New Series Increasing Formula F participation in California

[Eric Little]

While many of the competitors here in California are aware of our efforts, we have been a bit less than organized in getting more information out there sooner. I would therefore like to tell you a bit about us and give you the race reports from our first three weekends.

Who Are We?

The group is called Formula F The Series. Originally called Formula Ford The Series, the group began 12 years ago and ran primarily with vintage sanctioning bodies. As time evolved, a belief developed that Ford and Honda motor cars of various vintages can not only live together but compete with one another. For 2019, the name was changed and The Series moved under the sanction of the SCCA with a North/South California Championship. The Series also allowed any vintage of car and SCCA legal motor to compete. Given that the Honda drivers were already running with Cal Club and the San Francisco region (as was at least one of us Kent powered drivers), the series moved to a 6 race weekend format with half the rounds run with Cal Club and half run with San Francisco Region in the SCCA. Thus far, both organizations have welcomed us with open arms and we could not be happier with our decision to run with them.
While we might like to claim originality in our design, a number of conversations happened with the Right Coast Formula F Series and our rules are very similar as a result. So much so that there is hope that members of each organization might make a long tow at some point in the year to get to run with the other coast (I personally really want to go to Road Atlanta this year... here is hoping my budget holds out).

Rules?

Yes, we have some. Primarily the SCCA GCR governs. However, in order to get older cars out that have difficulty converting to a radial, The Series approach Hoosier about the differences between the radial R60A and the bias ply R60A. As it turns out, they are the same compound and only differ in sidewall construction. Cal Club and San Francisco Region have then helped us with supplemental rules allowing any R60A compound in our run group. Obviously, if you compete with us and want to go after national prestige and the runoffs, you will need to run the radial. Everyone else has a choice and thus far, the competition between the different constructions appears to be reasonably equal.
Finally, we do track our own points for our own Series. At this point, we do not charge anything to be a member of Formula F The Series (and we hope to keep it that way). Simply show up and race with us is all we ask. Points system is a throwback to the days of Can-Am with a 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 payout.

Where do we hope to go?

My personal goal is to get 20 registered racers at an event this year. In our third round at Thunderhill we had 11 drivers and that was missing 5 drivers that have participated in the first two rounds. I think the goal of 20 is feasible and we will continue to beat the bushes to get the garage queens out with slicks and your choice of motor. While this season is a 6 weekend affair, we are already talking about expanding that to 8 weekends next year.

Schedule for 2019

2/1-2/3 Fontana
3/2-3/3 Willow Springs
5/10-5/12 Thunderhill
7/6-7/7 Sears Point
8/31-9/1 Laguna Seca
9/21-9/22 Buttonwillow

Interested?

If you want to know more about Formula F The Series, please PM me and I will be happy to talk to you about it. We have an email distribution list I can add you to and we are working on a website and facebook page. I will update Apexspeed when these are live.

In the mean time, enjoy the race reports which I will post in the thread separately.

Eric Little
Formula F The Series - Treasurer

[Eric Little]

Hey all. I have finally dried out from the weekend at Fontana. If you decided not to make the trip down due to the rain, I don’t blame you at all. It was a fairly miserable weekend unless you are Ed Erlandson who took the inaugural ‘Formula F The Series’ win in convincing fashion. Ed started off-pole but took the early lead until a spin (that I could not see but I suspect happened in the lake that was the final corner before the banking) put him a little ways behind Stewart Paterson who had started on pole. Stewart had his share of struggles as well eventually letting Eric Poulsen take the point which Eric held for a good distance. Eric would later report brake bias issues causing his own problems that relegated him to a finishing position not representative of his efforts. This allowed Ed back by and Kinnon Marshall played the steady role never spinning (a feat in itself given the track conditions) to follow Ed across the line for second, Stewart Paterson third, and Eric Poulsen rounding out the field. That makes it a Swift Honda, Crossle Ford, Lola Ford, and Spectrum Honda for those curious about the Honda v. Ford, modern v. they made cars way back then??? huh!

