For further information contact the Slot Car Club Of The Twin Tiers at: sccottt1@yahoo.com or (607) 796-4129.
7/29/07
The FSR/KRD team of Frank Spena Jr. and Dave Hendrickson teamed up to dominate Round 2 of the SRO Can-Am Championship, the Horseheads Sports Car Classic. The win, combined with Roar’s 5th place, put FSR/KRD in the Canadian-American Challenge points lead. The duo lead from start to finish. American teams took the top four spots in a near reversal of Round 1 where Canadian teams took the top three spots. 9 teams from NY, PA and Ontario, Canada competed. The race was held on the Carrera road course at the Slot Car Club of the Twin Tiers, (SCCOTTT,) in Horseheads, NY. Round 3 will see the series returning to Canada on September 22.
SRO Can-Am Round 2 - the Horseheads Sports Car Classic Official Entry List
ACE Hobby - Niagara Falls, NY, USA
Car: Spirit Dallara LMP
Drivers:
Dan O'Grady
Dom Fragomeni
Vincent Fragomeni
KAOS - Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA
Car: MRRC Toyota GT-1
Drivers:
Chuck "The Force" Perez Jr.
Tom "The Assassin" Gunshannon
Crash'N'Burn Raceway - Springville, NY, USA
Car: Scalextric Cadillac LMP
Drivers:
George Mest
Mike Wulff
FordCal - Ontario, Canada
Car: MRRC Toyota GT-1
Drivers:
Al Ford
Ron Bee
Art Tschinkel
Frank Spena Racing / KRD Racing - Horseheads, NY, USA
Car: NSR Mosler MT900R
Drivers:
Frank "Chub" Spena Jr.
Dave Hendrickson
Roar Racing - Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Car: NSR Mosler MT900R
Drivers:
Ron Bee
Art Tschinkel
Thundercross - Breesport, NY, USA
Car: Slot.It Nissan R390
Drivers:
Ryan Hendrickson
Dave VanDuzer
Tyler Reed
VanDuzer Hobbies - Horseheads & Corning, NY, USA
Car: Ninco Mosler MT900R
Drivers:
Matt Metcalf
Brian Metcalf
WBS Racing - Horseheads, NY, USA
Car: Slot.It Lancia LC-2
Drivers:
Gary Weber
Kevin Hendrickson
QUALIFYING
Qualifying was done single-car style with each team getting 15 seconds to put in the best possible lap. Crash’N’Burn Raceway was first up for qualifying. This was the team’s first time competing in this class of racing and their first time competing on the Carrera road course at SCCOTTT. Lead driver George Mest put up 4.99 seconds as his best to take the provisional pole. FSR/KRD was up next. Spena took to the track and snatched pole away with a 4.19 second lap. It would be good enough to stand for the top spot. Thundercross grabbed 2nd spot in their series debut. WBS was right behind them in 3rd. KAOS grabbed 4th, even though driver Chuck Perez felt he had left something on the table. Van Duzer Hobbies’ Matt Metcalf came up just .03 short of KAOS for 5th spot. 6th went to Roar Racing, the winners in Round 1, and the top Canadian team in qualifying. Crash’N’Burn’s time stood up for 7th. FordCal struggled for speed all weekend and it showed with 8th spot. Ace Hobby’s Dominic Fragomeni struggled with the “do-or-die” 15-second qualifying format and failed to get in a clean lap, winding up 9th.
Qualifying Results
Position| Time - Team
1| 4.1998 – Frank Spena Racing/KRD Racing
2| 4.3193 – Thundercross
3| 4.3719 – WBS Racing
4| 4.5107 – KAOS
5| 4.5405 – VanDuzer Hobbies
6| 4.6223 – Roar Racing
7| 4.9924 – Crash’N’Burn Raceway
8| 5.4468 – FordCal
9| 6.1964 – Ace Hobby
The race would consist of 12 ten-minute segments for each team, a total of 2 hours each.
With the option of lane choice FSR/KRD chose to start the race in the fastest lane. Spena opened the race for the team and took the lead right off the start. From there he simply pulled away. The lead was 15 laps after the first 10-minute segment. Spena broke the fastest race lap record along the way – 4.168. That second place position belonged WBS, but they were only two laps up on Thundercross. From there the waters muddied as 9 teams rotated through the 4 lanes. At one-third distance each of the teams had been through all four lanes for the first time and the picture was a little clearer. It was no surprise to find FSR/KRD on top after 40 minutes. WBS trailed by 11on the back of lead driver Gary Weber and enjoyed a 16-lap advantage over the Thundercross lead by Ryan Hendrickson, Tyler Reed and Dave VanDuzer. The fight for 4th was tight. Roar drivers Ron Bee and Art Tschinkel were surprised to find themselves struggling for grip and 58 laps out of first place. KAOS was the other half of the 4th place battle, Tom Gunshannon and Chuck Perez just three laps behind Roar. VanDuzer Hobbies was running 6th. The father-son duo of Brian and Matt Metcalf were 24 laps down from KAOS and 9 laps up on FordCal. Al Ford was getting help from his fellow Canadian drivers but struggling with setup. Even so FordCal enjoyed a 6-lap edge over Ace Hobby. The Spirit Dallaras are very competitive in the weekly SCCOTTT points series, but Ace drivers Dan O'Grady, Dom Fragomeni and his son Vincent, (the races youngest entrant,) could not find their car's sweet spot. Crash’N’Burn was struggling with the only Scalextric car in the field and George Mest and Mike Wulff found themselves a distant 9th.
