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2002
was our second year in the Legends PRO class for the Mac’s
/ PEPSI #3 racecar. We started the year strong with our
first WIN in the PRO class. We led the championship battle for half
the season. It didn’t end the way we’d hoped, BUT..... We finished 2nd !!!
The Mac’s
/ PEPSI racecar was a strong contender throughout the season.
HERE ARE THE YEAR'S DETAILS:
How Races Were Run in 2002
1st
at the finish line! (May 11,
2002) Photo by
Mercedes 403-590-6021
101 points (18 qualifying +
17 heat race + 56 main event + 10 show-up)
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
3rd |
19.69
seconds. Tied for 2nd, but the tie-breaker goes to the car that
went out on the track first during the qualifying session. Because
of concerns with oil on the track, we had decided to qualify at the end
of the session. |
|
Heat Race
15 laps
|
8th |
4th |
We
gained 3 positions to 5th in the first 3 laps, passing around the
outside. At lap 5 we started a multi-lap battle to get around the
outside of #H20 for 3rd, which we did by lap 9. In the next
lap we passed #9 for 2nd, but a couple of laps later #H20, who
had follow us past #9, got past and we dropped to 3rd. On
the final lap, we followed #42 on the outside as he tried to pass the
leader, but he lost a lot of ground, causing us to drop back as well,
and we lost another spot to #54 on the inside groove, so we finished 4th.
An action-packed race! |
| Main
Event
40 laps
|
3rd |
3rd |
Unlike
the heat race, NOT a very exciting race for us. We started in 3rd,
didn't pass or get passed, and finished 3rd. The outside groove
had become a bit oily from other racing incidents through the evening,
so it was really difficult to pass out there. We made a couple of
attempts earlier in the race, but we slid up so badly that we almost
lost our position. So we just played it safe. 3rd
isn't so bad - and we retained our 2nd place position in the
Calgary Mac's championship! |
For finish orders of ALL
cars, see the Racing
Results section of the Legends Cars of Alberta web site.
to Top
99 points (19 qualifying +
16 heat race + 54 main event + 10 show-up)
We're still 2nd
in the battle for the Mac's Calgary Legends championship.
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
2nd |
Qualifying
was cancelled due to rain - order based on points standings. |
|
Heat Race
12 laps
|
6th |
5th |
We
started on the outside near the back of the pack. By mid-race we
managed to get around the outside of the #27 car of Jamie Beatson for 5th,
and started working on the #42 of Hugh Williamson. After numerous
attempts inside and outside, we finished 5th. |
| Main
Event
35 laps
|
4th |
4th |
We
started on the outside of row 2. On the start, the inside guys
moved forward. We were held up by #00 Scott Riddell, but managed
to keep our 4th position by the time things got to single file.
While we were fighting inside and outside of #00, #27 Jamie Beatson
tried a few moves on us too, but we kept him at bay. On lap 5, #00
slowed when the back end slid out a bit, and we ducked underneath him
for 3rd. Unfortunately, there was a caution right then
because of the #8 car and others who spun on the front straight.
When there's a caution, the race order goes back to the last completed
lap, so we had to go back to 4th. A few laps after the
restart, we passed #00 on the outside for 3rd again. By now
the first 2 cars were quite a ways ahead, and we just couldn't make good
lap times to catch them. The car was pushing too much in the
corners (understeer). Around lap 23 we started getting pressure
from behind from Mike Wright in the #9 car, who was obviously running
faster laps than us. We held him off for quite a few laps, but he
took advantage of us pushing out a bit in the corner, then we fought
side-by-side for a bit, and he got past us on approx. lap 30. That
put us back to 4th again, where we finished the race. |
For finish orders of ALL
cars, see the Racing
Results section of the Legends Cars of Alberta web site.
to Top
85 points (19 qualifying +
14 heat race + 42 main event + 10 show-up)
We're now 2nd
in the battle for the Mac's Calgary Legends championship.
