The 1985 “Secret Oktober” fall racing season’s sports car event came to a roaring end on Sunday October 13, with another round of thrills and a few surprises. What wasn’t a surprise is that Ferrari’s cleaned up – not a surprise because, don’t they always? The gorgeous #45 1960 250GT SWBB “Maestro” driven by Scott “Radical” Radcliff made the field of 18 cars, as his motor blew up almost as soon as he left the starting line of the previous tournament and, knowing that the needed number of cars to conclude the series had not been found, lobbied for special a dispensation – inclusion in Group C – and got it. That turned out to be a fateful move for this event, leaving “Maestro” and Radcliff in the winner’s circle, and another veteran racer feeling cheated!
Due to the unusual number of starting cars, it was inevitable that an odd number would be encountered in the 2nd heat. To deal with this, the decision was made to format the race requiring an extra run at the end of the heat, pitting the quickest car of the heat against the quickest car of the previous heat. In heat 2 (the first elimination round), underdog Shanon “Salty” Sullivan in “Loose Canon” in the #91 Chaparral 2F, turned in a truly astonishing run of 33.998, the fastest time of the entire race. The crowd went wild, but this win forced him into the runoff race with Radcliff’s “Maestro.” Sadly, that record-breaking run overheated his motor, and though he left plenty of time for it too cool before the runoff, some damage must have occurred, because he was able to reproduce nothing near that time in the runoff, giving the win-and the heat advancement-to Radcliff. Needless to say both Sullivan and much of the crowd cried “foul,” especially since this might have been Sullivan’s first real shot at the tournament win. But rules are rules, resulting in the judges setting aside a special honor for Sullivan in the winner’s circle.
Several of the new Pantera GT5’s did very well in this tourney too; the winner just barely edged out “War Hammer”, the bright orange Pantera driven by newcomer Cain “Thundercat” Thatcher. Thatcher had some complaints of his own, saying that he actually won even though his time was fractionally below that of the #45 Ferrari, so there was definitely more contention in this race than most.
Even so, it ended with Radcliff and “Maestro” taking the win with his newly rebuilt motor, Thatcher 2nd, and “Aegean,” the Ferrari 250GTO of Gino “Glaciar” Guiliani, coming in 3rd. Although not everyone was happy, the rules agreed too were adhered too, and the accolades were accordingly distributed, bringing an end to BANZAI RUNNER IV and the “Secret Oktober” fall sports car championship!
Next up: the “Secret Oktober” Muscle Car “Monster’s Ball,” often the biggest and best attended event of the year! Don’t miss it, race fans! Results are coming soon!
Some great racing and excitement going on at Drag City. With those three cars at the end, I’d say they were all winners! I love the graphics that you created for the track and the race!