2002 Parma Challenge Cup - OWH's Almost Live Coverage

[oldweirdherald]

Stay tuned to this thread for OWH's "Almost Live" coverage throughout the weekend of the 2002 Parma Challenge Cup.

I'm here in Middleburg Heights Ohio, at the Raddisson Hotel, just outside of Cleveland, where the 2002 Parma Challenge Cup Nationals are being held.

Thursday morning started off with the grand tour of Parma International's factory at nearby North Royalton, OH. Alan Smith of Scalextric USA also arrived to exhibit and participate in the event, and the two of us were given the full tour of the Parma factory as well as their warehouse/test track facility accross the street.

Mike MacDowell, Paul Ciccarello, Steve Koepp, and the Parma staff gave us the red carpet treatment for a very informative and fascinating look behind the scenes. I was granted permission to click away with my trusty digital camera, and I'll have the Parma factory tour photos posted online soon, along with race coverage and photos of the event!



2002 Parma Challenge Cup Photo Gallery

[oldweirdherald]

Steve Ogilvie and son arrived bright and early Friday morning (so I'm told - I was still sleeping!) with his very nice Ogilvie Hillclimb track. By the time I woke up and headed down the long spiral staircase to the conference rooms, I found the track already assembled and nearly ready to race!

The track was wired up, tested, race director booth set up, and eager racers were all lined up ready to try out the track when the power went on for practice sessions to begin at 1:00 PM.

It's a fairly flat Hillclimb, with an extra little "squiggle" set of esses just after the first turn. A slightly shorter mirror-image version of the test track at the Parma warehouse that I saw on Thursday.

I was feeling very comfortable so far, as this track looked extremely similar to my home track, a 135' Hasse Hillclimb at West Seattle Speedway & Hobby - with the addition of the "squiggle".

The practice is set up in 10 minute sessions, with $2 per practice session collected by Steve O., who would then sign you up on the waiting list for your chosen lane. For most lanes you could get on the track within 10 minutes, but for the tight red lane, or black on the outside, the wait seemed to be about 3 sessions on Friday afternoon.

I signed up and practiced on orange, black, then red, and after getting some fairly respectful lap times within a tad over a tenth (or two) of Paul Ciccarello's test laps, I felt like I was at least not going to embarrass myself in the race.

The track is very fun to drive, with the "squiggle" adding an extra challenge that makes it just enough different then the usual Hillclimb, to present a new and even challenge to all the drivers.

There are approximately 75 racers preregistered, from 2 countries and 16 states. With the 5 race classes, there are a combined total of 193 preregistered entries!

There are 3 complete sets of cars, all prepared and race ready, pretested and matched by Paul C. with lap times marked on the bottom of the cars to match them as closely as posible for each lane. There are 110 cars ready to race!

The new Parma electronic controllers, to be available very soon, are being unveiled and used for the entire event. 13 controllers were prepared and tested, and adjusted all the same, then "neutered" by Paul C. (during my visit to Parma yesterday) by cutting off the adjustment knobs, to prevent tampering, for this event. They work great, and I am sure that these new adjustable electronic controllers, slated to sell at around $99, will be a hot seller.

[oldweirdherald]

The first race of the 2002 Parma Challenge Cup was for the Juniors and Group 10 cars.

This race had 9 entries with drivers ranging from 9 to 12 years old, and was ran as a 9 man round robin.

These young drivers showed that the racing this weekend will be very close, as several of the places were decided by only a few feet! It was great seeing these youngsters drive with such intensity, yet showing great composure as well.

Here's the final results of the Jr. Group 10 Main:

1 - Brandon Leidenfrost - 168+
2 - Sam Demole - 168 (about 3' behind 1st!)
3 - Joey Carbone - 164+
4 - Jason Greene - 164 (just a few feet from the podium)
5 - Scott Scholl - 159+
6 - Eric Fredrickson - 159 (about a foot behind 5th)
7 - Saul Fredrickson - 157
8 - Michael Wolf - 151
9 - Alex Ogilvie - 143

[oldweirdherald]

For the Powder Puff Race for the ladies - this year there was only 1 entry, and I couldn't find a dress or a wig, so 1st place was awarded to:

1st Place Powder Puff Deb Guindon

[Zippity]

"and I couldn't find a dress or a wig, so 1st place was awarded to........"

It's never stopped you before

[oldweirdherald]

Well after nearly completely reversing the effects of jetlag and time zone change by simply reverting to my usual racing mode of sleep deprivation, the very organized, yet sadistic scheduling of the Parma gang placed the 40+ "Geezer" qualifying heats at first thing Saturday AM.

Since I was eager to also attend the track owner seminar at 9:00 AM, Steve Koepp accomodated me by scheduling me to be in the first of four qualifying heats at 7:30 AM. Yikes! I barely got any sleep!

So, along with several other "early birds" I had time for a nice breakfast in the Hotel Cafe and stumbled wearily along with the rest of the Geezers into the race room.

The track and cars were all prepared and ready to race once again by Paul C., and the first field of drivers woke ourselves up for the first race.

So... here's the results of the first qualifying heat, not so humbly posted by your surprised and pleased OWH reporter, as I managed to win the first qualifying heat, after a close battle with Lou Pirro, who led the first half of the race.

1 - Paul Kassens - 130
2 - Lou Pirro - 128
3 - Jay Kisling - 124
4 - Joseph Rosales - 123
5 - Richard Paine - 117
6 - Keith Guindon - 114

Now we'll see how the next three qualifying heats compare with our lap totals, as I keep my fingers crossed.

