Lentros Doubles in Amateur / Eckhardt and Reimels Swap Laurels in Pro
Thompson, Connecticut, September 13– Fourteen racers made their way to the
- The track was ready to go just waiting for the power to turn on at 8:30
northeast corner of Connecticut to kick off the 2014 / 2015 MARC season at Durf Hyson’s Thompson Raceway Park in Thompson CT.
Durf had the track in immaculate condition; unfortunately the same can’t be said for his health. After making a valiant effort to join the festivities, Durf handed the keys off to Erik Eckhardt and Eric Handel and went back upstairs for some much needed rest and sleep. The Eric(k) twins did a great job in Durf’s absence keeping the race running smoothly and as close to schedule as possible. Once again one of the
- Workin’ the setups…
highlights of the event was the food – chicken and meatballs aplenty, a tradition for this event.
G-Jets
Practice is underway
Speaking of Thompson Raceway Park traditions, another one is the use of Can-Am bodies for the G-Jet race. Realistic bodies with traditional paint schemes racing around a well decorated, scenic track make this race unique.
Amateur Class – Thanks to the Medeiros clan, we had enough amateurs to make up a full field of five racers. Eric Handel had the race of his life staying in first place through the first 3 heats but Peter Lentros was not to be denied in his march to the front. Eric was able to hang on to second with Peter Medeiros Jr bringing his ride home in third. With three “Pete’s” in a field of five racers, communication was a tad confusing but it certainly stacked the deck in favor of a Pete standing on the podium!
| Yellow | White | Red | Blue | Total | |
| Peter Lentros | 35 | 39 | 38 | 40 | 152 |
| Eric Handel | 34 | 38 | 36 | 39 | 147 |
| Peter Medeiros Jr | 33 | 37 | 35 | 38 | 143 |
| George Medeiros | 28 | 30 | 29 | 31 | 118 |
| Pete Medeiros | 28 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 116 |
Pro Class
– As winner of the amateur race, Peter Lentros elected to take a crack at the
- Pro G-Jet Podium – Eckhardt 1st, Reimels 2nd, Hayes 3rd and Pileggi 4th
nine Pros bringing the field up to a nice healthy ten. This would also be Benny Leyro’s debut as a Pro having been kicked out of the amateur ranks due to his double division championships last season. Of the two, Peter did better in large part because Benny slept late and only made the final few minutes of practice but no one could stop the juggernaut of Erik Eckhardt. Erik ran a fantastic race setting the high mark of 168 laps followed by John Reimels three laps behind with Rob Hayes and John Pileggi rounding out the top four.
| Yellow | White | Red | Blue | Total | |
| Erik Eckhardt | 41 | 41 | 42 | 44 | 168 |
| John Reimels | 40 | 41 | 40 | 44 | 165 |
| Rob Hayes | 41 | 42 | 39 | 41 | 163 |
| John Pileggi | 39 | 39 | 41 | 41 | 160 |
| Peter Lentros | 38 | 39 | 40 | 42 | 159 |
| Paul Ryer | 36 | 40 | 38 | 41 | 155 |
| John Stezelecki | 36 | 38 | 37 | 40 | 151 |
| Vince Tamburo | 34 | 36 | 36 | 38 | 144 |
| Benny Leyro | 35 | 38 | 33 | 37 | 143 |
| Dave Muse | 29 | 33 | 35 | 33 | 130 |
Super Stocks
With the slow stuff out of the way, it was time to break out MARC’s most popular class, Super Stocks! Everyone was scanning their notes from last year in hopes of finding the perfect setup. With rear ends being changed at a prodigious rate, time was a precious commodity. When the clock finally ran out, cars were called to tech and power was turned off – show us what ya got…
Amateur Class – Would Peter Lentros sweep the day?
- Amateur Super Stock Podium – Lentros 1st, P Medeiros Jr 2nd, Handel 3rd and G Medeiros 4th
Would lightning strike twice and Eric Handel have another great race? Yes to one and no to the other – in that order. Peter Lentros stunk up the show winning by 23 laps over second place Peter Medeiros Jr. Eric fell back to earth and finished third another 15 laps back. The Medeiros brothers continued their battle from the G-Jet race with George finishing one lap up on brother Pete.
| Yellow | White | Red | Blue | Total | |
| Peter Lentros | 52 | 59 | 56 | 59 | 226 |
| Peter Medeiros Jr | 51 | 48 | 53 | 51 | 203 |
| Eric Handel | 49 | 47 | 43 | 49 | 188 |
| George Medeiros | 39 | 40 | 37 | 50 | 166 |
| Pete Medeiros | 41 | 40 | 38 | 46 | 165 |
Pro Class – At the rules meeting this summer the decision was made have the top 4 or 6 drivers (depending on number of lanes on the track) of the Pro race contest for top honors in a main event. Yes it adds to the length of the day but it allows the fastest drivers of the day a chance to compete directly against one another – something not possible with a round robin format. With this in mind, the Pros lined up their cars for the start of a 9 heat round robin in hopes of “Makin’ the Main”. Erik Eckhardt, with a super-fast car borrowed from Dr. Pileggi’s stable, ran away to a 3 lap victory over last year’s race winner, Rob Hayes. Also making the main were Paul Ryer and John Reimels. The biggest surprise was seeing John Pileggi sitting by the side lines – clearly he lent Erik the wrong car!
The finishing order for the round robin:
| Yellow | White | Red | Blue | Total | |
| Erik Eckhardt | 60 | 64 | 64 | 65 | 253 |
| Rob Hayes | 61 | 64 | 61 | 64 | 250 |
| Paul Ryer | 61 | 64 | 62 | 62 | 249 |
| John Reimels | 59 | 62 | 60 | 66 | 247 |
| John Pileggi | 59 | 60 | 59 | 65 | 243 |
| Peter Lentros | 57 | 57 | 58 | 60 | 232 |
| Benny Leyro | 50 | 61 | 56 | 62 | 229 |
| Dave Muse | 51 | 53 | 51 | 58 | 213 |
| Vince Tamburo | 54 | 51 | 52 | 55 | 212 |
As the dust settled from the round robin, the top four had 10 minutes to freshen up their cars for the main. Erik was clearly the man to beat, he was hoping to pull off the elusive
- Pro Super Stock Podium – Reimels 1st, Eckhardt 2nd, Hayes 3rd and Ryer 4th
sweep for the day but Rob was also anxious to repeat last year’s victory.
As the weary corner marshals made their way back to the track, the line up was set. After the first heat, Reimels, running in the fast blue lane, had a three lap lead over the field with everyone else on the same lap. After heat two, Reimels was able to maintain his three lap lead over Eckhardt and Hayes but Ryer was off the pace falling to fourth. After three heats, Reimels lead was down to two laps over Eckhardt and Hayes. Heading into the fourth heat, Eckhardt was moving to the fast blue lane with Reimels in the gutter red. Half way through the heat, Eckhardt managed to get onto the lead lap but there his charge ended with a few offs. Reimels was able to hang on for the win followed by Eckhardt, Hayes and Ryer.
1 – John Reimels 149 laps
2 – Erik Eckhardt 147 laps
3 – Rob Hayes 146 laps
4 – Paul Ryer 136 laps
Thanks go out to Durf for putting on another great event, he has our heartfelt wishes for his return to good health. Thanks also to Erik and Eric for pitching in to keep the event going.
Next up – We’re at Benny Leyro’s The Danger Zone on Saturday, October 11th where we’ll be racing CMPM Modifieds and Super Stocks.