|
|
|
|
| Lion Badge | "Race for a Homeless Lion!" |
Leonard Lion |
| The Lion Badge was produced for the Leonard Lion
race to support the Walk In The Wild Zoo. Wizard has 2 of them. |
 |
| Class
TQs Jeff McIntyre, Ken Lies, Bill Devlin, and Drew Eckhart
pose with Shootout winner Robert Kitchen. |
| Article extracted from: R/C NEWS July 1991 - Issue #116 - Volume 11 |
Story by Stephen S. Warner Photos by Nick Andrusko March 24, 1991 |
| What does a full-grown male
African lion, a 10,000 square foot ballroom in a luxury
hotel, an R/C car club, and more than 60 racers have in
common? Nothing, unless you were in Spokane, WA, in the
Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Spokane Hotel for the
recent "Race for a Homeless Lion!" All winter, the R/C Car Club of Spokane (R/CCCS) Inc. had raced in a cold expo hall shared by Leonard, the aforementioned homeless lion, and the club soon developed a friendship with the animal. As fate will often times do, an opportunity to help this homeless animal presented itself in the form of a hotel interested in seeing what R/C racing was all about. After just two meetings it was decided to put some races together and see just what kind of interest could be generated in the Inland Northwest. Although two races were originally scheduled, due to the fact that the second conflicted with Easter Sunday, the organizers decided to go with just one big race. With a little less than five weeks to put it together, club president Randy May and volunteers Cindy Isaacs, Dean Earls, Bob Sargent, and Stephen S. Warner started to map out a plan. A snowy, windy, rainy day helped bring in the crowds, racers, and lions for the event. With more than 60 entries in five classes, the club was ready to put on a show! Buttons were sold as admission passes, with the net proceeds going to Leonard, while the Sheraton donated its proceeds from the hot dog concession. In addition, the raffle proceeds also went to the new home, and with the club donating all the race fees, that helped push the total raised to more than $1,600! Not too bad for a one-day race with only five weeks to get ready! The A Mains After the horn sounded , signaling the start of the four-minute Novice A Main, David Ford powered his way into the lead to ultimately capture the win with 18 laps. Although Jeff McIntyre was the fastest one out during qualifying, scoring TQ honors, he had to settle for second in the main, finishing a lap and two seconds behind the leader. Rounding out the top three was Steven McNickles, who trailed with 16 laps. The Heavy Stock A Main produced some heavy competition, as the top three drivers all finished on the same lap with 19 completed! Taking top honors was Mike Schmidt, who crossed the line right at the four-minute mark. Following just four seconds behind was Dave Geraghty, with TQ Ken Lies a mere second behind him for a very close finish! Featuring a six-minute format, the Formula/Indy A Main was handily won by Bill House, who cruised to an easy win, finishing a full lap ahead of the field. Following right on his tail but a lap down was TQ Bill Devlin, who managed to complete 32 laps, as did third-place finisher Buddy Cox, who crossed the line four seconds behind the runner-up. After five minutes of racing, Boyd Petty had bested the field of 1/10 Stock A Main racers by logging a total of 31 laps for a one-lap margin of victory. Following close behind at the buzzer but a lap back were Dave Salee and Pat Dotson, who finished second and third, respectively, both with 30 laps completed. Taking top honors in the four-minute 1/10 Modified A Main was TQ Andrew Eckhart, who scored 28 laps. Although Robert Kitchen was right on his tail at the buzzer, finishing a mere second behind, the runner-up was off the pace by a lap. With Eckhart clearly in the lead, perhaps the closest race of the day to watch was between Kitchen and Dave Mapston, who had to settle for third just six-tenths of a second behind at the finish with 27 laps. Thanks the B&B Autoscore, the system of choice used by R/CCCS Inc., which hasn't let the club down yet; the racers know they are being kept track of by the best! And soon, it seems, the system will be augmented by the AMB Autocount System. A special thanks also goes to the trio of great folks at the Sheraton. Led by Carol Bowman, Yannick Droogmans, and Bob Duprie, the Sheraton-Spokane Hotel provided a spectacular racing venue. In fact, they were so impressed with the race that they have since agreed to host a four-day event in 1992! Special thanks also goes to the following: Bitsy Peffer of Jerry Packard & Associates for providing the entry buttons; Lilac City Decorators Inc. for supplying the crowd-control ropes and stand; R/C Hobbies of Spokane for R/C parts and service; B&B Hobbies, Silent Power Hobbies, and the Sheraton-Spokane Hotel for all the raffle donations; Ron Runnels from the Lion's Club for his help in filming the event and ticket sales; Ballentrae Printing and Engraving for not only making super trophies, but for also donating the plaques for a special "Sponsors race"; and finally the great folks from Pzazze' Pizza, who not only donated the Concours d'Elegance trophies and coupons for the raffle, but they also supplied the A Main winners with coupons for free pizza! After raising more than $1,600 for Leonard the Lion, the R/C racers of Spokane, as well as the fine folks at the Sheraton-Spokane, can take pride in a job well done! Doing a good deed and having fun at it is rare these days, and the biggest thanks of all goes to all those who helped make it happen. All in all it was a great day for Leonard, R/C racing, and the hundreds of spectators on hand. The R/C Car Club of Spokane Inc. made quite a few new friends and its favorite hobby gained awareness from this exciting exposure. Besides the excitement of the races, one of the biggest thrills came from raising money for Leonard and having a good time! |
| RESULTS | |
| NOVICE A MAIN 1. David Ford ................. 18/4:11.61 2. Jeff McIntyre (TQ) ..... 17/4:09.18 3. Steven McNickles ....... 18/4:07.69 |
HEAVY STOCK A MAIN 1. Mike Schmidt ..... 19/4:00.98 2. Dave Geraghty .... 19/4:04.52 3. Ken Lies (TQ) ..... 19/4:05.66 |
| FORMULA/INDY A MAIN 1. Bill House ................... 33/6:09.92 2. Billy Devlin (TQ) ....... 32/6:09.63 3. Buddy Cox................... 32/6:13.78 |
1/10 STOCK A MAIN 1. Boyd Petty ........... 31/5:06.96 2. Dave Salee ........... 30/5:09.53 3. Pat Dotson ............ 30/5:13.12 |
| 1/10 MODIFIED A MAIN 1. Andrew Eckhart (TQ) . 28/4:08.48 2. Robert Kitchen ............ 27/4:07.08 3. Dave Mapston ............. 27/4:07.72 |
TQ SHOOTOUT WINNERS 1. Robert Kitchen ..... Modified 2. Bill Devlin ............ Formula/Indy 3. Ken Lies ................ Heavy Stock |
| CONCOURS 1. Terry Wison 2. Phil Tallman 3. Phil Tallman |
SPONSORS RACE 1. Dave Dunn 2. Bob Duprie 3. Ron Runnels |