Race Results & reports
Race 1
Race 2
Race 3
Race 4
Points table
Round 1 - Mornington Park - 5/11/24
1st - Rob Golley
2nd - Bruce Thomas
3rd - John Batich / Caine Kalbfell
1st - Rob Golley
2nd - Bruce Thomas
3rd - John Batich / Caine Kalbfell
Race Report - Round 1
So, to part 2 of the new series night, and it was a switch to the thunderous monsters that are the Historic NASCARs. Given the sheer amount of real estate these cars take up, and with them running on the tightest of our tracks at Mornington Park, it promised to be an entertaining first round for all spectators (& some drivers !)
It didn’t disappoint. There was much panel swapping, dive bombing, and typical stock car racing throughout. It was survival of the fittest….and heaviest with sheer weight of lead an important factor in deciding he overall results.
Traditionally there is one driver among us who takes car weight to extreme levels, and this is certainly one series (along a couple of others we can think of) where this strategy pays off big time.
It was no surprise then to see that the winning driver was Rob Golley. Armed with a lead plate big enough to land a couple of Harrier jump jets on, his car was almost immune to any attempted dive bombing and his total of 106 laps took out the first win in the series by 1 lap. This made it a great double up win on the night for Rob.
1 lap back in 2nd & in an even more imposing car (if that’s possible) was the colossal Dodge Charger Daytona of Bruce Thomas. Usually found running a tasteful & discreet car (similar to his current Group A entry), this elongated Carrera certainly had track presence.
Managing to avoid the possible collateral damage handed out by the top 2 cars, both JB & Caine managed to rack up 103 laps apiece & also finish on the same corner to share 3rd place overall in round 1. For Caine, this was particularly satisfying, given he was driving a Grandad prepared car….and proceeded to wipe the floor of the owner by a somewhat significant margin. Well done Caine on the first podium.
In 4th, it was great to see Schoee arrive just in time for the Historic NASCAR round, especially as he was planning on arriving just in time for the Group A round. Anyway, his 102 laps was very competitive and was 2 laps clear of the lovely looking entry of DB whose 100 lap total was enough for 6th.
In 7th this week, and on 99 laps, the writers car had a very promising start & was circulating quite nicely……until a feeling of dread overcame the driver towards the last part of the 2nd heat. Acceleration just wasn’t quite there……and by the time it got into heat 3 it was very obvious why. Another pinion down, and pace reduced to that of a BMW i3 going up the Collinsvale hill.
Also on 99 laps, ironically, was Rhys Filbee & was only pipped into 8th on track position. A good drive from Dave Gray saw him up into 9th on 95 laps, with Ben Lewis in a Dave Gray loaner car rounding out the top 10 on 89 laps on the night. At least Ben had the good grace not to beat the car owner in his own car.
In 11th place (on track) and after a couple of laps proxy driving, was Tom in a car that bright we needed sunglasses to marshall it. After the glare had worn off it was discovered to be a Pioneer Dodge Charger.
Finally, in 12th place for the round after a severe case of the “crabs” derailed his drive completely, was Phil…..I don’t know how much ribbing he has copped from Caine since Tuesday…..possibly it hasn’t ended.
One more thing to mention from Tuesday, if Blair doesn't decide to have a go at running a car soon, he may well be in the running to be the clubs first fully paid professional Marshall.....his elite level performance among the usual marshalling standard was a revelation !
So, to part 2 of the new series night, and it was a switch to the thunderous monsters that are the Historic NASCARs. Given the sheer amount of real estate these cars take up, and with them running on the tightest of our tracks at Mornington Park, it promised to be an entertaining first round for all spectators (& some drivers !)
It didn’t disappoint. There was much panel swapping, dive bombing, and typical stock car racing throughout. It was survival of the fittest….and heaviest with sheer weight of lead an important factor in deciding he overall results.
Traditionally there is one driver among us who takes car weight to extreme levels, and this is certainly one series (along a couple of others we can think of) where this strategy pays off big time.
It was no surprise then to see that the winning driver was Rob Golley. Armed with a lead plate big enough to land a couple of Harrier jump jets on, his car was almost immune to any attempted dive bombing and his total of 106 laps took out the first win in the series by 1 lap. This made it a great double up win on the night for Rob.
