For further information contact the Slot Car Club Of The Twin Tiers at:
sccottt1@yahoo.com or (607) 796-4129.
4/29/07
19 drivers from NY and NJ took part in the Spring Is In 125 SCCOTTT on Saturday April 28, 2007. The event included a Thunderstorm support race and the T-Jet feature. Surprise star entries included 1962 Ford Aurora National Champion Henry Harnish from Randolph, NJ and Cortland, NY’s Paul Kniffen making his first appearance at SCCOTTT since winning the Snowball 500 in December. Both races featured thrilling racing throughout and the Thunderstorm race had the closest finish in SCCOTTT/PRR Majors history…
Spring Is In Entry List
Driver, Home Town - Entrant
Brian Bright, Maplewood, NJ - Self
Alex "Swirlie" Carmody, Horseheads, NY - Self
Henry Harnish, Randolph, NY - Self -
www.henryharnish.com
Dave Hendrickson, Erin, NY - KRD Racing
Kevin Hendrickson, Erin, NY - KRD Racing
Ryan Hendrickson, Erin, NY - KRD Racing
Paul Kniffen, Cortland, NY - Self
Ernie Langford, Holland, NY - Self
Warren Lux, Springville, NY – Lux Racing
Matt Metcalf, Corning, NY - Mathew Metcalf Racing
George Mest, Springville, NY – Crash’N’Burn Raceway
Tyler Reed, Breesport, NY - KRD Racing; Frank Spena Racing
Joe Saccomanno, Alden, NY - JoeJets
Scott Udave, Buffalo, NY - Self
Dave Van Duzer, Horseheads, NY - Van Duzer Hobbies
Scott Walker, Horseheads, NY - Self
Gary Weber, Horseheads, NY - Self
Mark Webster, Camillus, NY - Self
Mike Wulff, West Valley, NY - Team Wulff
Thunderstorm Support Race
Qualifying
Dave Van Duzer took his first ever pole position with a strong 59-lap performance. Dave Hendrickson had been the favorite going in, but struggled in red lane and came up just two track sections short to wind up second. Ryan Hendrickson grabbed third spot, also on 59. Scott Walker took the last transfer spot into the final. It would be his first final round appearance in a Major since April of 2005. George Mest had been expected to challenge for the win based on his performance from last month, but he struggled and missed the cut. Scott Udave took 6th in his first T-Storm race. Joe Saccomanno used an Aurora Super II body on his 7th place entry.
Thunderstorm Qualifying Results
Position| Laps – Driver
1| 59 – Dave Van Duzer
2| 59 – Dave Hendrickson
3| 59 – Ryan Hendrickson
4| 53 – Scott Walker
5| 52 – George Mest
6| 51 – Scott Udave
7| 45 – Joe Saccomanno
Thunderstorm Final
Despite Van Duzer taking pole, Dave Hendrickson was still favored going into the final. At the start, however, it was Walker who took off into the lead. He would enjoy the lead through the first three segments. Entering the final segment Walker lead Van Duzer by two laps, with Dave Hendrickson down one more. Ryan had been fighting his car all the way through and was out of contention. With Walker no in the red gutter lane his lead quickly evaporated. Van Duzer, in the yellow gutter, took over and then tried to withstand the onslaught of Dave Hendrickson’s come-from-behind drive. As time wound down the tension mounted and the lead closed in. At the finish Van Duzer held off Hendrickson by one track section, less than one foot, for the upset victory. It was the closest finish in SCCOTTT Majors history. It was also Van Duzer’s first win in Majors competition.
Thunderstorm Final
Position| Laps – Driver
1| 60 – Dave Van Duzer
2| 60 – Dave Hendrickson
3| 57 – Scott Walker
4| 55 – Ryan Hendrickson
Thunderstorm Overall Finishing Order
Position| Total Laps – Driver - Body
1| 119 – Dave Van Duzer – Shelby Cobra
2| 119 – Dave Hendrickson – Ferrari 512M
3| 110 – Scott Walker – Ferrari 512M
4| 114 – Ryan Hendrickson – Aston Martin AMR-1
5| 52 – George Mest – Ferrari 512M
6| 51 – Scott Udave – Ferrari 512M
7| 45 – Joe Saccomanno – McLaren M12
Spring Is In Feature Event
Qualifying
Ryan Hendrickson took the initial pole with 74 laps. That mark stood until the second group when the legendary Henry Harnish took pole away from him. Harnish’s 75 would be enough to make him the second person on the day to secure their first career pole at SCCOTTT. Ryan’s run would hold up for second. Gary Weber grabbed the third spot. Fourth went to Paul Kniffen. Kevin Hendrickson took a disappointing 5th and Warren Lux took his best ever qualifying run to make the cut in sixth – a dramatic improvement over his 13th place at the March Madness 125. While those six now had spots reserved in the Semis, the rest would have to go into the Last Chance Qualifier…Minus Scott Walker, who despite a strong run was forced to withdraw from the race.
