NERRC #2
After a successful Thompson event, region club racers eagerly returned to NHMS for the second road racing event for the season. Almost 170 cars attended over the weekend, which included a CRE and OWDE classes. All of the classes were well represented over the 8 racing groups, giving everyone plenty of competition.
All of that hard driving also kept our flagging and course safety crews busy. Group 1 SRFs faced multiple incidents. My own husband, Steve Introne #12, snagged a ride with the flatbed crews on the first lap for three sessions in a row! It wasn’t until the final race of the weekend he was able to make it past lap 2. In fact, at least 3 races were called and ended early because of on course incidents that needed clean up over the two days.
Group 1 also experienced a first this weekend. Due to a problem in timing, there were no times recorded for the opening Qualifying session. That meant grid positions for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon were decided by drawing names out of hat!
For the big bore Group 2, Zack Kelly turned up the heat during the Saturday afternoon race and scored a new track record in his #0 T1 car. In Group 3, the FV’s Race 1 was one of those checkered early. Over all three races, #79 John Petillo, #60 Jeff Filipkowski and #39 Pete Meck swapped around for leader position and eventual winner.
Group 4 was the largest group with 41 cars. Unfortunately, our favorite NER photographer James Ray ended up in the wall during Qualifying, leaving James without a car for the rest of the weekend. These guys also had their Saturday race checkered early after just nine laps. Group 5 was the smallest class with the wings-and-things. #79 Giovanni Sorbello set a new track record in P1 before being forced to retire early and end his weekend.
Group 6 and 8 were our CRE and OWDE groups respectively. Wedged in-between was our second largest group – SM and Touring cars – with 37 entrants. Unfortunately, they also faced the most attrition, with 9 drivers not making it to the final race.
While it was not the cleanest of race weekends, the region once again came together to host another road racing event that allowed our drivers, crews and workers to enjoy a full two days of racing action.
CRE / OWDE
We had a great group of participants last weekend for the Tread Connection Norwood sponsored Club Racing Experience (CRE) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Four drivers in total and two were signed off for a novice permit to begin competing in regional races. Many thanks to our CRE sponsor Tread Connection Norwood, a mobile Tire Service franchise business run by our member Jay Condrick.
Pictured left to right are:
Chief Instructor – Pete Morrison
#24 blue Mazda Miata driver – Robert Klupa
#8 white BMW 325 driver – Julian Potenza
#80 red Mazda Miata driver Brandon Astacio
Not pictured #1 white Mazda Miata driver – Jesse Harrington
RAL Silent Auction
As one of the fundraisers for RAL, the club racing team hosted a Silent Auction in the tech garage. Thank you to everyone that donated goods and services, and congratulations to all the winners!
Overall, the club racing team raised $2227 toward the RAL final totals.
