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2008 Sidewinder News & Updates
Welcome to our 2nd
annual awards presentation award summary.
To start the ball
rolling, we would like to give our thanks to those companies that have helped
support us in 2008.
Firstly, many thanks
to Hyper Racing for their support in
2008. Hyper Racing is the recognized “gold standard” in micro-sprint racing.
Everything they build and market is done with the utmost professionalism. They
are truly the manufacturer that all other manufacturers compare themselves to
and it was our honor to be associated with them in 2008. Their new 2009 Hyper
Black Series (HBS) chassis has all of micro world buzzing with the latest
innovations.
As a thank you to
all drivers that were present at the banquet, Hyper Racing supplied gift cards
to all drivers in attendance.
Unfortunately Mike
and Christy were unable to be with us last night, so on their behalf we called
on the Hyper Racing Fuel Injection Guru, Ryan Greth to accept our appreciation
plague on their behalf.
As many know, the
raffle car was the way we raised the required revenues to help support this
class in 2008.
Hyper Racing, not
only supplied the car, but was also instrumental in negotiating the premium Gas
Shock package on the raffle car supplied by Advance Racing Suspension (ARS). Our
many thanks go to ARS for their generosity.
The car would have been really hard to move around without the generosity of
Keizer Wheels providing the wheels and
Lias Tire /American
Racer for providing the tires. Both companies have supported us from our humble
beginning in 2007. Keizer wheels are some of, if not the lightest wheel in the
industry.
The great fit of the
American Racer spec tire to the racing surfaces has allowed most teams to only
use 4 right rear tires for the entire season and thus all teams benefited from a
substantial cost savings on tires.
H & H Wings are
another supporter of Sidewinder Sprints that has been with us from the
inception. Chris believes in supporting his customers, and jumped at the
opportunity to supply the wings. When it came time for the powder coating, Chris
knew it just had to be the best, so naturally he chose Coating Concepts. Coating
Concepts came on board with the superb black powder coating.
That powder coating
and the black gel coat fiberglass body supplied from Hyper proved to be a worthy
background for Sean Campbell from SC Signs and Designs to layer on the award
winning graphics.
For those that might be unaware the exceptional 2008 Sidewinder Sprints Hyper
Racing raffle car won 1st place at the York Dirt Trackin’ Show. Sean
also supplied the fantastic SidewinderSprints.com leading edge wing logo for the
teams.
Sean was presented with a plague as a gesture of our appreciation.
Obviously having a raffle car was a huge undertaking. Transportation of the car
could easily have been a logistics nightmare. Enter Team Funck. Gary took
control and transported the car everywhere. From Atlantic City to The Dirt
Trackin Show in York, back up to Motorarma in Harrisburg
and then down to the Chambersburg Mall for the Path Valley show and this
was before the race season even began. During the race season the car made
multiple appearances at, Trail-Way, Path Valley, Linda’s and Lanco. The special
events included the Super 600 Showdown, multiple 600cc speedweek events and
lastly the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial where we were honored to have Mrs. Gobrecht
draw the winning ticket. The lucky winner was….
John Wentz of Hanover, Pa.
Gary Funck was
presented with a plague of appreciation for his efforts.
The raffle car
eventually found a new home with Joe Robertson purchasing the car. Joe will be
the 3rd of three brothers racing with Sidewinder Sprints next year.
Joe's other brothers John and Art will make a formidable family team. Speaking
of Art, many here may not be aware of just how serious Art’s flip during the
Gobrecht was. Art sustained multiple broken bones, including his neck and back
and the good news is that Art is on the road to a full recovery and is looking
forward to next season.
Part of the raffle
car give away included cash awards to the highest ticket sellers. During the
year, Jason Morrison accepted a huge challenge. The original Super 600 Showdown
looked doomed. Dale Thomas had become too busy at work to fully execute the
planning of this annual micro racing event. With just 6 weeks before the event,
Jason jumped in to pick up the pieces and promote the show. In doing so he also
decided to purchase the
www.microracing.com website from Dale. At that
time Jason spent considerable amounts of his own money for the betterment of the
sport in general and it was through this new business venture that he was able
to display a “banner ad” on his newly purchased popular website that attracts
1000’s of visitors. That ad helped Jason record the highest ticket sales.
Originally the award was going to be $500, $300, $200. Gary Funck came in second
by the slimmest of margins. Rohan Beasley was 3rd.
In a show of respect
for Gary Funck’s efforts all year, at that time Jason suggested that we split
the first and second place, by totaling the award for those two positions and
then halving it.
Gary Funk and Jason
Morrison were both presented with $400 checks in appreciation of their efforts.
Rohan Beasley
received a $200 check for coming in 3rd.
During the year,
many teams received some extra cash from our Hard Charger Award.
In 2008, The
Workshop Yamaha / Polaris helped make this award a reality. When anyone thinks
about purchasing any type of 4 wheeler or snow mobile, or they would like to
just have their existing one serviced.. you really do need to make The Workshop
you first choice. Their customer service is outstanding.
On behalf of The Workshop, Mark
Strickler was presented a plague in honor of our appreciation of their support
in 2008.
Before we spoke about the next controversial section… we wanted to recap on the
original concept behind the formation of this class to keep it fresh in
everyone’s minds and give a brief “state of the union”.
Sidewinder Sprints was formed in September 2006 with the following
goals in mind;
We started with the basic 600cc racing rules... and
modified them to achieve the following;
1/ Decrease the cost (OEM standard engines, tire rules,
limitation on cockpit adjustables etc)
2/ Increase the horsepower to make the car more exciting
to drive (who doesn't want more HP?)
