Everyone loves an underdog, and what greater underdog is there than a rookie? When the starting flag went down for the opening race of the Group A Sports team, Banzai Runner V was ON! What happened as the results came in stunned spectators and veteran drivers alike, as a newcomer who made no bones about having a chip on his shoulder made good on months of threats and insinuations! There was probably as many boos as there were cheers for Zagan “RAMPAGE” Rhinebach as he piloted his long-suffering blue Cheetah to victory, but seasoned fans who have been following the action at Drag City for years know this win was justice served: the battered and abused little Cheetah finally got her moment in the sun!
The sad story of my original Aurora blue Cheetah is laid out in all its gory details here, but for those who don’t want to read the full recap, this car has been bounced around my fleet for nearly 5 years, being mounted and remounted on chassis after chassis; its been in the sports car fleet 3x under different owners and different numbers, and also did a long spell with The Road Crew, but every time it seemed she’d found her place, she got used as a parts car and discarded. When Zagan Rhinebach first acquired the car late in 1985 with the intention to turn it into a winner, he settled for racing number 71 but lobbied hard for the number 4, the number already assigned to “Tropicana,” the flourescent green and black Chaparral 2F raced by Brighton (UK) native Lester “Hairpin” Hummel. Although negotiations were not complete, Rhineback showed up with his #71 replaced by a number 4, and while in many cases that would have disqualified him, someone on the rules committee apparently felt that Rhineback’s car had suffered enough setbacks, so for 1st time-and probably the last time!-in known DC history, a tournament was run with a duplicate number! It turned out not to be an accounting nightmare, as “Hairpin” Hummel barely showed despite some fine driving; Rhinebach, on the other hand, was out for blood!
There were some exciting moments but overall it was a very “by the book” race as the gentlemen of the sports car world are almost all exemplary racers, skilled drivers who know and respect the rules and are often unwilling to risk damage to what are, after all, extremely valuable classic cars! Perhaps there’s a new renegade in town, or perhaps he just intended to make a point, but another Cheetah driver at DC – in fact, the winningest driver in the track’s history, none other than Sherman “Throttlestop” Steele, must have watched the results of this race with some degree of consternation about the safety of his title, for Rhinebach posted some astonishing times, finishing well ahead of 2nd place Kenneth “Thriller” Diller’s #27 Ford GT 40. Rounding out the top 3 was another newer driver who is already racking up major victories, Cain “Thundercat” Thatcher, who brought his bright orange #83 Pantera GT5 “Warhammer” into a close 3rd place.
There were excellent showings all around, but the winner was the focus, as the car called “REVENGE” finally had hers; years of abuse were vindicated at the track last weekend, and everyone is now on notice that there’s a new threat to Mr. Steele and “King of the Hill!”
Will Rhinebach and his rejuvenated partner “Revenge” continue their winning streak in the future? We’ll know soon enough when we see what kind of times #18 posts when Group C takes to the track. Next up, however, is Group B, with 32 more vintage sports cars thundering across the California desert!
Awesome seeing the race footage and what a great story for this car and driver!!!!!