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
2nd |
19.53
seconds! Best time was 19.43 from one of the U.S. visitors. |
|
Heat Race
12 laps
|
7th |
7th |
Their
were 16 Pro racers, so we were split into 2 heat races based on
qualifying times. We started on the inside of the last row of the
FAST group. The 8th-place (last) car moved ahead in the outside
groove immediately, leaving us alone at the back. On lap 8 we
passed #74US on the outside, but that was as exciting as it got. |
| Main
Event
100 laps
(called at lap 88? due to time)
|
1st |
10th |
We
started on the pole! The #9 car (outside pole) tried to jump
us at the start, taking off before the green was dropped. The
starter let it go, probably because we still won the race to corner
1. We started to pull away from the pack, getting as much as a 6-8
car-length lead on the 2nd-place car. That was a nice buffer with
all the lap traffic. With 38 cars in the main event, lap traffic
was part of the race already at lap 4! We lost the buffer when the
first caution came out on lap 12. The #18 car went sideways right
in front of us, but we got around him. After the restart, we
started to pull away a bit again. Lap traffic hurt us on lap
28. We were held up by lap cars that were 2-wide, and went high to
get around them before corner 1. They must have pushed up a bit,
because #54 Craig Ball found a spot to go under them ("ball"sy?),
making it 4-wide! We had to back out of it to avoid the wall on
the back straight, and fell back to 2nd. Our lap times
dropped (i.e. we could have gone faster!) but there were no passing
opportunities. On lap 38, #69 spun and was T-boned by #99,
bringing out the yellow flag. That caution led us right up to the
mandatory fuel pit stop. On the restart for the 2nd half of the
race, we were on outside pole. #66US pulled a dirty move before
the restart, pushing us ahead of the pole car. Brent was right out
of the throttle to avoid pulling even further up on the pole-sitter,
when the green flag dropped. Terrible start! The starter
either didn't see it, or didn't want to cause another race interruption
and let it go. We ran side-by-side on the outside of #55 Gary
Lister for a lap or so, but fell to 3rd, and then to 4th
when #66 followed the path of #55. Then the real bad luck
hit! On approx. lap 54 we hit oil going into corner 1 and spun
out, sliding backwards up to the wall. :-(
Brent got it stopped just before hitting, geared down, and took off, but
now we were WAY back in the pack - approx. the 11th or 12th
Pro car. The next caution was about 2 laps later - a big wreck in
front of us on the front straight. Brent decided to go left
through the grass to miss it - a wild, bumpy ride! From then to
lap 88(?) when the race was called due to time, we only had about 8 or
10 laps under green. It was a major crashfest! Wreck after
wreck. Squirming and sliding was the norm in the corners.
There was oil everywhere on the track, and Race City probably didn't
want to take the time to clean the ENTIRE track because we were already
running so late (safety first?). We finished 10th. Major
disappointment!!! But... nothing broken! |
For finish orders of ALL
cars, see the Racing
Results section of the Legends Cars of Alberta web site.
to Top
103 points (16 qualifying +
19 heat race + 58 main event + 10 show-up)
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
5th |
19.90
seconds. Disappointed. |
|
Heat Race
15 laps
|
3rd |
2nd |
We
started 3rd, inside row 2. The shift lever broke off in my
hand on the start of the race !!! Thankfully it was while
shifting into the LAST gear, but if there are any restarts - we're
cooked. The inside groove got held up on lap 1, and we fell back
to 5th very quickly. We started to battle with #42
Hugh Williamson side-by-side on lap 2, and passed him for 4th
on lap 3. #42 and #55 Gary Lister were stuck to our back bumper
for quite a few laps. Through laps 8-10 we did battle once again
with the #00 of Scott Riddell, mostly side-by-side, with us on the
outside. He bobbled in corners 3-4 and we cruised on by for 3rd.
He kept on us for the rest of the race though. After catching #9
Mike Wright, we had a few laps to work on him. On the last lap we
went outside, and passed him by about a foot at the finish line
for 2nd !!! No cautions! :-) |
| Main
Event
40 laps
|
4th |
2nd |
We
started outside of row 2. We moved to 2nd after going 3
wide in corners 1-2, but it was short-lived as #42 Hugh Williamson got
past us after a 2-lap battle. We fell back to 3rd. We
had a back-and forth fight with #55 Gary Lister for a quite a few
laps. He took advantage of a slide by the 2nd-place #45 car on lap
12, and got past us and #45. We also got past #45 as a result, but
it took a lap to finish it off, leaving us in 3rd again.
The rest of the race was fairly uneventful in 3rd place. The #3
Mac's/PEPSI car was a bit loose and it was hard work to stay near the
first 2 cars. The multiple long cautions helped us though, as we
became less loose as the sun set and the track cooled. The final dash after the
last caution was excellent - we were quite hooked up. We
challenged for 2nd while the leaders battled between themselves for
1st. #55 got past #42, and we did as well !!! Happy driver
and crew ! :-) |
For finish orders of ALL
cars, see the Racing
Results section of the Legends Cars of Alberta web site.
to Top
101 points (20 qualifying +
15 heat race + 56 main event + 10 show-up)
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
19.57
seconds. The top 5 cars were all within a tenth of our time. |
|
Heat Race
12 laps
|
9th |
6th |
Qualifying
1st means starting last in the heat race. We wandered between 9th
and 7th for the first few laps, but stayed at 7th for quite a while
after lap 5. It was a tight pack of cars with no where to
go. We got by for 6th on the final lap. |
| Main
Event
35 laps
|
5th |
3rd |
We
started on the inside of row 3. By the end of the first lap, it
was obvious that we shouldn't have made that last change to loosen up
the car. :-(
It was loose everywhere, but especially down low in the corners.
At around lap 5 we ran door-to-door on the outside of #00 Scott Riddell
(as we've done so many times in the last 2 years). We finally got
by when he got out-of-shape in corner 3/4, almost going sideways.
It was a fairly uneventful race passing-wise. Given our loose
condition, we were happy to just keep our position. The looseness
improved though, as the sun continued to set during each of the many
long cautions, allowing the track to cool. At the last caution, we
were in 3rd. 3 laps left. And suddenly we could get right up
with #55 Gary Lister ahead of us. He was busy fighting hard with
#27 Jamie Beatson for the win. But we ran out of time. If
there were a few more laps - who knows??? |
For finish orders of ALL
cars, see the Racing
Results section of the Legends Cars of Alberta web site.
3rd
place trophy - (July
6)
Carmen,
Brent, Don, Laura
Hackl (niece), Bailey, Brian
Hackl (brother), Iris Hackl
to Top
103 points (19 qualifying +
16 heat race + 58 main event + 10 show-up)
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
2nd |
19.53
seconds. The best time was 19.43. Next after us was 19.68. |
|
Heat Race
12 laps
|
9th |
5th |
A
crashfest !!! We started 2nd last, on the inside of the back
row. Most of the race was an insanely tight clump of cars, with
little opportunity to pass. We dropped back to last when the #24
(normally #55) of Gary Lister (who started on the OUTSIDE of the back
row), got a chance to move forward. A few laps later it was #22
Rick Walls in front of us. On lap 7 we went deep into corner 1 and
tried to take him on the outside. We were right beside him at the
midpoint, but couldn't make it stick. As we came onto the back
straight, Rick must have thought he was fully past us again, as he swung
right out to the wall !!!. The #22 squeezed us against the wall as
we got hard on the brakes. Our contact caused his front end to
point at the wall, which he hit hard, followed by a (thankfully) gentle
T-bone by us. We drove away, but the #22 was in rough shape.
2 laps after the restart, there was a big wreck between #00, #27 and #9
at the end of the back straight. We locked up the wheels (flat
spotting all 4 tires), then eased off and drove between the wreckage
!!! We finished in 5th, out of 6 remaining cars. Not a great
result, but we were just lucky to finish! |
| Main
Event
40 laps
|
2nd |
2nd |
We
started on outside pole, beside #45 Wayne Miller. In the first few
laps we tried passing on the outside, but the 2nd groove just wasn't
there like it was in the May 11 race. Our car was WAY loose.
We lost a few positions. By lap 4 we were back to 5th temporarily,
but immediately got back to 4th. On lap 5, #24 Gary Lister and #45
touched in corner 1, causing #45 to spin, and everyone else to take
evasive action. We got past without contact, and everybody got
moving again, so there was no yellow flag. We came out in 3rd,
where we stayed through lap 20. On lap 21, #24 and #54 Jim Messner
touched in corner 1, sending #54 up the track. We got underneath
to claim 2nd! That's where we stayed till the end. We
challenged around the outside on a restart, but after almost putting our
loose car sideways, we decided to play a safer game till the end.
Our 2nd place finish was more due to perseverance than performance, but
it's still 2nd! :-) |
For finish orders of ALL
cars, see the Racing
Results section of the Legends Cars of Alberta web site.
Chris
Huntley, Brent, Dave Clark
(Mac's) Dave Clark
& Chris Huntley under the Mac's pit
tent.
to Top
109 points (20 qualifying +
19 heat race + 60 main event + 10 show-up)
|
Start
Position |
Finish
Position |
|
| Qualifying |
n/a |
1st |
19.51
seconds. :-)
#55 Gary Lister was closest at 19.57 seconds. |
|
Heat Race
15 laps
|
10th |
2nd |
We
started dead last, the result of qualifying first. Within 3 laps
we had moved up to 7th, glued to the back of the #54 car of 2001
champion Craig Ball (a familiar sight from last year!). 6th place
came by lap 6, and 4th by lap 8 when there was a yellow flag. #54
was still right in front of us. After the restart, the leader fell
back because he was pushing bad in the corners. We got by him into
3rd place at lap 12. The last 3 laps were a tight pack of the 3
lead cars. On the final lap, we went high on the #54 going into
corner 3, and got enough traction through corners 3 and 4 to just squeak
by him at the finish line !!! A great race! :-) |
| Main
Event
30 laps
|
6th |
1st |
A
6th place start was the result of having the best overall result so far
today, and then a 6 car inversion. We were really hooked up in the
outside groove, and moved up one by one. When a yellow flag came
out at approx. lap 10, we were in 2nd! Soon after the restart, we
went deep into corner 1 on the outside of #42 Hugh Williamson (who had
led the race to this point), and we were able to keep the advantage
around the outside through corner 2! We led through to the last
lap, which came 10 laps early due to light rain that was making the
track a bit greasy. #54 Craig Ball challenged hard on the last lap
and almost got up beside us by the finish line, but not quite! Brent's
first main event win as a Legends PRO driver !!!
Awesome! :-) |
Chris Huntley, Don Fergin, and Brent (and the 1st place trophy!)
to Top
|
Each
driver Qualifies. We get the track to
ourselves for 2 laps, and the best time of the 2 is our qualifying time.
The fastest qualifier gets 20 points, 1 point less for each slower car.
The Heat Race starting order is the reverse
of our qualifying order (1st qualifier starts last in the Heat race). Heat races are usually
20 laps long, and include only the Pro drivers. The winner gets 20 points, 1 point less for each follower. The starting order for the Main Event
is based on the combined FINISH positions for each driver across qualifying and
the heat race, with a twist - we subsequently invert the top 4 to 6 cars.
The winner of the main event gets 60 points, 2 points less for each follower.
On a perfect day, the driver gets 110 points (20 qualifying + 20 heat race + 60
main event + 10 show-up). Depending on car count, the main event sometimes
contains 2 races at the same time - the Pro and Semi-Pro
drivers on the track together.
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