3/ Unhook the car to focus on driver and car setup
ability (More HP, Harder tire, Less grip)
4/ Focus on promoting micro racing as a premier division
in speedway racing.
We feel that we have achieved 3 of those goals. Goal 4 still needs some
attention.
Now to the
controversy…..
Late in the year, we
floated some ideas…. In our annual planning meeting, we discussed the next
development needs of our class. Some of our ideas revolved around some minor
cost effective changes that could be made to change the look of the cars. The
most obvious cost effective changes were bigger wings and bigger tires… We set
out to not only test the concepts but also keep our teams informed as to our
thoughts. The bigger wing idea was killed off rather quickly. It just didn’t
align itself with our original intentions of the need to unhook the cars and
bring back driver/setup priority.
The next portion,
bigger wheels and tires went into the testing phase. Rick Hench from Henchcraft
Racing Products was ideally positioned to help us with the logistics since he
already built mini-sprints with 13” wheels and he also had 2 Sidewinder Sprints
available. Rick was extremely helpful, providing cars and tires for the testing.
This testing proved many things to us. The cars felt much smoother over the
ruts, and the cars moved more on the suspension. During one particular test at
Trail-Way, Shawn Seifert lapped his car and returned to comment on his tire rub
on the left arm guard. (Something never experienced with the smaller 10” wheels)
This proved how much further the car traveled on the left rear without bottoming
out. Everyone that saw the cars fitted with the 13” wheels commented on how much
better, bigger and more proportioned the car looked.
We have always had a
five year development plan for this class, and at that time we decided that our
focus needed to be on car count growth in 2009 by having some higher paying
shows with less emphasis on the end of year point fund.
We have effectively shelved the 13" wheel rule for the 2009 season,
although more testing is planned throughout the 2009 season to give us greater
insight into the potential advantages of this concept.
That ends the recap
on the controversy.
Back to Rick Hench
for a moment, Rick was instrumental in operating a rental program where anyone
could rent a Sidewinder Sprint and experience true race conditions. This program
alone accounted for 11 different drivers gaining the opportunity to race with us
in 2008. It was for his efforts in the rental program and his desire to help see
this class succeed including helping with the previously mentioned testing
program that we would like to award Rick Hench a plague of appreciation.
Rick unfortunately
couldn’t be with us last night. It was his daughters 16th birthday.
On that statistical
point of interest. We had 50 different drivers try Sidewinder Sprint racing this
year. On my last count, I know of 34 different cars that competed with us in
2008. Assuming the average car cost of $13,000, that’s over $442,000 worth of
machinery that teams have built, believing in this concept, and we are very
humbled by that. When all racing classes showed a declining car count in 2008,
we grew. At this early stage we already have approximately 8 new teams that will
be joining us in 2009.
Now to the awards;
Congratulations on the
Best
Appearing Car award went to
A lot can be said about this next driver, but he is genuinely one of the nicest
guys in the pits. This driver exemplified the exact qualities that this award
represents. When all the teams were tasked with selling 25 raffle tickets to be
eligible for the bonus bucks, we knew it would be quite a task for some, but we
figured the carrot was large enough for most to make the effort. This one driver
only raced 5 times with us all year and therefore had little if anything to gain
personally from the bonus cash awarded to the eligible top 24 drivers. But guess
what…. He sold his entire book. He understood that it was for the greater good
of the entire class and he wanted to contribute as much as possible.
Congratulations on the
Sportsman Award went to
The next award can be very subjective. We decided that the fairest way to ensure
consistency with this award would be to measure it on the improvement from last
season to this season in points. One driver finished 19 places higher in the
points this year than last year. He
continued to show improvement throughout the year as his experience and
confidence continue to increase.
Congratulations on the
Most
Improved Award went to
When the teams that
voted looked back on the season to find an example of “Hard Luck” it was obvious
by the voting that some incidents stood out from the rest.
Not many teams can claim the fame of
destroying 2 cars in one night, let alone destroying a car again on the first
lap in the comeback heat race. Then to rub salt into the wounds, this drivers
bad luck continued, managing to put the Henchcraft rental car on its side twice
during the Gobrecht Memorial. After a horror 2008 season, it is great to welcome
this team back for the 2009 season.
Congratulations , and in this case commiseration's on the
Hard
Luck Award went to
Mark
Strickler
Last year, we started an annual award. The “Got Funcked Award”. This award was
in recognition to everything Gary Funck did during our first year.
To put this award into perspective, let me recap on our thinking by
sharing once again the original award presentation script from our 2007 awards.
In our inaugural
year… it was obvious that a special award was needed. Sidewinder Sprints
appreciates the extra effort that one particular team put in to support the most
exciting, fastest growing new class ever in the history of micro racing
From the start of the year in Atlantic City to the final race at Path Valley…
They were there.
When we needed to perform an exhibition at Lanco……
They were there.
When cars were being crashed in hot laps……
They were there.
When team cars had a magnetic attraction….
They were there.
When crashed parts needed to be replaced….
They were there.
This award tonight is presented to the one driver/car owner gave tremendous
support to Sidewinder Sprints and especially the parts suppliers.
What better to award the winner than actual parts from H & H Wings that he can
use in the coming season…..
In appreciation for his efforts… we were pleased to announce the inaugural….
Got Funcked Award.
This year, we sought to award this to the team that kept coming back, even after
mishaps that would have spelt the end for many teams. This team had parts break
that put them in the wall at Path Valley. They had further contact with the wall
at Trail-Way. Bad grounds were blamed on bad injectors… the list goes on. The
one thing this team gained this year was experience.
What better to award the winner than a gift certificate from H & H Wings that he
can use in the coming season…..
