I used the term “party”. That’s exactly what we have going here. It’s taking on the feel of a wedding. Actually, more like preparing for a wedding, because the “guests” are becoming more like ‘family”. Add to that the fact of the extra day for most of the drivers, the tension to get things set up isn’t nearly as great. It’s much easier with the extra 24 hours. The guys from Team Wizzard got here on Tuesday, and they have spent some time in sight seeing. It hasn’t impacted there driving edge one bit. These tourists are ready to vie for the trophy.

Got a chance to see the Fray shirt that Rick Burneson had commissioned. Very fine print and quality.

Friday, January 31, 2003

This party is still jamming! Day two is better than the first. A real convention atmosphere. It’s contagious. Many more spouses are here this time, and they are cavorting all over town. It’s been two glorious days of sunshine. The tenor of the day for the racers, though, is one of concentrated effort to tune their cars and their racing skills. Many are taking notes to see which car is best on which track and which lanes. Near as I can figure it, the possible combinations are into the hundreds.

The participants are acclimating nicely. The extra days available for preparation are taking the pressure off. Advice and knowledge are free flowing. Best group of slot people, hell, any people, you’d ever want to hang with. It’s like the “Big Chill” for 100. Where ever we went in town, we ran into each other. Even the locals were beginning to recognize us, and getting into the “fray” with us. Ferndale knows how to be a host city.

It is obvious that the performance increase will again be geometric. Minimum lap times on a couple of tracks had to be lowered. The handling is getting to where one might think the cars had traction magnets. The range of ability is closing. Many more teams are far better prepared. I think all this indicates that the various individuals are freely offering information.

At 7 pm, the teams were introduced and the captains picked their team’s number from a box, which determined position on the board. Right afterwards, everyone lined up to have their cars teched. It all went flawlessly, and was over by 9:30. Another 12 hour day. Didn’t seem to bother anyone.

All the preparation is over. Almost everyone went home to get a decent night’s sleep, Those that didn’t, found their way to local establishments to bend a few elbows. Everyone has their own way of dealing with pressure.

“Drivers, start your engines…”. And so it was. The Eighth Annual Fray in Ferndale started without incident. Most drivers now know what to expect, and the new ones were fast learners.

Saturday, February 1, 2003

First Race Update:
In a not unexpected result, Ferndale fell in the first round, to last years winners, KC. All the rest of the top teams claimed victory without incident.

Second Race Update:
Wizzard loses to Independence, Missouri by a fairly large margin. There was some thought that Wizzard might pull off a major upset this year, and even go all the way. This is one of those teams with great potential. Expect them to go further than 4th, next year. All other top teams remained undefeated.

Third Race Update:
The biggest news here is a stunning close victory by Wizzard over SoCal. The first of the top four seeded teams to fall. There was an interstate rivalry with KC and Independence on the Purple table. There was a lot of contention, and tension, and good spirited kidding. Great atmosphere. The winner was KC. Independence got as close as 10, but faded near the end.

Fourth Race Update:
One contender fell again. Eureka lost to Overland Park, Kansas on the Blue table. MAHOR is making noise.

Five Race Updaye;
The only two undefeated teams are from MAHOR. KC and Overland Park Ferndale goes down to SoCal.

Race Six Update:
Cross Bay rivals Fremont and Petaluma go head to head on the Orange table. Petaluma
in a runaway.

Race Seven Update:
Wizzard against Ferndale was the only important race. Wizzard wins a close one. Petaluma and SoCal had a great race on the Yellow table, SoCal won, but there were some great moments, with every finish close.

Race Eight Update:
Undefeated KC Beat SoCal 110 – 100.

Race Nine News:
Oberlin Park beat SoCal quite handly, 125 – 85. Two Kansas teams still undefeated, awaiting their match that will probably determine the Team winner.

Race Ten Update:
The two founding teams of the Fray, Petaluma and Ferndale, met in a head to head match. The lead shifted several times, and the winner was not determined till the last race. Ferndale by 4 points.

Race Eleven Update:
This Round didn’t have any surprises, nor pertinent matches.

