2017 Rapids IndySlotCar Grand Prix: A View in Pictures

 

Matt Hayek takes his first Rapids win

The junk yard pile

Mike Lack and Dan Margetta battle it out side by side in Cannon Corner

View down main street

                                                                 Tom works the scoring system

Mike Lack comes around the rocks in Cannon Corner

In a night of crashes, Dean was the first to crash out

 Guests enter the Ev museum and see one of his ISF Ferrari's in the entrance

View from a stand over the Corkscrew turn

Going down Schumacher Straight

 Coming towards the hill on main street

 Dan in Goodyear section of the Corkscrew turn. These Goodyear banners have appeared on every version of the track

 Mike and Dan tangle at the
bottom of the Corkscrescrew

 Rock Park

 Hayek in Cannon Corner

 Quartz from South Dakota

Tires flew off the cars during practise. One of them got caught in a spider web

2016 Final ISF Point Standings

    

ISF Point Standings F1	Adj points
Name
Mike Fitzlaff	102
John Weidemann	85
Mike Kristoff	67
Mike Lack	66
Bill Black	43
Pete Dorn	39
Ev Kamikawa	32
Andy Black	19
Dan Margetta	15
Larry Rotter	15
Matt Hayek	10
Dean Strom	8
Rick	6
Hiroshi Kamikawa	4																																																														ISF Point Standings GTP Adj points Name Mike Lack 118 John Weidemann 105 Mike Fitzlaff 84 Ev Kamikawa 71 Pete Dorn 43 Bill Black 42 Andy Black 36 Mike Kristoff 28 Larry Rotter 15 Matt Hayek 9 Dan Margetta 9 Hiroshi Kamikawa 5 Keith Lindbeck 4 Rick 4

Fitzlaff & Lack Win Races and Championships at Muskego Grand Prix

 Mike Fitzlaff ends the Mega G car F1 era with another win

 Mike Lack wins the GTP final race for 2016 to win his second straight GTP championship.

INTERNATIONAL SPORTSCAR FEDERATION
Official Finish, Event # 2016-12
Muskego Grand Prix (held at Rapids)
April 21, 2016

F1 Grand Prix Category -- 16 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car

1. Mike Fitzlaff-Jordan Peugot - 78 laps
2. John Wiedemann-Mclaren
3. Bill Black-Lotus
4. Mike Kristof-Jordan Peugot 
5. Pete Dorn-Renault
6. Mike Lack-Red Bull
7. Everet Kamikawa-Ferrari
   
   Pole Position:          Mike Fitzlaff 5.137
   Semi Final Winner: Bill Black
   Heat Winners:         John Wiedemann

GTP Category -- 16 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car

1. Mike Lack-Tamiya Castrol Jaguar 
2. Everet Kamikawa-Shell Marlboro Ferrari
3. John Wiedemann-Silk Cut Jaguar
4. Mike Fitzlaff-Nissan GTP
5. Bill Black-Shell Porsche
6. Mike Kristof-Mercedes GTP
7. Pete Dorn-Koni Goodyear Mercedes
   
   Pole Position:           John Wiedemann 4.990
   Semi Final Winner:  Mike Lack
   Heat Winners:          Lack, Kamikawa

Kristof Wins Rotter Memorial!

Mike Kristof First F1 Win!

Remembers Rotter with Victory in Memorial Race at Turtle Creet

INTERNATIONAL SPORTSCAR FEDERATION
Official Finish, Event # 2016-010
ISF Rotter Memorial
March 26, 2016

Turtle Creek Raceway Park

F1 Grand Prix Category -- 16 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car

1. Mike Kristof-Jordan Peugot
2. John Wiedemann-Mclaren
3. Mike Fitzlaff-Jordan Peugot 
4. Dean Strom-Williams BMW
5. Bill Black-Lotus F1
6. Pete Dorn-Marussia
7. Mike Lack-Red Bull  
8. Everet Kamikawa-Ferrari
   
   Pole Position:            Mike Fitzlaff 3.463
   Semi Final Winner:   Mike Kristof
   Heat Winners:           Fitzlaff, Strom

2016 Indyslotcar Hall of Fame Nominees

The Indyslotcar series formed a hall of fame four years ago. The initial inductee was three time champion Larry Rotter. The second was founder and 5-time champion Phil Cianciola.
The third inductee was twice champion Jim Iverson. In 2014, 2-time champion "Gentleman Jim" Kaehny was enshrined. There was no inductee in 2015.
In a few weeks the fifth inductee for the 20 year old league will be introduced.

Who will it be?
The cat is a little out of the bag for many behind the scenes, but you reading this may not know, so I won't spoil it for you.

