Route 66 ET Bracket Race 2-A Day of Ups

Sunday was certainly a day of UPS! First the weather was fantastic for racing. And last was the story behind the above photo!


Throughout the day, I kept seeing the above 1963 Plymouth Fury come to the line. As Eliminations started the car kept winning round after round. I could not recall seeing this car race before. And, of course, I didn't look at the number on the car. Finally, I went to race control and learned Ricky Pena was driving the car. Ricky normally campaigns a red AMX.  When Ricky won the Pro Class over last  week's Sportsman winner, Tony Lyons, after Tony broke out, I met Ricky in the Winner's Circle. He related the following: He purchased the car two years ago from long time racer Jay Tappela. Jay has been experiencing some health issues and sold the car after it had been sitting since 2010. This was only the second time that Ricky had the car on the track. Jay just happened to be at the track today, so he was brought to the Winner's Circle to celebrate with the car, Ricky, family and friends. Jay related after he originally bought the car, long time Route 66 racer Dave Ancel built it into a race car with Bill Osborne painting it. Jay related he campaigned the car winning many races and track championships.  Congratulations to Jay, Ricky and crew to bring the car back to the Winner's Circle!

The rest of the day was just a solid day of racing with a few stoppages for minor issues but overall, it was just good racing. Unlike Saturday, the good weather allowed racing the entire quarter mile. I did inquire of several drivers about the newly repaved track top end. There was nothing but praise for the condition of the track. Many stated they were happy that the left lane "bump" was gone! Here is some of the images from qualifications.

After eliminations started, the first class to finish was High School with Connor Lawson defeating #1 qualifier Samantha Senko.

Next up, was Pro Bike with Jonathan Vickers taking the win over last week's winner Bruce Damewood. It appeared Bruce had trouble at the start with an unusual .874 reaction time.

After Pro Bike, it was the Sportsman Class' turn. It was Paul O'Keefe defeating Jack Larsen when Jack broke out.

And lastly in the Super Pro Class, it was Justin Ford taking the win light when Dave Ancel went a little fast and broke out.

Just a few more from Pro winner Ricky Pena's Winner Circle celebration.

Short Takes:

At yesterday's race, I tried something new by mounting a remote camera in the left O'Reilly lane and me working the right Toyota lane. There were some challenges, but I am going to work at perfecting the use. Here is an example of what it looks like.

Miranda (Lawson) Alley has returned to bracket racing, driving the flat black Chevrolet S-10 race truck. At Saturday's Race Your Ride, she developed a motor problem. Damian Begler found a motor and overnight replaced it. The only problem is that it is a 9-second motor and Miranda is licensed for 10-seconds. She had to start pedaling it at the eighth mile mark to ensure she did not drop into the 9's. That is not a good way to make consistent runs!

During last weekend's bracket race, Jeff Sandowski developed a motor problem. After several days of investigation, he learned there was a problem in the valve train. He work four straight days and nights to rebuild the motor and get back to the track.

One of my favorite cars and most consistent, has been Don Dumdie and his 1957 Chevrolet. Yesterday, shortly after launching from the left lane, he suddenly slowed and pulled over. At the time I didn't know what happened, but later I contacted Don's daughter, Sherry, and she shared they believe it to be a rear end issue. Good luck with it, Don!

Over the off season, Cody Medeisis led a rebuild of Emilee Ballard's Camaro's motor. After several good runs by Cody, something broke in the drive shaft. Emilee's response,"I didn't break it!" Here is the car and staff picking up the pieces.

Here are some images from the rest of the day:

To see all the images from the day, please click here

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