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| For further information contact the Slot Car Club Of The Twin Tiers at: sccottt1@yahoo.com or (607) 796-4129. 11/26/06 13 drivers from NY and PA took part in the 6th Annual Turkey 250 on Saturday, November 25, 2006. The event, held for Super Stock T-Jets, (Fray style,) marked the first race for the Slot Car Club Of The Twin Tiers' (SCCOTTT,) new Bowman Grand Champion track. Designed and built by the preeminent HO scale slot track builder Brad Bowman, the Grand Champion was even enticing enough to draw 3-time Turkey 250 champ Frank Spena Jr. out of his semi-retirement, which set up a classic duel between himself and Dave Hendrickson. The 6th Annual Turkey 250 Entry List Driver, Hometown - Entrant - Car Andy Bardoe, Sayre, PA - Self - Road Race Replicas Chevy Corvette Mako Shark Dave Hendrickson, Erin, NY - KRD Racing - Moonstone Chevy Camaro Z-28 Trans Am Ryan Hendrickson, Erin, NY - KRD Racing - BRP Ford GT Spena Edition Ernie Langford, Holland, NY - Self – Dunlap Buick Lacrosse Warren Lux, Springville, NY – Lux Racing - Davis Lamborghini Diablo George Mest, Springville, NY – Crash’N’Burn Raceway - JoeJet Lola GT Cliff Potter, Sayre, PA - Self - Johnny Lightning '72 Chevy Camaro Z-28 Joe Saccomanno, Alden, NY - JoeJets - JoeJet Vauxhall Cresta Frank "Chub" Spena Jr., Horseheads, NY - Frank Spena Racing - BRP Ford GT Spena Edition Scott Udave, Buffalo, NY - Self - BRP Porsche 356 Dave Van Duzer, Horseheads, NY - Van Duzer Hobbies - Fandango Toyota Celica Gary Weber, Horseheads, NY - Self - BRP Ford GT40 Mike Wulff, West Valley, NY – Team Wulff - Dunlap Aston Martin Vanquish Qualifying Qualifying consisted of three minutes on each lane for a total of 12 minutes. Gary Weber went out in the first group and set the early mark with 65 laps. Dave Hendrickson went out the in second group and eclipsed Weber's mark with 69. Frank Spena Jr. was in the third group. Spena had not raced a T-Jet since winning at the UFHORA National Championships. He looked a little rusty, but he still managed to move to the top of the charts with 70 laps. Ryan Hendrickson was in the fourth and final group of drivers and appeared to be the last one able to keep Spena from his 28th SCCOTTT/PRR Majors pole. Ryan put on a great drive, but he wound up 37 sections short. It was still good enough for second. Dave Van Duzer and Cliff Potter made the final transfer spots in 5th and 6th. The rest would be going into the LCQ round... Qualifying Results Pos.| Laps - Driver 1| 70 - Frank Spena Jr. 2| 70 - Ryan Hendrickson 3| 69 - Dave Hendrickson 4| 65 - Gary Weber 5| 63 - Dave Van Duzer 6| 61 - Cliff Potter 7| 61 - George Mest 8| 60 - Scott Udave 9| 59 - Warren Lux 10| 57 - Andy Bardoe 11| 56 - Joe Saccomanno 12| 55 - Ernie Langford 13| 51 - Mike Wulff Last Chance Qualifier George Mest missed making it into the semis by 29 sections. During October's T-Jet Anniversary 500, he had become the first person to make it from the LCQ round into a final. Here he would have to try it once again. He managed the first step by dominating the LCQ round with 62 laps to make into the semis. Behind him the battle to make the final transfer was fierce. In the end it was Warren Lux emerging over Joe Saccomanno by 33 sections with Andy Bardoe only 7 sections further back. Saccomanno and Bardoe improved by 3 and 2 laps, but it was not quite enough to get them into the next round. Scott Udave struggled with tires and dropped two laps and three positions from his qualifying run. Ernie Langford and Mike Wulff finished their days in 12th and 13th respectively. LCQ Results 1| 62 - George Mest 2| 59 - Warren Lux 3| 59 - Joe Saccomanno 4| 59 - Andy Bardoe 5| 58 - Scott Udave 6| 57 - Ernie Langford 7| 55 - Mike Wulff Semi Finals Semi #1 Semi #1 featured Spena, Dave Hendrickson, Van Duzer and Mest. The first head-to-head between Spena and Dave Hendrickson on the Grand Champion was now on. The two both made mistakes early on which saw the lead swing back and forth between them. They stayed on the same lap through the first two segments, but the two were slowly moving in opposite directions. Spena's car appeared to be slowing slightly, while Hendrickson and his car were hitting a rythm. By race end Hendrickson had guaranteed himself a spot in the final with a 72-lap performance which would stand at the end of the day as the 12-minute record for the new track. Spena drove a better race than in qualifying, but with his lap times dropping off, he