The only known rule is that you have to be officially retired from the league, although if you are also a track owner and you let the league race on your track you are still allowed to race.
There is only one person that makes the decision on who gets into the hall of fame, league commissioner Mike Kristof. Here are my odds, based solely or this year, on who will get the honor for 2016:

Chad Sorce
In 86 starts Sorce won nine times, had six pole positions and made the final four race 37 times with 15 heat race wins. Not a dominate racer early in this career, he came on like a storm in his last three when he teamed up with Dan Margetta to form the Miller Lite Team. Together they gave Ferrari a run for the money with Sorce finishing a close second to Kamikawa in the 2001 championship. Sorce does have the distinction of being the first person not associated with Phil Cianciola to join the league. He was also the first to act as a spotter for another driver (Dave Austin, both wore headphones to talk to each other around the track). Sorce's Clevelandstone raceway was the sight of a major event in Indyslotcar history with a nuclear meltdown! A consummate autograph collector, the space that once hosted Clevelandstone is now a museum to these autographs.
Odds of induction: 30-1

Dave Austin:
The only other champion besides Cianciola in the first five years of the league, and the first to win by cheating, the original clown prince of the league also took a championship, 13 wins, 27 heat wins, appeared in 54 finals in 118 starts. While well known for making the league as fun as it was both on camera and off, he was a competitive driver. His nomination also comes with controversy because he was a terrible driver his first two years in the league, then blitzes everyone in season three to win the championship. Turns out he introduced the league to another driver, Jonathan May, who was a driver in a different league who knew all the tips and tricks for making a car go faster. This included attaching a very small and narrow magnet to the underside of the front wing making it almost impossible for his car to crash. He famously revealed his secret after the last race of the season when he stuck his car to a metal pole. His championship wasn’t taken away, however the cheating genie was out of the box. He is remembered for that as well.
Dave is also the person responsible for giving members up close access to cars and drivers at the Milwaukee Mile when he worked there. That and his lighthearted fare is what he is most appreciated for now.
“Dave was so fast during his championship. It seems obvious now nut not at the time,” Kamikawa remembers. “After that season on a good night he was still deadly quick, especially when he was paired with Kaehny on Team Kool Guys.” He was one of the drivers that everyone came to see because of his skills but also because he made the league fun. Odds of induction: Even



John Shea:
John was never league champion, however his influence runs throughout the racing world. In this league he took 15 wins, 11 pole positions, 36 heat wins, and appeared in 47 finals in 98 starts. Shea was the first to break down the cars technically to understand how they worked and what made them go faster. He dispensed that knowledge to others freely and was known as a fierce competitor. His battles with Cianciola are things of legend. He built a replica of Monza and staged that first race, the US Grand prix, in the garage of the Milwaukee Mile. “He and Phil had battles on and off the track. Both legendary. He argued against stupid rules and tried to make good rules better, Kamikawa said. He is still the toughest person I’ve raced against and I’m not saying that because he was my teammate for years!”
Those battles with Phil would also lead John to form the stock car based American Racing Alliance and later the ISF of which he is multiple times champion in both.
Odds of Induction: 15-1

John Baas:
Not a champion on track but one in life, he took three wins and three poles, 13 heat wins, appeared in 17 finals in 135 starts. Maybe not as impressive stats as others, however Baas contributed something else in terms of track engineering. He built the massive Vernon Farms quad oval raceway, and later made a portable version of the  track. He was also the first to really detail the landscape in and around the tracks in the exact attention to detail that model railroaders do. “John was fun to race against. Most importantly he was the first to detail his track with outhouses. We used to ponder what would happen if we were all suddenly sent to the Twilight Zone racing world where we were actually to scale with the cars and racing on our tracks. No one had any bathrooms until John followed up on it!” mused Kamikawa.
Odds of Induction: 35-1

 

Tony Perkins:
Probably the most popular winner of any induction would be the famously inventive T-Perk.
Famously no feature wins in his career, one pole position, 4 heat wins, 19 finals appearances in 102 starts. In one of his most famous racing moments he raced against the entire Penske team of Austin, Cianciola, and Kaehny in a heat race and beat them all!
One of the original drivers, Tony was the first to crash another car off the track in the first race causing a rivalry to develop between him and the crashee, Everet Kamikawa. “Tony and I supposedly had this big rivalry after that. It was all lip service much like David Hobbs and Sam Posey in sports cars,” Kamikawa said. “Tony is a class act who always had a thing where the celebrities flocked to him.”
Indeed Tony had that kavorka as his paddock area was often visited by the likes of The Spice Girls, Greg Moore, Frank Williams, The Pussycat Dolls, and a host of various beautiful women from the modeling and singing worlds. “We single drivers would hang out with Tony just to catch what he was throwing away!” Kamikawa chuckled. Tony was also the first of the group known as “painters,” drivers who didn’t rely on store bought cars. Over the years Tony painted cars in liveries like: Players, Duracell, Target, and several others.
Odds of Induction: 30-1

These are my predictions on who will be the next one enshrined in the Indyslotcar Hall of Fame in 2016. Some of these names will make another appearance in 2017.

