1. Halloween Classic 2. Holiday Challenge 3.Carpet Mayhem 4.Capitol Carpet Challenge

Race Report – Round 3 – 2009 Carpet Mayhem

January 16-18, 2009

Babylon, New York: The furthest east that the Northeast Grand Slam Series travels is here, for the third second leg of the series. Located about 45 minutes outside of New York City, 360 Speedway and Hobbies is a top rate R/C facility, owned by ROAR National Champion, Donny Lia (and full scale NASCAR champ). Donny knows racing, and nothing could be clearer after taking one step into 360 Speedway.

The in-house hobby shop was stocked to the gills with all the parts the serious racer needs, as well as a slew of fun products to get newcomers interested in joining the fun. Pushing through the doors of the shop led us to where the action was; on the track. The track was smooth and flat and showcased everything a ‘top-notch’ carpet track should be. The layout was solid, and was run backward from the normal, clockwise direction.

Practice

Keeping the format the same for all four legs of the NGS series has been a priority so that racers can plan their schedules far in advance for each leg. Though a simple idea, it demands a quality race director/team and 360 Speedway and Hobbies provided just that.

The facility opened at 10 AM on Friday, and racers began to come inside from the frigid temperatures outside. The track didn’t open until noon, so it gave racers plenty of time to get setup, get batteries on charge, and greet their friends. A new layout was installed the previous night, so early practice runs were mainly to put traction down, learn the layout, and get an early gauge on gearing. As the day wore on, bite came up, and the lap times got faster. From 8-10PM, practice was restricted to only those who had arrived later in the day and had not run on the track yet. The rest of the racers were encouraged to go get something good to eat and get their rest, as Saturdays at a Grand Slam event are a marathon.

Qualifying

Saturday opened with one “happy hour” of open practice, followed by one controlled round-by-heat. Then the fun began! First up was Touring Stock, and early on it was local racer Sal Amato leading the way, followed by Rob Destefano and Steve Bahnatka. As qualifying progressed, Greg Dobrosky found a fast setup and worked his was up into the 3rd qualifying position.

Next was 1/12 Pro, and Paul Ciccarello wasted no time in jumping to the front. Several racers made strong runs at the top, including Jeff Dayger, Dave Chester, and Josh Cyrul. However, in the end it was Donny Lia that put his Speedmerchant car on the pole. The Superstock Rubber Sedan class then followed, with Mike Haynes setting the early pace. Billy Spence, Jari Taskila, Jeff Cuffs, and James Reilly all had strong cars and kept the pressure on all day. Lurking right behind them all was Losi driver, Larry Fairtrace, who overcame his customary early-round blowouts to take the top spot in the 3rd round. He held on in round 4 to take TQ, followed by Haynes and Taskila.

The new World GT class followed, with Josh Cyrul, Frank Calandra, and Jason Schreffler taking the top three qualifying spots, and newest “fast-guy” Myles Hale, knocking on the door in 4th. In 1/12 stock, the top position changed hands nearly every round, with Billy Spence and Sal Amato wrestling for the prize. Myles Hale, Gavin Creado, and Greg Dobrosky all made strong runs at the top spot, but it was Amato claiming the prize. Spence would start the main in 2nd, and Creado in 3rd.

For the next class, 360 Speedway added a nice touch to the Vintage Trans-Am division – music from the 50’s and 60’s as the races were run! This didn’t make the drivers any more courteous, though. The rock-em, sock-em racers put on quite a show, and Mike Haynes ended up fastest, with Steve Sohl and Kregg Kerr in tow. The final class in the Grand Slam to run was Pro Touring. One again, qualifying was a hard-fought battle amongst several drivers, including Craig Xavier, Larry Fairtrace, Josh Cyrul, Donny Lia, and Mike Haynes all with strong cars and legitimate shots at the top spot. In round four, Jason Schreffler crushed their dreams of TQ glory by putting his JRXS-R on top. Josh Cyrul and Mike Haynes would start the main 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Racing

As the Grand Slam series has progressed, we’ve come to expect nothing but great battles in the mains. This event did not disappoint on any level. With 147 total entries for the ’09 Carpet Mayhem race, the room was not short on talent come Sunday morning. The Northeast Grand Slam Sunday program offers up a bit more relaxation, and racers could afford a little time to watch how things would finish up. Many gathered around the track to provide some well deserved cheering and taunting as the mains would commence.