1 lap back in 2nd & in an even more imposing car (if that’s possible) was the colossal Dodge Charger Daytona of Bruce Thomas. Usually found running a tasteful & discreet car (similar to his current Group A entry), this elongated Carrera certainly had track presence.
Managing to avoid the possible collateral damage handed out by the top 2 cars, both JB & Caine managed to rack up 103 laps apiece & also finish on the same corner to share 3rd place overall in round 1. For Caine, this was particularly satisfying, given he was driving a Grandad prepared car….and proceeded to wipe the floor of the owner by a somewhat significant margin. Well done Caine on the first podium.
In 4th, it was great to see Schoee arrive just in time for the Historic NASCAR round, especially as he was planning on arriving just in time for the Group A round. Anyway, his 102 laps was very competitive and was 2 laps clear of the lovely looking entry of DB whose 100 lap total was enough for 6th.
In 7th this week, and on 99 laps, the writers car had a very promising start & was circulating quite nicely……until a feeling of dread overcame the driver towards the last part of the 2nd heat. Acceleration just wasn’t quite there……and by the time it got into heat 3 it was very obvious why. Another pinion down, and pace reduced to that of a BMW i3 going up the Collinsvale hill.
Also on 99 laps, ironically, was Rhys Filbee & was only pipped into 8th on track position. A good drive from Dave Gray saw him up into 9th on 95 laps, with Ben Lewis in a Dave Gray loaner car rounding out the top 10 on 89 laps on the night. At least Ben had the good grace not to beat the car owner in his own car.
In 11th place (on track) and after a couple of laps proxy driving, was Tom in a car that bright we needed sunglasses to marshall it. After the glare had worn off it was discovered to be a Pioneer Dodge Charger.
Finally, in 12th place for the round after a severe case of the “crabs” derailed his drive completely, was Phil…..I don’t know how much ribbing he has copped from Caine since Tuesday…..possibly it hasn’t ended.
One more thing to mention from Tuesday, if Blair doesn't decide to have a go at running a car soon, he may well be in the running to be the clubs first fully paid professional Marshall.....his elite level performance among the usual marshalling standard was a revelation !
Round 2 - Gotham Park - 12/11/24
1st - Bruce Thomas
2nd - John Batich
3rd - Caine Kalbfell
1st - Bruce Thomas
2nd - John Batich
3rd - Caine Kalbfell
Race Report - Round 2
Round 2 of the Historic NASCAR series was held at the also Historic Gotham Park circuit, hosted by the equally historic Batman.
After 2 rounds there already appear to be some patterns forming in the results for this series.
Obviously Bruce, JB & Caine are hoping that the pattern continues in their case. The writer is most definitely hoping the opposite !
Anyway, to the racing, and it was a case of the early runner (Caine) laying down a lap count to beat (93) with a great 3 heats early on in the night. From there his fingernails got shorter & shorter as the challengers to his total came & went. Even last weeks winner Rob Golley couldn’t manage to knock Caine of the top spot. It was only until the last heat of the round that the duo of Bruce & JB racked up enough laps to catch & just squeak past Caine & push him down into an unlucky, but very well performed 3rd. As it turned out both Bruce & JB notched up 94 laps, and it was Bruce on track position who took out the win this week form a very consistent JB.
1 lap back in 4th was Adrian Gray in his debut drive for the series, and as usual showed potential for a higher placing in upcoming weeks. Another debutante in the series, Callan Thomas was next in line in 5th on 91 laps, which he won in a tight battle from Rob Golley who also finished on 91 laps in 6th.
2 more drivers shared 88 laps for 7th & 8th, with Rhys grabbing the higher position from Phil this week. A good drive from Dave Gray saw him finish in the top 10 in 9th with his 83 lap total, and in the top 10 overall, Ben Lewis on 75 laps.
As mentioned before, 11th place went to the writer after yet another gear issue, one that hopefully will be resolved by next week.
As the eagle eyed among you might have notice when studying the results, there were two other drivers who graced the track this week, but for differing reasons were unable to add up points.
Dave Bantoft looked to have driven quite a competitive round with his 92 lap total. Enough to be in the running for 4th along with Adrian ……if it weren’t for the small matter of forgetting to check the car for magnets. Once DB had sheepishly admitted this, the comments from others drivers came thick & fast. Mainly an expression of wonderment that DB was unable to be MORE competitive with a magnet, than others who didn’t have this performance enhancer installed.
