Congratulations to Calvin Stewart

[R. Pare]

Congrats, Calvin, for a good Runoffs win!

[lancer360]

That was won of the best races I've watched in a long time. Felt bad for Clint. Lower heim joint snapped under braking going into the bus stop. Matt put on one hell of a driving clinic. Congrats to Calvin and congrats to Jay Novak for building both the 1st and 2nd place car.

[Gordy]

Awesome race ! Sorry someone had to finish second. Congrats Calvin, Jay and all the supporting cast !

[MJ1]

Congrats to Calvin on your victory,and Matt for a great second place run. Also congrats
to James and Mel for your third place run I understand your frustration,we miss racing
with you guys.
John Mueller

[Mark_Silverberg]

Really good job of Calvin understanding where leading really counts. He said explicitly in his post race interview that he had little interest in leading coming out of the infield where others could pull up in his draft.

It was just a really smart race by both drivers knowing when they had an advantage and how to use it to their advantage - also not to contest too strongly when they were at a disadvantage.

The other interesting point was the mention of CFD work at this level of racing It does show what can be achieved with these tools by an individual who knows how to use them.

It really made for a captivating race to watch.

[mcs11]

congrats Cal. long time coming man.

Regarding CFD, aerodynamics are obviously a huge area to work on if even the Vees with much lower speeds then us take it very seriously. I never understood why nobody in this class ever messed with it much. To busy working on clutches? Who knows? For the Banana Boat that was the first real test with a sportscar nose and it was an instant 5mph pickup from the fastest the car had ever gone before and the nose is not close to optimized yet. We tried to run it at Charlotte but the loading in the banking there is completely different then Daytona and didnt give an accurate comparison. Plus with no real duct work in it yet the car was overheating pretty bad. We figured out it was aero related and I fixed it in Daytona with some gorilla tape and cardboard which brought the temps back down to normal. This past week I was doing 146 on my own and could pick up too another 7ish mph from getting a tow off Calvin both in Q and the race.

[Jnovak]

You drove a great race Matt. More to come IMO

[Marty Nygard]

Was there any resolution/discussion of the bike motor vs two stroke parity?
Marty

[Jnovak]

Was there any resolution/discussion of the bike motor vs two stroke parity?
Marty

Lots Marty, I think there will be an adjustment for next season.

[Stan Clayton]

Woo hoo, congrats Cal! My only surprise is that it took so long. Here's why...

First time I met Cal was at the 2003 Sprints, where we paddocked next to him and a couple of other F5 guys down in the grass inside T4. To stretch our legs after our 2650 mile drive Rennie and I walked up the hill a bit to where Cal was working on his car. He invited us into his paddock, and when we asked a polite question (what's an F5?) he gave us the 60-minute tour. I am not kidding. Cal knew every nut and bolt in that car; what everything did and why, and by the time he finished had us convinced we could do F5. What a great guy. And after watching him drive to (IIRC) a fifth spot I have always anticipated he'd win the Runoffs.

Cal, sometimes the win is all the sweeter for the wait, and you have waited a long time. So I hope the taste is as sweet as can be, and I look forward to seeing at a race soon. All the best and congratulations!

/good to see your hair is as grey as mine is now, too!

[Jnovak]

A little late to Apex Cal but the exhaustion caught up with me.

You drove the perfectly judged race. You knew exactly what you needed to do. You showed all of us what a great champion you are. I cannot wait for Mid-Ohio. I will be there with you Champ!

See you soon for the celebration!

[Jnovak]

Just a comment here. The engine in Calvin's car has been raced at every race for 2 solid years. It has NEVER BEEN APART or ever been on the dyno. That's around 15 race weekends plus numerous test days with ZERO PROBLEMS. This is an EBay engine that cost $1650.

Now we have spent a lot of time and $$ on instrumentation and body development parts to reduce the drag for Daytona. I think we met our goals. This is the kind of effort that it takes to win the Runoffs.

Thanks Calvin for your massive committment and work effort towards winning the Runoffs. This is a man who worked monster hours at his job and at our shop to get the job done. You are a racers racer!

[bluterek155]

Lots Marty, I think there will be an adjustment for next season.

Do we know what the adjustments might be?

[formulasuper]

A little late to Apex Cal but the exhaustion caught up with me.

You drove the perfectly judged race. You knew exactly what you needed to do. You showed all of us what a great champion you are. I cannot wait for Mid-Ohio. I will be there with you Champ!

See you soon for the celebration!

Absolutely, Cal drove the race like the experienced veteran that he is, setting up the last lap like Daytona was his home track. Good to see one of my old competitors make it to the top!

[pepperbowe]

[clint]

Just a comment here. The engine in Calvin's car has been raced at every race for 2 solid years. It has NEVER BEEN APART or ever been on the dyno. That's around 15 race weekends plus numerous test days with ZERO PROBLEMS. This is an EBay engine that cost $1650.

Now we have spent a lot of time and $$ on instrumentation and body development parts to reduce the drag for Daytona. I think we met our goals. This is the kind of effort that it takes to win the Runoffs.

Thanks Calvin for your massive committment and work effort towards winning the Runoffs. This is a man who worked monster hours at his job and at our shop to get the job done. You are a racers racer!

Will the dry sump setup on that car that was responsible for about 10hp be for sale to the general public anytime soon?

[Jnovak]

Will the dry sump setup on that car that was responsible for about 10hp be for sale to the general public anytime soon?

While we have not been on the dyno many others have. On a 1000cc Suzuki a dry sump is worth 8 hp or less. On the 600 Suzuki it is worth less than 5 hp. We put it on to make the motor bullet proof.

Every single part was over the counter and there is nothing stopping you or anyone else from doing it too. we have been using it for over a season.

[Calvin Stewart]

I just want to say thanks for all the congrats. I really appreciate it. Our first run at the National Runoffs was in 1993 in the F440 class. That was a real heartbreaker. From the outside pole with 3 min till start, my engine would not start. Many tears flowed that day. Since then we've seen the front row in qualifying, been passed by a flying F500, seen a 10 sec lead disappear due to a broken clutch belt, and been taken out by a sound meter. Finally, PRAISE GOD, we got to taste a win. Needless to say we're doing heel clickers. It's been a LOT of work and a long time coming. Thanks again Jay Novak for all your hard work. It's been my pleasure helping you develop cars over the years!