November 13, 2010 | Jon R Hayes Sweeps the Pros; O’Brien and Ryer Split Amateur Honors Danbury, Connecticut, November 13, 2010 – Thirteen racers set off for Schlitzerland Raceway in anticipation of racing on Tom Bussmann’s newly resurfaced track. While the configuration remains unchanged, most of the racing surface had been replaced with brand new Tomy track. Upon arrival no one was disappointed, the track was in great shape, the coffee was hot and the racers anxious to get the show started. With Tom Gray sitting out the first race, we had 12 folks sign up for the Lexan bodied 902 Production Division race; 7 Amateurs and 5 Pros facing off for overall top honors. First up were John O’Brien, Paul Ryer, Dave Muse (making his first MARC appearance of the season – welcome back Dave) and the infamous Eric Handel. John (aka Turbo) made his presence felt from the first heat, running in the tough blue lane he cranked out an impressive 65 laps. Paul tried his best to make it close but Turbo set the mark to beat with a lap total of 251 followed by Paul with 240, Dave with 203 and Eric at 160. Next up were Erik Eckhardt, Jonathan Reimels, Vince Tamburo and Bill Bonsma. After two heats, Jon and Erik were in a close battle for the lead followed by Vince and Bill but Erik was able to pull out a 6 lap lead in the third heat ensuring him of the victory. Erik ended the race with a 245 lap total followed by Jonathan with 239, Vince with 227 and Bill at 214. Heading into the last race, the question was whether anybody could top John O’Brien’s 251 lap total – would this be Turbo’s first overall victory in MARC competition? Rob Hayes, Tom Bussmann, John Reimels and Tom Kanan hoped not but only Rob had the speed to back this up. Leading right from the start, Rob averaged 67 laps for the first three heats before settling for a mere 60 laps in the yellow gutter lane giving him a total of 261 laps besting John’s total by 10. Home town favorite Tom finished second with 243 laps, John got third with 238 and Tom ended the race with a 235 lap total. Even though Rob got overall top honors, Turbo still finished first in the Amateur division – congrats to both Rob and John. After pizza, it was time for Super Stocks in the Championship Division. New this year, MARC runs the Pros and Amateurs in separate round robin races with the Amateurs up first. The winner of the Amateur race can then elect to run with the big boys (stature – not size…). John Turbo O’Brien, John Reimels, Tom Bussmann, Paul Ryer, Vince Tamburo, the returning Dave Muse and Eric Handel broke out their best equipment to vie for the coveted chance to move up to the Pros. Paul was not to be denied; he set the pace from the beginning and held it to the bitter end with an impressive lap total of 289. John Reimels finished second with 283 laps followed by Turbo with 277, Dave with 273, Tom with 251, Vince with 243 and Eric with 207. As the dust settled from the first round robin, the Pros dug out their weapons of choice with Paul Ryer desperately trying to cool down his hot rod for the main event. Joining Paul were Erik Eckhardt, Rob Hayes, Jonathan Reimels (all just back from the 24 hour race in Derby, England) Bill Bonsma, Tom Kanan, and Tom Gray. Rob and Jon had a fantastic race for top honors, the final decision in doubt until the conclusion of the last heat. In the end, Rob ended with 304 laps beating Jon by 3 laps, followed by TK with 288, Paul at 283 (6 less than he got in the Amateur race – what’s up with that???), Erik with 282, Bill with 278 and Tom with a 261 (clearly at a disadvantage not running the Production race, hopefully Tom has learned his lesson!). After the ribbon ceremony, everyone packed up their belongings, thanked Tom for hosting the event and started discussing the next race at Modelville Hobby in Ashland, MA. New to the MARC circuit, everyone is anxiously awaiting to see what Richard Payne, Peter Lentros and John Stezelecki have waiting for us on December 11th. Start preparing your Lexan G-Jet and Super Stock for this exciting event. John Reimels MARC Communication Director