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In 2000, we won
3 championships in the Semi-Pro class!!! The UAP/NAPA Legends Alberta
championship! The Mac's / Race City Calgary track championship! And
the Wetaskiwin track championship! Here are the year's
details. Also, check out the article about
Brent & the #3 Mac's car in the Calgary Herald.
On this page:
How Races Were Run in 2000
Main Event Confusion
Sep.
30, Calgary
Sep.
9, Calgary
Aug.
26, Medicine Hat
Aug.
19, Calgary
Aug.
12, Wetaskiwin
July
22, Calgary
July
8, Calgary
June
24, Wetaskiwin
June
17, Calgary
June
14, Calgary
June 10, Medicine Hat
May 27, Wetaskiwin
May 20, Calgary
May 13, Calgary
Prior to Heat 1, each
driver Qualifies. We get the track to
ourselves for 2 laps, and the best time of the 2 is our qualifying time. Heat
1 starting order is based on qualifying times, fastest to
slowest. Heat races are usually between 10 and 15 laps long. Heat
2 starting order is an 80% inversion of Heat 1 starting order.
This means that the fastest 80% of the drivers (based on qualifying times) are
lined up from slowest to fastest. The slowest 20% start at the back again
in Heat 2. The starting order for the Main Event
is based on the combined FINISH positions for each driver across Heats 1 and
2. The best Heat Race performer starts at the front. (The Pro
drivers get an extra complication here - they subsequently invert the top 4 to 6
cars).
Pro's and Semi-Pro's
have separate races for Heat 1 and Heat
2. However, all cars are on the track together for the Main Event!
There are 2 races going on at the same time! At the start of the Main
Event, all of the Pro's are lined up ahead
of all of the Semi-Pro's. By the end
of the Main, the Pro's and Semi-Pro's are likely intermixed. The top few
cars across the finish line are most likely Pro's (they are better drivers +
they get an advantage at the start). It may not be obvious to the crowd
who the top Semi-Pro's are, unless the announcer is keeping everyone well
informed.
Brent
was a Semi-Pro driver in 2000. All information below is for the Semi-Pro
driver class.
10 points (show-up
points only). Brent has won the Semi-Pro championships for Alberta and for
Calgary!!!
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
DNQ |
Did
Not Qualify. We broke in practice earlier in the day. The
#77 car blew his engine in front of us, and we spun out in the oil that
he dumped. Brent didn't push the clutch in soon enough, so when
the car was traveling backwards, the starter broke, as did the
alternator drive chain inside the engine (motorcycle engine components
weren't designed to turn backwards!). The engine has to be
disassembled to repair it. :-( |
| Heat
1 |
DNS |
|
Did
not start. |
| Heat
2 |
DNS |
|
|
| Main
Event |
DNS |
|
|
to Top
88 points (24 heat 1
+ 22 heat 2 + 32 main + 10 show-up). Brent remains in 2nd place in "raw"
Semi-Pro points, but now CAN NOT be beaten in the "3 dropped" races
version of the points.
(At year-end, the winner is chosen based on 3 "dropped" races).
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
2nd |
19.70
seconds. |
| Heat
1 |
2nd |
2nd |
More
side-by-side racing with the 00 car of Scott Riddell, with the #3 car in
the outside groove. At one point, we were probably past him far
enough to come down, but wanting to be safe, not sorry, we stayed in the
outside groove a bit longer. Mistake! |
| Heat
2 |
14th |
4th |
Started
in last spot. Managed to get past a few cars on the outside during
the first few laps. Luckily, the cars that caused a HUGE WRECK at
the midpoint of the race had just recently been passed, so we didn't get
caught up in it. 6 Legends racecars were hauled off the
track! After the lengthy delay for cleanup, we fought our way
closer to the front. During some dangerous jockeying between 3
cars for 2nd place, we got on the brakes hard and ended up in
4th. |
| Main
Event *** |
2nd |
10th |
Absolutely
dead LAST. The first 7 laps were very tense because the #3 racecar
was WAY loose. As we found out later, it was because oil from the
engine was misting onto the track and the rear tires. The engine
gave way on approx. lap 8, when valves met pistons. It'll be fixed
for next race. :-( |
to Top
110 points (25 heat 1
+ 25 heat 2 + 50 main + 10 show-up). Brent has moved up to 2nd place in "raw"
Semi-Pro points, and has increased his lead in the "3 dropped" races
version of the points.
(At year-end, the winner is chosen based on 3 "dropped" races).