A starting lineup of only 4 cars was disappointing after having the prospect of 13 Formula F cars take to the grid but the weather was not in our favor. Hopefully it will be for Willow Springs where our second round will occur March 2-3. A test day with the track is available on Friday.

We already have a field that is shaping up to be a good one including; Points leader Ed Erlandson, the wickedly fast Crossle of Stewart Paterson, Runoffs Podium finisher Chuck Horn, Looking for redemption after brake problems Eric Poulsen, The nicest guy in a Van Diemen ever Doug Brenner, Top runner last year along the west coast Denny Renfrow, and some dude that does not even know what an apex is let alone has he ever come close to one Eric Little.

I suspect we will see a few others of the Southern Contingent (come on Andy, finish the freakin car already, Norm and Kinnon Marshall I know you have tires, and Paul Wilson who was left out at Fontana with no rain tires as well as someone from the valley of the [oh my god it is hot here] sun with John Barron).

My challenge to our group... Lets see how quickly we can show up with a field of 20 or more. Don’t let your car turn into a garage queen. Willow Springs is a great track and March weather there could be really pleasant (it was last year).

Congratulations to all those that braved the conditions at Fontana and I look forward to seeing a much larger group at Willow Springs.

Eric Little

[Eric Little]

The story of the weekend had to be the battle up front. Clad in burgundy, the Swift DB-6 Honda on the radial Hoosier of Chuck Horn went mano a mano all weekend with the orange and white Crossle 35F Ford on the bias Hoosier of Stewart Paterson put on an incredible show in qualifying and both races. Scant margins covered the qualifying times with even less in it during race conditions. The duo swapped positions or came alongside each other in numerous spots on the track. The sight of the old school and the modern cars competing side-by-side was a delight to not only the FF fans but to a large number of other category drivers and spectators that lined up to see a good battle.

On Saturday Stewart lead the field to the green taking an early but far from comfortable lead for the first four laps. Stewart would later tell all that would listen that it was the hardest he has worked in a long time to win a race. While most were excited with his enthusiasm, those who have finished second to him on numerous occasions did not find the comment much of a compliment… even if it was true. Lap four saw the first official lead change even with multiple shufflings prior that did not register at the timing stripe. Unfortunately lap 6 would see the only other official lead change as Chuck, under pressure, put four-wheels off in turn five handing the lead and ultimately the race win to Stewart Paterson.

A bit behind the leading duo, Denny Renfro in a Piper Honda had a good close battle with Eric Little in a Swift DB-1 Ford. While there were no official changes in position, the two ran along-side on a number of occasions until a pass effort saw contact. Unfortunately this pushed Denny down the order with not enough time to regain the podium and the retirement of Eric with mechanical issue. A group of three followed this battle not far behind with Ed Erlandson in a Swift DB-6 Honda swapping positions on a few occasions with Paul Wilson in a Swift DB-1 Ford. Both followed by a stalking Kinnon Marshall in a Lola T440 Ford. The group ever ready to capitalize on any mistakes ran a clean race and prepared for Sunday. Doug Brenner continued on his efforts to perfect the setup in his 2000 VanDieman Honda while Eric Poulsen in his Spectrum Honda continues his transition to the world of single seaters. Both ran cleanly and continued their development, be it car or driver. It won’t be long before these two are moving up through the field.

Sunday dawned to another spectacular battle between Chuck and Stewart. This time with three official lead changes and a number of side-by-side battles, the two ended the race a mere 0.020 seconds apart giving the narrowest margin of victory ever seen for Formula F The Series to Chuck Horn. Chuck was later heard to say that this was the best racing he has seen in a long time. High praise from a Runoffs podium finisher. There is rumor that Stewart even cracked a smile to display his pleasure with the day’s activities. Denny Renfrow followed with Ed Erlandson in tow. Denny and Ed battled early on with Denny finally making the pass stick, putting his head down to the end to keep the position. Paul Wilson made up two spots putting a move on Doug Brenner who had found some pace with setup changes. Paul’s second position gain came as Eric Little’s weekend went from bad to worse retiring for a second time that weekend. Kinnon Marshall and Eric Poulsen had a good race going rounding out the field with battles throughout.

