The 3rd Annual Classics 250 was held Saturday April 19, 2003 at Pocket Rocket Raceway in Horseheads, NY. Nine drivers from NY and PA entered. The race was expected to be a showdown between last months' Spring Is In 250 winner Mark Burdick and runner up Jeff "Hoss" Phoenix. Sponsorship was provided by Joe Jets, Super Tires, Model Motoring Inc., and Wizzard High Performance Inc. See below for more information about the Classics 250 sponsors.

3rd Annual Classics 250 Official Entry List: Driver, Hometown - Entrant - Car

Mark Burdick, Mansfield, PA – Self - BRP Bat-Jet Ford GT40

Dan "LD" Hungerford Jr., Elmira, NY – Dan Hungerford Sr. - BRP Bat-Jet Ford GT40

Dan “Big D” Hungerford Sr., Elmira, NY – “Hoss” Phoenix – BRP Bat-Jet Ford GT40

Rob Lord, Horseheads, NY - Captain Underpants Racing - BRP Bat-Jet Chrysler Crossfire

Matt Metcalf, Corning, NY - Mathew Metcalf Racing; Captain Underpants Racing - BRP Bat-Jet Dodge Viper

Jeff "Hoss" Phoenix, Camillus, NY - Self - BRP Bat Jet Mangusta

Joe Saccomanno, Alden, NY – Joe Jets; Super Tires – Joe Jet Ford GT41

Ryan Scherer, Horseheads, NY - Self - BRP Bat-Jet Chrysler Crossfire

Larry "Lawrence Of Moravia" Weaver, Moravia, NY – Kanga Kars; – BRP Bat-Jet Ford GT40

QUALIFYING

For qualifying each driver had 12 minutes, four per lane, to cover as much ground as possible. Mark Burdick, "Hoss" Phoenix and Dan Hungerford Jr. fought in the closest battle for Top Qualifier in PRR's history. All three finished with 106 laps, with Burdick taking TQ for the first time ever by 20 segments over Phoenix who, in turn, finished only two segments ahead of Hungerford. Amazingly close after 106 laps of racing. Larry Weaver put in a solid performance with 102 laps for 4th. Dan Hungerford Sr. qualified 5th, his best ever. Rob Lord followed in 6th. Ryan Scherer made a PRR Major grid for the first time ever with 7th. Joe Saccomanno and Matt Metcalf both struggled with mechanical trouble, but Metcalf's problems were greater and he was eliminated.

SEMI FINAL ROUND

The Semi Final Round continued with the 12 minute format. Burdick continued on form in the first semi, opening up a one lap lead in the first segment over Hungerford Jr. and holding it to the finish. Hungerford Sr. was a distant 3rd followed by Scherer. Semi #2 was dominated by Phoenix who scored a 6 lap win over Weaver. Phoenix's performance was enough to give him lane choice for the final. Weaver's run was 11 laps clear of Lord and good enough to make the final. Saccomanno finished 4th, but his race was good enough to move him ahead of Scherer for 7th overall. The results were career best Major finishes for Hungerford Sr., Saccomanno and Scherer.

CLASSICS 250 FINAL

As expected the final was shaping up to be a showdown between Burdick and Phoenix. The two had the closest ever finish at a PRR major, .3s at the Spring Is In 250 the month before. Additionally Burdick had become only the fourth member of PRR's 5 second club, of which Phoenix was the third member. Burdick was looking to become only the second person in PRR history to win more than one Major, while Phoenix was looking for his first T-Jet Major win. The first person to reach the 250 lap mark during the four 7.5 minute segments would be the 2003 Classics 250 Champion. Phoenix appeared to have the momentum after his strong semi performance, but it was Burdick who took the lead at the start. Phoenix put up a fight for a short time. Burdick was not to be stopped, however. Eventually he began to stretch out the lead. Under the pressure Phoenix made a series of mistakes and fell back. In a performance reminiscent of the previous two Classics 250s won by Frank Spena Jr., Burdick led by three laps at the end of the first segment and never looked back becoming only the second person to lead a PRR Major flag-to-flag. Phoenix and Hungerford Jr. fought hard over second place through the firs three segments. In the final segment Phoenix stumbled and Hungerford took over for good. It was his best ever finish in a PRR Major. Phoenix grabbed 3rd while Weaver had a steady run to 4th.

Once again, thanks to PRR's great sponsors, each driver left PRR with a race prize. 2nd Annual Spring Is In 250 Sponsors Joe Jets HO Racing Bodies Super Tires - 1/32 Slot Car Tires Alden, NY Web Site: www.buffalohobby.com E-mail: joeslotcar@juno.com

Model Motoring Inc. Newport Beach, CA Phone: (888) 775-3322 Web Site: http://www.modelmho.com/ E-mail: modelmho@modelmho.com

Wizzard High Performance Inc. Bedford, PA Phone: (814) 623-7482 Web site: http://www.wizzardho.com/index.html E-mail: wizzardho@yahoo.com

Next Major Race:

5/31/03 - 2nd Annual Box Stock Willys Challenge Presented By Model Motoring, Inc.

PRR’s Full 2003 Schedule is available on the PRR web site.

For more information on Pocket Rocket Raceway call, e-mail or visit the PRR web site: www.linkny.com/~jimbo/horacing2.html e-mail: prrho@juno.com phone: 607-796-2168

PRR's weekly racing series runs every Friday evening with races beginning at 7 PM. Call for classes and rules.

Pocket Rocket Raceway 2117 Grand Central Ave. Horseheads, NY 14845