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
17.76
seconds. Thanks to the crew (Chris Huntley, Brian Wilkey, and
Carmen Hackl), and help from Les Winterhalt of the #27 crew, we were
able to fix the ignition problems experienced in practice. |
| Heat
1 |
1st |
1st |
Started
on the pole. Held it to the end. |
| Heat
2 |
7th |
1st |
Started
on the inside of row 4. We just kept to the inside groove the
entire race. Everyone seemed to be "pushing" (understeer)
and tended to slide out in the corners. The #3 racecar was really hooked
up, so we could steer under anyone that slid up out of
position. After doing that a few times, we were in the lead!. |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
1st |
As
in Heat 2, having a racecar that was really hooked up was a big
advantage, as was starting on the inside groove (row 4, behind all of
the Pro's). Once again, we just stayed to the inside groove,
passing on the inside whenever an opportunity allowed. The
pressure was heavy from the #9 Semi-Pro car, and after passing the #21
Pro it was really heavy. We finished 3rd overall, 1st
Semi-Pro. A hat trick tonight !!! AND... no racing
damage :-) |
to Top
108 points (23 heat 1
+ 25 heat 2 + 50 main + 10 show-up). While still 3rd in "raw"
Semi-Pro points, Brent has increased his lead in the "3 dropped" races
version of the points.
(At year-end, the winner is chosen based on 3 "dropped" races). Complete
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
2nd |
19.79
seconds. Qualifying early was a definite disadvantage, as wind was
blowing dirt across the track, affecting traction. Those that
qualified later had the best lap times. |
| Heat
1 |
2nd |
3rd |
Started
on the outside pole position. We really messed up the start,
giving no challenge to the #H20 car in the pole position, and quickly
falling back to 3rd position. Made repeated attempts to pass for
2nd, but we were very loose, and the #1 car was very wide. |
| Heat
2 |
12th |
1st |
Wow!
What a race! Approx. 8 of the 12 laps were run in a shuffling
clump of cars 3 wide! Determination and a bit of luck got us
through the middle of the clump, and a few more passes gave us the lead
position. |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
1st |
A
50 lap race! Everyone was a bit unsure if we'd have enough fuel,
especially with the 2 lengthy yellow-flag events, but we all made it
(some with 1/4" of fuel to spare!). We got past one of the
Pro's fairly soon in the race, then another, but later lost a position
on an early reaction to a late yellow flag at approx. lap 25. An
electrical short was causing some engine misfiring, but not bad enough
to seriously impact our lap times, so we were able to maintain our lead
Semi-Pro position throughout the race. We won the Mac's
Firecracker 50 $500 prize for 1st place
Semi-Pro! And..... no damage! |
to Top
108 points (25 heat 1
+ 23 heat 2 + 50 main + 10 show-up).
Brent has now dropped to 3rd place Semi-Pro in the "raw score" point
standings, because he did not attend the Swift Current race. However, when
viewing points with the 3 lowest races excluded, Brent continues to lead.
(At year-end, the winner is chosen based on 3 "dropped" races).
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
14.61
seconds. Not only was this the best time of the Semi-Pro drivers,
there was only one Pro with a better time (14.54 by Craig Ball). |
| Heat
1 |
1st |
1st |
Started
on the pole. Never looked back. |
| Heat
2 |
7th |
3rd |
Lots
of struggling to gain positions. Most passes were on the
inside. Formidable opposition from the #42 and #00 cars, but we
managed to get inside of them. Worked on the #66 car in an attempt
to take 2nd, but couldn't quite make it. |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
1st |
Pretty
much a follow-the-leader race. Pro driver #77 Allan Lillies was successful in
keeping us behind him for the entire race, despite repeated attempts to
pass. Our first win in Wetaskiwin !!! |
to Top
110 points (25 heat 1
+ 25 heat 2 + 50 main + 10 show-up). A perfect night !!!
Brent continues to lead the race for the Semi-Pro championship. He now has
947 points, 47 points ahead of #00 Scott Riddell in 2nd place!
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
19.47
seconds. |
| Heat
1 |
1st |
1st |
Started
on the pole. Never looked back. |
| Heat
2 |
12th |
1st |
We
made it from 12th to first position by approx. lap 5. Soon after,
someone dumped oil on the track (compliments of their oil cooler).