Formula F The Series now makes its swing into Northern California. The next round in the rolling terrain of Willows California at Thunderhill Raceway Park. We hope to see an ever increasing field and more close racing. Don’t wait; say you were involved in the rejuvenation of FF racing on the west coast. Bring your cars, bring your drivers, and be ready to have a great time.


Eric Little

[Eric Little]

Saturday dawned with beautiful weather and another 20 points on the line for our growing Formula F The Series. With eleven cars taking the green for qualifying, the visitors from Southern California would soon find out what home field advantage is all about. The twisting, climbing, and diving road through Thunderhill soon sorted the field through experience as Chuck Horn stamped an early lead of 1.5 seconds over the rest of the field. With minimal changes in position and gap after 7 laps, Chuck stamped his further authority over the field setting a lap 1.8 seconds clear of the next fastest competitor of Stewart Paterson. Stewart did well in learning a track that he had never been to pulling the second fastest lap with three tenths separating him and Denny Renfrow rounding out the top three.

As Saturday’s race took the green, Chuck simply ran away and hid from everyone else who nearly caught him by the time everyone ended up in impound. Rumor is that Chuck had changed to street clothes and gotten dinner reservations before the checkered fell on second place. Speaking of second, an early battle between Paterson and Renfrow ended with Denny putting in solid laps to handily take second with Stewart rounding out the podium. Further back, some good battles with Paul Wilson continuing to learn the track and running down Steve Meyer while just needing a couple of more laps to possibly put enough pressure on Dave Jalen. The trio finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth. Not far behind that group was Rodney Grabinski and Mike Bernstein with Rodney getting used to the track, the tire, and a different group of competitors and Mike putting in consistent laps to put Rodney in seventh and Mike in eight. Jon Brandstad brought a beautiful Tiga (all of Jon’s cars are beautiful) running as a club ford. While on a different tire than the series, we hope that Jon had fun running with the group and we hope to see him back with us more. I did not see Jon run on Sunday so we are hoping nothing significant as the cause. Next was our longest tow recipient (if racehero is correct, coming all the way from Rio De Janeiro) Dalmo De Vasconcelos brought his ’01 VanDieman across the line. Finally ending his race a bit short with some fuel problems, that would be fixed for Sunday, was Norm Marshall.

Sunday had similar qualifying positions but this time with the gaps a bit more condensed. While the green would see Chuck once again run away, the battle for second, again between Denny and Stewart, was a hot one with the official position changing hands four times with many laps seeing the duo cross the line within less than a tenth of each other. On the closing laps, Stewart set his sights on one last pass of Denny only to have the rear tires decide to enter the corner before the front tires. While I am no driving expert, I understand that this is not the preferred configuration and the mistake saw Denny run on to a solid second place finish. For Stewart, a hot motor after a long race proved difficult to restart dropping him down the order to a sixth place finish. Again, the tight battle of the day was between Meyer, Jalen, and Wilson. The trio swapping positions and separated by tenths for most of the race. In the end, Wilson suffered an unknown mechanical problem that dropped him down the order with Meyer getting the better of Jalen for third and fourth respectively. Rodney Grabinski continued to improve with the weekend coming in behind Jalen to take a top five. Paterson and Wilson after their respective spin and mechanical managed sixth and seventh while Norm Marshall fixed his fuel problems to take eighth. It would appear that Mike Bernstein and Dalmo De Vasconcelos suffered some form of mechanical problems able to start the race but unfortunately ending a bit early.

By all accounts, drivers had a good weekend and the north/south championship is a desirable place to race. Formula F The Series thanks all of our competitors so far this season and we look forward to continue growing and competing with all that wish to join. While a number of drivers from the series are making plans to run Laguna Seca in June, the next points paying round for Formula F The Series will be the traditional July 4^th weekend at Sear Point. It is a wonderful track and if like last year, the weather will be spectacular. Make your reservations now and join us.

