Blog @ Octane Raceway: Chaz Baca Jr Races to yet Another Win in Spring League race #8

Who in their right mind would be racing in this early heat wave to hit the Phoenix area? The best indoor kart racers at Octane Raceway, that’s who, because they know they will be protected from the heat and the sun by the air conditioned building while going head to head in the heat of battle on league night.

Round 8 of 10 was held Tuesday June 5^th at 7pm.

Twenty one hardcore racer types strapped themselves into the 9hp Honda motored Sodi karts. Tony Rolfson returns from a two week siesta to join the fray once more and gather as many points as possible before the 2012 Spring League season comes to an end on Sat. June 16^th. He is able to maintain his top 10 overall points position but is out of the running for a top 3 with only 2 races left unless food poisoning or some other malady strikes the racers 1^st thru 8^th place. Not much chance of that happening but Tony has offered to make us all a “nice” dinner prior to race #9 on Tuesday June 12^th. Hmmmm??? I didn’t even know he knew how to cook and since when does a recipe call for a dash of Hemlock?

The father /son team of David Button & Jonathan Button also joined us for a great night of fast times and no shortage of passing on Track 2 c/c/w.

The only time the tracks are run backwards (c/c/w) are during competition races and it’s always a challenge when not raced that way very often by so few.

No major incidents were reported, no Black Flags were thrown and the races stayed green, start to finish.

Twenty one racers dictated the running of two groups.

Group 1 has Steve Lattanzi taking the pole for the 25 lap Heat where he finished 1^st by a gap of over 4 seconds to Kyler Repella. Philip Schroeder qualified 2^nd , started the Heat from P2 but got shuffled back thru the field and finished 8^th which had Schroeder displaying the ultimate Mr. Unhappy Face. Not only did Repella take advantage of that spiral thru the field by Schroeder but Josh Sarchet came along for the ride to finish 3^rd overall in the Heat. Philip had his work cut out for him as he had to now make his way thru the “B” Main to stay in the top 10 overall points battle.

Finish Order Group 1 Q/Heat:

Steve Lattanzi…Kyler Repella…Josh Sarchet…Mike McClaran…Don Angel…Chris “BIGfoot” Wynne…Chris Manwaring…Greg Gillum…Philip Schroeder…David Button.

The new nickname(“BIGfoot”) for Chris Wynne can be explained by him having his foot run over at an event by a “friend” of his that was backing up before the start of a race. With friends like that who needs enemies. Good this he wasn’t driving a steamroller or we would be calling Chris, flatbread road kill.

Group 2 has Chaz Baca Jr lead the charge once again and takes the pole position for the Heat which he wins over the likes of Tony Rolfson And Cody Gutierrez. Group 2 with the exception of Scott Lodding & George Sklyarevsky maintained their starting spots from the qualifier in the Heat. Lodding & Sklyarevsky traded places with lap traffic playing a part in that transaction. No harm, no foul and no small children were harmed during the racing action.

Finish Order Group 2 Q/Heat:

Chaz BACA Jr…Tony Rolfson…Cody Gutierrez…Keith Sears…Charles Crowe…Scott Lodding…George Sklyarevsky…Brian Landry…Gavin Harlien…Craig Moore…Jonathan Moore.

After a small break to let everyone catch their breath and try to explain away a random bump or two we reset the fields and pull another round of karts for the start of the “B” Main which races first and the “A” Main.

The Winner of the “B” Main will get to race another 40 lap Main. I’m exhausted just writing about it.

Scott Lodding on pole and very determined to finish the “B” Main in the top spot. Will the energy drink he is guzzling live up to its name or will Lodding peak too soon and fall by the wayside?

With Chris “BIGfoot” Wynne starting from P2 and channeling all of his energy to his oversize right foot it will be a battle right to the end. Having Sklyarevsky starting P3 will keep both Lodding and Wynne on high alert as one mistake between them will leave the door open for George to make his move to the front.