We drove through the corner 3+4 oil slick for 3 laps before a car spun
in the oil and the yellow flag was thrown. Scary! On the
restart, the 2nd place car jumped the start and was fully ahead of us by
the start-finish line. The flagman let it go, but we were able to
pass him within 2 laps anyway, and finished 1st! |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
1st |
A
40 lap main event... Started
as the "pole" Semi-Pro driver (inside row 4, behind 6 Pro
drivers). Passed a car in the first few laps. Lap traffic
helped us get past #21 at approx. lap 15. However, lap traffic
helped him get it back before lap 30. That's how it
finished. Another 1st place trophy! |
to Top
88 points (25 heat 1
+ 25 heat 2 + 28 main + 10 show-up)
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
19.51
seconds. |
| Heat
1 |
1st |
1st |
Started
on the pole. Never looked back. |
| Heat
2 |
10th |
1st |
We
made it up to first position by approx. lap 5. Held it to the end. |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
12th |
Started
as the "pole" Semi-Pro driver (inside row 4, behind 6 Pro
drivers). Got past one of the Pros in the first couple of
laps. Then we broke an axle and had to come off !!! Just
plain old bad luck. Could have been worse though - we could have
wrecked too! :-( |
to Top
107 points (24 heat 1
+ 25 heat 2 + 48 main + 10 show-up)
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
3rd |
14.92
seconds. |
| Heat
1 |
3rd |
2nd |
Started
on the inside of row 2. Was able to stay behind the pole car to
get second place early in the race. Follow-the-leader to the end. |
| Heat
2 |
4th |
1st |
Persisted
on the outside groove (which is tough in Wetaskiwin), and made it to the
front on lap 4. Was able to stretch out a lead until an accident
brought out the yellow flag near the end of the race. All cars
bunched up again for the restart and we held on until the checkered
flag! |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
2nd |
Started
on the Semi-Pro pole position, which unfortunately was on the OUTSIDE of
row 4 (remember: in the Main Event the Semi-Pro's start behind the
Pro's). Was unable to hold the position on the
outside during the first few laps. There was a bit of switcharoo
between the top 3 Semi-Pro's throughout the race, and we finished it off
in 2nd place! No damage :-) |
to Top
109 points (25 heat 1
+ 24 heat 2 + 50 main + 10 show-up)
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
19.36
seconds. A new lap record for the Semi-Pro's. Just .04 seconds off the Legends track record. A
few minutes later, my Mac's Motorsports teammate, Jamie Beatson in the
#27 car, changed the track record to 19.23! |
| Heat
1 |
1st |
1st |
Started
on the pole. Never looked back. |
| Heat
2 |
12th |
2nd |
Started
near the back. For a number of laps, we were unable to get past a
large clump of cars that were busy passing each other. Finally we
found a way through, and started the fight toward the front. We
made it to 2nd place just a few feet before the checkered flag! |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
1st |
Started
as the lead Semi-Pro. Ran the race with a very loose car but
maintained our lead, and even got past a few of the Pro drivers.
An excellent night !!! |
First place trophy!
to Top
107 points
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
Based
on point standings. Race City didn't have enough time in the
schedule for all the classes to run qualifying laps, so they asked us to
do our lineups based on points. |
| Heat
1 |
1st |
2nd |
Started
on the pole. Got jumped a bit on the start and was 2nd going into
the 1st corner. Fought to get around the #00 car the entire race,
but just couldn't do it. |
| Heat
2 |
8th |
1st |
Suspension
changes between heats paid off! We worked our way to the front
fairly quickly and stayed there to the end! |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
2nd |
Lost
the position to the #00 car when our outside groove got held up by a
slower car. Light drizzle for the last half of the race made it
difficult to drive anywhere but the main groove, and therefore difficult
to pass. It was a solid 2nd place finish though! We managed
to get past a couple of the Pro's, who created a buffer between us and
the 3rd place Semi-Pro. |
to Top
105 points
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
17.83
seconds. |
| Heat
1 |
1st |
1st |
Started
on the pole. Never looked back. |
| Heat
2 |
10th |
2nd |
Started
dead last and made it past nearly everyone! |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
3rd |
Another
one that didn't quite happen. We led the Semi-Pros for almost the
entire race, but a bad driving decision and/or bad luck passing lap
traffic allowed a Pro driver and the #68 car to get past me on the
inside. For the last few laps we raced side-by-side (again) with
the #00 car for 2nd place. He got past us by a foot right at the
finish line. Oh well, 3rd isn't so bad! Grrrrrr! |
to Top
106 points
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
3rd |
|
| Heat
1 |
3rd |
2nd |
We
squeezed inside the #9 car early in the race to gain one position. |
| Heat
2 |
7th |
2nd |
One
move got us past quite a few cars early in the race. It was
follow-the-leader after that. |
| Main
Event *** |
2nd |
2nd |
What
a tough track! No passing among the top few cars in the entire
race. |
to Top
105 points
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
6th |
Drawn
from a hat. Qualifying laps were canceled due to lengthy cleanup
of an oil spill on the racetrack. |
| Heat
1 |
6th |
1st |
What
a race! The battle to overtake Scott Riddell's #00 car for 1st
position lasted at least 6 laps, and we were SIDE-BY-SIDE for most of it,
him on the inside, us on the outside. We finally got past him
about 2 laps from the finish. |
| Heat
2 |
8th |
2nd |
If
only there were 2 more laps! |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
3rd |
After
starting as the 1st Semi-Pro, we moved forward, passing a couple of
Pro's. BUT, there was a spinout a few cars ahead of us in corner 3
on approx. lap 25. We were able to avoid it, but got tangled up
with the #29 car behind us when he joined the incident. During
the resulting yellow/caution laps, the officials put us TO THE BACK of
the restart lineup. Brent managed to subsequently pass quite a
number of cars in the last 10 laps for a 3rd place finish. Some
car damage :-( |
to Top
110 points
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
19.43
seconds. The Legends track record is 19.32 ! |
| Heat
1 |
1st |
1st |
We
started on the pole, and never looked back! |
| Heat
2 * |
1st |
1st |
*
Heat 2 was canceled because rain shortened our race day. For
calculating driver points, qualifying times were used to simulate Heat 2
finish order. |
| Main
Event *** |
1st |
1st |
We
passed a number of the Pro drivers, and put a couple of cars between #3
and our closest Semi-Pro competitor. A perfect night!
AND..... no damage! |
to Top
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