|
Thunder Valley Volks Rally Results
The success of the first ever Thunder Valley Volks Rally was an
opportunity for our drivers to see first hand one of the finest racing venues
in the country, and for the track to get a taste of what professional VW racing
has to offer. Unfortunately, the success of this event was met by some
harsh opposition and despite a great effort to overcome the inaugural
event stigma that has plagued so many events before it, mother nature stepped
in and upheld the curse. Saturday, though the forcast had called for the
possibility of scattered showers, there was hardly a cloud in the sky as the
first of the cars took to the staging lanes. Some high winds however made
many wonder how the cars would behave, especialy the pro stocks and pro
mods. The cars took the field though and the first round of the quick
shootout qualifying went off smooth as silk. The pro stocks however
followed with a nail biting start as ECPRA driver Tay Woykowski got loose on
the top end and smacked the wall hard. Tay was shaken, but not
injured. The fastback however suffered heavy damage and had to be carted
off the track. The track was inspected, cleaned, and prepped and the
drivers met to decide if maybe the wind had been a factor, and to decide if we
should call the event. A talk with Tay calmed some of our fears about the
wind, but just to be sure, ECPRA Vice President Gene Collier suited up and ran
his trusty blue ghia down the track. A call from the top end confirmed
that the top end was a little loose, but he did not believe the wind was a
significant safety concern, and the pro stock race was back on. In the
quick shootout class, ECPRA newcomer Brannon Young made a strong showing at his
home track, qualifying first and winning the class against runner up Dale
Adams. In pro stock, it was Olliver Frey who turned in the best time of
the day running a strong 6.21 ET @ 110.8 mph. But that would turn out to
be all for the pro stocks this weekend. On Sunday morning the temperature
took a sharp downward turn, and the winds remained strong as they had been on
Saturday. If traction had been a concern on Saturday, Sunday proved to be
much worse. Then to make matters worse, clouds began rolling in promising
rain was on its way. A vote was made and the drivers determined that it
would be unsafe for them to continue the race. A meeting was held with
Bristol Dragway Managers Brandon Cross and Jack Cocklin and the pro stock
portion of the event was cancelled. The bracket racers who stuck out the
cold were combined into one class, and wrapped up eliminations just before the
rain came in. Those who have been there know what an awesome venue
Thunder Valley is, and we all believe this has the potential to be a huge
event. I'd like to personally thank Brandon, Jack, Wes, and all of the
Bristol Dragway staff for everything they put into this event.
--Bob
Also, thanks to Tiffany Skaggs who did a great job of capturing the event
here.
Quick Shootout Qualifying
| Racer
|
Time
|
Speed
|
| Brannon Young
|
6.580 sec
|
110.54 mph
|
| Dale Adams
|
6.923 sec
|
106.71 mph
|
| Aaron Creech
|
7.498 sec
|
68.62 mph
|
| Damon Harmon
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Quick Shootout Eliminations
| Brannon Young
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| Damon Harmon
|
|
| Dale Adams
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| Aaron Creech
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
Brannon Young |
| |
| Race Winner |
|
|
