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| A Division of Rock Island Racing Jocham Is Roadrunner at Acme! On Saturday afternoon, August 23rd, at 1:00 PM, it was WAY hot!...which is why we chose to have our first ‘under the lights’ race of the season. At around 3:30-4:00, racers began to assemble in the pits of the beautiful Acme Raceway, situated in Riverside, California. As usual, host GREG WILLEY wrote another page in the ‘How to Host a Race’ book, by providing a delicious bevy of hot and mild sausages, cooked fresh on the backyard brick barbeque, along with an assortment of soft and not-so-soft drinks. Helping to further lower the broiling heat, was about 20,000 gallons of crystal clear, 79 degree water, which beckoned you to indulge, the moment that you laid eyes on it. This writer/racer could not resist, and did succumb to the cool allure. By 4:30, temperatures were lowering, bellies were filling, and the pre-race practice session was at full speed ahead. By 6PM, the race was ready to begin, as scheduled. The field of 16 racers, a very nice turnout for an I/T race, placed their names into the computer, which arranged them in whatever order it decided upon, and the first Round Robin was underway. For the most part, the vast majority of the field averaged around 19-20 laps per heat. There were, however, as always, exceptions, and the most consistent exception, RICK JOCHAM, was at the top of the heap, posting a 21 and a pair of 22's, en route to his first place finish, with 85 laps, which earned him 5 bonus points. Just off of the pace, was SCOTT DUNLAP, posting 83 laps for second place and 4 big bonus points. Right behind was MIKE ENGELAGE, with 83 laps of his own, for 3 bonus points. MATT PAUL, who has recently risen up through the ranks of the Island Thunder Series with a vengeance, took the 2 bonus points for his fourth place effort of 81 laps, while GREG DAVIS, in his first I/T race, took 5th place, for the final bonus point of the Round, via a strong 81 lap total. Series leaders ROCKY GERMAN and runner-up VIC LICAUSI, took 11th and 6th, respectively, for zero bonus points! In the second of two Round Robins, the field was cut from 16 to 12, and the fun and surprises began. This time, the pace was picked up, and most racers averaged around 20 laps per heat, plus! Once again, JOCHAM took control, posting the round’s only heat of 23 laps, accompanying a trio of 21's, for an 86 lap total. Going neck and neck with him, was ENGELAGE, who posted a 20 on Red, along with three 22's, for an 86 total as well, but just behind JOCHAM. JOCHAM slurped up 5 more bonus points, and ENGELAGE took another 4. DUNLAP was right there in the mix, as well, posting a strong 85 total, for 3 more bonus points. GREG DAVIS and MICKEY HURTADO, both driving on what appeared to be a pace to the final, ran into unsurmountable problems and bad luck, both breaking a guide pin in the middle of a heat, leading to disastrous lap totals for the heat(s). HURTADO was able to muster up 10 laps in the heat where he lost his pin, but DAVIS only got in 3 laps before the unfortunate incident. The way that the competition has gotten, this was enough to eliminate both racers, earlier than they should have been eliminated. Tough break guys...happens to the best of ‘em! You were both having a great run. Rounding out the top 5, in this round, were host GREG WILLEY, with 81 laps, for 4th place and 2 bonus points, followed by VIC LICAUSI, with 81 laps, for 1 point. The remaining 3 drivers to move to the Semis were: MATT PAUL (80 laps), ROCKY GERMAN(80 laps), and ALAN GONICK, who had a guide pin ‘scare’, but was able to amass 78 laps, nosing out JEREMY HURTADO, who also finished up with 78. JEREMY has very quietly been having better and better finishes. Way to go, Jeremy! In the first of two Semis, ENGELAGE was off on a pace of his own. After starting with a 20 on the Red lane, he stacked up a 21 and a pair of 22's, for an 85 total, and the 5 points that go with winning a Semi. The closest to him was PAUL, who posted a hard-fought 81 laps. WILLEY followed with 80 laps, and GONICK with 75. The second semi was closer and faster....at least for most of the field. GERMAN posted a paltry 19 on the White