Points through the first five rounds of 2019:

Overall
Points
Position	Driver	Points	Engine
1	Chuck Horn	72	Honda
2	Stewart Paterson	65	Ford
3	Denny Renfrow	48	Honda
4	Ed Erlandson	40	Honda
5	Paul Wilson	35	Ford
6	Kinnon Marshall	27	Ford
7	David Jalen	20	Honda
8	Steve Meyer	18	Honda
9	Eric Poulsen	16	Honda
10	Rodney Grabinski	12	Ford
11	Doug Brenner	10	Honda
12	Michael Bernstein	5	Honda
13	Eric Little	4	Ford
14	Norm Marshall	3	Ford
15	Jon Brandstad	2	Ford
16	Dalmo De Vasconcelos	2	Honda

[DanW]

Eric, I was working flagging in Turn 9 and got to see some great racing Saturday. Everyone put on a great show. I hope to be at Laguna June 1-2 for the next SFR regional.

Regards,
Dan

[fitfan]

I had a lot of fun at thunderhill. What a track! Thanks to all the local drivers, And the San Francisco region for being so welcoming and helpful. Many new friendships made. I litteraly just swapped the treaded VFF tires from Laguna seca SVRA the weekend before for the bias slicks on Friday afternoon with a whopping "setup change" consisting of just 2 turns of the front spring perches to make up the slight diameter difference. And that was it... And just ran the car. Nice benefit of that tire is while clearly some set up optimization is there you can definitely swap back and forth with the VFF tire without issue and run well either way. Now all I need to do is not spin on Sunday next time!

Oh. And you gotta love a track that you can see cows while driving ?????????. Thanks again to all for accommodating a "vintage" drivers fist time with SCCA.

[Eric Little]

Saturday July 6, 2019 would mark the first visit to Sears Point for Formula F The Series. The weeken…. What? Sonoma? I am supposed to call it Sonoma Raceway? Got it. The weekend at Sears Point was beautiful with weather that spoiled us all. Cool mornings led to warm mid-day with the sun shining and a nice breeze to keep the temperature reasonable. With group four leading the day in qualifying, because obviously four comes before one, two, and three, it was an early morning. Track conditions were good and the field set off in search of some empty track to get in a hot lap. The best of the best would come from high points contender Chuck Horn continuing his run at the top. Going from memory, because racehero was not running for our group, second was Courtney Crone driving a Piper Honda and third went to… ummm… bad memory… either John Brandstad or Joseph Hopkins. The two front runners had a good gap over the rest of the field and hoped to run away.

Runaway they did as Horn and Crone never swapped position running nose to tail ready to pounce on the smallest of errors. The line abreast running meant they spent the entire race turning qualifying laps and distancing themselves from the field. On the start, Eric Little in the Swift DB-1 Ford stated that he looked at the top of turn two to see where Mosses was as the field politely parted and allowed Eric to jump from fifth to third in two corners and over take an FC in the process (bet he never starts a petition for a split start again). Following in the cleared out space was Doug Learned Jr. Eric and Doug spent a few laps nose to tail with Eric finally able to put in a gap and open it up as the race went on. Joseph Hopkins had fallen back having gotten to the grid late but would put on a show coming up through the field passing five to make it as high as fifth at the checkered. Jon Brandstad worked through some undefined motor concerns unfortunately losing position on the track and finishing sixth. Michael Bernstein and Manual Leonardo had a good battle with Michael edging out Manual on this day. Paul Richins joined The Series for his first event looking for some seat time before hoping back into his vintage racing machine. Paul finished cleanly in ninth. Rounding out the field was Denny Renfrow who started much higher but lost out to what was believed to be a suspension issue. This hurt Denny a bit in the points as he had an opportunity to overtake Stewart Paterson who was unable to attend as he works on car repairs from damage suffered at Laguna Seca.