At two-thirds distance FSR/KRD was the only team over 1000 laps and was now up by a solid 39 laps. Only mechanical trouble could stop them now. WBS and Thundercross were the only teams in the 900 lap bracket. Kevin Hendrickson had managed to increase WBS lead over Thundercross to a reasonably comfortable 13 laps. The battle for 4th was still the hottest in the race even though Roar had stretched the lead out to 9 over KAOS. VanDuzer Hobbies was now 39 laps behind KAOS, but safely in 6th with 18 laps in hand over FordCal. Ace really struggled in the middle third of the race, falling to 36 laps behind FordCal. Crash’N’Burn improved in the middle third and closed on Ace. They made up 15 laps to be within 21 of their Western NY rival.
The final third of the race saw an exciting battle to the finish, but that excitement was not for the win. Spena and Hendrickson continued to pour it on as the track came to their setup even more. Spena’s total of 137 in blue was the most of any segment in the race and Hendrickson finished out the race with strong run in red. The winning margin was 57 laps. The win evened the series at one apiece for American and Canadian teams. WBS came home safely in 2nd, 18 laps ahead of Thundercross. 2nd position was enough to move WBS into third in the series points standings, having come into the race in 6th. Thundercross looked strong in their series debut on their home track.
The exciting finish came from the battle for fourth. Championship-leading Roar entered the final third of the race with a 9-lap edge over KAOS. The Wilkes-Barre, PA team had been working race strategy throughout the event, however, and now had lead driver Chuck Perez in to finish the last three segments. The team made a risky call and lost time with a tire change, but Perez put the fresh rubber to good use. He closed in and then went by the Roar team to take 4th place away. The finish not only meant a fine 4th for the KAOS team and a disappointing 5th for Roar, but it also meant that FSR/KRD was now in the points lead and Roar was back to 2nd. Roar’s day ended in 5th after struggling with traction and
braid 
problems throughout the event.
VanDuzer Hobbies held on for 6th thanks to some impressive driving by Matt Metcalf and his dad Brian, who had never driven the car before the race and had not raced at all in nearly a year. 7th went to FordCal, followed by Ace and Crash’N’Burn. All three teams struggled with the tricky SCOTTT circuit.
The Horseheads Sports Car Classic Final Results
Pos.| Laps - Team
1| 1527 – Frank Spena Racing / KRD Racing
2| 1470 – WBS Racing
3| 1452 – Thundercross
4| 1340 – KAOS
5| 1319 – ROAR
6| 1265 – VanDuzer Hobbies
7| 1239 – FordCal
8| 1195 – Ace Hobby
9| 1159 – Crash’N’Burn Raceway
The SRO Can-Am Challenge is now at the halfway point. FSR/KRD moved from 4th to 1st in the points with the win, while Roar’s 5th dropped them from the points lead to 2nd. Now the Can-Am teams head back to Canada on September 22. FSR/KRD showed championship form on their home track…Have the T-Jet racers solved the 1/32 puzzle or will ROAR dominate once again back on home turf? The championship battle seems to be down to three teams, but any of the others could play spoiler.
SRO Can-Am Challenge Points Standings (After Round 2 of 4)
Pos.| Points | Wins - Team
1| 15 | 1 – Frank Spena Racing / KRD Racing - USA
2| 14 | 1 – Roar Racing - Canada
3| 11 | 0 – WBS Racing - USA
4| 08 | 0 – SlotCarCircuit.com - Canada
4| 08 | 0 – FordCal - Canada
6| 06 | 0 – Thundercross - USA
7| 05 | 0 – Ace Hobby - USA
7| 05 | 0 – KAOS - USA
9| 03 | 0 – VanDuzer Hobbies - USA
10| 2 | 0 – Cheetah Racing - Canada
11| 0 | 0 – Crash’N’Burn Raceway - USA
The Slot Car Club of the Twin Tiers would like to give special recognition to Mrs. Fragomeni and Tom Gunshannon Jr. who both marshalled a large portion of the event despite not racing.
A brand new Scalextric Ferrari P4 was donated by VanDuzer Hobbies for raffle. Kevin Hendrickson of WBS Racing won the drawing.
SCCOTTT's Wednesday Night HO Racing Series runs every Wednesday evening with races beginning at 7 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 Excel spreadsheet showing segment-by-segment results available upon request. E-mail:
fspenajr@juno.com
Race Results: Can-Am Challenge Round 2 - The Horseheads Sports Car Classic
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