[Slik]

Paul very cool!

Jack Nickel and Jim Harter are there from our shop... hope they do good...

Also my boss is on the road this very second to Cleveland to meet with Paul C. and everyone about getting some series races in the shop. His name is Mike Giugno (Juno). You might see him around, say Hi! LOL....

Good job... glad to see that the older fellas still have the touch....

[oldweirdherald]

More close racing in the 2nd qualifying heat for the 40+ "Geezer" Group 10 race:

1 - Jack Nickel - 129
2 - Tom Marsteller - 127
3 - Al Rutti - 126
4 - David DeCoster - 125
5 - Donald Bonanno - 125
6 - Tom Norris - 122
7 - Hal Vanskiver - 105

[oldweirdherald]

Unfortunately, there was a printer jam, so not all totals in this heat were readable.

1 - Ben McGuire - 129
2 - Jim Harter - 128
3 - Mark Daniels - 126
4 - Brent Adams - 125
5 - Bill Hower - 125
6 - Steve Aldridge - 109
* - Scott Humm - ?*

* Scott's lap totals were not readable, but he was not running in top 4 at time of last total.

[Aubin 3 sixteen]

The Challenge Cup races always presented me with the best "nickname" opportunities, like "Sweet" Lou Pirro, Gentle Ben McGuire and Tutti Fruitti Al Rutti

[Goat_Boy]

Paul,

I see there has been no updates for awhile. Is racing done for the day or are you just busy racing I am sorry but I have no life so I sit here living thru your "almost live" coverage. I hope there are more updates comming soon. Good luck in your races Paul.


Ian

[DDDDDDerek]

Hey Paul did the printer jam go all the way to your computer. Man Ive been really enjoying the parma challenge cup until about 2 hours ago. I hope everythings allright. Hey is Big Al Montoro there?

[oldweirdherald]

Sorry for the delay, gang, but the racing, turn marshalling, seminars and exhibits made for a very full day, and it made posting updates after each race impossible.

Following the 4th 40+ qualifying heat was the Track Owners seminar. Professional marketing consultant and slot racer Joseph Rosales presented a very informative seminar for track owners covering business ideas and strategies for improving the success of a slot car raceway.

It was an excellent seminar with discussions among attendees, and Parma will be making available tapes of the seminar soon.

After the seminar, exhibits from around a dozen distrubutors and manufacturers were open for track owners, and then to the racers, showcasing the latest products available from their companies.

While attending both the seminar and the exhibits (photos to be posted soon), qualifying heats rolled on for the Future Masters and Masters classes in Group 10.

I rushed back to the track in time to turn marshall the 40+ 4.5" FCR race prior to my qualifying heat, then race.

The heat races were run fast and efficient by the Parma staff and volunteer helpers, with the tightly schedule races actually running ahead of schedule.

I will need to post all of the heat race results on the permanant pages later, and skip to the main event results for posting here.

[oldweirdherald]

Following are the results of the Future Masters Group 10 main event:

Position - Name - Home State - Qual. Laps - Start Lane - Laps

1 - Gary Clinton Jr. - Connecticut - 127 - Orange - 180
2 - Eddie Beard - So. Carolina - 128 - White - 176
3 - Bob Boyd - Illinois - 127 - Green - 175+
4 - Mike Dennis - Illinois - 126 - Blue - 175
5 - Gavin Seely - New York - 129 - Red - 173
6 - Charlie Sweet - New Jersey - Yellow - 172
7 - Brian Wahig - Missouri - 125 - Black - 169+
8 - Ed Hoyle - Illinois - 125 - Purple - 169


Not only were all the qualifying heats extremely close, but this first main event was to set the stage for more close racing all day long! Gary Clinton Jr. pulled off an impressive win in a great race!

[oldweirdherald]

Next up on the main event agenda was the 40+ Group 10 main event.

After suprising myself, and probably most everyone else by TQing for the main in the qualifying heats earlier, I was in for one of the most exciting races ever in my first Parma Challenge Cup main event.

The racing was close from top to bottom, but after a horrible start on red lane, I gradually worked myself up into a close battle for the top three spots with Ben McGuire leading by 3 laps, followed by Jack Nickle and myself fighting for 2nd.

In the final two heats, Ben ran into traffic problems, as did Jack, allowing me to set my sights on a possible run at catching Ben. With Ben on red and myself on white, I drove my heart out, reeling in Ben gradually, while Ben drove carefully to stay on and in the lead. With 10 seconds to go I had caught up to Ben within about 6 feet, pushing as hard as I could, while I could barely control my hands from shaking. As I made my final move to catch Ben, I pushed over the limit and tilted out in the esses, while the whole crowd let out a sympathetic moan. Ben had held off my charge for the win, making for a very exciting race!

Following are the results of the 40+ Group 10 main event:

Position - Name - Home State - Qual. Laps - Start Lane - Laps

1 - Ben McGuire - Kentucky - 129 - Green - 175
2 - Paul Kassens - Washington - 130 - Red - 174
3 - Jack Nickel - New York - 129 - White - 173
4 - Mark Daniels - Penn. - 126 - Black - 171
5 - Lou Pirro - New York - 128 - Orange - 169
6 - Tom Marsteller - New York - 127 - Purple - 168
7 - Jim Harter - New York - 128 - Blue - 167
8 - Joddy Greene - Wisconsin - 127 - Yellow - 166