Sunday would start off better for Denny as he put in the fast lap for qualifying taking pole by just under 0.2 over Courtney Crone who had a half second on Chuck Horn. The racing up front was furious but brief as two full course yellows stole many racing laps with the second ending the race. Eric Little stated that he completed more laps behind the safety car in this one race than he had in his entire career up to that point. While it received a chuckle, it was pointed out that it was still not as many laps as he had spent behind a wrecker.

Before and between the yellows, Courtney and Denny put on a great show with three changes for the lead and the duo of Chuck and Eric never far behind. In the end, Denny took the checkered making amends for a tough day the day before and Courtney had a very clean and competitive drive to take a double second for the weekend. Chuck was ready to capitalize on any mistakes but they never came and he would end up third followed by Eric Little who had an early battle with Joseph Hopkins. The duo exchanged passes into the hairpin at turn 11 on the track a few laps apart. After getting by, Eric put his head down, kept with the leaders and opened up a gap. Doug Learned Jr. kept it clean to take fifth with Paul Richins cleanly navigating a three position gain to end up sixth. As Michael Bernstein tells it, Manual Leonardo had a strategic spin early that caught Michael out. Manual recovered first to finish seventh to Michael’s eighth. Rounding out the field were John Brandstad and Joseph Hopkins.

Our next round will be Laguna Seca August 31 – September 1. We only have two more chances to reach the goal of 20 cars on track in the first season of the rejuvenate series. So please, bring out your cars and enjoy a historic track, a terrific SFR crew, a good group of competitors and likely wonderful weather in a scenic location. Points are shaping up for some good battles with four races over two weekends left.

As always, a big thanks to Hoosier West for getting tires out and being at the track for mounting and balancing. I will send out a note looking for orders prior to Laguna so if you need a set of R60a tires for the weekend (or testing... or for home décor...) let me know.

Overall (After Drop Race)
Points
Position	Driver	Points	Engine
1	Chuck Horn	104	Honda
2	Stewart Paterson	75	Ford
3	Denny Renfrow	69	Honda
4	Ed Erlandson	60	Honda
5	Kinnon Marshall	39	Ford
6	Paul Wilson	35	Ford
7	Eric Poulsen	31	Honda
8	Courtney Crone	30	Honda
9	Eric Little	26	Ford
10	David Jalen	20	Honda
11	Steve Meyer	18	Honda
11	Doug Learned Jr.	18	Honda
13	Rodney Grabinski	12	Ford
13	Michael Bernstein	12	Honda
15	Joseph Hopkins	10	Honda
15	Doug Brenner	10	Honda
17	Jon Brandstad	9	Ford/Honda
18	Paul Richins	8	Honda
19	Manuel Leonardo	7	Honda
20	Norm Marshall	3	Ford
21	Dalmo De Vasconcelos	2	Honda

[Eric Little]

Summer finally arrived in time for the Southern Californians to leave the heat and head to Monterrey where the weather was beautiful and the racing fantastic. Laguna Seca is a fantastic track but with limited run time, the advantage is definitely to the locals. Chuck Horn (Honda DB-6) and Denny Renfro (Honda Piper) would put that home town experience to good use setting the pole and second qualifying positions respectively with a scant quarter second between them. Stewart Paterson (Ford Crossle) would lead the Southern California and Ford contingent not far behind with Doug Learned Jr. (Honda Piper) and Kinnon Marshall (Ford Lola) rounding out the top five. Behind those were a gaggle of cars that would battle it out when the green for race one fell.