Tom also enjoyed a drive this week in the lovely looking, but not quite legal Pioneer Charger to round out the field in round 2.
Round 2 of the Historic NASCAR series was held at the also Historic Gotham Park circuit, hosted by the equally historic Batman.
After 2 rounds there already appear to be some patterns forming in the results for this series.
- Pattern #1…the appearance of Bruce, JB & Caine up in the top 3 &
- Pattern # 2…the writers car starting off strongly enough, but getting slower & slower until eventually it gives up the ghost completely well before the end of racing…
Obviously Bruce, JB & Caine are hoping that the pattern continues in their case. The writer is most definitely hoping the opposite !
Anyway, to the racing, and it was a case of the early runner (Caine) laying down a lap count to beat (93) with a great 3 heats early on in the night. From there his fingernails got shorter & shorter as the challengers to his total came & went. Even last weeks winner Rob Golley couldn’t manage to knock Caine of the top spot. It was only until the last heat of the round that the duo of Bruce & JB racked up enough laps to catch & just squeak past Caine & push him down into an unlucky, but very well performed 3rd. As it turned out both Bruce & JB notched up 94 laps, and it was Bruce on track position who took out the win this week form a very consistent JB.
1 lap back in 4th was Adrian Gray in his debut drive for the series, and as usual showed potential for a higher placing in upcoming weeks. Another debutante in the series, Callan Thomas was next in line in 5th on 91 laps, which he won in a tight battle from Rob Golley who also finished on 91 laps in 6th.
2 more drivers shared 88 laps for 7th & 8th, with Rhys grabbing the higher position from Phil this week. A good drive from Dave Gray saw him finish in the top 10 in 9th with his 83 lap total, and in the top 10 overall, Ben Lewis on 75 laps.
As mentioned before, 11th place went to the writer after yet another gear issue, one that hopefully will be resolved by next week.
As the eagle eyed among you might have notice when studying the results, there were two other drivers who graced the track this week, but for differing reasons were unable to add up points.
Dave Bantoft looked to have driven quite a competitive round with his 92 lap total. Enough to be in the running for 4th along with Adrian ……if it weren’t for the small matter of forgetting to check the car for magnets. Once DB had sheepishly admitted this, the comments from others drivers came thick & fast. Mainly an expression of wonderment that DB was unable to be MORE competitive with a magnet, than others who didn’t have this performance enhancer installed.
Tom also enjoyed a drive this week in the lovely looking, but not quite legal Pioneer Charger to round out the field in round 2.
Round 3 - Stratton Valley - 19/11/24
1st - Rob Golley
2nd - Adrian Gray
3rd - John Batich
1st - Rob Golley
2nd - Adrian Gray
3rd - John Batich
Race Report - Round 3
Well, it was an action packed start to the Historic NASCAR round this week at JBs Stratton Valley track. In heat 1 Rob streaked off into the distance, while a battle royale took place between JB & Bruce. Within the first 2 or 3 laps JB had shown his intent & punted Bruce off into the weeds twice with Bruce vowing revenge & chasing hard…….meanwhile, Rob, who usually relishes participating in this type of action, drove a perfect first heat & was relieved to get out of that when it came to the finish……except that it didn’t.
The eagle eyed Callan had spotted that he wasn’t listed as a driver in the driver list, and so it was with much regret that the heat had to be abandoned, driver list updated & the first heat restarted. Rob was not amused, but did a wonderful job of holding his concentration & again put in a solid first heat. The battle behind him however had fizzled out by the time the re-run was in full swing, and there was none of the theatrics to keep the marshals interested 2nd time round.
After this inauspicious start, the rest of the round seemed to progress with a few notable events. The battle of the generation gap between Phil & Caine was on again, and went the way of the oldies this time round as we shall see later on. Dennis Murray joined us from oooop noooorth and brought along a car very nearly as long as Bruce’s, Ben's new Carrera seemed to be the most improved this week, and was running almost silently compared to the decibels emitted by most of the rest of this field & finally the writers car finished 1 bracket….just…before a wheel fell off…which wasn’t really in the slightest bit notable given that it happens every week.