Qualifying Results
Pos.| Laps - Driver
1| 75 – Henry Harnish
2| 74 – Ryan Hendrickson
3| 74 – Gary Weber
4| 73 – Paul Kniffen
5| 69 – Kevin Hendrickson
6| 69 – Warren Lux
7| 68 – Scott Udave
8| 67 – Dave Van Duzer
9| 66 – Mark Webster
10| 66 – Scott Walker
11| 65 – Ernie Langford
12| 61 – George Mest
13| 59 – Tyler Reed
14| 59 – Brian Bright
15| 59 – Joe Sacomanno
16| 58 – Matt Metcalf
17| 57 – Mike Wulff
18| 47 – Alex Carmody
Last Chance Qualifier
Scott Udave was the top qualifier of the LCQ runners and did not disappoint with his 69 lap performance in the LCQ. Tyler Reed finished his run shortly after with 67 laps. Dave Van Duzer was up in the second group and knocked Reed out with his 68 lap run. It would be enough, and Udave and Van Duzer would make the transfers. For Udave it would be his first Semi Final appearance in SCCOTTT since September of ’06 and his first semi appearance in a Super Stock T-Jet race since last year’s Spring Is In. Reed held on for 9th overall. Ernie Langford filled out the top 10. 11th spot went to Matt Metcalf who improved by six laps and five positions from his qualifying run. Mark Webster finished in a disappointing 12th. Webster had not missed the semis in the last three races. George Mest was next up followed by Mike Wulff and Joe Saccomanno, both on the same lap. New Jersey driver Brian Bright did a fine job to get 16th in his first appearance at SCCOTTT. Alex Carmody, the youngest driver in the field grabbed 17th in his second ever T-Jet race.
LCQ Results
Pos.| Laps - Driver
1| 69 – Scott Udave
2| 68 – Dave Van Duzer
3| 67 – Tyler Reed
4| 65 – Ernie Langford
5| 64 – Matt Metcalf
6| 64 – Mark Webster
7| 62 – George Mest
8| 59 – Mike Wulff
9| 59 – Joe Saccomanno
10| 58 – Brian Bright
11| 50 – Alex Carmody
12| 00 – Scott Walker
Semi Final Round
Semi #1
The first semi featured Harnish, Weber, Kevin Hendrickson and Udave. Weber took the lead through the first segment with Harnish close behind. From there he controlled the race despite constant pressure from Harnish. Udave capped his day with a 68-lap race. It would not be enough to make the transfer, but it did translate into a fine 5th place finish overall. Kevin Hendrickson withdrew from the race near the half over frustration with his car’s handling.
Pos.| Laps – Driver
1| 74 – Gary Weber
2| 73 – Henry Harnish
3| 68 – Scott Udave
4| 44 – Kevin Hendrickson
Semi #2
Semi #2 had Ryan Hendrickson, Kniffen, Lux and Van Duzer. Ryan took off at the start and pulled away while Kniffen and Van Duzer battled over second. Ryan stretched his lead in the second segment while Kniffen pulled away from Van Duzer. Ryan led Paul by one lap after segment 3. In the final segment Ryan put the race away and stamped his authority on the field with a stunning 76 lap performance. Kniffen settled for second and a spot in the final. Lux closed in on Van Duzer and the two had a great race that ended in Van Duzer’s favor.
Pos.| Laps - Driver
1| 76 – Ryan Hendrickson
2| 73 – Paul Kniffen
3| 67 – Dave Van Duzer
4| 67 – Warren Lux
SPRING IS IN 125 FINAL
The final would consist of five minute segments and feature defending Spring Is In champion Ryan Hendrickson, Gary Weber, Henry Harnish and 2006 Snowball 500 champion Paul Kniffen. Hendrickson had put up the strongest performance in the semis but the speed advantage and experience made Kniffen the favorite in everyone’s mind despite him gridding 4th.
