NWFC at Spokane

[ccoffin]

Link to Spokane Registration:

http://www.motorsportreg.com/events/...9#.VWOqVlnBzRa

Please register early


Spokane Race Preview

Well after a rough start to the season in Oregon we move to what is usually the best attended race of the season in Spokane. This year we are anticipating a 15-20 car field so make sure your car is ready.

Last year’s winner Zac Burke will not be racing this season so that leaves the chance for someone else to step atop the podium. Coming off 2 wins at ORP, Greg Coffin looks to be the favorite going into his home event and with his new Zetec powered 2007 Mygale he could be tough to beat. Last year’s runner up in Spokane Roger Smetaniuk will be returning in his Zetec powered 2004 Mygale so look for him somewhere on the podium. Steve Ross looks to make his first appearance of the season in his new Zetec powered Team HPR 2008 VanDiemen hopefully he has a handle on the new car and can challenge for some race wins. The rest of the HPR crew will be there and after his year off we look to see if Wade Anderson still has what it takes to bring his Pinto powered 2001 VanDiemen back to the podium in Spokane. With his shortened rookie season behind him, Glenn Yuen looks to return to Spokane in his 2000 Pinto powered VanDiemen and continue on with the improvements he made last season. Doug Connon in his 1994 VanDiemen had some close battles with Glenn last year in Spokane and plans to stay ahead of him in again in the inter-team battle.

On the CFC side of things we have last year’s CFC champion Lawrence Hayes in his Argo looking to do battle up front as always. Brad Law coming off a rough opening weekend at ORP and looks to put his mechanical issues behind him and get some full races distances in his 91 Citation. Alan Davis was unable to compete at ORP but he looks to start his season at one of his usual haunts in Spokane. Daryl Harsha showed some new found speed in his 1983 VanDiemen at ORP and hopefully he will continue that charge in Spokane. Some local challengers James Sharp Jr in his Swift DB3 and Dane Babkirk in his 1996 VanDiemen look to make some waves at their home race.

Some potential unknowns for Spokane include some fast people such as James Hepburn who had a rough 2014 season but if he can bring the speed he showed in his Club Ford over to his 1998 Pinto Powered VanDiemen he could be a real threat in Spokane. Gavin Aitken is running a shortened season this year but if he could put in strong showings in Spokane, Mission and the Ridge he could still be a contender for the 2015 title in the Go2Mobi 1998 VanDiemen. Will we see a Fass brother enter into the fray in their 1996 VanDiemen? We anticipated Russ Werner to be at ORP a couple weeks ago but last season’s Ridge race winner was nowhere to be found could he be coming for his first attempt at Spokane in 2015?

More from the BC contingent we have Michael Lensen in his 1997 VanDiemen which he spent the end of last season getting familiar with. Can he make a return to the podium in Spokane in its new configuration? Two new drivers from BC could make an appearance James Nadolny and Keray McEwan have picked up VanDiemen in the offseason and have been spotted getting ready for the season out at Mission Raceway.

Not enough hours in the day kept Reny Follett and Sheldon Lemoine from making it to ORP but both plan on being in Spokane in a couple weeks. Reny will make his NWFC debut in his 1995 VanDiemen while Sheldon will return to Spokane in his 1996 VanDiemen which he grabbed a couple podiums with back in 2013. Another new comer is Pat Wildflower who will be working on getting his full license with us over the weekend in his 1999 Mygale.

As always register early to help get those fence sitters off the fence and into the race.

Possible Winners: Greg Coffin, Roger Smetaniuk, Steve Ross
Podium Contenders: Sheldon Lemoine, Wade Anderson, Gavin Aitken, James Hepburn, Russ Werner, Lawrence Hayes, Michael Lensen

[patman]

Another new comer is Pat Wildflower who will be working on getting his full license with us over the weekend in his 1999 Mygale.

It's actually Wildfire, but thanks for the mention. Looks like I am on track for finishing my license on Saturday and running Group 3 with you guys on Sunday.

Pat

[ccoffin]

It's actually Wildfire, but thanks for the mention. Looks like I am on track for finishing my license on Saturday and running Group 3 with you guys on Sunday.

Pat

I knew I was going to mess that up.

Looking forward to having you there on Sunday.

