Radical Cup East 2007 - Willow Springs - 24 September 2007


Tim & Stuart Celebrate TBR's first podium Radical SR5
Willow Springs is nick-named the “fastest road in the west.” It was also the hottest road in the west on September 1 & 2 with temperatures reaching 116˚ in the afternoon. A huge thunderstorm also played havoc on Saturday afternoon causing 25 power poles to go down on Rosemond Blvd. Once we were all cleaned and prepped, here’s what happened.

Late Thursday afternoon John Morris took delivery of the new SR5. Radical did a great job prepping the car as not many race cars can fly from the factory and immediately expect to perform with winning results as the SR5 did.

Dyno Don and Jet John had a great battle in the race. Don started from the pole and led the first hand full of laps. Once John cleared the SR3’s he reeled in Don and made the pass. John gave the SR5 a nice debut bringing it home with the win.

As the results prove, Dave Tweedlie was on fire Saturday, putting his SR3 on the front row in qualifying and drove away with it in the race. Great job Dave, you must have eaten your Wheaties on Saturday morning.

Steve Werner and Gary Hardesty made their debut in the Radical Cup Championship. With a little more seat time I’m certain we will see them fighting for the championship. Great job guys!

The competition is no longer for second but for the title. For the third weekend in a row, Matt Maddox has struggled, consequently costing him the points lead. Fortunately luck comes in threes and that is exactly what we have left for the 2007 Radical Cup Series. With flawless delivery Tim Day is currently in the lead with the top 5 looking over his shoulder. Sunday qualifying saw similar results to Saturday.

The following is first hand account of the race Sunday from Craig Oka’s perspective. Cody passed me going into T2 at the start. Then he passed Bob. I passed Bob somewhere around lap 2 going into T1. Then I passed Cody going into T3.

Bob found his mojo and turned up the boost. He passed Cody, and then pressured me into making a mistake in T9 and blowing by me on the front straight. Cody passed me at T4 during the tangle with the back markers. Then I passed Cody for the final time going into T1. Finally, I got Matt at the finish line!

Bob Majorino was really the sleeper in all this. As Craig mentioned, toward the middle of the race Bob found his “mojo” and went for the gold. Not only did he repass Craig, Cody and Matt, he also caught and passed Saturday’s winner Dave Tweedlie, and by the final lap had caught the leader Tim Day. Bob ran out of time as the checkered flag flew, but a great effort making the most passes and setting the fastest lap of the race.

Don Simons won the Invitational class but it didn’t come easy. With 7 laps to go, the regulator on his paddle shift system failed causing the car not to shift.

Bart Carter looked to be a threat with his SR8. He ran second behind Don at the beginning of the race. It looked as if he had the speed to pass him. Unfortunately as they caught lap traffic Bart had to take evasive action to not run into a slower car, causing him to spin. Bart continued on to finish 3rd.

Special Thanks needs to go out to the boys at Spring Mountain for the great prep on the cars. With all the heat bearing down on us there were no heat-related failures.

Sorry no pictures for this report. Looks like I need to hire a photographer!

Come join us at our next event @ Buttonwillow Raceway on September 28 – 30. See you there!!!

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