Bothell, Washington - For the very first time, the Seattle chapter of HOPAC would be racing G-Jets on the same 6-lane Brystal Scorpion track used at the 2007 G3 Championships. This would make for an interesting race since this layout has become the "standard" by which all others are judged but, usually, much faster cars are run on it.

Host Steve Stauffer (center on left) had the track in perfect condition and there was another great turnout especially considering the lousy weather. Everyone got through tech unscathed so the first order of the day was a one-minute qualifying run. Gary Beedle showed up at the very last minute and had to go directly to the track to qualify but he still managed to set the early bogey mark with a 4.220 second lap. Track owner Steve Stauffer was close at 4.250 with Marty Bauer just behind at 4.281. However, it was Mike Neeley who was on fire, turning a best lap of 4.209 to take the provisional pole.

Once the one-minute qualifying runs were completed, the preliminary Mains (where Pros and Amateurs run together) got underway. Mike King dominated the C Prelim finishing with a total of 128 laps followed by the Chris's; Norman and Tucker that is. In the B, Joe Mendoza barely held off Randy Chinn and Darin Snow as all three were all within just a couple laps of each other (138, 136, and 134 respectively). In the A, Gary and Pastor Steve showed everyone the quick way around the track with Gary completing 151 laps, Steve had 147, and Mike was the closest of the rest at 136.

With the grid set, it was time for the actual Main events. First one up was the Amateur C Main. (Chris Norman, Dave Rock, Glen Shaw, Casey Huebner, Jim Trusty, and Chris Tucker L to R at left) There would only be two move-ups so it was important to get off to a good start. After the first heat, Dave Rock, Jim Trusty, and Glenn Shaw all had 55 laps with rookie Casey Huebner only two back at 53. Glenn actually led after two heats but, by the half-way point, Dave and Jim had joined him to battle for the two move-up spots. Glenn held tough until the last heat when he had to finish on red (not a good lane to make a move on). As a result, it was Dave and Jim making the move to the B Main. Final laps were Dave 331, Jim 325, Glenn 318, Chris Norman 298, Casey Huebner 287, and Chris Tucker 283.

The Amateur B Main figured to be a great race with no clear favorites. (Marty Bauer, Larry Norman, Jim Trusty, Dave Rock, Mike King, and Bryan Jacobsen L to R at left) Jim, Dave, and Mike King quickly established themselves in the top three spots with only one lap covering them after two heats. Marty Bauer and Bryan Jacobsen started closing in on this trio as they began moving to the good lanes. After four heats, Jim led with Mike just one lap back and Marty starting to appear in their mirrors. The fifth heat saw Mike drive a stellar red lane which put him in the best position to win despite dropping back to second behind Jim. The last heat had Jim moving to red lane and all he could do was watch Mike reel him in and slowly pull away by three laps at the finish. Dave was still clinging to third going into the last heat with Marty one lap behind him. They had a great battle which saw Marty ahead by just one lap when the power went off. These four would then make the move to the A Main. Final laps for the B Main were Mike 346, Jim 343, Marty 339, Dave 338, Bryan Jacobsen 333, and Larry Norman 300.

The only question to be answered in the Amateur A Main was whether anyone had the speed and pace to keep Mike Neeley within their sights. (Jim Trusty, Marty Bauer, Randy Chinn, Dave Rock, Mike King, and Mike Neeley L to R on right) It wasn't in the cards as Mike simply motored away into the sunset. The real race would be for second to see who would prevail. Once again, it was Mike, Marty, and Dave providing the entertainment with Marty and Mike running virtually on the same lap throughout the first three heats (15 minutes of racing). Dave was only two laps back with the two best lanes coming up and he took full advantage of the situation. As the trio headed into the last heat Dave was up by four over Marty and five over Mike. With Dave finishing on the inside gutter lane (yellow), it would be a challenge to see if he could hold them off. Marty put together everything he had to turn his best heat of the day, coming from four back to take second place. Mike also made up ground on Dave but came up just short as the power went off. Final lap totals were Mike Neeley 362, Marty 344, Dave 339, Mike King 338, Randy Chinn 324, and Jim Trusty 320. Looking back on it, both Dave and Jim had run in every Amateur Main and wound up racing a total of 90 minutes not including qualifying and the Prelims.

The last Main of the day was the Pro event. (Joe "Dozer" Mendoza, Gary "The Guru" Beedle, Darin "Snowman" Snow, Steve "The Stauffinator" Stauffer, and Dean "the Machine" Tweeddale L to R on right) Would the other Pros be able to match the speed Gary and Steve showed in the Prelims? Dean Tweeddale, who already had a Pro win under his belt in this Series, had just had knee surgery completed so he didn't figure to be a factor since he was, um, "properly medicated." As the power came on, Steve and Gary began pulling away with Steve up by four laps over Gary after the first two heats. Darin Snow was staying within striking distance, being just one lap back from Gary. Steve continued to pour it on stretching his lead to five laps at the half-way point over Gary. Joe Mendoza cranked it up in the second and third heats and now joined Darin in not being that far back from the leaders. As the second half of the race unfolded, Steve and Gary simply motored away from everyone to see who would score the win. "The Guru" turned up the wick in the fourth heat, turning the high heat total of the day as he closed to within two laps of the lead. As Steve served his sentence in the penalty box (red lane that is), Gary took the lead for good in the fifth heat and headed into the last heat with four laps in hand. Pastor Steve gave it his all the last heat and picked up one lap on Gary but that was as close as he got. The Dozer had a terrible fourth heat on yellow which effectively took him out of it but he still almost reeled in Darin for third by the end of the race. While all this was going on, Dean was doing his best to try and just stand up at the driver's panel without suffering too much pain. When the power went off, the final lap totals were Gary 374, Pastor Steve 371, Darin 347, Dozer 344, and Dean a painful 337 laps.

Special thanks to Steve for hosting a fabulous event. The food was great, the racing competitive, and everything ran so smoothly we were able to head down to Outback for dinner and some bench racing. The final race is next month where we'll crown the top finishers in the Series. See you then!...

More Images from the race are below:

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