NASA Great Pumpkin Challenge

After the difficult season that we've had, we went to Summit Point with muted hopes. Bobbie's car had just been repaired from the awful weekend at VIR which was the last time she had run. Dan, on the hand, would rent a Marcus Motorsports Cobra to get a little seat time since the Team Elam car is a few months away from being ready again.

Saturday had Bobbie racing first and she ran pretty well. Unfortunately she ended up getting tapped in the rear and made a mistake when she saw the checkered flag and thought the race was over. She ended up coming in a lap early since the checkered flag was being shown for the faster car coming up behind her.

Dan was learning an entirely new car and trying to get up to speed quickly. He ended up qualifying third and had a great battle during the race. He ran as high as second before dropping to fourth where he stayed as a yellow flag in a critical corner prevented him from passing. The race was entertaining for drivers and spectators alike. Despite not being a podium finish, Dan was pleased since his lap times were very fast and it was nice to have a car that responded pretty well.

Dan had also taken a new driver's 500HP+ spec racer out during an instructor session. He ended up hitting an oil patch from the car in front and they went on a wild ride through the grass and a light touch to the wall. Fortunately Dan Rice's car was easily repairable and Rice went on to a second place finish in his class. (Be sure to check out the entire series of pics on the next page.)

Dan takes Dan Rice on a ride after hitting oil

Sunday featured rain and Bobbie and Dan both skipped the practice session. For qualifying, Bobbie posted her best performance ever by earning 7^th place in her class. Dan's session was marked by a full course yellow and he came in early. That turned out to be a mistake since the course went green as he came in and his rivals all laid down good lap times. Dan would start in 25^th position overall – more than 20 cars behind his rivals.

For race time Bobbie gave up some of her positions but was running well until the last lap. While down in Summit Point's sweeping turn 1 her engine suffered catastrophic failure and pumped oil all over the engine and across the track. It resulted in a 100' plume of white smoke and flames under the car as she brought the car to the side and quickly escaped from the car. She was ok, but the car will need (again) extensive repairs.

With Dan starting from the back in his race the expectations weren't very high so Dan was just planning to pass cars and have fun. A good start moved him up into the field and he actually had Brian Cates in his sights when red flags came out – halting the race. Another Cobra had spun and gotten in a minor accident with a Mustang. The debris was in a dangerous spot and the race was halted. But Cobra class leader and friend Robert Mau was accidentally hit while trying to stop for the red flag. He ended up flying off the track into thick trees where his car was totaled. It was a few anxious moments while rescue workers got Rob out. It was a brutal crash and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Peter LaRose gets hit

The crash was worse than the pic shows

Ironically, the red flags meant that the race reverted to the previous lap which was the only lap actually completed. That meant that Rob got the win. The race wasn't restarted, but after learning that it was Rob in the major wreck, Dan had already decided he wasn't going to continue racing.

It was another frustrating weekend, but everyone drove well and everyone came away unhurt. We'll settle for that right now.

Here is some video from the Sunday race:

12 Meg

7 Meg (slightly shorter)