Just did a rough count and it looks like we will have 17 FC's

[ccoffin]

quali kicks off here in another 30 minutes (probably a little later than that)

follow live timing and scoring at racelt.asuscomm.com (that's right, not RaceMonitor and its free!)

Check out the twitter handle @NW_FC throughout the day for photos and updates.

I will post quali and race results here

[BeerBudgetRacing]

follow live timing and scoring at racelt.asuscomm.com (that's right, not RaceMonitor and its free!)

That's friggin awesome! I like how you can see the position on track....

[ccoffin]

That's friggin awesome! I like how you can see the position on track....

Same. I think it is based on previous lap or best lap as I know only one of the timing strips is connected, but definitely gives a good idea of where the cars are relative to one another.

[ccoffin]

Quali 1 results

P1: coffin 1:26.537
R Smetaniuk 1:26.820
Ross 1:27.4
B Smetaniuk 1:29.229
Werner 1:30.503
Connon 1:30.753
Anderson 1:31.365
Hayes 1:31.603
Davis 1:38.394
Hiliker 2:04 (only one lap showing)

Instant analysis:
Track looks a little slow today. Coffin and Smetaniuk in the Mygale's look to have the field covered and should be close. Ross is in Steve Bamford's old (newest in the field) car and could give them a run for their Money. Elder Smetaniuk has the car that ran a 1:23.9 here last year, so he could also make a push. Werner was on the track for the first time so expect him to get faster. Connon continued his improvement from last year. Anderson is back after a year layoff and could get faster. Hayes and Connon should have a good battle. As will Jay Sharp who missed quali this morning due to his duties as race chair.

Little light on cars as 3 more are showing up throughout the weekend and 2 dropped out within days of the race, but it looks like almost everyone will have someone to race with.

Green flag drops at 1:16 pst

[ccoffin]

Race time. Check out http://racelt.asuscomm.com for live timing

[ccoffin]

@NW_FC: Timing and scoring not picking up coffin but we hear he's in the lead

[ccoffin]

Coffin's timing problem persists. But he is in the lead over Smetaniuk. Barely. Small gap back to Ross.

[ccoffin]

Coffin was .08 away from lap record. And he and Smetaniuk have been nose to tail for 28 min. Smetaniuk finally gets by! With only a lap or two to go.

[ccoffin]

Pass was under yellow. Smetaniuk gave spot back.

[ccoffin]

Coffin wins. Smetaniuk second. Full results later as timing and scoring was hard to get accurate results from during race.

[ccoffin]

Results
1. Coffin 1:25.1xx (hand timed, transponder did not work)
2. R Smetaniuk 1:25.782
3. Anderson 1:27.869
4. B Smetaniuk 1:28.104
5. Connon 1:29.808 (-1 lap)
6. Davis 1:37.152 (-2 laps)

DNF's
7. Ross 1:26.162 (-4 laps)
8. Werner 1:28.247 (-6 laps)
9. Hayes 1:29.994 (-17 laps)

DNS
Jay Sharp

Side note: Pat Wildfire blew an engine in novice qualifying and had to head home for the weekend.

I will get some more details and have a complete write up in the morning. No other dnx's should prohibit drivers from competing the rest of the weekend. And Glenn Yuen will be added to the mix tomorrow.

Also in the late night sprints, Coffin won again. R Smetaniuk dnf'd. Werner second. Connon third. Sharp 4th.

[ccoffin]

Saturday quali:
Coffin steals pole from Smetaniuk on last lap

1. Coffin 1:25.355
2. R Smetaniuk 1:25.538
3. Ross 1:26.902
4. Werner 1:27.065
5. Anderson 1:27.275
6. Connon 1:29.176
7. Hayes 1:31.563
8. Hilliker 1:32.375
9. Yuen 1:33.401


No times
Davis
B Smetaniuk
Sharp

[ccoffin]

Running about 15 minutes behind. Pushes scheduled green flag back to around 12:53-12:55.

Live timing link: http://racelt.asuscomm.com

My take: Coffin qualified on tires with about 8 heat cycles on them and is racing on tires with one previous session. I think Werner ends up on the podium after taking yesterday to learn the track, but 3,4,5 should be tight. Hiliker, Hayes, yuen, and connon are also going to be close. Should be a fun one

[ccoffin]

Smetaniuk wins! Coffin second. Ross third. Werner 4th. Anderson 5th. Hayes 6th. Connon 7th. Sharp 8th. Hilliker 9th. B Smetaniuk and yuen dnf

Roger got ahead and got through traffic better. Werner was on Ross all race long but couldn't get by.

