F1 Race Factory Opens 2011 Summer Leagues with Haboob (Epic Dirt Storm) raging outside and Steve “Kandyman” Lattanzi storming to Win Race #1 inside!

Tuesday July 5th was the 1st of the 8 race 2011 Summer League Series at F1 Race Factory. One of the worst dust storms to ever hit Arizona came thru the Phoenix area around the time the league masters were to start the Mains. The “A” & “B” Mains were in jeopardy of being cancelled because of the amount of slippery silt being deposited into the building and distributed onto the track by the air return system that was overwhelmed by the storm right outside the doors. I hear you knocking but you can’t come in was not an option today and hell or high water wasn’t going to stop this brute of a storm from getting into every nook & cranny on and off the racing surface. Track 2 was closed to all arrive & drive public racing due to the slippery conditions. Would have been a “Spinderrella” race. Visibility was not only a problem outdoors but now indoors as well. Even though most of the regulars to the F1 Race Factory leagues could probably drive Track 1 in their sleep, without incident, the level of grip had gone from marginal to “Slicks on Ice”, which I think is the new name of the Disney on Ice Show. Coming to a town near you! This was looking to be a repeat of the PKE Event at the South Point Hotel & Casino horse arena /kart track in Vegas we tried a few years ago and one that more than a few of us had finally been able to come to grips with. Looks like more psychotherapy sessions are in order.

Qualifying/Heat Results Group 1:
Steve Lattanzi…Jason Burstein…Mike Davila…Josh Sarchet…Kyler Repella…Kyle Tatman…Ronald Jones…Paul Miller…Greg Gillum

Qualifying/Heat Results Group 2:
Chaz Baca Jr…Ian Pierce…Keith Sears…Chris Wynne…Cody Gutierrez…Scott Lodding…Eric Dickinson…Kevin Carlson…Raymond (Matt) Stevens…Jason McCormack.

Top half competes in the “A” Main and the bottom half competes in the “B” Main. Tie break for position goes back to qualifying time.
Scott Lodding starts from the Pole Position for the “B” Main.

Starting Grid “B” Main:
Scott Lodding…Kyle Tatman…Eric Dickinson…Ronald Jones…Paul Miller…Kevin Carlson…Ray/Matt Stevens…Jason McCormack…Greg Gillum.

Since the “B” Main racers compete first they would be used as the four wheeled street sweepers, which ended up working like a charm. Eric “Legoland” Dickinson started from the 3rd spot on the grid and laps later worked his way around Kyle “Where’s my Mouthpiece?” Tatman of Tucson, and then went to work on Scott “The Beard” Lodding who was able to keep Dickinson at bay for half the race. Some light contact had all three within inches of each other lap after lap which gave Paul “Motocross” Miller, who had dispensed with Ronald “Lone Wolf” Jones earlier, an opportunity to close the gap on the top three in battle with each other. Tatman then got around Lodding without drama. Dickinson eventually lit the afterburners mounted to his trusty steed and away he went to take the “B” Main win and move into the “A” Main, which was his well deserved bonus for winning the “B” Main. The level of grip impacted overall lap times for this night, which was a small price to pay considering the circumstances in play.

What a night to start your league career but three new faces joined the ranks of the Summer Leagues. Welcome Raymond Stevens,(aka Matt), Kevin Carlson and Greg Gillum who has signed up for the entire series and saved some moola in the process. Smart move by Greg and to be in the running for the “Winner” of everyone’s favorite trophy, “The Kandyman Award”. Given to the person who does the most races and scores the least points. So far Greg has a good start to winning the KA with a 9th Place finish in the Heat and a 19th finish overall for the night. Nice guy and well dressed, in his Alpinestars race suit and unique red/white helmet, Jason McCormack continues to struggle but I expect him to find the speed he has been searching for and become the front running threat I know he is capable of and sooner than you think. Jason, did you check under the seat?

