THE 2010 HOOSIER TIRE FORMULA FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP held rounds 3 & 4 at Nelson Ledges in Warren, Ohio. Round 3 was held on Saturday, June 26th and Round 4 on Sunday the 27th. This is the 8th continuous season of a US Formula First racing series.
Nelson Ledges has always brought out a strong number of Formula First competitors. A number of new drivers and cars showed up for the event ready to do battle. We were pleased to have a very special guest driver with us, 7 time SCCA National Champion Dave Weitzenhof came out to give Formula First a try. Friday’s test session was attended by Carl Middelegge, Bob Stack, George Podgorski, Bill Bonow, Jason Steeb and Dave Weitzenhof.
The official line up for rounds 3 & 4:
# 2 Jim Nash - Mission MR-09 - Mission Race Cars - Bloomington, MN
# 5 Doug Seim - Mysterian M5.1 - AutoWerks/P&NP - Okeana, OH
# 6 Reece Everhard - Jacer - Rochester, MI
# 9 Bill Bonow - Campbell Evolution - Plainfield, IL
# 11 Aaron Deer – Campbell Evolution – RaceCarSupply.com – Elgin, IL
# 13 Robert Stack – Adams Aero – Hartland, WI
# 16 George Podgorski – RGU BRD – Glastonbury, CT
# 19 Jason Steeb – Lynx B – Novi, MI
# 21 Randy Shinn – Mysterian M2 – Gibsonburg, OH
# 26 Carl Middelegge - Campbell Evolution - TTS/Orbitalum - Lake Forest, IL
# 37 Robert Clark – Campbell Evolution – Rochester, MI
# 41 Greg Schings - Campbell Evolution – SRacing.com – Georgetown, KY
# 69 Dave Weitzenhof – Campbell Evolution – Nelson Ledges - Bath, OH
Saturday
Q 3 Notes:
We were fortunate enough to get our own race group for the weekend. The cars to the track at 10 am and straight away it was clear that Seim would be the man to beat. He had set the pace with a 1:12.970, almost a full second over Middelegge. Everard had some trouble with an oil line that would take his Jacer out of contention for the afternoon race.
Q 3 Results:
Seim 1:12.970
Middelegge 1:13.758
Steeb 1:14.024
Schings 1:14.258
Bonow 1:14.864
Nash 1:15.228
Weitzenhof 1:15.544
Deer 1:18.323
Podgorski 1:21.185
Everhard 1:21.503
Shinn 1:21.912
Stack 1:23.814
Clark 1:45.214
Round # 3 Race Notes:
Everard would start round 3 in the # 25 SRacing Campbell Evolution as his Jacer was side lined for the day. Round 3 started very well and it looked like 5 cars would be in the hunt. Seim, Middelegge, Steeb, Schings and Bonow. Steeb went off course in the last turn on lap one, dropping him out of the lead pack. Middelegge developed an ignition miss fire on lap 3 and fell back. Schings pulled in on lap 5 with rear suspension issues, leaving Seim and Bonow to battle for the point. Seim was never challenged and at the checkered flag, it was Seim by 4.4 seconds over Bonow.
Round # 3 Race Results:
Seim 1:13.071
Bonow 1:12.864** Fast lap
Steeb 1:15.155
Weitzenhof 1:15.597
Everard 1:15.420
Nash 1:14.806
Clark 1:13.421
Deer 1:18.591
Shinn 1:22:.166
Middelegge 1:13.456
Podgorski 1:14.461
Stack 1:24.321
Schings 1:14.869
Sunday
Q 4 Notes:
It had rained overnight, so the morning humidity was strong. Coupled with the temperature, it was going to feel warm for today’s qualifying and race. Reese Everard was back in his Jacer after repairs were completed. Seim was hooked up and flying. He qualified a full 1.2 seconds ahead of Clark. However 2nd thru 6th was separated by just .26 seconds. Middelegge was still having electrical issues qualifying 11th.
Q 4 Results:
Seim 1:12.701
Clark 1:13.967
Steeb 1:14.020
Schings 1:14.030
Podgorski 1:14.212
Bonow 1:14.227
Nash 1:15.240
Weitzenhof 1:16.099
Everard 1:16.589
Deer 1:17.045
Middelegge 1:21.891
Stack 1:22.832
Shinn 1:22.996
Round # 4 Race Notes:
At the green, Clark missed a shift and he dropped from 2nd to 6th by turn 1. Seim pulled out a solid lead in the first few laps. The fight for 2nd through 6th was Podgorski, Steeb, Bonow, Schings and Clark. Schings pulled off on lap 5 with handling issues. Middelegge had cured his electrical issues and had worked his way to the tail end of the 5 car train. On lap 12, Podgorski lost an oil hose and retired. Seim had built up an 8 second lead over the second group now consisting of Steeb, Bonow, Middelegge and Clark. On the last lap, Steeb attempted to pass Bonow in T11 for 2nd but spun in the process. At the flag, it was a dominant Seim taking the checker followed by Bonow and Middelegge.
Round # 4 Race Results:
Seim 1:13.804 ** Fast Lap
Bonow 1:14.169
Middelegge 1:13.996
Clark 1:14.750
Weitzenhof 1:15.979
Everard 1:15.966
Steeb 1:14.218
Deer 1:18.348
Nash 1:16.228
Stack 1:23.973
Shinn 1:23.675
Podgorski 1:14.410
Schings 1:15.262
THE 2010 HOOSIER TIRE FORMULA FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP
----------3rd Place Jason Steeb------1st Place Doug Seim-----2nd Place Bill Bonow
Round # 3 Nelson Ledges Podium – June 26, 2010
-------3rd Place Carl Middelegge------ 1st Place Doug Seim--------2nd Place Bill Bonow
Round # 4 Nelson Ledges Podium – June 27, 2010
Next: Formula First Returns to Road America
Our next event will be Rounds 5 & 6 at Road America on July 24th & 25th hosted by the Milwaukee Region of the Sports Car Club of America. The event looks to bring out another large and competitive group of Formula First cars to do battle on the historic 4-mile circuit.