In appreciation for his efforts… we were pleased to announce the winner of the….
Got Funcked Award.
And the
winner was Patrick Roller
Last but by no means least we come to the Rookie of the year Award. This award
is being presented to the highest points finisher that did not compete in any
points races in 2007. This may come as a shock to many… We even had to check
this 3 times to make sure that We were correct. But when We looked
back on the 2008 season, there was one
telling incident where you could just tell this guy was a rookie……. Well maybe
not a total rookie….Even Rookies know to go to the scales and how many rookies
have already won a $10K to win race???
Congratulations must go to the 2008 Rookie of the Year,
Ryan Greth
And now to the
Season Points Award winners.
The first for awards
stand out as great examples of sportsmanship. All of these drivers sold all of
their tickets and managed to finish in the top 24 in points that made them
eligible to receive the cash bonuses. Our many thanks goes out to these drivers
for making the effort in tickets sales.
Sidewinder
Sprints 21st Place
Congratulations to
our 21st place points finisher
Sidewinder
Sprints 18th Place
Congratulations to
our 18th place points finisher
Sidewinder
Sprints 12th Place
Congratulations to
our 12th place points finisher
Sidewinder
Sprints 10th Place
This driver started
his racing in the 270 class at Selinsgrove. The Sidewinder concept of more speed
for less money captured his imagination… After selling out of his 270 equipment,
he purchased a chassis and engine and was on his way ! After making his debut in
May, he tried his very best to make every race, including the wingless race at
Path Valley. By his own admission, the learning curve was a steep one… almost as
steep as the increase in the speeds. Always smiling and just happy to be at the
races our
Congratulations to
our 10th place points finisher
Sidewinder
Sprints 8th Place
Some teams start
racing because their fathers, uncles, bothers, mothers or sisters race. Some
race because they have watched from the stands and wondered what it would be
like. Then they help a team and as enjoyable as that can be they soon realize
that their desire, their passion is still not being met. The racing bug has
bitten and nothing except for driving will cure the disease. This driver fits
that description. After starting out in the 600’s he quickly realized that the
new Sidewinder Sprints would be the place to be. Improvement throughout the
season was obvious to all as this driver learned the trade.
Congratulations to
our 8th place points finisher
Sidewinder
Sprints 7th Place
A lot can be said about
this next driver. His dry sense of humor is infectious. His genuine willingness
to help has been proven many times. This year he changed chassis’s from a Probe
to a Henchcraft …next year he is changing from a Sidewinder Sprint to a Super
Sportsman.. The super sportsman division are gaining exactly as their name
implies….. a super sportsman. Our loss is their gain, but we would like to make
sure that this driver knows that after driving the slow bus like creature that
is a super sportsman, that we will welcome him back with open arms.
Congratulations to our
7th place points finisher
Sean Campbell
Sidewinder
Sprints 6th Place
This next driver
might have found the “holy grail” towards the end of the season. Changes to his
chassis helped him become more comfortable in the car. It showed on the night
before the Sprint Nationals at Path Valley when he produced his season best
finish in only his second time out with the changes..This new found comfort has
this driver chomping at the bit for 2009. The cars are always immaculate, and
from what I know about this team, I am sure they are already stripped down and
in the process of being rebuilt.
Once again this team
went above and beyond to help support this class in 2008.
Congratulations to
our 6th place points finisher
Gary Funck
Sidewinder
Sprints 5th Place
Part two of the two
car team, this driver was able to keep the car on all 4 wheels with one
exception…. Wingless practice at Lanco when contact with “the boss” sent him
over. With a fast Suzuki under the hood, he showed his potential with a season
best 3rd place at Path Valley mid way through the season. A close
runner up for sportsman of the year, this driver was always quick to
congratulate the winners and by his constant smile, it was obvious to all that
he really enjoyed his season.
Congratulations to
our 5th place points finisher
Denny
Landvater
Sidewinder
Sprints 4th Place
It all started for
this driver losing a left rear wheel at Trail-Way. It progressed to broken wheel
centers, broken axles, front ends being destroyed and finally flipping his car
for the first time. His season finished with another destroyed front axle in the
season finale wingless show at Path Valley. 2008 was a very trying year for this
driver. He was told last year to focus on taking the small steps of
improvement..try and win heat races first..then move on to feature wins. Part
one of that mission was achieved with multiple heat race wins. In 2009 he is
determined to capture part two of the mission with a feature win.
Congratulations to
our 4th place points finisher
Rohan
Beasley
Sidewinder
Sprints 3rd Place
Last season’s
“Bridesmaid” nickname carried over to the 2008 season and never was it more
obvious than the last points race at Path Valley.
This driver had led the Path Valley
points for the entire year only to have Ryan Greth overtake him and win the
track championship by the smallest of margins – 4 points. Once again the
bridesmaid had the most 2nd places, being tied with Ryan Greth on 6
2nd places for the season.
Always a tinkerer, I don’t think there were 2 weeks in the entire season where
he started with the same set up. 2009 will see this driver tinkering yet again
with a specially built Hyper Chassis, affectionately nicknamed by the Hyper
employees…the FU-CAR.
Congratulations to
our 3rd place points finisher
Jason
Morrison
Sidewinder
Sprints 2nd Place
What a sensational
points battle our 2008 season ended up being. No one would ever think that the
points lead would change 12 different times in only 25 points races. During the
year we had 6 different drivers all sharing the points lead at one stage during
the season. Between Ryan Greth and Tim Mertz alone, they swapped the points lead
an amazing 7 times.