And in that race one, the mixed start with FF and FC seemed to benefit no one (some would say it disadvantaged everyone and nearly equally). Chuck Horn got off to a reasonable start and held his lead never relinquishing it but never with a completely easy run. Denny chased but put a wheel wrong a few laps in. This allowed Doug Learned Jr., who was having a blinder of a race, into second. Denny chased to get the spot back but the checkered waived before he had enough time to get him back. Stewart Paterson brought it home fourth having been balked on the start. Kinnon Marshall had a steady race finishing just off Stewart to round out the top five. Behind this group was a close battle between Eric Little (Ford DB-1), Steve Meyer (Honda DB-6), Dave Jalen (Honda Mygale), Manuel Leonardo (Honda Piper), and Michael Bernstein (Honda Piper). Little had started next to last after a sound infraction in qualifying would see him lose his lap times. Asked about the sound infraction, Little said, “I’m sorry, I could not hear the question, my ears are still ringing.” Despite a grand total of 18 laps prior experience, Eric put his head down, tried to get through the corkscrew the same way twice (and failed) to pass Steve Meyer with a few laps to go to take the sixth position with Meyer close behind. Eric had also pulled Jalen, Leonardo, and Bernstein along with him creating a battle for over half the race for positions six through ten. Norm Marshall brought it home in eleventh and Paul Wilson would suffer a stuck throttle pulling off early.

The second race, both run on Sunday, came on a track that was not only heating up but also getting even more slick than the weekend had started, a feat most thought improbable. Given that the starting order was established by the faster of your laps in qualifying and the first race, not much in the starting order would change. The combine start with FC was a true mess that while there was no contact definitely worked out to benefit some at the expense of others. As the field crested the hill, the outside line checked up. The smoke screen of tires being tortured made visibility at the back difficult. Receiving the worst of it, Stewart Paterson was dropped four positions on the start. Eric Little benefited the most gaining two positions on lap one, passing for a third just prior to a full course caution and then benefitting from unfortunate contact between Kinnon Marshall as he attempted to overtake a stricken FC through the corkscrew ultimately moving Eric up to fourth. Up front, Chuck and Denny battled it out with less than a half second separating them at the checkered. Doug Learned Jr. put in another solid performance bringing home third a mere second in arrears of Chuck and Denny. As with race one, a tightly grouped pack put fifth through ninth crossing the line with a scant five seconds covering the group. Within that group, Paul Wilson fixed his throttle and got the hard charger award finishing sixth and charging hard on Dave Jalen in fifth. Steve Meyer, Manual Leonardo, and Michael Bernstein were close in tow behind and had there been a few more laps, that order could have seen wholesale changes.

Impound after the race saw huge smiles, pats on the back, shaking of hands, and laughter that drown out the GT-1 field taking the green.

With two races at Buttonwillow to run, the standings are still up for grabs. Not a single position in the points is locked in. While Chuck has a commanding lead, he has only 48 of the 50 points needed to put a lock on the championship with Denny chasing. While Denny seeks to reel in Chuck, he has to be careful not to lose out to Stewart only 11 markers behind. The rest of the field is even closer and the final round should be a good one.

For more about Formula F The Series, visit us at Facebook.com/formulaftheseries

Next round:
Buttonwillow Raceway Park September 21-22
Register here:
https://www.motorsportreg.com/events...ay-scca-115186

Points after drop race going into the finale

Overall (After Drop Race)
Points
Position	Driver	Points	Engine
1	Chuck Horn	144	Honda
2	Denny Renfrow	96	Honda
3	Stewart Paterson	85	Ford
4	Ed Erlandson	60	Honda
5	Kinnon Marshall	48	Ford
6	Doug Learned Jr.	45	Honda
7	Eric Little	42	Ford
8	Paul Wilson	41	Ford
9	Eric Poulsen	31	Honda
10	David Jalen	31	Honda
11	Courtney Crone	30	Honda
11	Steve Meyer	26	Honda
13	Michael Bernstein	15	Ford
13	Rodney Grabinski	12	Ford
15	Manuel Leonardo	12	Honda
15	Joseph Hopkins	10	Honda
17	Doug Brenner	10	Honda
18	Jon Brandstad	9	Honda/Ford
19	Paul Richins	8	Honda
20	Norm Marshall	3	Ford
21	Dalmo De Vasconcelos	2	Honda

Engine (After Drop Race)
Points
Position	Driver	Points
1	Honda	37
2	Ford	31

NorCal v. SoCal (After Drop Race)
Points
Position	Driver	Points
1	Southern California	41
2	Northern California	37

[E1pix]

Great concept and thread, Eric, wish your series all the best!

