The Mayor is back!

Ashland Massachusetts, December 14, 2024 – Fourteen drivers showed up at LenJet for the December race.  The Mayor himself, aka Peter Lentros made an appearance.  Great to spend some time with the guy who has provided this great facility.  Everyone enjoyed getting to talk with Peter and race with him on the track.  Of course, there were also the usual non-stop jokes from the Mayor bringing laughs from everyone in attendance.

This time around we tried a new format that I think everyone enjoyed.  We ran three races with three-minute heats instead of our regular two races and five-minute heats.  We finished the day around the same time as our two-race day, so I think it was a success.

Our first race was an IROC race on the Champion running a set Tyco 440X2 Lamborghini Countachs provided by Terry Ayer.  Each car was a little different, making for an interesting race as drivers adapted to each car.  Thanks Terry for providing cars for a fun race.  Overall, the lap totals were close throughout the field.  When the final heat finished, it was Paul Ryer on the top of the podium with 123.48 laps closely followed by Paul Crosby with 121.11 laps in second. Ryan Archambault took third with 118.09 laps and Tom Gray took fourth with 117.15 laps.  Fast laps were in the low 5 second range.  Complete results are below.

The second race was Open Weighted on the Shamrock Glen whose driver stations can be challenging since you are looking at the track from two different viewpoints.  Another key to doing well on the Glen is having a car that will slither through the esses.  Since we used most of the practice time before the IROC race, drivers were given 30 minutes for final tuning and practice.  If you wanted to be on the podium, you needed to be under 5 seconds a lap and preferably closer to mid 5 second range.  Racing was tight in the Pro ranks with Paul Ryer nipping John Pileggi by less than a lap with 144.05 laps to John’s 143.38 laps.  Next came the Toms with Tom Jahl laying down 140.58 for third and Tom Gray with 135.14 laps for fourth.  In the Sportsman ranks, Paul Crosby continued his winning ways with 137.09 laps.  Tom Bussmann took second with 120.39 laps followed by Hal Pierce with 118.52 laps in third.  Josh Goudreault rounded out the podium in fourth with 114.10 laps.  Full results are below.

We finished the day with Spec Racer on the Boomerang.  A few drivers needed to leave so we were down to eleven drivers for the final race.  Some clubs go to 10, we go to eleven when you need that extra push over the cliff.  We seem to have a love/hate relationship with this track.  There is a rhythm there, you just need to find it.  In any case, I have no rhythm when it comes to Spec Racer.  This class befuddles me.  On the other hand, others seem to have found their groove with this class and on the Boomerang.  When the power clicked off for the last time, Ryan Archambault took the win with 174.48, over second place Tom Gray with 161.38 laps.  Once again we had a pair of Toms on the podium with Tom Jahl taking third with 154.40 just a lap ahead of John Pileggi with 153.10 laps.  Complete results are below.

Race Results

MARC-12-14-2024-Results

Once the racing was done, ribbons were awarded and people packed up and headed home after a very satisfying day of racing.  Thanks to Peter Lentros for LenJet and thanks Paul Crosby and Rich Payne making sure the doors are open and the tracks are ready for us.

Next up, we’ll be at Paul Ryer’s South Shore Speedway for some racing on Elvis.  Classes will be Open Weighted and Super Stock.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we get a good crowd on the South Shore of Massachusetts.

The race report as recorded this day

December 27, 2025

Douglas C. Neidermeyer

Sergeant at Arms