Results wise, Rob took out his 2nd win of the series after a surprising setback last week with his total of 73 laps 1 clear of the sister car driven by Adrian Gray on 72 laps in 2nd. After missing round 1 Adrian has started to work his way into the series and shows that there will be some stiff competition for Rob in coming weeks.
In 3rd, after his aborted Bruce bashing start, was JB on 71 laps, which was the same number as Callan in 4th.
In 5th, and winning the Kalbfell team battle was Phil. With a total OF 70 laps shared with Caine (6th), it was only track position that get the bragging rights this week for Phil.
In 7th and struggling to find his confidence after being bullied by JBs actions early on in the night, was Bruce Thomas on 69 laps, same lap number as the much improved Ben Lewis in 8th.
DB stood alone in 9th on 68, with Rhys rounding out the top 10 on his total of 66 laps for this round.
Dennis Murray navigated his monstrosity around for 62 laps & 11th place, with Dave Gray in 12th on 58 laps. The writers car & Toms brilliant orange Pioneer rounded out the large 14 car field for this weeks racing.
Well, it was an action packed start to the Historic NASCAR round this week at JBs Stratton Valley track. In heat 1 Rob streaked off into the distance, while a battle royale took place between JB & Bruce. Within the first 2 or 3 laps JB had shown his intent & punted Bruce off into the weeds twice with Bruce vowing revenge & chasing hard…….meanwhile, Rob, who usually relishes participating in this type of action, drove a perfect first heat & was relieved to get out of that when it came to the finish……except that it didn’t.
The eagle eyed Callan had spotted that he wasn’t listed as a driver in the driver list, and so it was with much regret that the heat had to be abandoned, driver list updated & the first heat restarted. Rob was not amused, but did a wonderful job of holding his concentration & again put in a solid first heat. The battle behind him however had fizzled out by the time the re-run was in full swing, and there was none of the theatrics to keep the marshals interested 2nd time round.
After this inauspicious start, the rest of the round seemed to progress with a few notable events. The battle of the generation gap between Phil & Caine was on again, and went the way of the oldies this time round as we shall see later on. Dennis Murray joined us from oooop noooorth and brought along a car very nearly as long as Bruce’s, Ben's new Carrera seemed to be the most improved this week, and was running almost silently compared to the decibels emitted by most of the rest of this field & finally the writers car finished 1 bracket….just…before a wheel fell off…which wasn’t really in the slightest bit notable given that it happens every week.
Results wise, Rob took out his 2nd win of the series after a surprising setback last week with his total of 73 laps 1 clear of the sister car driven by Adrian Gray on 72 laps in 2nd. After missing round 1 Adrian has started to work his way into the series and shows that there will be some stiff competition for Rob in coming weeks.
In 3rd, after his aborted Bruce bashing start, was JB on 71 laps, which was the same number as Callan in 4th.
In 5th, and winning the Kalbfell team battle was Phil. With a total OF 70 laps shared with Caine (6th), it was only track position that get the bragging rights this week for Phil.
In 7th and struggling to find his confidence after being bullied by JBs actions early on in the night, was Bruce Thomas on 69 laps, same lap number as the much improved Ben Lewis in 8th.
DB stood alone in 9th on 68, with Rhys rounding out the top 10 on his total of 66 laps for this round.
Dennis Murray navigated his monstrosity around for 62 laps & 11th place, with Dave Gray in 12th on 58 laps. The writers car & Toms brilliant orange Pioneer rounded out the large 14 car field for this weeks racing.
Round 4 - Sorell Creek - 26/11/24
1st - Caine Kalbfell
2nd - Bruce Thomas
3rd - Phil Kalbfell
1st - Caine Kalbfell
2nd - Bruce Thomas
3rd - Phil Kalbfell
Race Report - Round 4
One of the downsides that comes from being a track owner & hosting the weeks racing, is that you don’t get to see all of what goes on in every heat.
Which is a little problematic when it comes to writing race reports. However, it did turn out that in the Historic NASCAR round, I did manage to see the early & later heats….which is pretty much all I needed to see when it came to seeing the form drivers for the round.
Heats 1 & 2 saw previous top 3 placegetter, Caine, notch up 2 heats of 23 laps to take a 1 lap advantage over 2 time winner Rob Golley….then have to wait out patiently while the rest of the field rotated through before jumping on again for the final 2 heats. In the meantime the main challenge had been thrown down by Bruce who had finished off his 3 heats with a competitive 92 lap total. At this stage he was the clubhouse leader by 1 lap from the much-improved Phil Kalbfell. Phils car finally looking like it had some control & nothing broken.