Race Twelve Update:

Bay area rivals again. This time Petaluma and South Bay went to the last heat to determine the winner. 107 – 103 Petaluma

Race 13 and 14 Update:
Not much worth talking about here. A lot is already decided. The last race of the day, Fifteen, should be between KC and Overland, two undefeated teams. One thing that seemed to be a trend in this years Fray is how often it went through Petaluma. In Round 13 and 14 Petaluma had to run against the undefeated teams, with little chance of a victory. True to form, they were beat by both. On to the 15th Round for a match up of the Titans.

Race 15 Update:
One other time before have the two top teams at the Fray met undefeated in the final team race of the day (Ferndale and Petaluma). KC and Overland Park met on the Black table, in an attempt to grab the brass ring. As Jack Lamb said, “This race was for the Fray Thunderjet Championship of the World”. These are the same teams that meet every other week in MAHOR races, and now it was for national glory.

It was probably over after 3 heats. KC pushed the lead to 20, and never looked back. Overland Park whittled it down to 16 after the 6th heat, but 4 consecutive firsts by KC team members sealed their fate.

For the second year in a row, KC won the Team Competition. Those team members, and place of finish in the Qualifying Round were:
1, Steve Ward (1)
2. John Habernal (4)
3. Done Bourne (8)
4. Tracy Huston (11)
5. Steve Godinez (14)
6. Dave Carter (19)

All six finished in the top 20, unheard of dominance, and when you think that they had to compete against themselves every race, this is a vivid barometer of just how dominant they were.

The two other MAHOR teams, Overland Park and Independence finished second and third respectively, for a complete sweep from the Midwest. It shows what time and attention to detail can accomplish. Yet another level has been reached.

Final Team Standings:
1. Kansas City, Mo (15-0)
2. Overland Park, Ks (14-1)
3. Independence, Mo (13-2)
4. Wizzard (12-3)
5. SoCal (11-4)
6. Ferndale, Ca (10-5
7. Petaluma, Ca (9-6)
8. Eureka, Ca (7-8)
9. South Bay, Ca (6-9)
9. San Diego, Ca (6-9)
11. Seattle, Wa (5-10)
12. LA (4-11)
12. MSCRC , Fremont, Ca (4-11)
14. Carnage (Idaho) (3-13)
15. Iowa (1-14)
16. Oregon

The Elimination Round News:
This round is always memorable, but this years Eliminations included something very special. Herculean, in fact. Jamie Jorgensen, in one of the best examples of determination and skill, strung together a record twenty victories, on the backs of some excellent drivers, to advance all the way to the B Main, only to lose his bid to get into the Final Show in his twenty-first attempt. The crowd stood and applauded and cheered for several minutes. It brought a tear to more than a few eyes, including Jorgensen’s.

After two hours of whittling, It came down to the Final Six.Todd Allen (Ind. Mo), Trek Lawler (Ind, Mo), Rick Jochem (SoCal), Steve Ward (KC), john Habernal (KC), and Jack Ruherford (Overland Park, KS).

From the beginning it looked as if Habernal might run away with this, finishing 1,1,2,1 in the first four races. But, right behind him, and staying close was Rutherford, with a 3,2,1,2. Even though the last two races went to Ward, Rutherford’s 2,3 finish in the fifth and sixth heats was enough to total one point higher than Habernal’s 5,4. Rutherford took home the Individual Competition trophy in his first year, also earning him Rookie of the Year.

Final Elimination Standings
1. Jack Rutherford
2. John Habernal
3. Steve Ward
4. Rick Jochem
5. Trek Lawler
Todd Allen DQ (wide car)

In Conclusion…

There is no end to what can be done with a Thunderjet. This is the proving ground. This is where all the top competitors come. This is also where regular guys like me come, because we want to learn about something that we really enjoy. This place is fool of nice people who share freely, and are committed to advancing the hobby. Magnet cars?

This race is due in total to the hard work of Rick Phillis. I am glad it’s in his hands. A lesser mortal would have screwed it up. There are a lot of tangential players, but the heart is within Rick. The feel and the venue are just right for me, and it seems for many others.

On my way home, all I could think about was “next year”. I got to drive one of the better cars, thanks to Don Bourne, and if I can mimic even a percentage of his techniques, I will improve by a major amount. Guys like Don just love to play with these cars. Thunderjets I mean. Getting them to perform at the level he does must be thrilling.

So, this closes the eighth chapter of the Largest and Best Slot Car Race in the World. No apologies for saying that. Hope to see many more of you next year.

Click here for Complete List of finishes for Individuals