Most of the race we see nose to tail racing with the front 3 pack playing nice and moving away from the rest of the field. Chris Manwaring goes from 4^th to 8^th, Philip Schroeder moves north from 7^th to 4^th. Brian Landry loves 5^th place so that’s where he starts and finishes. Greg Gillum moves back 1 position, from 6^th to 7^th and Unabomber vested Craig Moore goes from 9^th to 6^th. I hear he threatened to pull the pin unless the other racers let him by. Lucas Oil Off road kart racer and the youngest racer in our group tonight, Gavin Harlien, strapped on as much as 75 extra pounds of weight and faired pretty well with a 9^th place finish. Not too bad for his first time racing against the best and with sooooooo much added weight. Hope his LOOR schedule allows him to come back again. Great kid, clean racer. The father/son racers David & Jonathan “Buttoned” up the last two spots and came away with a new found place to be on Tuesday night. Jonathan made most turns a drifting exercise and we now will help him fine tune the art of cornering with less tire noise and more grip if he chooses to return. Yes, Scott Lodding wins the “B” Main which means he’s on track literally to do another 40 laps.

Finish Order “B” Main:

Scott Lodding…George Sklyarevsky…Chris Wynne…Philip Schroeder…Brian Landry…Craig Moore…Greg Gillum…Chris Manwaring…Gavin Harlien…David Button…Jonathan Button.

“Lucky Lodding” moves into the “A” main for another 40 laps of racing on Track 2 c/c/w.

Which now brings us to the “A” Main. Chaz Baca Jr starts from his week to week reserved spot,P1, but he has Steve Lattanzi, who is hungry for a #1 finish, starting from P2, before the season ends and the always fast Tony Rolfson and Baca’s new shadow, Kyler Repella starting 3^rd and 4^th respectively. Cody Gutierrez has finally broken into the top 5 and is giddy with excitement even though he has Team Dive Bomb, Josh Sarchet nipping at his bumper. The field is rounded out with Keith Sears…Mike McClaran…Charles Crowe…Don Angel and Winner of “B” Main, Scott Lodding.

Green flag flys and Rolfson wants by Lattanzi before Baca can put too much distance between himself and the rest of the group. Rolfson’s attempts are unsuccessful as Lattanzi fends off the passing to the inside moves lap after lap. Lattanzi manages to maintain P2 and Rolfson slips back to finish a disappointing 5^th right behind Gutierrez who is jumping with joy with his 4^th place finish. Sears and Sarchet who have tangled most of this season swap spots and played nice right to the very end. Lodding moved up one position to finish 10^th over Don Angel. Crowe and McClaran also made a position swap. This must have been the Swap mart 500 race. No Black flags and no foot stomping so all the passes must have been clean. Miracles do happen and we hope for more when we come back to compete in Race #9 on Tuesday June 12 @ 7pm.

Finish Order “A” Main:

Chaz Baca Jr…Steve Lattanzi…Kyler Repella…Cody Gutierrez…Tony Rolfson…Keith Sears…Josh Sarchet…Charles Crowe…Mike McClaran…Scott Lodding…Don Angel.

Congratulations Chaz Baca Jr who is rapidly approaching his 7^th Octane Raceway Championship title, on yet another amazing drive to a race win and max points. Also a big thumbs up to Cody Gutierrez who has stepped up his racing game and was only 1 spot away from a podium finish.

See all of you and more on Tuesday June 12 for race #9 of 10. Track 1 c/w.

The league Final is also this Sat. June 16^th @ 9am. Surprises are on the menu as well as the Awards ceremony with trophies, gift cards and more.

If you’re Late, You May have to Spectate!

Keeping the Rubberside Down,

Steve "Kandyman" Lattanzi

Team Titanium of Octane Raceway

steve@OctaneRaceway.com

Competition Director

Offsite Specialty Events Coordinator

Lead Instructor for the Raceology 101 Jr Kart Racing School

317 S. 48^th Street . Phoenix, AZ 85034

(d) 602-427-4416 / 602-302-7223 (t) 602-321-2035(m)