still wound up on 70. Mest was solid in picking up two more laps for 64. Van Duzer had to make a pit stop for oil and wound up eliminated with only 61 laps. Semi #1 Results 1| 72 - Dave Hendrickson 2| 70 - Frank Spena Jr. 3| 64 - George Mest 4| 61 - Dave Van Duzer Semi #2 Semi #2 featured Ryan Hendrickson, Weber, Potter and Lux. Hendrickson made a series of mistakes early that allowed Weber to open up to a lap lead part way through the second segment. Hendrickson finally settled down and began to reel Weber in. He took the lead in the third segment but spun off the track moments later. Whether it was during the accident or the cause of it, Hendrickson lost the rear screw to his body. The screw then lodged itself in between the body and rear gear. Hendrickson spent half of a lap crawling to where he could pit, thinking the car needed oil. By the time he was going again all chances of winning were gone, but the final was still in reach. It was not to be, however. While Weber cruised to the win and a berth in the final, Hendrickson, one of the pre-race favorites, wound up five sections short of Mest's mark and was eliminated. Potter and Lux could not find the legs to run with the other two and finished in 3rd and 4th. Semi #2 Results 1| 67 - Gary Weber 2| 64 - Ryan Hendrickson 3| 60 - Cliff Potter 4| 56 - Warren Lux The 6th Annual Turkey 250 Final The final was now set. Each segment would be 11 minutes in length until the first car reached 250 laps. Dave Hendrickson was now the clear favorite but he knew Spena would not give up easily. Spena knew there was something going on with his car and tried his best to find the answer, both to the car and to Hendrickson, in between the Semi and the Final. Weber was prepared to pick up the pieces from the battle up front. Mest was happy to make the final from the LCQ for the second time - this time in a deeper field no less. Hendrickson lead off the start but by the time the field had cleared the long banked turn Spena was in front. As the pack headed through the fast esses Hendrickson used his superior horsepower to draw up on Spena but he misjudged and the two tangled, sending him flying. Thus Spena lead at the end of the first lap. Near the end of the second lap Spena went off-course, and Weber went to the lead. Soon, however, both Spena and Hendrickson had passed Weber and the race was on. Hendrickson reeled Spena in, setting the fastest race lap record in the process, (9.326,) and the two tangled again, this time it was Spena falling off. Hendrickson would never trail again. The two put on a great battle when Hendrickson came up to lap Spena. Hendrickson would power past down the long main straight, while Spena would stalk him and pass back in the twisty back section only for Hendrickson to go by on the straight once again. Hendrickson briefly put Spena two laps down during the second segment, but Spena fought back and looked like he might make a race out of it. At the end of three segments the two were still just one lap apart. The race was about to be over for good, however. Spena's car had been turning heads all afternoon, not only because if its speed early on, but also because of the amount of noise coming from it. Throughout the final the car was getting louder and slower. The crown gear had slowly disintegrated and as the final segment went on Spena faded further back. That allowed Hendrickson to cruise to a well-earned five-lap victory. Spena held on to 2nd. Weber took a distant 3rd followed by Mest, 30 laps out of the lead. Turkey 250 Final Round Results 1| 250 - Dave Hendrickson 2| 245 - Frank Spena Jr. 3| 233 - Gary Weber 4| 220 - George Mest 6th Annual Turkey 250 Overall Results Pos.| Total Laps Completed - Driver 1| 391 - Dave Hendrickson 2| 385 - Frank Spena Jr. 3| 365 - Gary Weber 4| 428 - George Mest 5| 134 - Ryan Hendrickson 6| 124 - Dave Van Duzer 7| 121 - Cliff Potter 8| 174 - Warren Lux 9| 115 - Joe Saccomanno 10| 116 - Andy Bardoe 11| 118 - Scott Udave 12| 112 - Ernie Langford 13| 106 - Mike Wulff The Slot Car Club Of The Twin Tiers is a non-profit group of enthusiasts dedicated to promoting slot car racing in the Southern Tier of NY and the Northern Tier of PA. Please stop in or check out the club web site. Slot Car Club Of The Twin Tiers 2117C Grand Central Ave. Horseheads, NY 14845 Web Site: http://www.reocities.com/sccottt1/clubmain.html E-mail: sccottt1@yahoo.com Race Photos and Race Summary spreadsheet available on request. E-mail: fspenajr@juno.com |