Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Black, Lack and Fitzlaff Victorious In The Falls 2015




Black, Lack and Fitzlaff Victorious In The Falls
F1
Mike Fitzlaff continued his dominance of the F1 division starting off the night with a pole run in qualifying just over a tenth of a second off of his own track record.  Bill Black shined in the heat race, keeping up with leader John Wiedemann in the opening half and holding on to second to transfer to the B Main.  Mike Kristof, running Fitz Motorsports chassis for the evening, showed the team power by winning the B main and also set the fastest lap in the A main at 3.385 seconds, quicker than the track qualifying record.  But it was Fitzlaff, who started the feature race on the option tire, who dominated the A main and led Mike Lack by 14 laps at the halfway break.  Switching to the stock tire, Fitzlaff was still quick in the second half, turning only one lap less that he did on the stickier tire.  Wiedemann took over second place from teammate Lack but couldn't do anything with Fitzlaff, finishing 14 laps behind as Fitzlaff took the win.

F1 (3 laps)
Qualifications
Mike Fitzlaff  3.599 seconds
Mike Kristof  3.815
Mike Lack  3.948
John Wiedemann  4.101
Andy Black  4.574
Bill Black  5.643
Pete Dorn  6.431

Heat (6 minutes)
John Wiedemann  73 laps
Bill Black  62
Pete Dorn  54
Andy Black  46

B Main (6 minutes)
Mike Kristof  82 laps
John Wiedemann  82
Mike Lack  79
Bill Black  60

A Main (12 minutes)
Mike Fitzlaff  183 laps
John Wiedemann  169
Mike Lack  162
Mike Kristof  161


GTP

Mike Lack set the track record for GTP as the cars took to the track for the first time in the Menomonee Falls location.  Lack's time of 3.381 seconds beat out teammate John Wiedemann by 96 thousandths of a second.  Wiedemann captured the heat point in the opening race by holding off Lack by a straightaway at the checkers.  Mike Kristof grabbed the win in the second heat race after a tight battle with Pete Dorn.  The B main was shortened after Kristof crashed out, sending Wiedemann, Mike Fitzlaff and Dorn to challenge Lack.  At the halfway break of the A main, just a lap separated the top three with Lack leading Wiedemann and Fitzlaff.  But the second half was all Lack as the polesitter set a quick lap just over a tenth of a second under his qualifying record and pulled away to an eight lap victory.

GTP (12 laps)
Qualifications
Mike Lack  3.381 seconds
John Wiedemann  3.477
Mike Fitzlaff  3.547
Mike Kristof  3.712
Pete Dorn  3.854
Andy Black  4.084
Bill Black  4.346

Heat 1 (6 minutes)
John Wiedemann  88 laps
Mike Lack  88
Mike Fitzlaff  81

Heat 2 (6 minutes)
Mike Kristof  80 laps
Pete Dorn  73
Bill Black  64
Andy Black  63

B Main (6 minutes)
John Wiedemann  54 laps
Mike Fitzlaff  52
Pete Dorn  48
Mike Kristof  41

A Main (10 minutes)
Mike Lack  149 laps
John Wiedemann  141
Mike Fitzlaff  136
Pete Dorn  120

SHMUC
The opening heat race was a clinic put on by last season's SHMUC champion Mike Fitzlaff leading the first half by a lap and then increasing the distance to five laps over this year's point Mike Lack.  The second heat featured Fitzlaff's team car driven by Mike Kristof who laid down a 3.050 second lap on his way to victory over Bill Black.   Those four drivers transferred to the feature with overpowered cars that were feeling the overheating effects of a heat race.  Fitzlaff and teammate Kristof were quick early but crashes and body damage held them back from the front of the pack.  Lack led the opening half with Black just a lap behind but seriously suffering overheating issues.  The second half was quite a battle for the lead as Lack would spin and allow Black to take the lead, only to pass him back a few laps later.  A true tortoise and the hare battle continued as Black was full throttle but not getting the speed out of the car that he wanted.  With time running out, Lack got it together and pulled out to a couple lap lead, only to suffer a dramatic loss in speed as his ride overheated.  Steady and full throttle, Bill Black passed the crawling ride driven by Lack and captured his first victory in the SHMUC series and put a halt to Lack's five race win streak.  Lack held on to second.  Kristof finished third, a lap ahead of Fitzlaff, after turning the fastest laps in each of the halfs – 3.175 seconds in the first half and 3.168 seconds in the closing half.  Black's 128 laps raced shattered the track record previously held by Fitzlaff at 111 laps.

SHMUC
Heat 1 (6 minutes)
Mike Fitzlaff  93 laps
Mike Lack  88
John Wiedemann  81
Pete Dorn  62

Heat 2 (6 minutes)
Mike Kristof  90 laps
Bill Black  87
Andy Black  62

A Main (8 minutes)
Bill Black  128 laps
Mike Lack  124
Mike Kristof  118
Mike Fitzlaff  117

Point Standings (after 4 races)
Mike Lack  69 points  (3 wins)
John Wiedemann  49
Mike Fitzlaff  47
Bill Black  31  (1 win)
Ev Kamikawa  29
Pete Dorn  27
Mike Kristof  17
Andy Black  11
Dan Margetta  3

Thanks to John Wiedemann for the story!