Sportsfans! I'm back... but the detailed report (with all the proper names) of the first CFC race in the 2002 SARRC season will have to wait until I unload my notes out of the trailer.

Sit down, can it be? Mike Eakin is actually in the lead for the SARRC 2002 points battle in Club Continental. Even a blind frog can catch an occassional fly....

Into the race Rich LaTerra in his beautifully prepared Swift SE-3 lead 4 other CFCs at the start of a fairly large group of open wheel cars. (Thankfully, the powers-to-be had split out the CFs, FFs, FVees, and F500s into another group.) Turn one was fairly uneventful, but when the field got to the South Bend pieces started flying. (The first one stopped to tie his shoe...and they all went piling in...) The race was black-flagged. On pit road for the restart there were still 4 CFCs running, with LaTerra still leading the CFC group and Eakin 3 cars back. Eakin, who had first seen the track that morning, was starting to find his way. So on the restart he thought he would try to make LaTerra have to work for a win. Unfortunately, before Rich could really prove how slow Eakin was, Rich pulled off with a mechanical DNF. That left three 1984 Reynards to battle it out for the last 5 laps. Eakin was stepping out on the other two until his crew radioed to remind him to try to keep the car on the track, something he had not done in the morning session.

Eakin took the checker even though the sands in the hourglass never had him faster than a 2:15.

VIR is 687 miles away from the swamps the Frog calls home but I'm hear to tell you folks it is worth the trip. It is a great racing facility, with a country club feel, run by a friendly staff. The grounds and facilities are top shelf. The track itself is a blast to drive and even though it is fast, it is safe, with ample runoff areas (trust me on this). The scenery alone this time of the year is worth the trip.

OBTW, they did do fuel tests. (that story deserves another post...)

What does all this mean for 2002? Five cars showing up to the first race bodes well for the continuation of the class. Remembering there was good turnout all this year as well. Hell, we may be even taken off of probation at the January divisional meeting.

P.S. Eakin was all pumped up, what with a 40% win ratio this year and 16 straight finishes, but he was put in his place. Seems that he left his racecar and trailer at VIR for 3 days while he went off to check out the changing leaves in rural Virginia. When he returned, there was a note taped to his racecar... from the garbage collector. It said that the recyclables needed to be separated from the household waste before they would haul it off....

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