[Doug FST 5]

I just about gave up on it and then the slow motion footage began. Worth the wait - or just fast forward through the first few minutes!

Doug

[sracing]

What happened to Jared Smith?

Jared had some family health issues, so couldn't make it. He was scheduled to run the SR XTC FST conversion.

[G_J_Podgorski]

Bill,

A little belated, but thanks for the excellent write up and pictures of the race! For those of us who couldn't attend, it's always appreciated to hear (and see) how everyone is doing.

George