Kniffen jumped into the lead used his superior horsepower to pull away to a 1/4-lap lead. He handed Hendrickson the lead, however, when he made a mistake and went off-course. Before long he closed in and took the lead back, setting the race’s fastest lap in the process – 8.882, only to go off again. At the end of segment one Hendrickson and Kniffen were on the same lap, followed by Weber and Harnish both one lap down. Early in the second segment a couple of Kniffen errors allowed Hendrickson to close in and put him a lap down. While Kniffen struggled in the gutter Weber closed to within the same lap. When Kniffen suffered oil trouble in the third segment, the race was Ryan’s to win. That also allowed Weber into second and Harnish into third. Hendrickson entered the final segment with a three lap lead over Weber. He cruised to what was without question the biggest race win of his career. Weber held off a late charge from Harnish. It was Weber’s second consecutive second place, and the second consecutive race where the polesitter wound up in third at the finish. Kniffen had to settle for fourth.
1| 125 – Ryan Hendrickson – BRP Ford GT Spena Edition
2| 122 – Gary Weber – BRP Ford GT40
3| 122 – Henry Harnish – Fandango Nissan 350Z
4| 120 – Paul Kniffen – Fandango Nissan 350Z
Hendrickson’s car lacked the speed of Kniffen’s or Harnish’s, but when Kniffen got ahead and pulled away Hendickson never lost his cool. Smooth and controlled he let Kniffen make the mistakes while he nailed the door shut with two consecutive error-free segments to open the race. At the finish, after over ten thousand feet of racing in the final, he had only fallen out of the slot twice on his own. It was a remarkable performance and set a new elapsed time record for the 125-lap distance – 19m37s.
Spring Is In 125 Overall Final Results
Pos.| Total Laps - Driver - Body
1| 275 – Ryan Hendrickson – BRP Ford GT Spena Edition
2| 270 – Gary Weber – BRP Ford GT40
3| 270 – Henry Harnish – Fandango Nissan 350Z
4| 266 – Paul Kniffen – Fandango Nissan 350Z
5| 205 – Scott Udave – BRP Porsche 356
6| 202 – Dave Van Duzer – Fandango Toyota Celica
7| 136 – Warren Lux – Davis Ferrari 430
8| 113 – Kevin Hendrickson – Joe Jet Ford GT41
9| 126 – Tyler Reed – BRP Ford GT40
10| 130 – Ernie Langford – Dunlap Aston Martin Vanquish
11| 122 – Matt Metcalf – BRP Chevy Corvette Stingray
12| 130 – Mark Webster – Fandango Aston Martin DB-7
13| 123 – George Mest – Dunlap Toyota Celica Supra
14| 116 – Mike Wulff – Dunlap Aston Martin Vanquish
15| 118 – Joe Saccomanno – Joe Jet Ferrari 550 Maranello LEL
16| 117 – Brian Bright – Fandango Nissan 350Z
17| 097 – Alex Carmody – Johnny Lightning Pontiac Firebird
18| 066 – Scott Walker – BRP Porsche 356
SCCOTTT's Saturday Night HO Racing Series runs every other Saturday evening with races beginning at 5 PM. Current classes are Super Stock T-Jet and X-Traction. Call or e-mail for rules.
SCCOTTT's Friday Night 1/32 Racing Series runs every Friday evening with races beginning at 7:00 PM. Current classes are World Sportscar Championship, (WSC,) GT, Non-Magnet Open and 1/24 Le Mans. Call or e-mail for rules.
The Slot Car Club Of The Twin Tiers is a non-profit group of enthusiasts dedicated to promoting slot car racing in the Southern Tier of NY and the Northern Tier of PA. Please stop in or check out the club web site.
Slot Car Club Of The Twin Tiers
2117C Grand Central Ave.
Horseheads, NY 14845
Web Site:
http://www.geocities.com/sccottt1/clubmain.html
E-mail:
sccottt1@yahoo.com
Pictures and Race Summary Spreadsheets available upon request. Please send requests to
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Ryan Hendrickson And Dave Van Duzer Pull Off Upset Wins At Spring Is In...
Henry...
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