Leading into the
last points race of the year, both Ryan Greth and Tim Mertz were tied on 1982
points each. It all came down to the last points race of the year. The feature
would line up with Tim Mertz on the pole, Ryan Greth lined up in position 5.
Ryan quickly hustled his way into 3rd and tried to chase down the
leaders on the dry slick track, but to no avail. Tim went on to take the win and
the championship. The effort that Ryan and the team put in despite the adversity
of the mid season scale incident needs to be commended. Many people would have
thrown in the towel at that point, but not the “Grethalyzer”. With 5 wins for
the season and 14 podium finishes for the season the Greth team bounced back and
is looking forward to going one place better in 2009.
Congratulations to
our 2nd place points finisher
Ryan Greth
We started the year
with Hyper Racing as our major backer. How lonely it must have felt being the
only RTS chassis surrounded by all of the Hypers. Last year Tim showed moments
of outright speed, but his year was over shadowed by just plain bad luck causing
numerous dnf’s. What a difference a year can make. Easily the fastest car during
the year at Path Valley, Tim Mertz and team showed that they definitely learned
from their 2007 experiences. Their consistency enabled the Mertz Team to capture
the Trail-Way Championship. With 8
wins for the season and 12 podium finishes The Mertz Moving team earned the
right to call themselves champions.
Congratulations to
our 1st place points finisher and 2008 Sidewinder Sprints Champion
Our awards
presentation would not be complete without out us extending our thanks to our
contingency award partners.
The Workshop
(
www.workshopwelovesnow.com )
For all of your 4 wheeler and snow mobile needs.
Guhl Motors(
www.guhlmotors.com ) ; For the best fuel
injection conversions ; For a limited time, call Don (717-625-1411) and ask
about the Sidewinder Special for your fuel injection conversions (600 and 1000)
Keizer Wheels ( www.Keizerwheels.com
);The ultimate in
racing wheels
American Racer /
Lias Tires (www.americanraceronline.com) (
www.liastire.com ); For the tires that provide
the best racing action.
SC Signs and Designs
www.scsigns.net ; For standout
vinyl graphics.
H & H Wings...Phone 717-303-8231;
Wings that make you fly ! ; Call Chris now for his winter wing special !
H & H Wings also
provided a special end of year bonus!
H
& H Wings
$300 Gift Certificate for the Sidewinder Sprints Champion - Tim Mertz
The next highest points finisher using H & H wings
Top wing and Nose wing combo - Jason Morrison
Also, special thanks
must go to Paige Lynch and all of the other volunteers for helping perform tech
inspections during the course of the season.
It has been a
fantastic second year. This time in 2006 we had just 2 cars…This year we have
over 30 and we continue to grow every week. I know that both Jason and myself
have appreciated the encouraging words throughout the year and the support shown
by the teams that joined our 2nd season. Our thanks must go out to
everyone that sold tickets to the raffle car and everyone that continues to
spread the message about Sidewinder Sprints. We will continue to build on the
foundation that continued this season and look forward to racing with you all in
2009
2009 Information;
Our schedule is
still a work in progress, currently we have 36 dates on the schedule…
some of the important dates we can confirm;
May 23rd
and 24th – Microracing.com Spring Nationals at Trail-Way
August 21st
Top 24 invitational – Williams Grove
Sidewinder Sprints
will next appear at Trail-Way Speedway on 03/14/09
Season 2008 Review presented by Hyper Racing
After having some weeks off to recover from a hectic 2008 season, here are some of the 2008 season statistics.
In only the second year since our inception, the amount of different drivers to experience the 1000cc Sidewinder Sprint action was staggering!
43 different drivers competed in points paying events.
50 different drivers competed in Sidewinder
Sprints action (Cameron Merriman, Mike
Rutherford and Brady Bacon all competed at Lanco during the 2008 Super 600
Showdown and Steve Owings, Keith Ford and Jesse Snyder at The Kevin Gobrecht
Memorial and Michael Zielonis
The total amount of new drivers for 2008 was 33. (These drivers had not driven a Sidewinder Sprint in 2007)
2009 is looking great. Many teams are making the change to the extra horsepower and lower costs. We will start to introduce the new teams early in 2009.
Of the 31 schedule points races…6 were lost to rain leaving a total of 25races.
From those 25 races we had 10 different winners. 13 different drivers came 2nd and 12 different drivers came 3rd. Overall 18 different drivers finished on the podium in 2008.
In chassis competition, Hyper Racing led the way with 10 wins, RTS had 8 wins, Henchcraft and Predator were tied on 3 wins and Stallard was able to pick one win.
In total podium performance, Hyper Racing – 41, RTS – 12 , Predator -7, Stallard – 4, Probe – 4, Henchcraft – 3 and PMP – 1.
In the engine department Yamaha led with 13 wins, Suzuki was second with 10 wins and Kawasaki came 3rd with 3 wins.
Total Podium finishes for the engines came in at Yamaha – 44, Suzuki -16, Kawasaki -15.
To make sense of the engine stats, you must consider that there were 27 –Yamaha, 7 Suzuki and 5 Kawasaki engines in use during the season by the various different drivers.
The points chase could not have been any closer.
In Sidewinder Sprints points, Tim Mertz on 2082 edged Ryan Greth on 2072 to take the championship. To put that into perspective, from a percentage standpoint, Tim was 86.75%, Ryan was 86.33%. It cannot get any closer than that! Jason Morrison rounded out the podium in 3rd.
In Path Valley points, Ryan Greth (430 pts) edged out Jason Morrison ( 426 pts) by only 4 points. Tim Mertz (408 pts) finished the season in 3rd position.
