North Coast Challenge
The 5th Annual North Coast Challenge has just finished and what a great turn out the boys in Ashtabula had. I believe 47 planes at last count. The weekend started out with lots of rain and the usual timing equipment glitches that accompany precipitation. When racing finally got started 11 Dominators took to the air, then 5 T-6’s, 17 F1-GT’s, 3 Unlimited and 11 F1 Pros, the racing in all categories was intense. Saturday saw better weather conditions and lots of good racing. There was a nice half time intermission and return to the racing action.
The 5 T-6 entries included Ross Smith from Australia. The racing was pretty intense between Keith Keoppel, Kevan Avery, Ross, Jerry Carley and myself. Although the class is smaller this year the racing is no less exciting.
The F1-GT class sponsored by Zenoah saw its best turn out to date with 17 entries. We have seen some fast planes this year and they just seem to be getting faster. Denny Baker, Chris Justus, and Diego Lopez were really quick. Kevan Avery’s new polecat seemed fast and was certainly one of the guys to beat. Many of the finishes were close enough to throw a blanket over. This is the way racing should be.
The Unlimited Class had some set backs in Ashtabula. Loren Tregellas had problems with his NA-50 and Keith Keoppel lost his NA-50 on take-off in one of the early heats. Dave Smith and Team Extra had his Miss Ashley dialed in. Keith says he will try to have the NA-50 back together to fight Dave for the Championship at the Parker Race.
The F1 “PRO” Class sponsored by Tom Easterday and California Research Tabulations had some great battles as well. Ken McSpadden, Jeff Powell, Tom Easterday, Charlie Powell, Daniel Goldberg and Fred Sattler were some of the fast aircraft with most winning times hovering around 90 seconds. You definitely had to bring your “A” game to come out on top of this class.
Saturday nights banquet was one of the nicest I have ever attended. Dennis Fuchs’ wife Lynn and her family put on a spread that has no rivals. Thanks to the Fuchs Family for their beautiful banquet.
After the 5th heat on Sunday, the Gold races were run. Myron Clark won the Gold in Dominator. This was Myron’s first Gold win and with a little coaxing I hope to get him to move into the GT ranks. 12-year-old Jake Hanbury took 5th place in his first ever race. John Lockwood won the GT and F1 Gold races. John and Steve Stonacek have beautifully prepared aircraft and are favorites to win every time they go to the line. Dave Smith took home Unlimited Gold and should be watched in Parker, they really have that thing going! I (Scott Hanbury) won T-6 Gold for the first time in 14 events. I feel very fortunate to have won and look forward to Parker to decide the T-6 Championship.
I want to thank Tony Husak, Chris Justus, Tom Keating and the Marcs Club for their hospitality and we look forward to the 6th Annual North Coast Challenge!
Blue Water River Run
The last race of the year is the 2nd Annual Blue Water River Run held in Parker, Arizona. Denny and Barb Baker have been working hard to make this event even better than last year. The rooms at the Blue Water Resort and Casino are all gone, but there are plenty of hotels in the Parker area. Make sure to attend this event. It was so much fun last year and looks to repeat again.
Please take the time to thank our USRA sponsors. It is with their generous support that our sport is experiencing resurgence. So if you see Tom Easterday, thank him for his continued support of the F1 class through his CRT sponsorship. And tell Pete Bergstrom and Peter Goldsmith from Zenoah and JR thanks for their support of the USRA Racing Series, all their advertising and the prizes they provided to us again this year. If you happen to see Fred Bergdorf at APC, thank him for yet again supporting our organization with his props and Bob Obenberger at Tru-Turn for his support. Mike Luvara and his RCATS Company had generously donated an on board Data Logger for the end of the year raffle and Randy Rich of Riches Brew for the fuel the Dominator Class. In short, showing your appreciation and recognition for our sponsors contributions go a long way and may entice other potential sponsors to step up.
I look forward to seeing you in Parker and crowning the 2004 USRA Champions.
Scott Hanbury