As a former reporter myself, I particularly appreciate the well-written race reports.

Well Done all around!

[Eric Little]

Video from my seat on Saturday at Laguna Seca. I think I let the battery die and so have nothing but grid on Sunday. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/TIErDJUvrLI

Eric Little

[Eric Little]

The final round of the 2019 Formula F The Series Championship came more quickly than many drivers could imagine. A great season was about to culminate in deciding a multitude of points battles. The easiest to decide was that of the Champion with Chuck Horn merely needing to start the race to clinch the title. Stay tuned to see if he would succeed. Saturday qualifying would see a tight field for the top four with a scant 0.5 seconds covering the four, less than a tenth from first to third, and Stewart Paterson (Ford Crossle) taking the pole by 0.03 over Kinnon Marshall (Ford Lola). Starting inside the second row would be Eric Little (Ford Swift) alongside Chuck Horn (Honda Swift) in fourth. Race starts with this group are always tight with Denny Renfrow (Honda Piper) getting a jump on the row in front of him to make his way to third while Stewart leapt to the lead. Half a lap later, Eric Little with a run out of the chicane would out-brake Denny to take back third. With Kinnon attempting moves on Stewart in many corners, their pace was taken down a notch bunching up the top five. The nose-to-tail action continued to the half-way mark when Denny put a wheel wrong allowing Chuck by but also causing both to lose the draft of the lead three. While positions in the top three did not change, the battle was still intense with each knowing that the slightest mistake would lose significant ground. Not fitting of the drive he put on, Kinnon Marshall’s motor began to miss and on lap 10 the ignition module decided it was time to leave this planet. This promoted Eric Little to second overall but opened the gap to leader Stewart Paterson. Before Kinnon’s demise, the trio set their individual fastest lap of the race with Stewart taking a lap record at 1:59.035, Kinnon at .049, and Eric at .050. Such was the competition among the top three. Coming to the white flag, Stewart would catch a gaggle of Spec Racers at the wrong spot and Eric would close the gap. Eric spent the rest of the lap showing the nose in a failed effort to intimidate the veteran. Ultimately the pair would cross the line for a 1 – 2 finish only half a second apart. Chuck would bring it home in third to clinch his championship run. Following Chuck was Denny Renfrow, Bill Kephart (Honda Vestal), and Eric Poulsen (Honda Spectrum). Kinnon Marshall was next after the loss of ignition and Paul Wilson (Ford Swift) would suffer mechanical failure starting the weekend in a rough manner.

Sunday qualifying saw the home track advantage for the SoCal sweep from Saturday dry up. While Stewart Paterson would once again take the pole, Chuck Horn, without the pressure of clinching a championship, let fly a lap good for second. Kinnon and Eric dropped only the one position to Chuck to take third and fourth respectively. Denny and Bill would take fifth and sixth with Paul suffering further from mechanical issues and not setting a time in qualifying. Eric Poulsen had other commitments and was not able to race on Sunday. This final race saw Denny with a single point over Stewart and Eric with a five point lead over Kinnon. The two battles were up for grabs in the last race of the season. The start was tight among all six qualifiers while Paul unfortunately continued mechanical woes, seeing him out before the green would fly. Eric Little lagged on the green with Denny passing on the straight and cars fanned out in front. Approaching Sunset, Eric saw a big opening and took the opportunity but over-estimated the grip on the outside finding out that the only thing that had less grip than the outside line was the dirt beyond the outside line. This relegated Eric to sixth as the pack streamed by. A tight race between Stewart, Denny, Chuck, and Kinnon ensued while Eric spent a couple of laps trying to find a way by Bill ultimately doing so under braking for Sunset. However the damage had been done with Eric around six seconds adrift from the lead and while he was able to turn lap times with the leaders, that would not be good enough to move him up the field. That was until contact between Kinnon and Chuck would put both of them backwards at the Off-ramp extension and Eric would slip by. Kinnon and Chuck got rolling again but had lost a lot of time and with the top three running consistent quick times, there would be no catching up. Up front, Stewart and Denny would exchange the lead a number of times with both seeing similar lap times but making ground and losing ground on each other in different places. Coming out of Sunrise with the white flag waving, Denny made an error trying to push the corner to make up for catching lapped traffic in a bad spot. This put the rear-end around and Denny slid across track ending up backwards in the tire barrier. After a poor start that had him dead last, this promoted the consistent run of Eric to second. Stewart narrowly avoiding the spinning car of Denny cruised the last lap to make it a double win weekend with Eric making it a double second weekend. Kinnon recovered to finish third and Bill came home fourth. In the end, Chuck came home the Champion with Stewart moving from third to second in the points. Denny came in third with Eric Little making up for a disastrous start of the season to bring home fourth and Kinnon rounding out the top five.
Impound after both races again saw many smiling faces and drivers recounting corners and passes or near passes. Most drivers declared the 1a configuration of Buttonwillow to be the most technically challenging layout of the numerous possibilities at Buttonwillow.