The last 2 heats was where the interest then turned. Rob was the 1st to falter and his final heat 22 laps saw him fall out of contention. However, Caines 3rd heat had also proved to be difficult as he struggled with the usual hazards confronting the drivers in the red lane. The advantage was seemingly with Bruce for the win. However, it was not to be. Caines final heat, on the best of the lanes…blue, was his best of the night & his 24 lap total not only equaled Bruces overall 92 lap total, but as the power cut off & Caine coasted down the hill approaching the hairpin & around the corner, Bruces despairing face could be seen as his car was passed, parked stationary halfway up the hill.
So, a first up round win for Caine & a well-deserved one under pressure from Bruce in 2nd. Master car builder Phil (responsible for the winning entry) has taken 3 rounds to work his magic over his own car, however things look to be heading in the right direction as he took 3rd this week….just….on track position from Callan in 4th also on 91 laps.
1 Lap back in 5th was another great 2 way battle between Adrian & Rob on 90 laps apiece, with Adrian taking 5th from Rob in 6th on track position again.
DB was al alone on 89 laps, and this meant he didn’t have to share 7th place with anyone, unlike the next 2 drivers, Ben & myself, who were yet another pair locked together on lap total with 88 laps each. This time it was Ben who coasted down the hairpin hill to go past the writers stationary car to grab 8th place from myself in 9th.
Rhys rounded out the top 10 with 86 laps ahead of Dave Gray in 11th on 81.
Tom was presented with the difficult task of driving minus 1 braid…a task which he wasn’t able to overcome sadly.
One of the downsides that comes from being a track owner & hosting the weeks racing, is that you don’t get to see all of what goes on in every heat.
Which is a little problematic when it comes to writing race reports. However, it did turn out that in the Historic NASCAR round, I did manage to see the early & later heats….which is pretty much all I needed to see when it came to seeing the form drivers for the round.
Heats 1 & 2 saw previous top 3 placegetter, Caine, notch up 2 heats of 23 laps to take a 1 lap advantage over 2 time winner Rob Golley….then have to wait out patiently while the rest of the field rotated through before jumping on again for the final 2 heats. In the meantime the main challenge had been thrown down by Bruce who had finished off his 3 heats with a competitive 92 lap total. At this stage he was the clubhouse leader by 1 lap from the much-improved Phil Kalbfell. Phils car finally looking like it had some control & nothing broken.
The last 2 heats was where the interest then turned. Rob was the 1st to falter and his final heat 22 laps saw him fall out of contention. However, Caines 3rd heat had also proved to be difficult as he struggled with the usual hazards confronting the drivers in the red lane. The advantage was seemingly with Bruce for the win. However, it was not to be. Caines final heat, on the best of the lanes…blue, was his best of the night & his 24 lap total not only equaled Bruces overall 92 lap total, but as the power cut off & Caine coasted down the hill approaching the hairpin & around the corner, Bruces despairing face could be seen as his car was passed, parked stationary halfway up the hill.
So, a first up round win for Caine & a well-deserved one under pressure from Bruce in 2nd. Master car builder Phil (responsible for the winning entry) has taken 3 rounds to work his magic over his own car, however things look to be heading in the right direction as he took 3rd this week….just….on track position from Callan in 4th also on 91 laps.
1 Lap back in 5th was another great 2 way battle between Adrian & Rob on 90 laps apiece, with Adrian taking 5th from Rob in 6th on track position again.
DB was al alone on 89 laps, and this meant he didn’t have to share 7th place with anyone, unlike the next 2 drivers, Ben & myself, who were yet another pair locked together on lap total with 88 laps each. This time it was Ben who coasted down the hairpin hill to go past the writers stationary car to grab 8th place from myself in 9th.
Rhys rounded out the top 10 with 86 laps ahead of Dave Gray in 11th on 81.
Tom was presented with the difficult task of driving minus 1 braid…a task which he wasn’t able to overcome sadly.
Round 5 - Mornington Park - 3/12/24
1st - Phil Kalbfell
2nd - Bruce Thomas
3rd - John Batich
1st - Phil Kalbfell
2nd - Bruce Thomas
3rd - John Batich
