Race one for the Past Present Racing League's Classic Division took place last evening under sunny skies in Mankato, MN in rather chilly temperatures for those in attendance. Nineteen Classic Monsters registered to compete and the field was inundated with rookies and veterans alike. The hot story around the pit paddock all day was who was going to master the track first from our 2009 rookie crop. We did not have to wait long to discover that as two PPRL newcomers Mark Iron and Travis Sewlio made their second consecutive appearances on Thunder Trax!
Round one of Thunder Trax saw fast qualifier Grave Digger with driver Robbie Williams take on the rookie Travis Sewlio in Snake Bite. We didn't need to wait long to see who was going to be the truck to beat as the Digger took the Snake to school moving on to the semi-finals. Mark Iron was the opposite end of the spectrum for rookie drivers however as he qualified second in AM/PM Boss and was taking up veteran driver Dave Collard in Clod Buster. For Mark the good fortune continued as he was able to master the turn before Collard could and pick up the win by a truck length. Finally Round One saw Ryan McCauley in Hearbeat take on Bigfoot 4 and Timmy Smith. The two PPRL veterans squared off with McCauley picking up what might be considered the upset win when Smith in Bigfoot missed the first set of cars!
With the Semi-Finals all but set the Fast Loser bracket pitted Clod Buster and Snake Bite together with the Tamiya sponsored Chevy moving on to face Tim Smith in Bigfoot 4 where again the Clod Buster prevailed in a very close race! Sometimes getting the extra track time will help a driver master the course and it looked like Collard was beginning to understand how to negotiate the U-Turn portion of the course. This is why PPRL instituted the fast loser points deduction rule for drivers who place in the top 4 finishing positions.
The Semi-Final Round was shaping up to be a dandy with Grave Digger taking on Clod Buster and AM/PM Boss squaring off against Heartbeat. First was Robbie Williams and Dave Collard's bout. The extra track time definitely helped the current overall points leader Collard as he almost nipped the Grave Digger machine at the line and had to settle for a possible third place run. Mark Iron and Ryan McCauley were next and The Boss's good fortune would finally run out for Iron when he was left sleeping at the starting line and Heartbeat lept to an easy win and a final round berth! The race for third place saw Iron take on Collard with Clod Buster bringing home the bronze from Mankato.
The Final Round now set pitted two rivals Robbie Williams and Ryan McCauley nose to nose for all the glory and bragging rights. The race was fought tooth and nail and had the closest finish of the evening with Grave Digger barely taking home gold. PPRL Officials had to review the replay to make sure the win call was correct. The veterans prevailed liked predicted with Robbie Williams leading the charge to victory lane. Robbie who has run similar style leagues such as IMTRL is now the Classic Divisions points leader over Ryan McCauley, Dave Collard and Mark Iron.
Ryan McCauley who came up just a nose short was happy with his run in comparison to last weeks effort in Mouton where the Frackville, Pennsylvania native rolled early in freestyle and was defeated in racing early on. "To be honest, I didn't expect to make it half as far as I did so that's a win in my eyes even if I came up short at the end" spoke Ryan. "It definitely shows light at the end of the tunnel for us, we put last week behind us and didn't even think about it tonight and we ran great. If we can keep this up we might be a contender for a title at the end of the road." McCauley who has competed in PPRL for all four seasons on a full time basis didn't exactly feel being a veteran on the tour helped him achieve the runner up position this time around. "For some racers like Tim Smith, Dave Collard, Robbie Williams, and a few others I could see that helping them but I've always ran horrible in the leaf sprung trucks, I think this is the best I've run in one for a while." With McCauley's strong second place effort from Mankato it has vaulted him to fourth in the overall championship standings. Perhaps the Heartbeat driver has found his niche in the series? "As a driver and racer you're always looking for a way to improve and go faster and harder and win more then you have before, I know I wouldn't be the only one to answer a simple yes to that question because as racers we all want to win in whatever it is we are racing." Ryan looks to keep the momentum rolling next week entering Fall Madness.
Speaking of Fall Madness next week is the Fifth Anniversary of the event from Fresno California! 20 plus Modern Monster Trucks are expected to be racing this year with all in attendance vying for precious points towards the seasons championships! It is yet to be seen who might be the clear favorite after Mouton's event but with a new course for the fifth running it might just be wide open for anyone! Stay tuned to the website for daily updates from Fresno Municipal Stadium the site of Fall Madness "The Fifth Anniversary"!
No comments:
Post a Comment