Formula F The Series thanks all of the competitors that came out with us this year. In addition, The Series is thankful for the great partners that helped us this season with Cal Club and San Francisco Region treating us like royalty, and Hoosier supplying tires of both the bias ply and radial configuration producing great competition and supporting us throughout. Without these competitors and the great organizations, The Series would not have taken off like it did. Please join us again next season. The Series will provide a schedule once we have had the opportunity to review the available weekends from both Cal Club and San Francisco Region. Get updates on the schedule on Facebook.com/formulaftheseries.

Overall (After Drop Race)
Points
Position	Driver	Points	Engine
1	Chuck Horn	162	Honda
2	Stewart Paterson	125	Ford
3	Denny Renfrow	114	Honda
4	Eric Little	72	Ford
5	Kinnon Marshall	64	Ford
6	Ed Erlandson	60	Honda
7	Doug Learned Jr.	45	Honda
8	Paul Wilson	44	Ford
9	Eric Poulsen	37	Honda
10	David Jalen	31	Honda
11	Courtney Crone	30	Honda
11	Steve Meyer	26	Honda
13	Bill Kephart	18	Honda
13	Michael Bernstein	15	Honda
15	Rodney Grabinski	12	Ford
15	Manuel Leonardo	12	Honda
17	Joseph Hopkins	10	Honda
18	Doug Brenner	10	Honda
19	Jon Brandstad	9	Honda/Ford
20	Paul Richins	8	Honda
21	Norm Marshall	3	Ford
22	Dalmo De Vasconcelos	2	Honda

Engine Manufacturer Championship
Points
Position	Manufacturer	Points
1	Ford	9.2
2	Honda	9

NorCal v. SoCal Championship
Points
Position	Location	Points
1	Southern California	9.8
2	Northern California	9.1

[Eric Little]

What weekend would be complete without a bit of video? Enjoy.

Saturday
https://youtu.be/eRIMc-Gt6QE


Sunday
https://youtu.be/4UB10opLPnI


Eric Little

[Eric Little]

A short highlight video from Buttonwillow. Hope you enjoy the close racing action with Ford and Honda competing head-to-head.

[FONT=Arial]https://youtu.be/UhJ7Srz2nFc[/FONT]

Eric Little

[Michael Rand]

This is GREAT !
We at Right Coast Formula F Series have been experiencing identical type results of mixing the various motors and tires and chassis and being inclusive to all the various iterations of FF race cars.
Run treads if you want, run Toyos, AR slicks, Hoosiers, whatever you prefer.
Honda or Kent or Cortina, all welcome.
We have some CF cars with Fits, some modern VDs with Kents, some with Fits, many Kent powered CF cars, an interesting mix, and leaders are invariably a mix.
A few years ago I got blasted for suggesting someone someday somewhere might put a Fit in , say, a Titan Mk 6 or a Merlyn Mk 21 and run hard compound Hoosier slicks.
I get that this project would be considered heretical to a whole lot of folks but ya gotta admit, it would be an interesting mongrel when done !
Never mind, unlikely to ever happen.
Right ?