Back With More Varoom ...
The Stock Car Championship Racing Card Game made a triumphant
return to the WBC this year. Three heats were run with 16 drivers
being awarded spots in the Final. The Final was a 250 lap SuperSpeedway
race, two racing lanes, normal width track, one round of pit
stops and a new house rule. A draft card could be played as
an action to slingshot diagonally forward from one racing lane
to the other.
Qualifying for the final race put a husband and wife team,
Steve and Carol Caler, in the pole positions. They were driving
the #6 Valvoline and #71 Vermont Teddy Bear, respectively. The
first half of the race was pretty much uneventful as drivers
built their hands as they waited for pit stop cycling to occur.
Pit stops reorganized the field around lap 75 and nothing
much happened until Lap 160. On Lap 160, Kaarin Engelmann driving
the #37 Kmart car was the first casualty of the race with a blown
engine. With the race entering the last quarter, activity started
to heat up as drivers vied for a chance to contend.
On lap 187, Phillip White driving the #99 Exide pulled away
from the field leaving four car lengths between him and the next
car. Drivers immediately realized a little cooperation, and
effective use of the new draft rule would be needed to reel in
the leader. Steve Lollis (#23 Bayer) and Stuart Tucker (#24
Dupont) joined forces to slingshot draft to close the gap to
two car lengths.
On lap 202, David Albin (#3 Goodwrench) played a two wide
blocking maneuver while in seventh position holding up the drivers
behind him. With little to worry from behind, the top six drivers
started to dice it up. Valvoline switched racing lanes from
the inside out with the draft move getting by Bayer and pulled
up to the back bumper of the leader, Exide. Exide quickly changed
lanes to the inside and immediately pulled away to create a car
length of space between him and second place.
The Congo Line of cars weaving from the inside lane to the
outside lane and back continued on lap 225. With Exide moving
back to the high side, Seth Gunar (#72 Detroit Gasket) followed
with Dupont falling in behind Detroit Gasket for the third position.
This left Bayer all alone on the inside with no help so he drifted
a car length back at the end of the turn.
On lap 241, Dupont tried to make his move twice, once with
drafting help, to get by Detroit Gasket, but just couldn't get
by. Jim Bell (#19 Cheerios) had brake trouble and had to drop
out of the race. Exide, with his horsepower fading, was passed
by Detroit Gasket.
With only three laps to go, on lap 247 a crash claimed Dupont
and Dan Hoffman (#35 Tabacsco) ending their chance for victory.
With a one turn shootout for victory remaining, Detroit Gasket
held off the field. Second place was a photo finish at the line
with Keith McFarland (#23 John Deere) edging out Exide. Fourth
place went to the pole sitter Valvoline. Rounding out the top
five was Rex Lehmann driving the #2 Elvis car.
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