Coffins nwfc win streak ends at 3. Tied for longest win streak.

[ccoffin]

1. Coffin
2. Ross
3. Smetaniuk
4.connon
5. B Smetaniuk
6. Follet
7. Hayes
8. Morton
9. Yuen
10 Anderson

No times from hilliker or Werner

Morton is in sharps swift.

Race start is 11:45 am pst

[ccoffin]

Race results

1.coffin
2. Werner
3. B Smetaniuk
4. Hayes
5. Connon
6. Morton

DNF's
Ross
R Smetaniuk
Yuen
Anderson
Follet

Ross and Smetaniuk hit in turn one or two on lap eight while right behind coffin who led from flag to flag.

[RSS]

Some Photos From the Weekend

For the Facebook People
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...4526990&type=3

For the non Facebook people
https://drive.google.com/folderview?...Ek&usp=sharing

[RSS]

Sunday Race 3 Video

https://youtu.be/6zezGQCdo7o

[drdestructo]

In spite of starting race 3 from the back after not qualifying, that was one of the best racing weekends I can remember! Thanks NWFC!

Congrats Greg!

Russ Werner

[RSS]

Russ it was good meeting you over the weekend. You might want to reconsider the trip up to Mission in a couple weeks. I went over the points from Spokane and you are only a half point out of second! (Maybe giving extra bonus points for the older cars is going to bite me in the end) You hit Mission and the Ridge and you should be right in it for the Championship at the end.

Roger

[RSS]

Race 1 Video

Closest race of the weekend
https://youtu.be/UcfgUdDjC-Y

[gcoffin]

20 laps nose to tail

[ccoffin]

RACE REPORT NORTHWEST FC SPOKANE 2015
Championship Races 3, 4 and 5 are now in the books. The early season leader is Greg Coffin (Mygale SJ07) followed by Roger Smetaniuk (Mygale SJ04), and Russ Werner’s very quick RF95 Van Diemen. Coffin enjoyed home court advantage at ORP and Spokane with 5 poles and 5 fastest laps, but his advantage will evaporate as the series travels to Mission, Castrol and the final at The Ridge. It is still anyone’s game.

Spokane Race 1

Qualifying Friday saw a front row lock out by Coffin and Smetaniuk’s Mygales. Steven Ross (DP08) and Brian Smetaniuk (RF01) completed the second row followed by Russ Werner (RF95), Doug Connon (RF94), Wade Anderson (RF01), Lawrence Hayes (Argo JM17) and Alan Davis (Crossle 68 F). Reny Follet (RF95), Pat Wildflower (Mygale99) and Micheal Hilliker (RF96) were required to complete observation races prior to joining the fray, and race chairman Jay Sharp (Swift DB-3) was otherwise occupied.
Coffin got the hole shot at the start for a narrow lead. Smetaniuk tucked in behind and took the lead into turn one followed by Coffin and Ross. By turn 2 the Mygales were side by side. Déjà vu all over again as this was how they drove the last lap of 2014. The Duo proceeded in formation until Coffin completed an outside pass exiting turn four.


Lap four saw the Mygales and Ross’s Van Dieman gap the field in a three way race for the lead. Smetaniuk hit the brakes late into turn 9, completed a near perfect apex and exit, caught the draft and blew by Coffin into the lead before turn 1. Coffin’s 1000 plus laps at Spokane paid dividends as he darted to the right into turn 4 and retook the lead.
The two Mygales slowly pulled away from Ross’s Van Dieman, who was black flagged for noise on lap 17. The same lap that Brian Smetaniuk’s RF01 would lose its nose and wing after introducing them to, and spinning, Russ Werner in turn 7.

