March 18 -
Thunderhill National
Congratulations to all OR region drivers who made the trek down to T-hill for the Double National this past weekend. The OR region crew showed really well (see results below) and a good time was had by all.
The trek started out a little rough as Brian Towey lost a wheel (spindle and all) on the trailer backing it out of the driveway. 3 hours later his trek began until another weld on the trailer broke and the fender came loose somewhere in southern Oregon. Vise grips and several zip ties later and he was back on the road again.
We sent the red #87 car (first national race)down on a transporter and learned somewhere outside of ZigZag the cars in the transporter all came loose and the Red 87 ended up in the lounge in the front of the truck which was about a 7 foot drop from the upper deck. Once it arrived (slighlty buzzed) at the track, Ken, Brian, Fenn and crew fixed all the cosmetic damage and made it possible for us to get out on track.
More trouble ensued on Thursday during the test day when Brian lost 2 valves in the motor. Luckily the motor was not hurt too bad, and Ken and crew again came to the rescue to get the motor back together and running strong.
Saturdays Results - 23 entries
1st - Will
2nd - Ken
8th - John Mefford (red 87)
12th - Fenn
Brian 18th
Chuck 21st
Will and Ken swapped the lead multiple times and put on a great race for the fans. Brian who was running in 5th place late in the race made an unscheduled spin and needed to come into the pits to check the car before getting back out on track.
Sundays Race - 22 entries
1st - Brad Rampleberg
2nd - Will Schrader
3rd - Brian Towey
4th - Ken Sutherland
5th - John Mefford
7th - Fenn Bourland
12th - Chuck Hall
Sundays race saw some very interesting driving techniques from a 350Z, a Fiat and one of the other Miatas (not ours) that resulted in some hurt vehicles, Stewards RFA's, and confiscated race video. Be VERY glad we have our own run group in OR region.
Tech was non existent. I think only the top 2 cars got weighed and nothing else was checked either day. There was no drivers meetings at all. The tech crew was great, they were very nice and constantly making sure the drivers had water as it was hot (85) down there.....
Chris Klein made it down for the race and got lots of great pics of the event, go here to see them. http://thedigitalperspective.exposuremanager.com/g/thunderhill_031807
I want to thank Ken, Brian, Fenn, Bill, John Portello, Carrie, Emma, Chuck, Will, Pat and Gary for all the help they gave throughout the weekend for my new driver and car. We could not have had any fun without you guys.... Thanks!
-Sean
Sean Hedrick
www.miatacage.com - President
360-606-7734
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