At Trail Way, Tim Mertz (436 pts) led Shawn Seifert (419 Pts) with Jeremy Lynch (414 pts) only slightly behind in 3rd place.
Raffle Car update. The car has been purchased by Joe Robertson and Joe is planning on making his Sidewinder Sprints debut in 2009.
Stay tuned for further 2009 season updates, and please remember to register your car and reserve your number ASAP as car numbers are filling fast.
Also please take the time to check out our new 2009 rules package.
Apart from Hyper Racing ( www.Hyperracing.com ), our thanks must go out to the other companies that have supplied products for the award winning raffle car;
Advance Racing Suspension ( www.advancedracingsusp.com ) for supplying the best shock absorbers in racing.
Lias Tire / American Racer ( www.americanraceronline.com ) ( www.liastire.com ); for supplying the tires that provide the best racing action.
H & H Wings (717-303-8231 ) for supplying the wings that make you fly.
Coating Concepts (717-240-0010 ) for the toughest and best looking powder coating in the industry.
SC Signs and Designs ( www.scsigns.net ) for the fantastic award winning graphics.
Sidewinder Sprints are accepting 2009 registrations.
Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.
For all your racing needs please contact our
following partners:
For all of your 270, 600 and Sidewinder Sprint needs;
Hyper Racing ( www.HyperRacing.com
)
580 Grandview Drive, Suite A
Lewisberry, PA 17339
Telephone: (717) 938-8732
Fax: (717) 938-8521
sales@hyperracing.com
Contingency Awards:
Sidewinder Sprints (
www.SidewinderSprints.com
) &
The Workshop ( www.workshopwelovesnow.com ) "Eligible Hard Charger Bonus" ;
Guhl Motors ( www.guhlmotors.com ) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”;
Keizer Wheels ( www.Keizerwheels.com ); The ultimate in racing wheels. “ 3rd Highest eligible finisher”;
American Racer / Lias Tires (
www.americanraceronline.com )
(
www.liastire.com ); For the tires
that provide the best racing action.; “Highest eligible American Racer front
tire finisher”;
H&H Wings ; Phone Chris @
717-303-8231; Wings that make you fly !
S & S Racing Fuel ; Phone Alan @
717-579-6413 or Tom @ 717-503-3614;
The best AA Methanol at the best prices.
Sidewinder Sprints overall points;
|
Tim Mertz |
2082 |
|
Ryan Greth |
2072 |
|
Jason Morrison |
1942 |
|
Rohan Beasley |
1774 |
|
Denny Landvater |
1356 |
|
Gary Funck |
1235 |
|
Sean Campbell |
1052 |
|
Jerry Strausbaugh |
1043 |
|
Brent Marks |
948 |
|
Patrick Roller |
863 |
|
Arron Spahr |
839 |
|
Jeremy Lynch |
786 |
|
Chad Hough |
764 |
|
Stan Fleming |
756 |
|
Shawn Seifert |
739 |
|
Rick Hench |
721 |
|
Donnie Hendershot |
535 |
|
John Robertson |
521 |
|
Jim Campbell Jnr |
464 |
|
James Shaw |
450 |
|
Jared Hudson |
445 |
|
Steve Dull |
380 |
|
Rich Halter |
347 |
|
Jimmy Puckett |
289 |
|
Kenny Wilhide |
276 |
|
Ron Taggert |
271 |
|
Mark Strickler |
243 |
|
Mike Pychinka |
188 |
|
Ben Murphy |
185 |
|
Travis Saner |
125 |
|
Brendon Bright |
115 |
|
Alex Schanz |
103 |
|
Dwayne Gutshall |
95 |
|
Art Stephan |
80 |
|
Tyler DeVault |
72 |
|
Jake Murrphy |
72 |
|
Shane Lewis |
68 |
|
Tyler Walton |
64 |
|
Todd Martin |
64 |
|
Sean McAndrew |
60 |
|
Jim Young |
60 |
|
Jason Eisenhart |
45 |
|
Gary Reed |
37 |
Countdown for 2008 and updates for 2009
2008
Countdown
With only six races left on the Sidewinder Sprints presented by Hyper Racing 2008 schedule, the race for the Hyper Cup resembles a heavyweight title fight. Ryan Greth and Tim Mertz are both even at the top of the points standing. (Data entry error on 6/28 is now corrected. Originally Tim received 70 pts instead of 72) Just like a title fight, here are the stats and most recent form on both drivers.
Ryan
Greth:
Tim Mertz:
Car; Hyper Racing Car; RTS Chassis
Engine; Yamaha R1 Engine; Suzuki GSXR
Injection; Hyper Racing Injection; Guhl Motors
2008 Wins; 5 2008 Wins; 6
Podium Finishes; 11 Podium Finishes; 9
Last 5 Races; 2, 1, 3, 6, 6 Last 5 Races; 1, 5, 4, 1, 3
Last 5 Trail-Way races; 1, 6, 4, 8, 1 Last 5 Trail-Way races; 5, 3, 7, 1, 7
Last 5 Path Valley races; 2, 3, 6, 2, 4 Last 5 Path Valley races; 1, 4, 1, 1, 11
Apart from the overall Sidewinder Sprints Championship, the two track titles are also up for grabs.
Top 5 from Path Valley;
|
1 |
55 |
Jason Morrison |
332 |
|
2 |
71 |
Ryan Greth |
324 |
|
3 |
17 |
Tim Mertz |
301 |
|
4 |
14 |
Rohan Beasley |
276 |
|
5 |
29 |
Denny Landvater |
266 |
Top 5 from Trail-Way;
|
1. |
17 |
Tim Mertz |
436 |
|
2. |
1 |
Shawn Seifert |
419 |
|
3. |
91 |
Jeremy Lynch |
414 |
|
4. |
71 |
Ryan Greth |
408 |
|
5. |
19M |
Brent Marks |
394 |
With the two big races, Kevin Gobrecht Memorial and the Sprint Nationals having extra money on the line as well, it sure will make for an exciting finish to the 2008 season.
