St. Patty’s Day Race a Success at Randy’s Raceway

Racing, eating, and drinking the green stuff was just part of the time spent that the thirty racers did on Sunday at Randy’s Raceway Going Green St. Patty’s Day Race. The greatest part of the day was the time spent among fellow racers from five states sharing stories. These stories were about racing experiences, tuning cars, joking around, slot car collections, real cars, and just all the outright fun that can be had at a racing event we all can share later.
The weekend started on Saturday with a 12 noon to 5 pm practice. Some racers came by to take advantage of this time to set up their cars for the following race day; also the green stuff had arrived for all to enjoy. At the end of the practice day for those who wanted to we all walked to the local tavern for a great dinner and fine beverage. After that we came back to the track and did a little more tech and tune until later hours of the evening. And again more green stuff was consumed. Next year I hope more racers will take advantage this Saturday practice time. Some of the best racers are here to help with your racing program and to answer any questions have about these little cars we race.
Sunday morning was here very quickly and the race day was to start at 8am. Coffee and doughnuts were available thanks to Hiram and Derek. The racers started coming in to set up their pit areas and then proceeded to the tracks for practice. At 9am an announcement was made for all the racers to sign in. This was done over the newly installed loudspeaker system, thank you Henry for the idea. At 9:45am an announcement was made calling all cars to the tech table for pre-tech inspection before racing. There was a bit of confusion because we had thirty cars and only twenty-nine drivers signed in ? A roll call was made to find out who the owner of the extra car was. This still added to the confusion because no one spoke up. So after playing a short game of “Where’s Jeffery” the racing could begin.
All names were entered into the Track Mate ( even Bryan’s ) and the thirty racers were placed at random for a three minute round robin rotation. The competition was fast through out the entire race on the smooth Wiz insert Tub Track. When the race was over it was Richard Schmidt from Morgantown, PA who broke his two-year Tub Track curse to take home the win. Joel Lux making the trip from Buffalo, NY came in second, only two laps down from Rich. Joel had a pick up shoe issue in yellow and probably would have made the top two positions even closer. Hiram Durant from Westminster, MD had a bit of bad luck when a hair was stuck in the rear axle of his car. This blond moment cost him from moving into the high places by a hair, but still finished in third four laps down from second. Right behind in fourth was Derek Sheaffer from Harrisburg, PA one lap away running strong. Placements four through twelve were separated by only three laps running eighteen minutes on the track.
After the Super Stock race it was time for the food that was catered by Spuds. This included burgers, wings, gourmet fries, pierogies, and other assorted side dishes in enormous quantities for all. No one went home hungry I hope !
When the plates were empty it was back to racing on the unforgiving 8-Lane Tomy track oval. Words cannot describe the eight Indy cars racing on this track at one time. Actually one does it quite well mayhem and carnage Oops ! That is two. There were wrecks, flips, and unintentional take-outs happening to everyone. But one thing to remember no one was upset, angry, or mad WE ALL HAD A HE*L OF A LOT OF FUN. As the dust settled and debris was cleared from the track Joel Lux was the Indy winner by one lap. Second place went to Bryan Kisthart from Quakertown, PA. And only one lap behind him was Paul Kniffen from Courtland, NY. The top three positions were separated by only two laps so this could have been anyone’s win. Next was Chuck Sheaffer from Harrisburg, PA who was in a tie for total laps with myself the track owner, but he took fourth by twenty-six sections. Thanks to Sheldon Hiester from Shillington, PA for giving me a great pit stop
when I lost oil pressure in the black lane and not letting me loose any more positions.
Also thank you to the Hiester Family for the assorted sizes of silicone tire door prizes. It was great to have new racers here this year who were not here before and those who did not make it I missed them.
Next year we will be GOING GREEN AGAIN for the Second Annual Randy’s Raceway St. Pattys Day Race. Also coming this summer is Randy’s Raceway II, different location with three new tracks.