Eddie's Slot Car World, Vallejo, Ca
October 22, 2006

Its hard to imagine establishing "traditions" in a race only two years old, but this years Durl's P/T Cruiser Enduro seems to have done just that. Another bizarre start and another dramatic finish made things seem oddly familiar.

Ten two-driver teams met at Eddie's Slot Car World in Vallejo, California to once again race goofy looking cars on an extremely fast track. Broader rules this year allowed for any flexi chassis running any 16-d motor, and once they were topped off with interior-lined P/T Cruiser bodies, these cars became fast, easy-to-handle race cars. Once you stopped giggling.

When the green flag dropped one Cruiser again sputtered at the line, this year's victims being Gary Hooks and Jeff Ingham. Grinding three feet down the straightaway before coming to a halt, the car was pulled for a quick gear replacement, of course losing a few crucial laps in the process.

Dave McConnoughey's Concours-winning Cruiser.

As heat one ended, defending champions Don Snider and Fulvio DaPas again set a blistering pace with 161 laps on red. Hooks and Ingham were only four laps back even after their troubles.

By the end of a hotly contested second heat both of these teams had racked up 160 laps, and it became very apparent to the rest of the field that anyone not clocking 160 laps per heat was going to be scrambling for third place. When heat four ended Hooks/Ingham had whittled the difference down to a dead heat with 635 laps.

Elsewhere, Fresno's Jim Langdon and Tony Venditto had commanded third with runs in the 150 to 155 range early in the race. Greg Kondrek and Durl Vance were trying to keep up, though at this point they were still averaging about 5 fewer laps than the Central California guys. The remainder of the field were running farther back, some due to car troubles, some due to inexperience, some for just bad luck in traffic.

Over the next three heats Snider/Dapas and Hooks/Ingham would send the lead back and forth, each team turning in blistering runs and the slightest mistake having huge consequence. A 167 lap effort by Hooks/Ingham would send them ahead by 20 laps, only to fall back 15 laps in the next heat because of car trouble.

At the end of heat eight, Snider/Dapas were in the clubhouse with 1277 laps. Hooks/Ingham were sitting out for the next two heats with 1101, a 176 lap deficit that was all but impossible to overcome. Now the remainder of the race would focus on the battle for the final spot on the podium.

Don Snider and Fulvio Dapas win it again!

In heat nine, Kondrek/Durl had begun to find their groove, with prior runs in the upper 150 range, putting them ahead of Langdon/Venditto on average, but still too close to call until the final heat. Tom Thomas and Ed Staedler had progressed their way into the mid 150's and were starting to make a move. Don Brown and Sam Rock were somewhat farther back, and though they drove a fast car remarkably well, by this time were fairly out of contention. Josh Staedler and Jeff Lepper had to have won the "Hard Luck" Trophy. Their car had major gear problems for the first two thirds of the race, driving other racers mad with its incessant buzzing noise. Three repairs later, they were turning in podium-worthy runs and lap times, but the damage had been done.

The final heat of the day was bitterly tense, as Hooks/Ingham tried to find a miracle on the red lane, and Langdon/Venditto were under the gun of having to turn in a 157 lap run in order to show. They were on purple, where, as fate would have it, Kondrek/Durl has previously done 157. By this final heat, every team had gotten dialed in, and the racing was relatively clean, but at the end, that just wasn't enough. No miracles were to be found, and no luck was to be had. Hooks/Ingham could pull off "only" 166 laps, finishing second. And Langdon/Venditto, in a valiant effort, ended up with 155, only half a lap away from a tie for third.

All in all, a very exciting race, with the outcome in doubt til the very last. Don Snider and Fulvio Dapas repeating last year's win, admitted that Hooks and Ingham would have easily won had it not been for their car troubles. That said, Don and Fulvio still pulled off a great victory, again driving a very fast, mechanically sound car with skill and determination. The real question for next year is: Can these guys be stopped from a three-peat?

Jeff Ingham and Gary Hooks finished second AND set a new World Record.

HOOKS & INGHAM SET NEW WORLD RECORD
Gary Hooks and Jeff Ingham turned in a 5.058506 on red to become the new World Record holders for 16-d flexi P/T Cruisers on a Blue King.

CONCOURS
Dave McConnoughey narrowly edged out Jim Langdon for first place, with a car that had a bold, clean design and tight finish. Langdon's patriotically-themed Cruiser was superior in creativity (as usual), and "finish" was a wash between the two cars, but McConnoughey's entry had a look of authenticity that gave it the razor thin edge it needed to win. It was the narrowist of judgement calls, totally subjective to the mood of the judge at the time, and certainly not to be construed as how the judging will work next year. Samantha Gough's tribute to Ricky Bobby, however, was a shoo-in for third.

Dave McConnoughey also won the slotto drawing for the much coveted mini slot car box from Whitey's Slot Car Boxes.

Many thanks to our sponsors: Magna Jiggy and Body Blocks, GT1 Race Products, Triggerman Designs, Whitey's Slot Car Boxes, and Durl's Interiors.

CONCOURS:
1. DAVE McCONNOUGHEY
2. JIM LANGDON
3. SAMANTHA GOUGH

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