The “Secret Oktober” Vintage Sportscar Championship has reached its long awaited (read: way late) conclusion last weekend, with a new tournament champion and a bravura performance by an underdog! Several of the best drivers and fastest cars from around the world were at this well-attended event, but at the end it was a battle between Chevrolets!
The most unfortunate event of the tournament was two more engine failures; the motor of the #25 Ford J-Car of James “Reflex” Reid went up in smoke after years of racing, putting the now appropriately named “Calamity” in the pits for the long term, while “Aegean,” the blue and gold #317 Ferrari 250GTO belonging to Gino “Glacier” Guiliani also went south midway through his 4th race in Elimination round 3, a major disappointment to the crowd.
The 3rd round of eliminations also saw the face-off between a pair of the fastest small-bore cars on the track, the Porsche 904’s, where it was “Rusty” Ranger in #21 “Blitz” against “Buster” Barnes in #80 “Stormer.” Ranger won and advanced to the final elimination round, where he was vanquished by the tournament’s ultimate winner, the #1 Corvette Grand Sport so appropriately nicknamed “Number One.”
This was Wayne “Wonderkid” William’s chance at the limelight; as a multi-trophy race winner who has made it to the 3rd Elimination round numerous times and the “Final Elimination” round more than once, he was finally able to take the tournament against an amazing showing by Texan Roddy “Rodeo” Randall in his 427-powered Corvette hardtop roadster, the bright orange #67 car named “Road Wrecker.” This was an amazing showing for Randall, who has not had the best history at Drag City: recall that it was only last year that he was sanctioned for impacting a Cobra during the “Summer Sports Frenzy” race. He has clearly come a long way since then, and made a crowd-pleasing attempt to take the tournament win with a white-knuckle ride during “The Final Battle” in which he nearly wiped out 4 times! Though it was a valiant effort that drove the crowd wild, in the end it only served to slow him down, giving Williams a comfortable win of nearly a full second.
This was a great way to bring the Fall racing season to a close, as repairs and some fleet shuffling will now be needed; the mechanics will swing wrenches and the drivers will practice for the launch of the Christmas racing season, coming soon at Drag City Raceway!
What a way to end the fall season! Christmas Racing Season will be a grand present indeed!