For 13 laps Smetaniuk fought off every attempt Coffin made to park him behind traffic. On lap 18 karma awarded Smetaniuk a perfect pick by a club ford and he took the lead. Coffin managed to pull beside the SJ04 in turn 4 on lap 19, but was unable to make the pass. Lap 20 started with the LL( last lap) sign. Smetaniuk mistook it for double hockey sticks. Coffin got a slightly better exit out of turn nine, caught the draft and pass for the lead before turn one. He proceeded to drive 10 tidy turns to take the checkered flag by less than a half car length. Wade Anderson rounded out the podium taking third with a fine drive from his seventh grid spot, followed by Brian Smetaniuk, Connon, Davis, Ross and Werner. Hayes DNFed (brakes).


Race Two
Race two saw another front row lock out by the blue Mygales followed by Ross and Werner on the second row, Anderson, Connon, Hayes, Glenn Yuen (RF00), Sharp (Swift DB3), new comer Micheal Hilliker and Brian Smetaniuk rounding out the field. Pat wildflower and Alan Davis experienced motor failures before the start of the race.


The race started much as race one with Coffin and Smetaniuk swapping the lead in the early laps dogged by Ross who slowly dropped back and found himself under attack by Werner’s well driven RF95. Smetaniuk pull out a lead over Coffin on lap 13 and simply drove away. Coffin’s hope that the SJ04 would hit traffic never materialized. When asked why he lost Coffin replied “I was out driven, simple as that”. A well deserved win. Ross came in third followed by Werner, Anderson, Hayes, Connon, Sharp, and Hilliker. Brian Smetaniuk and Yuen DNFed.

Werner became the second pinto FC to turn a 26 (1:26.609), less than a second behind Coffins fast lap of 1:25.678.

Race 3
Going into Race three the two Mygale drivers each had 18.5 points for the weekend.
Qualifying was a surprise. Coffin experienced fuel starvation on his only clean lap, but took pole. Smetaniuk came in early and Ross captured outside pole. Doug Connon had a fine qualifying effort taking 4th followed by Brian Smetaniuk, new comer Reny Follet in his beautiful RF95, Hayes, Scott Morton (DB3), Yuen, Anderson and Werner who missed qualifying.

At the start Ross attempted to force the pace, but pole sitter Coffin retaliated by slowing to a crawl. The moment Ross lifted Coffin hit the throttle and was rewarded with a green flag. Age and treachery (Coffin) vs age and treachery (Ross) controlled by age and treachery (the starter).
Turn one saw Coffin followed by Smetaniuk and Ross. Ross and Smetaniuk drove side by side through turn two with Ross coming out ahead. The three then began to pull away, each demonstrating where they were faster or slower than the other. Coffin consistently pulled a gap out of seven and drove nine well enough to break the draft on the long straight. He slowly pulled away as the Smetanuik vs Ross battle raged. Werner was carving through the field from last to fifth by lap seven.

On lap 8 Smetaniuk got a run on Ross and caught the draft. The Mygale pulled out to pass drivers right at plus 140 mph as the two headed into turn one. The nose of the SJ04 was midway up the side of the Van Dieman when the cars came together. Coffin checked his mirrors to see spinning cars, flying debris and a huge dust cloud. Both drivers, luckily, walked away unhurt.

Coffin took the checkered. Werner bested Brian Smetaniuk who completed the podium in third. Hayes finished fourth followed by Connon, Morton and Anderson, whose nose was squashed by a Formula Mazda. Yuen, Follet (shift linkage), Ross and Smetaniuk DNFed.
Next stop Mission.

[HayesCages]

"...Hayes DNFed (brakes)."

More like too late braking, followed by a short but bumpy infield trip up near the top of the berm mid-turn 8. Nose box took the brunt of the hit so we decided it was a good time to complete the lap slowly, return to the pits for repairs. We were out for the next session though so nothing major occurred.

Overall a great weekend!

[gcoffin]

Yea brakes

[drdestructo]

Anyone have any speed data at the end of the straight? I'm old school with a tach and a couple of analog engine gauges! My gear chart shows 141 with my setup in a draft.

Also wondering speeds into turn 4.

Russ

[gcoffin]

141/142 is about right, turn one actually drags the revs down, surprisingly going into 4 varies from 134 upto 138 depending on air density with the Pinto

[RSS]

My data shows a little slower into four only about 130mph.

[gcoffin]

Yea mine is from calculated data from the 001 car last year

[RSS]

and finally Saturday's Race from Spokane

https://youtu.be/iJY8z_qUUEo