Until then…It’s not bad being in the pits!

Steve “The Wrench” Ratchett

Indyslotcar 2016 Tournament Bracket

Kamikawa Wins Indyslotcar March Madness tournament!
In the spirit of the NCAA basketball tournament I put together a bracket of 32 Indyslotcar drivers.
Seeding was based on:
1. Championships
2. Race wins
3. Heat wins
4. Finals
5. Pole positions
In this tournament there are four divisions:
Zanardi, Montoya, Vasser, Dixon.
A driver advances based on the performance of the basketball team in the 2016 tournament.
The highest seed in the basketball division corresponds with the highest seed in the Indyslotcar bracket. 
Below is the original tournament bracket with results below:
Until the end of the tournament, it's not bad being in the pits (or on the court)!
Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett

Championship 4-4-16
Mark Walczak (#1 seed -North Carolina in tournament)

upset by

Ev Kamikawa (#2 seed-Villanova in tournament)

Round of 4 4-4-16

Zanardi Division

Ev Kamikawa

defeats

Vasser Division

Jim Kaehny

Montoya Division

Mark Walczak

defeats

Dixon Division
Chris Spehert

Round of 8 3-28-16

Zanardi Division

Phil Cianciola falls to Ev Kamikawa (upset)

Vasser Division

Jim Kaehny over Larry Rotter (upset)

Montoya Division

Mark Walczak over Dean Strom

Dixon Division

Mike Lack falls to Chris Spehert (upset)

Round of 16 3-24-16

Zanardi Division

Phil Cianciola over Dan Margetta

Chad Sorce falls to Ev Kamikawa

Vasser Division

Jim Kaehny over Matt Hayek

John Wiedemann falls to Larry Rotter

Montoya Division

Mark Walczak over Arnie Lueders

Dean Strom over Tony Perkins

Dixon Division

Mike Lack over Mike Fitzlaff

Chris Spehert over Bill Black

Round of 32 3-20-16

Zanardi Division

Phil Cianciola over Cory Galbraith

Dan Margetta over Tom Spehert

Chad Sorce over Phil Marich

Ev Kamikawa over Jim Chitel

Vasser Division

Jim Kaehny over Andy Spehert

Matt Hayek over Mike Kristof

John Wiedemann over Pat Jarvis

Larry Rotter over Ned Wicker

Montoya Division

Mark Walczak over Jim Kaluzny

Arnie Lueders over John Shea (upset)

Dean Strom over Amy Butler
Tony Perkins over Jim Iverson (upset)

Dixon Division

Mike Lack over Dick Alpert

Mike Fitzlaff over Rick Osterbrink

Chris Spehert over John Baas

Bill Black over Dave Austin (upset)

2016 Duel at Deckertring Wins for Fitzlaff & Wiedemann

INTERNATIONAL SPORTSCAR FEDERATION
Official Finish, Event # 2016-08
Duel at Deckertring
January 28, 2016

F1 Grand Prix Category -- 16 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car

1. Mike Fitzlaff-Jordan Peugot - 78 laps
2. Mike Kristof-Jordan Peugot 
3. John Wiedemann-Mclaren
4. Mike Lack-Red Bull
5. Rick -Minardi
6. Pete Dorn-Renault
7. Bill Black-Lotus
8. Everet Kamikawa-Ferrari
9. Andrew Black-Lotus
10. Hiroshi Kamikawa-BMW
    
    Pole Position:          Mike Fitzlaff 4.912
    Semi Final Winner:  Mike Kristof
    Heat Winners:         Rick, Lack

GTP Category -- 16 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car

1. John Wiedemann-Silk Cut Jaguar - 116 laps
2. Mike Lack-Tamiya Castrol Jaguar
3. Mike Fitzlaff-Nissan GTP
4. Andrew Black-Toyota Tenoras GTP
5. Everet Kamikawa-Shell Marlboro Ferrari
6. Pete Dorn-Koni Goodyear Mercedes
7. Rick -Alltel Toyota GTP 
8. Mike Kristof-Mercedes GTP
9. Bill Black-Shell Porsche
10. Hiro Kamikawa-Marlboro Toyota Ferrari
    
    Pole Position:           John Wiedemann 4.960
    Semi Final Winner:   Mike Lack
    Heat Winners:          Wiedemann, Fitzlaff, Andrew Black

2016 Indyslotcar Rapids Grand Prix in Pictures

As per tradition we present the Indyslotcar Rapids Grand Prix in pictures.
Rather than just include race image, we try to offer some of the different sites from around the track.

The oval at Badger Raceway is the site of a WWII reenactment encampment.

The 24th Armored Division is based near Rapids and often takes the opportunity to showcase their equipment to the spectators.

