Loring Event Provides Spills and Thrills

Episode 121

September 4, 2016

Brenda Sue Carver of Sequin, Texas was injured when her motorcycle left the track . Race official Tim Kelly said, "She simply lost control and exited to the left". HTF Motorsports photo

Brenda Sue Carver of Sequin, Texas near San Antonio was injured when her motorcycle left the track . Race official Tim Kelly said, “She simply lost control and exited to the left”. HTF Motorsports photo

Loring Timing Association Harvest Event 2016

Despite closing down a few hours early on Sunday when Brenda Sue Carver had an off-track incident many records were set. At last check Ms Carver is recovering from her injuries and is expected to have a full recovery.

Frank John from Brooklin with his electric powered motorcycle prior to record setting run. Pete Freeman photo

Frank John from Brooklin with his electric-powered motorcycle prior to record-setting run. Pete Freeman photo

Electric Motorcycle Zaps Records

After a career which included forays in the electric power generation side of General Electric, has taken his enthusiasm into retirement. His electric-powered motorcycle set new records which John himself had set at the July event.

The new records for street-able motorcycle, non-streamliner, is 201.645 mph in the mile and 206.847 mph in the mile and one half. “I am happy and pleased to be able to do it up here at the Loring Timing Association (LTA) Harvest Event”, said John.”We feel this is the best standing start mile and mile and a half in the country. To be able to do so on an electric motorcycle is an honor and privilege.”

Why an electric motorcycle John was asked? “Because it is unusual and because when a lot of people think of electric vehicles they think of golf karts and slow vehicles,” replied John. “I just wanted to prove that because something is electric it does not need to be slow.”

What is it like to ride aboard an electric-powered bike at 200 mph? What do you feel and hear without the roar of a racing internal combustion engine?

“You hear the wind,” John responded after seemingly contemplating that sensation. “The air is the dominant noise and sometimes you can hear a little tire and chain noise. This particular motorcycle has a scavenge pump from a turbocharger to circulate oil through the motor and I can hear that when you’re going at slower speeds. It (the pump) is the loudest thing the bike typically.”

The efficiency of the electric motor was said to be four to five times more than a gasoline engine claims John. “When I was up here in July I had one run at 198.8 mph,” said John. “I figure I used about 2 kilowatt-hours of energy which is about 1/2 pint of gasoline. That was riding to the starting line, making the pass, and coming back 2 1/2 miles on the return road”.

John also races electric-powered motorcycles at the 1/8 mile Winterport Dragway.

Frank John in center receives his hat symbolizing entry into the 200 MPH Club. Stacy Robey photo

Frank John in center receives his certificate and hat symbolizing entry into the 200 MPH Club. Stacy Robey photo

LTA Starter Stacy Robey gives the track clear signal to Fran White as he  makes a 217.9 mph run to earn his membership into the 200 MPH Club. HTF Motorsports photo

LTA Starter Stacy Robey gives the track clear signal to Fran White as he makes a 217.9 mph run to earn his membership into the 200 MPH Club. HTF Motorsports photo

RecMech Motorsports Meets Goals With A Lot of Help From a Friend

Jason White and his Dad, Fran, from Allenstown, New Hampshire had definite goals for the Harvest Event. According to Jason they wanted to make sure his Dad would get into the 200 MPH Club since he was unable to attend the Summer Event in July.

With two months of meticulous preparation since the Summer Event, the team felt they were prepared. When they unloaded off the trailer on Friday and made a shakedown pass the car was not running correctly. After intense troubleshooting it was determined that the throttle body drive gear was defective.

Needless to say Corvette parts are rare in northern Maine and it turns out the closest part was in Nashua, New Hampshire, hours away from Loring. It did not look good for the team at that time.

It turns out that the late-model Z-28 of Milton Westgate of Massachusetts was powered by the same LS7 engine as White’s Vette. Westgate would make a few runs with his Camaro then swap out the throttle body so the Jason White team could make a few runs. After White made some runs they would swap back to the Z-28.

The Milton Westgate "donor" Z-28 in the staging area at Loring. HTF Motorsports photo

The Milton Westgate “donor” Z-28 in the staging area at Loring. HTF Motorsports photo

“I can now say I have a 246 mph throttle body in my Z-28 Camaro”, said Westgate with a big grin.

Folks that is one reason I like motorsports when I see that type of cooperative spirit shown by competitors. I my book Milton Westgate get’s the “Good Sportsmanship Award”.

Such cooperation allowed RecMech Motorsports to reach a goal was as Fran White shattered the 200 mph mark with a 217.9 pass on Saturday afternoon.

Jason White in center of photo felt honored to give his Dad, in orange shirt, the symbolic 200 MPH Club hat. Joining the father/son are several other members of the Club. Stacy Robey photo

Jason White in center of photo felt honored to give his Dad, in orange shirt, the symbolic 200 MPH Club hat. Joining the father/son are several other members of the exclusive club. Stacy Robey photo

These innocuous looking Dzus buttons were part of the Yankee ingenuity used to prevent the inward flexing of the fenders. A small aluminum brace was used to keep the flex to a minimum allowing Rec Mech Motorsports to go faster and be more stable. HTF Motorsports photo

These innocuous looking Dzus buttons were part of the Yankee ingenuity used to prevent the inward flexing of the fenders. A small aluminum brace was used to keep the flex to a minimum allowing Rec Mech Motorsports to go faster and be more stable. HTF Motorsports photo

After setting the fastest time at the LTA Harvest Event, an elated Jason White prepares to exit his Corvette in the pit area. HTF Motorsports photo

After setting the fastest time at the LTA Harvest Event, an elated Jason White prepares to exit his Corvette in the pit area. The New Hampshire driver went 225.814 in the mile and 246.407 in the mile and one half. White said on the ride home the team discussed ways to go faster in 2017.  HTF Motorsports photo

175 Miles Per Hour in A Brick

Ritter Motorsports LSR's brick shaped 1985 Chevrolet S-10 pickup exceeded their goal of 170 miles per hour. Not bad for an aerodynamically challenged truck. HTF Motorsports photo

Ritter Motorsports LSR’s brick shaped 1985 Chevrolet S-10 pickup exceeded their goal of setting a record in the D/MMP class. Not bad for an aerodynamically challenged truck. HTF Motorsports photo

When I first arrived on site at Loring I glanced at the race cars in the staging area and from afar it looked like Jason Theriault had dug his Nissan Skyliner pickup out of storage and was running once again at Loring. As I got closer I realized that was not the case.

The truck I saw was that of Pennsylvania based Ritter Motorsports LSR. It was a boxy S-10 with the exhaust pipe coming out from the front of the front wheel well making me think it must have had some sort of turbocharger. It was also one of the loudest vehicles at the races that day. It turned out that the truck was not sporting a turbo.

“The truck is a 1985 S-10 Chevrolet,” said driver John Ritter. “The only modification (other than safety requirements) to the truck is the drivetrain. The motor is a small block Chevy that is 303 cubic inches.”

“We came up here from West Chester, Pennsylvania with two of my father’s friends who are all part of a local hot rod club (Garage Guys).  The truck is owned by my father Bob Ritter. He currently holds the record at Wilmington, Ohio.”

“We brought it up here so I could set a record in the Mini Modified Pickup class, which I did at 175 mph. Land Speed Racing was a bucket list thing for my father, so that was the reason for initially purchasing the truck. The ultimate goal is 200 mph at Bonneville which we hope to accomplish next year.”

A familiar photo this year of teenager Ryan Messer of Harvey, New Brunswick in the Winner's Circle at Speedway 660 in Geary Woods, New Brunswick. Messer pictured with his parents Rob and Penny  won the $3000 A.E. MacKay 150 held Saturday night as part of the Speedweekend 2016. Photo courtesy RYAN Motorsports

A familiar sight this year with teenager Ryan Messer of Harvey, New Brunswick in the Winner’s Circle at Speedway 660 in Geary Woods, New Brunswick. Messer, pictured with his parents Rob and Penny, won the $3000 A.E. MacKay 150 Late Model Sportsman feature race held Saturday night as part of the Speedweekend 2016. Photo courtesy RYAN Motorsports

Messer Ends the Season With a Tough Win

I have been following the race career of teenager Ryan Messer the last few years. I met the family when they raced Atlantic Modified Series at Spud Speedway. I was impressed with the meticulous preparation and testing they did in order to stay atop that series. Ryan was only 14 yet did not tear up the car making rookie mistakes.

Only a couple of years later and he wins what could arguably be called the biggest race of his young career the A.E. MacKay 150 which carried a top prize of $3000. The race was part of the huge Speedweekend held at Speedway 660.

Robb Messer, father and crew chief posted this on the team’s Facebook page, “I cannot believe that I’m writing this, but…. Ryan WON the A. E. MacKay 150!!! We were collected in numerous cautions in the early going but kept pitting to make repairs and with a little luck, Ryan won in a 3 lap shootout! We are exhausted, but so proud!”

Quick Update On Kody Swanson’s Quest to Win Three USAC Silver Crown Titles in A Row

The USAC Silver Crown penultimate race, the Ted Horn 100 on the one mile DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in DuQuoin, Illinois, was held Saturday. The depth of field was impressive as 33 Silver Crown sprint cars took to the track in quest of the $10,000 first prize.

Kody Swanson set the fastest time (31.92 seconds) and started from the pole but did not have the car to race at the front even though he was an eye blink away.

The night belonged to Chris Windom who sits in second place in points and the cagey veteran Jeff Swindell. In the end Windom nudged Swindell for the win with Swanson close behind.

Winners Circle at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds l to r Kody Swanson 3rd, Chris Windom winner, and Jeff Swindell 2nd. TK Motorsports photo

Winners Circle at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds l to r Kody Swanson 3rd, Chris Windom winner, and Jeff Swindell 2nd. TK Motorsports photo

Swanson holds a 10 point lead going into the season finale September 24th at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. It should be a thriller

NMKA Finale September 10

 

The Northern Maine Karting Association (NMKA) will be finishing their initial season this Saturday September 10 at 10 am at Spud Speedway.  The finale will be presented by County Qwik Print of Caribou and will include double feature races in all classes. Following the races, fastest lap trophy dashes and sponsor races will take place.

Points Championship Trophies will be given out following the club barbecue. As always the grandstands admission is free and pit area is $10. If you plan to attend the barbecue you must contact NMKA officers prior to Wednesday evening so an accurate count might be taken..Look on the club’s Facebook page for information.

Thank you for your patience and still reading this episode despite the delay. The Bangor Daily Blog site has had many, and I do mean many glitches this weekend. I tried to upload several photos which could not be done due to those glitches in the system.

It literally took an hour to try to figure out how to get some of the photos to insert into the blog. After a trying time I now call it a night. Next week I hope to include some folks who were interviewed and I could not fit in. To them I apologize and hope they understand.

Let’s Go Racing

Tom Hale

Soli Deo Gloria

 

 

 

Tom Hale

About Tom Hale

Tom wrote 14 years as freelancer for the Bangor Daily Sports covering motorsports in Maine. Now blogging and concentrating on human interest stories about people and places in racing. He races Champ Karts and owns HTF Motorsports in remote Westmanland, Maine