2009 Updates;
After extensive testing, consultation with manufactures and competitors, Sidewinder Sprints have decided to keep the basics of the current rules package in place for next season. Sidewinder Sprints would like to extend their thanks to Rick Hench from Henchcraft Racing Products for not only providing test vehicles, wheels, tires, wings, time and effort, but also for his honest input on our proposed changes. Rick was one of many people that shared his view that we did not need to make any changes to what is already the most exciting, fastest micro sprint class in America.
Next season the Sidewinder Sprints will see some changes to the schedules.
More
Money $;
We
are looking to have the Sidewinder Points over approx. 18 races, 6 at Path
valley, 6 at Trail Way and 6 elsewhere. These races will pay $500 to win. Our
teams overwhelmingly requested less emphasis on the end of year point’s payout
system, and to place that money into the weekly payout.
We
will still have track points (controlled by PV and TW) for those that want to
race "weekly"
Currently we are on track to have 3 races / month at Trail-Way, 2 races / month
at Path Valley and 1 race/ month at other tracks for a total of around 6
races/month.
Wingless;
We
have listened to the requests from our teams to help break up the season with
some different formats and so we are also proposing approx. 4-6 wingless
challenge races. These races will have their own separate point’s battle. The
wingless races will be an open invitational that will also include the 600's.
In
total there will now be 4 points battles, Sidewinder Sprints, Trail-Way, Path
Valley and the Wingless Challenge series. This diverse array of point’s battles
should provide multiple challenges for all teams looking to compete with
Sidewinder Sprints in 2009.
Parity Report;
Engines;
Top 3 in all points races are all 3 different engines. Over the 3 points battles, all three engines fill every position, 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
Sidewinder Sprints; Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki
Trail-Way; Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha
Path Valley; Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki
Apart from Hyper Racing ( www.Hyperracing.com ), our thanks must go out to the other companies that have supplied products for the award winning raffle car;
Advance Racing Suspension ( www.advancedracingsusp.com ) for supplying the best shock absorbers in racing.
Lias Tire / American Racer ( www.americanraceronline.com ) ( www.liastire.com ); for supplying the tires that provide the best racing action.
H & H Wings (717-303-8231 ) for supplying the wings that make you fly.
Coating Concepts (717-240-0010 ) for the toughest and best looking powder coating in the industry.
SC Signs and Designs (www.scsigns.net ) for the fantastic award winning graphics.
Next Week’s Questions;
Q. With the Sidewinders having the Labor Day long weekend off to regroup. The next race will be a double header weekend with Path Valley (9/05) and Trail-Way (9/06). This begs the question….Can someone sweep the two nights?
Sidewinder Sprints are accepting 2008/2009 registrations.
Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.
For all your racing needs please contact our
following partners:
For all of your 270, 600 and Sidewinder Sprint needs;
Hyper Racing (
www.HyperRacing.com
)
580 Grandview Drive, Suite A
Lewisberry, PA 17339
Telephone: (717) 938-8732
Fax: (717) 938-8521
sales@hyperracing.com
Contingency Awards:
Sidewinder Sprints (
www.SidewinderSprints.com
) &
The Workshop ( www.workshopwelovesnow.com ) "Eligible Hard Charger Bonus" ;
Guhl Motors ( www.guhlmotors.com ) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”;
Keizer Wheels ( www.Keizerwheels.com ); The ultimate in racing wheels. “3rd Highest eligible finisher”;
American Racer / Lias Tires (
www.americanraceronline.com )
(
www.liastire.com ); For the tires
that provide the best racing action.; “Highest eligible American Racer front
tire finisher”;
H&H Wings ; Phone Chris @
717-303-8231; Wings that make you fly !
S & S Racing Fuel ; Phone Alan @
717-579-6413 or Tom @ 717-503-3614;
The best AA Methanol at the best prices.
Sidewinder Sprints will next appear at a double header weekend with Path Valley
(9/05) and Trail-Way (9/06). Racing starts at 7.00pm for Path Valley and 6.30pm
for Trail-Way
Sidewinder Sprints
overall points:
|
Ryan Greth |
1712 |
|
Tim Mertz |
1712 |
|
Jason Morrison |
1621 |
|
Rohan Beasley |
1520 |
|
Denny Landvater |
1218 |
|
Sean Campbell |
1052 |
|
Gary Funck |
1043 |
|
Brent Marks |
897 |
|
Jerry Strausbaugh |
853 |
|
Arron Spahr |
839 |
|
Shawn Seifert |
739 |
|
Jeremy Lynch |
726 |
|
Rick Hench |
721 |
|
Patrick Roller |
640 |
|
John Robertson |
521 |
|
Chad Hough |
509 |
|
Donnie Hendershot |
478 |
|
James Shaw |
450 |
|
Stan Fleming |
432 |
|
Jim Campbell Jnr |
429 |
|
Steve Dull |
380 |
|
Jared Hudson |
353 |
|
Rich Halter |
351 |
|
Kenny Wilhide |
276 |
|
Ron Taggert |
271 |
|
Mark Strickler |
243 |
|
Jimmy Puckett |
232 |
|
Travis Saner |
125 |
|
Alex Schanz |
103 |
|
Tyler DeVault |
72 |
|
Shane Lewis |
68 |
|
Tyler Walton |
64 |
|
Mike Pychinka |
60 |
|
Jason Eisenhart |
45 |
|
Gary Reed |
37 |
The 2008 Super 600 Showdown
$10,000 to Win Mega Event
July 5th, Rain date July 6th
Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway (Lanco) Pa
The official Super 600 Showdown website (www.super600showdown.com ) has been overhauled and updated, registrations are pouring in, and everything is in place for the biggest, baddest, fastest 600cc showdown in history.