 The town grew along the train track.

 A small junkyard of cars for curious onlookers

A police officer questions a man in the Batmobile while a woman checks her makeup.

 A group of WWII veterans swap stories aboard a duck.

Residents often rent out their homes. It looks like these renters have brought enough luggage for an entire month rather than the week.

The train going under the pit lane along one of the main roads.

The American LeMans Series Alumni Association staging for a support race

 The view of turn one from atop the pit garages

Why these women are staring at a blank wall no one had the nerve to ask

 These women were staring at the male passers by...there is a little debauchery left in the town

 There was an auction for the Trans Am cars used in the movie Smokey & The Bandit

Underneath the pitlane is a secret army base. Notice the Sherman, M1 Abrams, and Grant tanks.

 Protecting the city from an EMERGENCY are John Gage, Roy DeSoto, Chet, Lopez, Mike, of squad and engine 51.

The Ferrari 333sp support race cars line up

Katlin Jenner wins the Tony Perkins All Star celebrity race beating noted politician Ralph Nader, Adrian Zamed of Dance Fever, and Judge Ito of OJ Simpson fame

Mike Lack wins with Bill Black second and Dan Margetta third

2016 ISF Midseason Point Standings

F1 Points 2016 Midseason Standings

Mike Fitzlaff		84	15	15	12	15	15	12
John Weidemann		62	6	12	5	12	12	15
Mike Lack		58	12	10	10	10	10	6
Mike Kristoff		32	8	x	x	8	8	8
Pete Dorn		31	4	6	4	8	5	4
Bill Black		29	5	5	2	6	6	5
Ev Kamikawa		22	2	6	x	x	4	10
Andy Black		17	5	x	x	4	8	x
Dan Margetta		15	x	x	15	x	x	x
Larry Rotter		12	x	x	x	x	x	x
Matt Hayek		10	x	x	x	x	x	10
Hiroshi Kamikawa		3	x	x	x	x	x	3
Keith Lindbeck		0	x	x	x	x	x	x
Dean Strom		0	x	x	x	x	x	x
Nick Bartolone		0	x	x	x	x	x	x
Todd Wolf		0	x	x	x	x	x	x

GTP Points 2016 Midseason Standings

Mike Lack		67	12	15	x	12	16	12
John Weidemann		65	11	13	x	15	10	16
Mike Fitzlaff		55	15	10	x	11	9	10
Pete Dorn		25	5	3	x	6	8	3
Ev Kamikawa		20	7	6	x	x	x	7
Bill Black		20	4	4	x	5	5	2
Mike Kristoff		20	5	x	x	x	7	8
Andy Black		18	4	x	x	9	5	x
Larry Rotter		12	x	x	x	x	x	x
Matt Hayek		9	x	x	x	x	x	9
Hiroshi Kamikawa		4	x	x	x	x	x	4
Keith Lindbeck		0	x	x	x	x	x	x
Todd Wolf		0	x	x	x	x	x	x
Dan Margetta		0	x	x	x	x	x	x
Dean Strom		0	x	x	x	x	x	x

2016 Tosa Trot Terriffic for Fitz and JW

INTERNATIONAL SPORTSCAR FEDERATION
Official Finish, Event # 2016-07
Wauwatosa Grand Prix at The Shrine
January 14, 2016

F1 Grand Prix Category -- 16 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car

1. John Wiedemann-Mclaren - 127 laps
2. Mike Fitzlaff-Jordan Peugot
3. Matt Hayek-Forti Ford
4. Mike Kristof-Honda F1
5. Mike Lack-Red Bull
6. Bill Black-Lotus
7. Pete Dorn-Renault
8. Hiroshi Kamikawa-BMW
9. Everet Kamikawa-Ferrari
   
   Pole Position:          Mike Fitzlaff 4.155
   Semi Final Winner:  Mike Kristof
   Heat Winners:         Wiedemann, Lack

GTP Category -- 16 Minute Final
Pos. Driver Car

1. Mike Fitzlaff-Nissan GTP - 132 laps
2.  Mike Lack-Tamiya Castrol Jaguar
3.  John Wiedemann-Silk Cut Jaguar
4. Matt Hayek-Mercedes GTP
5. Everet Kamikawa-Shell Marlboro Ferrari
6. Mike Kristof-Mercedes GTP
7. Hiro Kamikawa-Marlboro Toyota Ferrari Andrew
8. Pete Dorn-Koni Goodyear Mercedes
9.  Bill Black-Shell Porsche
   
   Pole Position:           John Wiedemann 4.146
   Semi Final Winner:   Mike Lack
   Heat Winners:          Wiedemann, Hayek, Kamikawa

2004 ISF Season Review Movie

When you aren't in the pits like I am, sit back & enjoy the 2004 ISF Season Review Movie!
Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett