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Mac's Calgary Series Champion!
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| 19.42 seconds. We were a bit concerned about
qualifying because we were in the group of Legends that didn't get a second
practice session in the late afternoon (not enough time left after all the
oil spills were cleaned up). So we were guessing on the setup a bit more
than usual. 19.42 put us right between our rivals for the Mac's Calgary
Championship fight. #55 Gary Lister got 19.41, and #27 Jamie Beatson got
19.44.
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| The #3 Mac's / Pepsi racecar started
the race in 5th place, on the inside of row 3. On the first lap (video) the
inside groove was held up a bit by a loose #36 Dave Kindopp, and we dropped
back to 7th as a couple of cars got by on the outside. We got around
#36 on the front straight to move to 6th. On lap 4 we got by #H20,
then fell back when we got held up in the outside groove by #12 Rick
Blanchette a couple of laps later, but then passed #12 on the inside in
corner 4 - so back to 5th spot by lap 6. Soon after that our rival
#27 was making a pass for 1st - so we'd better get up there too! There was a
bit of scary action RIGHT in front of us on lap 8 when #H20 tried to stick
his nose under #22 going into corner 3, when he should have been getting on
the brakes instead. As #22 was coming down to drive a normal line into the
corner, #H20 got his front end clipped, causing his back end to slide out.
We were able to swerve around him to the outside and passed him through
corner 4 for 4th (video). On lap 12 we went outside #22 in corner 1 and got
up right beside him. As we left corner 2 he started to pull away AND swung
toward the wall, bouncing off our car! Close call! We passed him in corners
3/4 to take 3rd (video). Now it was just our two rivals in front of us. We
made a couple of valiant efforts to pass #55, but finished the race in 3rd
in a tight 1-2-3 formation (video). This championship is WAY too close!
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In
the pit after the race.
Heat Race Videos
Start of Heat Race (2M)
Passing #H20 (800k)
Passing #22 (1.2M)
Final Lap
(900k)
(If Internet Explorer asks, videos are best played in Media
Player, NOT in Internet Explorer. To save to your computer,
Right-Click and "Save Target As...")
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| We started in 2nd position (video), on
outside pole! Shortly after the start we tucked in behind the pole sitter,
#54 Craig Ball, and followed him closely for 13 laps, sometimes just inches
from his bumper. Lap traffic started at about lap 8, but it was fairly
spread out, so not an issue. Going into corner 3 on lap 14, #54 was loose
and drifted out, and the #3 Mac's / PEPSI racecar was so well hooked
up that we were able to steer underneath him! We got by him down the front
straight to take 1st (video)! Then it was Craig's turn to challenge, but he
couldn't quite get close enough for a decent attempt to pass. At the caution
on lap 25, Brent could see on the "leader board" that neither the #55 of
Gary Lister nor #27 of Jamie Beatson were in the top 5, so the Mac's
Calgary championship might be a real possibility! After the restart we
passed the wounded #55 car (he had broken an axle and was just limping
around the track), so our only concern now was finishing one position ahead
of #27. There was another caution at lap 34. At approx. lap 40, #H20
appeared in our mirror instead of #54, the latter having grazed the wall due
to the former. #H20 came on extra strong in the last few laps, while Brent
was being extra cautious not to mess up. In corner 1 of the last lap, he
stuck his front bumper inside and barely ahead of our back bumper, then
didn't get on the brakes (just assumed that Brent knew he was there).
Normally, that would have caused a wreck, but Brent's paranoid glance in the
mirror saved the day - he gave up the position instead, falling back to
2nd. #H20 can have his reckless win - salvaging the championship was far
more important. The 2003 Mac's Calgary Legends PRO Championship is
ours !!! :-) Thanks to crew members Carmen, Chris Huntley, and Don Fergin for
helping the day and the year to be successful. And to Brian Wilkey for his
return visit as a crew member (he's been working out of town).
Thanks to our fabulous sponsors,
especially the racing fanatics at Mac's Convenience Stores, PEPSI
Bottling Group, and Universal Cycle.
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Main Event Videos
Start of Main Event (1.9M)
Passing #54 (1.2M)
Lap Traffic
(600k)
(If Internet Explorer asks, videos are best played in Media
Player, NOT in Internet Explorer. To save to your computer,
Right-Click and "Save Target As...")
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Total Points - 601
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show up - 10
qualifying - 15
heat race - 18
main event - 58
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We've won the Mac's Calgary Championship! #27 Jamie Beatson
was 2nd
with 594 points, and #55 Gary Lister was 3rd with 587 points.
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For finish orders of ALL
cars, see the Racing
Results section of the Legends Cars of Alberta web site.
Also, check out the
current points standings in the
Calgary Championship.
Are you wondering
about the Legends race procedures and
lineups?
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