lane (one of the money lanes), while all of the other 3 racers posted 21's. In the second heat, JOCHAM turned up the already intense heat, posting a 22 on Blue (another money lane). LICAUSI and DUNLAP stayed within shoutin’ distance, both posting 22's, while GERMAN posted only 20. In the last two heats, LICAUSI and GERMAN stayed consistent, while DUNLAP turned up the juice, posting a pair of 22's. But JOCHAM wouldn’t be denied, as he posted 22's and a 23, on his way to an 88 lap total, for pole position in the Final, and another 5 bonus points. DUNLAP was very close, posting an 86, which would have won the first semi. LICAUSI had a strong run of 83 laps for 3rd, and enough to slip into the 4th spot in the Final, while GERMAN fell off to 78 laps, to round out the field. The Final/Main was set and it was clear that 21's alone would not be enough to win. The situation called for a stepping up of the racing, and step everybody did, as most of the racers topped their previous totals, from the Semis. In the first heat, it was ENGELAGE and DUNLAP who took off to the early lead, posting 22's, while JOCHAM and LICAUSI posted 21's. In the second heat, ENGELAGE and JOCHAM pushed each other to 23 laps a piece, while DUNLAP fell off to a 21 and LICAUSI picked up one, posting a 21. Halfway through, it was ENGELAGE (45 laps) with the one lap lead over JOCHAM, and 2 laps over LICAUSI and DUNLAP. It was still anybody’s race. In the third heat, LICAUSI fell victim to the Red gutter lane, posting a fate sealing 19 laps. ENGELAGE took command of the Yellow gutter with a 21, while JOCHAM and DUNLAP posted 22's in the middle. Going into the last heat, it was ENGELAGE tied for the lead with JOCHAM at 66 laps, with DUNLAP right behind at 65. LICAUSI was at 62 laps, which took any pressure off of him. ENGELAGE then moved to the Red gutter, where his 20 laps opened the door for JOCHAM and DUNLAP, which they both promptly marched through, posting 22's. When the rubber ceased to fly, it was JOCHAM taking the checkers for his third time in as many tries, in the Island Thunder Series, with an amazing total of 88 laps...an AVERAGE of 22 laps per heat! “Why you so mean, Rick?!!” DUNLAP managed to sneak into second place with another amazing effort of 87 laps, while ENGELAGE’S 20 gave him an 86 total for third. LICAUSI had a slammin’ last heat of 22, but too little; too late. This was a great race and an excellent turnout. The race for first place in this series, is the closest race both of the Rock Island Racing series’, with only 8 points separating the top two, with 3 races to go. MATT PAUL opened up his lead for the final spot on the season podium, and WILLEY jumped up to 4th. WILLEY, NECKAMEYER, or HURTADO, still could steal that spot from PAUL, but they better hurry! Thanks to all 16 racers who showed up to race and to show continued support for our racing programs. We should all be very proud that we’ve made ours among the Premiere T-Jet racing circuits in the country. Also, thanks to the top guys for, so generously, sharing their secrets for setup of the cars. It is only because of this kind of cooperation and unselfishness that we’ve come to the point where we are. The next Island Thunder race will be on Sunday, September 21st, at Mike Engelage’s, in Brea, on Vic’s 6-laner. THIS IS A CHANGE FROM WHAT’S ON THE SCHEDULE! PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF IT. The next Rolling Thunder Series race, is the WILD MONGOOSE CHASE, this Sunday, August 31st, at Rock Island Raceway, on THE GREEN MONSTER. The doors will open at 10:30 AM, and the race begins at 1PM. Be there, with your Mongoose....or the snakes will take over!! C ya. | |||||||||||||
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| The Dive n’ Drive 300 Acme Raceway Riverside, CA. 8/23/03 Finishing Order 1. Rick Jocham 175+5+5+5= 190 (perfect score!) 2. Scott Dunlap 170+3+4= 177 3. Mike Engelage 165+3+4+5= 177 4. Vic Licausi 160+1= 161 5. Matt Paul 155+2= 157 6. Greg Willey 150+2= 152 7. Rocky German 146 8. Alan Gonick 142 9. Jeremy Hurtado 138 10. Lee Neckameyer 134 11. Mickey Hurtado 130 12. Greg Davis 126 13. Paul Hagan 122 14. Francis McEntee 119 15. Rob Bowman 116 16. Michael Hurtado 113 | |||||||||||||