In fine Grand Slam fashion, we continued to see great, clean starts in many classes. This meant that in World GT, Superstock Rubber, and Stock Sedan that the TQ holder went on to win the main. There was some great racing, but the suspense was not quite there yet.

That is, until Stock 12th scale ran. Local hot shoe, Sal Amato TQ’d both stock classes, and would start out front. Billy Spence would start second, with Gavin Creado third. The start was clean and Sal and Billy put a small separation between themselves and Creado. About a minute in, Sal had a small tap, that allowed Billy around. With 7 minutes left, Sal tucked right back on Billy’s rear bumper. The next lap, Sal would try a move on the left handed hairpin, but it wouldn’t stick. Down the straight they would go. Laps later, Sal would tap giving Billy some breathing room, and that was all that was needed to secure the win for Billy Spence. Amato finished second, and Creado held on for third.

In the track choice class, USVTA, the start was an eruption of color, as Victor Kao’s pink Camaro was sent flying through the air in turn one. Meanwhile, George Fabiani had taken advantage of the mayhem and worked his way out front, followed by Steve Sohl, Kregg Kerr, and Mike Haynes (who started first). With better than a minute down Steve Sohl would motor his Tamiya past Fabiani down the straight. Mike Haynes would follow the slipstream putting Fabiani third for the moment.

By now, the leaders had reached lapped traffic, and in USVTA that nearly always plays a defining role. As Haynes tried to close the gap on Sohl, he met some unwilling participants and his car was sent barrel rolling once or twice. Steve’s path wasn’t without friction, and with around the half way point, the two were nose to tail continuing though traffic when Steve was again victimized, allowing Haynes to the front. Later Sohl would muscle past Haynes for another shot at the victory. Haynes returned the favor with a minute to go. These two duked it for the remaining minute spending more time on their lids than their tires, and in the end, Haynes would hold on for what was arguably his; the win. When time elapsed, Haynes, Sohl, and Kerr would find themselves on the podium.

In the main event for Pro Touring, Jason Schreffler started out front, and remained there for ¾ of a lap before tapping out, landing himself back to third. Now forced to chase Mike Haynes for the 2nd spot, Schreffler’s mistake left Cyrul out front in the clear. Schreffler worked past Haynes, only to encounter the same abrupt obstruction that haunted him on the first lap. In the end, Haynes would make a good charge on Cyrul for the win, but never getting close enough to make a move. Cyrul, Haynes, Schreffler in that order.

Pro 12th was undoubtedly the best main of the day. The grid began at Donny Lia, with Paul Ciccarello launching second, Jeff Dayger third, and Pro Touring winner Josh Cyrul starting 4th. It was another shakey start for the TQ, and racers witnessed Donny Lia tap twice on the first lap, giving the lead to Dayger, with Dave Chester and Ciccarello in tow. Early on, Chester brought the heat, but after settling in, Dayger began to stretch his lead. Ciccarello closed on Chester, and with less than 3 minutes to go, Ciccarello forced Chester to mistake in the center of the track, that he took full advantage of for the 2nd spot.

With about 2 minutes left to go, the freight train was Dayger, Ciccarello, Chester, and Cyrul. Dayger tapped the entry off the straight, and the tight field immediately muscled its way by. Moving a healthy 2 spots up, from 4th to 2nd, was Cyrul now tailing Ciccarello by a turn. With less than 30 seconds left Ciccarello made a mistake that let Cyrul around. For the remaining 30 seconds, the top three would race the next three laps nose to tail. As time elapsed, they were each caught at the line, finishing a few hundredths apart. Cyrul, Ciccarello, Chester.

With three quarters of the Grand Slam races in the books, there appears to be no loss of momentum. The ’09 Carpet Mayhem race was a perfect reminder of how, and why, carpet racing once thrived in the region. With temperatures reaching the single digits outside, the competition at 360 Speedway and Hobbies kept the heat on indoors. Round after round was filled with clean and courteous driving, which can only come out of a group of racers that are as hardcore as these. Having braved the artic elements to get to this race, there was nothing but commitment coming from this gang.

A commitment to racing. A commitment to winning. And a commitment to enjoying their time at 360 Speedway and Hobbies. Perhaps we might be a bit biased, but we can’t think of a better series to commit to.

- Chris Goetz - Paul Ciccarello - Mike McBride

360 Race Report.doc