With a huge purse of over $21,000 and competitors from as far away as California, everyone wants to win the Showdown !
All three previous winners including Donnie Hendershot, Ryan Greth and last years Super 600 Showdown winner, Mike Dicely have it on their schedules. Who will be this years winner?
Lanco’s high banked speed dome is known for it’s tremendous racing action and this years Showdown will be no exception. Spectators can enjoy the excellent seating and concessions in a picturesque mountain surrounding. Competitors can expect wheel-to-wheel combat, high-speed slide jobs, eye popping wheel stands and a once a year adrenalin rush like no other.
With over 120 cars expected to take the challenge for the $10,000 winners share, make sure your there to experience the action, the drama, and the excitement… not to mention the chance to join elite club of $10k winners.
Pre-registered entries are discounted and have the chance to be drawn for a cash award.
The Super 600 Showdown will be the final event of the 2nd annual PA 600cc Speed Week consisting of 7 races in 8 days. (www.pa600speedweek.com)
As an added bonus for the fans and racers alike, this years Super 600 Showdown will feature a Sidewinder Sprints 1000cc v’s 600cc wingless challenge race.
The rain continues to fall….
So far we are 1 for 3 at Path Valley and if “rain” was a driver he/she would be leading the points.
With a beautifully prepared surface awaiting the action, unfortunately the rain begun to fall as the 305’s were getting heat in their motors and it eventually forced the cancellation of the nights racing action.
New cars that were at Path Valley included the #22 of Patrick Roller, the #5D of Steve Dull and the return of the 1K from the Schanz racing stable (currently For Sale, see our website for details), only this time Kerry’s son Alex was set to take the wheel.
As is customary for the Sidewinder Sprints, all driver in attendance received the minimum points ( non qualifiers – 10 points) for their efforts.
Apart from Hyper Racing ( www.HyperRacing.com ), our thanks must go out to the other companies that have supplied products for the award winning raffle car;
Advance Racing Suspension ( www.advancedracingsusp.com ) for supplying the best shock absorbers in racing.
Lias Tire / American Racer ( www.americanraceronline.com ) ( www.liastire.com ); for supplying the tires that provide the best racing action.
H & H Wings ( 717-303-8231 ) for supplying the wings that make you fly.
Coating Concepts ( 717-240-0010 ) for the toughest and best looking powder coating in the industry.
SC Signs and Designs ( www.scsigns.net ) for the fantastic award winning graphics.
Next Weeks Question;
Q. Can Ryan Greth finally get his chain woes behind him and capitalize on his heat race speed ?
Sidewinder Sprints are now accepting 2008 registrations.
Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.
For all your racing needs please contact our following
partners:
For all of your 270, 600 and Sidewinder Sprint needs;
Hyper
Racing ( www.HyperRacing.com
)
580 Grandview Drive, Suite A
Lewisberry, PA 17339
Telephone: (717)
938-8732
Fax: (717) 938-8521
Contingency Awards:
Sidewinder Sprints (
www.SidewinderSprints.com )
"Hard Charger Bonus" ;
Pancho’s Racing Products ( www.panchosracingproducts.com ) New and Used Sprint Car and Micro Sprint parts.
Guhl Motors ( www.guhlmotors.com ) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”;
Keizer Wheels ( www.Keizerwheels.com ); The ultimate in racing wheels. “ 3rd Highest eligible finisher”;
American Racer / Lias Tires (
www.americanraceronline.com )
( www.liastire.com
); For the tires that provide the best racing action.; “Highest eligible
American Racer front tire finisher”;
H&H Wings...Phone Chris @ 717-303-8231; Wings that make you fly !
The Workshop ( www.workshopwelovesnow.com ) For all of your snow mobile and four wheeler needs. “ Highest eligible finisher”;
S & S Racing Fuel…
Phone Alan @ 717-579-6413 or Tom @ 717-503-3614; The best AA Methanol at
the best prices.
Sidewinder Sprints will next appear at Trail Way Speedway on 03/05/08. Racing starts at 6.00pm
Sidewinder Sprints overall points:
|
Chad Hough |
340 |
|
Tim Mertz |
340 |
|
Rohan Beasley |
322 |
|
Ryan Greth |
296 |
|
Rick Hench |
290 |
|
Jason Morrison |
284 |
|
Shawn Seifert |
260 |
|
Jeremy Lynch |
257 |
|
Sean Campbell |
250 |
|
Mark Strickler |
233 |
|
Gary Funck |
227 |
|
Ron Taggert |
211 |
|
Jerry Strausbaugh |
191 |
|
Brent Marks |
185 |
|
Denny Landvater |
183 |
|
Jim Campbell Jnr |
169 |
|
James Shaw |
157 |
|
Jared Hudson |
130 |
|
Donnie Hendershot |
105 |
|
Kenny Wilhide |
102 |
|
Mike Pychinka |
60 |
|
John Robertson |
58 |
|
Steve Dull |
10 |
|
Patrick Roller |
10 |
|
Alex Schanz |
10 |
|
Rich Halter |
0 |
|
Mark Kliss Jnr |
0 |
|
Jimmy Glenn |
0 |
|
Jim Lender |
0 |
|
Larney Johnson |
0 |
|
Jimmy Puckett |
0 |
|
Mike Dicely |
0 |
|
Gary Reed |
0 |
|
Dwayne Gutshall |
0 |
|
Jesse Snyder |
0 |
One race meeting….two rain outs….