“B” Main Finish Order:
Eric Dickinson…Kyle Tatman…Scott Lodding…Paul Miller…Ronald Jones…Raymond Stevens(Matt)…Kevin Carlson…Jason McCormack…Greg Gillum.
Congratulations to the top three and now Dickinson moves to the tail end of the “A” Main to see how many spots/points he can pick up before the Checkered Flag fly’s.

“A” Main Starting Order:
Chaz Baca Jr (Pole)…Steve Lattanzi…Ian Pierce…Jason Burstein…Mike Davila…Keith Sears…Chris Wynne…Josh Sarchet…Cody Gutierrez.

Now that Track 1 has been cleared of most of the errant fallout from the dust storm by the “B” Main Street Sweepers, the ”A” Main racers take to the track for their Main race which is 40 laps or 20 minutes of nose to tail and side by side racing action. Four warm ups laps gave the group plenty of time and distance to figure out how to keep the kart facing in the right direction and just how fast they can attack a corner without too much drifting. Rolling starts are the norm and once under way and everyone crossing the start/finish the action heats up quickly. With Baca setting the pace and Lattanzi never being more than 12” off his rear bumper Baca is feeling the heat as is Lattanzi from Pierce. Lattanzi finally sees an opportunity and goes for it with success and takes over the leadership role that Baca has had up to this point. From then on the race turned out to be a shuffle behind Lattanzi as one by one different racers took their turn at running second. Jason Burstein managed to slip by Ian & Chaz to antagonize the rear bumper of Lattanzi for the remainder of the race. More than once Burstein thought he saw an opening to pass for the lead but was denied and thankfully didn’t take any of the unnecessary chances others were taking with position changing results behind him.

The Checkered Flag saw Lattanzi fist pumping the win and Burstein still attached to his rear bumper hoping for an under the weight limit penalty to take the win away. Didn’t happen during the weigh out with Lattanzi weighing out at 200.4.. They weight equalize to 200# and the top 5 drivers weigh out on track after the Heats & Mains to see how close they can come to the 198 to 200 zone. Below 198 and you get to claim last place points which will put you behind the eight ball when it comes time to tally the series points. Millions of dollars in cash and solid gold trophy’s are at stake here so mistakes can be costly.

“A” Main Finish Order:
Steve Lattanzi…Jason Burstein…Mike Davila…Chaz Baca Jr…Ian Pierce…Keith Sears…Eric Dickinson…Chris Wynne…Kyler Repella…Cody Gutierrez…Josh Sarchet.

Top Ten in Points after Race #1:
Steve Lattanzi 57…Jason Burstein 55…Chaz Baca Jr 54…Mike Davila 53…Ian Pierce 52…Keith Sears 50…Chris Wynne 47…Eric Dickinson 45…Kyler Repella 45…Cody Gutierrez/Josh Sarchet 44.

This Weeks 50/50 Raffle Winner of a Free Race Card and a whopping $6.00 cash was…Mr. Paul Miller, who has declared retirement with this monumental windfall.

The league started out with a bang and 19 kart racing enthusiasts vying for a chance to stand atop the podium and enjoy their 15 minutes of fame.
Congratulations to Steve Lattanzi/Jason Burstein/Mike Davila this week.

Next Tuesday July 12… 6:30pm to 9pm they get their race faces on and do it all over again, hopefully with a kinder, gentler weather pattern rolling thru.
League race #1 winner Steve “Kandyman” Lattanzi was overheard saying “bring on the same weather as long as the end result of my night brings the same winning result!”

Check in By 6:30pm…Driver meeting/Kart Draw 6:45pm…5 minute Qualifiers into 10 minute Heats start @ 7pm. Followed by another Kart draw and 20 minute Mains.
Track 2 c/w. 12/24/48 laps Q/H/M. $45.00 includes tax.

If you’re Late, you get to Spectate!
Like the Lottery, you got to be in it to Win it!

Keeping the Rubberside Down,

Steve Lattanzi "Kandyman"
Team Titanium of F1 Race Factory
steve@f1rf.com
Specialty Events, F1 Race Factory
317 S. 48th Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034
(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)
Visit us online @ www.f1racefactory.com

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