The 3rd Annual Freezin' 250 was held on Saturday January 31, 2004 at Pocket Rocket Raceway in Horseheads, NY.  While weather kept some racers away eight drivers from as far away as Buffalo entered. For the second straight year the Freezin' 250 produced a first time winner.

3rd Annual Freezin' 250 Entry List

Driver, Hometown, Entrant - Car

Jamie Antosh, Groton, NY - Self - BRP Ford GT40

Mark Burdick, Millerton, PA - BAM Racing - BRP Ford GT40

Justin Eulrich, Buffalo, NY - Self - Joe-Jet GT41

Dave Hendrickson, Erin, NY - Self - BRP Mangusta

Ryan Hendrickson, Erin, NY - Dave Hendrickson - Joe-Jet GT41

Matt Metcalf, Corning, NY - Mathew Metcalf Racing; Captain Underpants Racing - BRP Chevy Corvette

Joe Saccomanno, Alden, NY - JoeJets; www.buffalohobby.com - Joe Jet GT41

Scott Udave, Buffalo, NY - Self - BRP Porsche 356

QUALIFYING

        Qualifying consisted of four 3-minute segments for each driver.  Dave Hendrickson set the tone for the evening as he got off to a slow start on his qualifying run.  He clearly had the speed, however, and he recovered to take the pole, his first.  Mark Burdick's car didn't have the pace of Hendrickson, but some fine driving kept him close and his run wound up just 18 segments short of Hendrickson's.  Ryan Hendrickson, Dave's son, made his PRR Major debut a stunning one with third on the grid.  Jamie Antosh put up his best ever Fray-class qualifying performance and grabbed fourth.  5th place represented the best ever PRR run for Justin Eulrich.  Matt Metcalf pulled his first ever 100 lap performance to grid 6th.  Joe Saccomanno and Scott Udave both finished with 97 laps.

Semi Finals

        With qualifying complete the drivers were sorted into two
semi-final race according to their grid positions.  Semi #1 quickly
became the duel of the Hendrickson's.  Dave jumped out to the lead but a series of small mistakes allowed son Ryan into first.  The two battled throughout the first four minutes before Dave was able to pull clear once and for all.  Behind the father-son duo Eulrich was doing all he could with a failing tire.  Smooth driving saw him top his qualifying performance by 1 lap but he would have to wait for the second semi to know if it was enough to make the final.  Saccomanno experienced car trouble and finished a distant fourth.  Semi #2 belonged to Burdick from start to finish.  Jamie Antosh repeated his qualifying performance but it was not quite enough and he found himself one lap short of making the final.  Metcalf and Udave finished in third and fourth respectively. 
 
3rd Annual Freezin' 250 Final

        The grid was now set for the final.  Dave Hendrickson was clearly the man to beat, but veteran driver Burdick promised to give him all he could handle.  Ryan Hendrickson and Eulrich were both happy to have made their first PRR Major final appearances.  The race started with a bang, literally, as Ryan went off at the first corner.  Dave did the same part way around the first lap and that left Burdick leading Eulrich.  Dave soon recovered to 2nd but, like his semi round, he found himself making several mistakes.  Burdick briefly put him a lap down before he regained his composure.  Ryan Hendrickson was showing blazing speed but was also making mistakes.  Even so he soon made his way past Eulrich into third.  With a minute to go in the first segment Dave Hendrickson passed Burdick for the lead.  It was the race's final lead change.  In the second segment Burdick soon found himself under fire from Ryan Hendrickson.  Ryan's car was now clearly the fastest on the track and his outright speed simply overwhelmed Burdick.  He would claim fastest lap in all four
segments, but he continued to make mistakes and could not put Burdick away.  In the third segment Burdick and the younger Hendrickson continued to swap second until Burdick's tires began to go off with about three minutes remaining.  Ryan lapped him in the dying minutes of the segment.  Burdick stayed tough in the final segment and the rookie caved to the pressure.  Despite being the fastest car on the track he could not hold off the veteran as Burdick overcame the one lap deficit to claim a well-deserved second place.  Eulrich struggled home to fourth with an ill-handling car.

PRR's weekly HO racing series runs every Friday evening with races
beginning at 7 PM.  Current classes are Fray T-Jet and Box Stock T-Jet.  Call or e-mail for rules.

PRR's weekly 1/32 & 1/24 racing series runs every Saturday afternoon with races beginning at 4 PM.  Current classes are Fly/GB Track Classics any wheel/tire and Carrera 1/24 Le Mans.  Call or e-mail for rules.
 
Pocket Rocket Raceway
2117 Grand Central Ave.
Horseheads, NY  14845
Phone: (607) 796-2168
Web Site:  http://www.pocketrocketraceway.com/
E-mail:  prrho@juno.com