With non stop rain occurring and forecast for Friday nights racing program at Path Valley, the management of Path Valley was left with no choice but to postpone the nights action and try to race on Sunday.
Sunday awoke to dreary overcast skies with the occasion rain shower, but with the radar showing clearing skies and eager race teams wanting to hit the track, Path Valley decided to push on with the show. Upon our arrival at the track, everything looked great, at times even blue skies peaked through the grey clouds.
The track itself looked sensational…smooth as silk and you could really notice that the racing width has been increased with the banking now extending all the way to the guardrail. The inside groove has been flattened in comparison and this layout will no doubt produce sensational racing in weeks to come.
The track crew did a great job trying to save the surface, in a slight misty drizzle, but unfortunately some heavier showers made an appearance on the radar and at the time the show was called.
All Sidewinder teams that made an appearance will be credited with the non-qualifiers allotted points (10 points) for their efforts.
The story of the week must belong to Gary Funck.After detonating an engine on the dyno mid week, Gary changed engines and had Mike Dicely (Hyper Racing) dyno his car on Sunday morning before he headed to Path Valley. Gary wanted to make sure that Mike and Hyper Racing are recognized and thanked for their outstanding customer service and commitment to helping anyone in need...anytime !!
It's that level of customer service that makes Sidewinder Sprints very proud to be associated with Hyper Racing !
Apart from Hyper Racing ( www.HyperRacing.com ), our thanks must go out to the other companies that have supplied products for the award winning raffle car;
Advance Racing Suspension ( www.advancedracingsusp.com ) for supplying the best shock absorbers in racing.
Lias Tire / American Racer ( www.americanraceronline.com ) ( www.liastire.com ); for supplying the tires that provide the best racing action.
H & H Wings ( 717-303-8231 ) for supplying the wings that make you fly.
Coating Concepts ( 717-240-0010 ) for the toughest and best looking powder coating in the industry.
SC Signs and Designs ( www.scsigns.net ) for the fantastic award winning graphics.
Next Weeks Question; (Carry over from last weeks)
Q. With Hyper Racing cars the top 3 in points. Can another chassis manufacturer make a charge into the top 3 positions. ( likely candidates, Tim Martz – RTS, Mark Strickler- Stallard, Rick Hench – Henchcraft, Shawn Seifert – Probe)
Sidewinder Sprints are now accepting 2008 registrations.
Drivers wishing to join are reminded to register with us ASAP (click the registration link on our website) to reserve your car number, as we do not allow duplicate numbers, and to receive important "registered team" only emails regarding rules, contingency requirements and schedules.
For all your racing needs please contact our following
partners:
For all of your 270, 600 and Sidewinder Sprint needs;
Hyper
Racing ( www.HyperRacing.com
)
580 Grandview Drive, Suite A
Lewisberry, PA 17339
Telephone: (717)
938-8732
Fax: (717) 938-8521
Contingency Awards:
Sidewinder Sprints (
www.SidewinderSprints.com )
"Hard Charger Bonus" ;
Pancho’s Racing Products ( www.panchosracingproducts.com ) New and Used Sprint Car and Micro Sprint parts.
Guhl Motors ( www.guhlmotors.com ) ; For all of your Fuel Injection needs. “Highest eligible Guhl injection finisher”;
Keizer Wheels ( www.Keizerwheels.com ); The ultimate in racing wheels. “ 3rd Highest eligible finisher”;
American Racer / Lias Tires (
www.americanraceronline.com )
( www.liastire.com
); For the tires that provide the best racing action.; “Highest eligible
American Racer front tire finisher”;
H&H Wings...Phone Chris @ 717-303-8231; Wings that make you fly !
The Workshop ( www.workshopwelovesnow.com ) For all of your snow mobile and four wheeler needs. “Highest eligible finisher”;
S & S Racing Fuel…
Phone Alan @ 717-579-6413 or Tom @ 717-503-3614; The best AA Methanol at
the best prices.
Sidewinder Sprints will next appear at Trail Way Speedway on 04/19/08.
Racing starts 6.30pm
Sidewinder Sprints overall points:
|
Chad Hough |
276 |
|
Ryan Greth |
241 |
|
Rohan Beasley |
240 |
|
Tim Mertz |
240 |
|
Jason Morrison |
231 |
|
Mark Strickler |
196 |
|
Rick Hench |
185 |
|
Shawn Seifert |
180 |
|
Sean Campbell |
180 |
|
Denny Landvater |
173 |
|
Jeremy Lynch |
172 |
|
Gary Funck |
153 |
|
Ron Taggert |
143 |
|
Jerry Strausbaugh |
124 |
|
James Shaw |
118 |
|
Donnie Hendershot |
95 |
|
Jim Campbell Jnr |
93 |
|
Jared Hudson |
89 |
|
Brent Marks |
85 |
|
Mike Pychinka |
60 |
|
Kenny Wilhide |
51 |
|
Rich Halter |
0 |
|
Mark Kliss Jnr |
0 |
|
Steve Dull |
0 |
|
Jimmy Glenn |
0 |
|
Jim Lender |
0 |
|
Patrick Roller |
0 |
|
Larney Johnson |
0 |
|
Jimmy Puckett |
0 |
|
Mike Dicely |
0 |
|
Gary Reed |
0 |
|
Dwayne Gutshall |
0 |
|
Jesse Snyder |
0 |
>
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