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Date Posted: 11/13/07 11:19pm
Author:
pit pundit
Subject: SAN ANTONIO RACEWAY...November 10th


The final standings of the top ten hung in the balance as the TPSA 2007 “No Excuses” tour rolled into San Antonio Raceway for the twelfth and last race of the year. Several of the teams arrived early Friday, parked, and visited friends, family, and just enjoyed the Alamo City area. Donald Hughes and Aaron Hubbard were among the early birds and were the first to test their setups and try to be one step ahead of the game come Saturday.

The Midnite Madness series is aptly named and with the first TT slated for 9pm, there was plenty of time for some bench racing, smack talk, and catching some college football on the tube. Conrad, Elliott, Hanson, A Hubbard, Donald Hughes, Pearce, Pigford, Storrs, the Winscott team with Lump driving, and Worley would line ’em up for the last time this year to determine the order of the top ten.

Warmer and more humid conditions than expected were on tap for the qualifying session, which had been reduced to one shot due to time constraints. The late nite dew would come in around 1am, and it was important to finish the race before then. Qualifying ended with a new face as #1, Larry Pearce ran 4.83 to pace the field, while perennial favorite, Pigford, had shook hard in low gear and had to lift. Was this a glimpse of a set-up error, or a chink in the armor of the “Green Mamba”? Time would tell. Meanwhile, Rick Hanson and Eddie Conrad would have aborted runs as well. A Hubbard was #2 with a 4.86, Brian Self (Lump), driving the Winscott family entry, posted a 4.87, and Jeff Storrs rounded out the 4 second slips with a 4.96. Donald Hughes discovered a noise on the way to the lanes for qualifying that was thought to be a rear end. Thanks to his brother-in-law, Scott Benham, Clint Crownover, and some other help, he got the third member changed in time for 1st round.

First round action saw Jeff Storrs post a 4.94 to bring Ben Worley’s season to a close. Ben, Joe, and Donna have been chasing ignition gremlins for the better part of this year and continued to work on the car after 1st round. They made a TT later in the nite that showed some promise they were on the right track. In spite of the issues they have battled, the Worley team finished in the #9 spot for 2007. Second pair out had A Hubbard in ’ol Blue facing Team Winscott with Comp standout Brian (Lump) Self at the wheel. This was only the second race for the new GTO and qualifying revealed they were making more progress on the setup. At the green, Hubbard was out first and his 4.8673 (.4197rt) was just enough to take the stripe over Lump’s 4.8590 by a margin of .003! Lump’s more comfortable with a full tree and a clutch, but his .4310 rt proved he can get it done with a transbrake and pro tree. After the run, computer data showed the GTO with a hiccup in the top of high gear that might have cost them the round win. Congratulations to Gary, Jason, Lump, David Bowie and the team for some great runs in a short period of time. Look for Team Winscott to shake some things up next year. Third pair featured surprise #8 qualifier Joe Pigford against #6 Randy Elliott. Evidently “Pig” and the crew put some putty in the chink and parked the “Dandy” with a 4.71 blast. Randy’s only missed one TPSA race in the last two seasons, and narrowly missed the top ten in 2006. In 2007 however he made it in as #10. Pearce and the “Dude” Eddie Conrad, rolled into the water box next. Larry couldn’t match his #1 qualifying effort, but his 4.85 easily advanced when Eddie’s engine stumbled hard at the starting line. Conrad finishes in the #6 spot for the year, and rumors suggest a driver change for '08. The last pair had Donald the “Boxman” Hughes paired with Rick Hanson. Rick could catch Richard Otwell for 2nd in the standings with a win at this event...and his chances looked pretty good. Remember, Hughes didn’t make a qualifying hit and he didn’t get down the track in Friday nite testing either. Welp, that’s why we race ’em on the track and not in the pits! Hughes, with the 2nd quickest run of the first round, a 4.83, ends Hanson’s season. Rick and son Chad had a stellar year and will finish in the #3 position. No word yet on which Hanson will be in the chair for ’08.

2nd round...traveling friends and fellow Hill Country Boyz would face off. Hughes and the younger Hubbard don’t have the history that the ’ol man has with the “Boxman” but a great race was anticipated by all. Two clutch rt’s, .4118 for Donald and a .4135 for Aaron and it was on....until both cars were hit with tire shake early and the resultant pass looked more like a funny car pedal fest with both drivers on and off the pedal. At the stripe, it’s the “Boxman” by .06! It sure wasn’t pretty, but it was entertaining. Aaron’s year finishes with him in the #7 position. Pigford and Storrs were up next and the fans crowded the fence to see if either or both would shake. Pigford evidently changed armor, the chink was long gone, and he showed the troops an outstanding 4.68 @ 148 for the low et and top speed of the meet. Jeff Storrs is a long time member of the TPSA that has been gone for a couple of years and it’s good to see him back. Hopefully, he can make the full schedule next year. Pearce rounds out the round with his best et of the nite, a 4.81, on his bye run.

The semi’s, and it’s crunch time. Hughes’ season hasn’t gone according to plan, with a couple of missed races, and breakage, but he could still finish in the top ten if he advanced to the final. He would face Pearce, who was also looking to improve his final standings. They pre-staged, and rolled in to lite the stage bulb, but the “Boxman’s “ Beretta blinked the top bulb, and his season was done. He finishes just 4 points out of the top ten. This is another car that will be a player in ’08. The 2007 TPSA Champion, Mr. Joe Pigford, drew the bye and backed up the previous .68 with a .69.

Time for the finals and it would feature the quickest two cars on the grounds. Funny how the random draw works out most of the time...LOL. Anyway, the rt’s were close, Pearce’s .463 to Pigford’s .458 and it looked to be tight ’till the 330' cone when Pearce lifted and the “Green Mamba” struck again. Larry Pearce’s late season charge with a semi and ru at the last two races moved him up to the #4 slot for the year. Great job by that team who has had their share of adversity in ‘07. This win marks #7 for the Pigford team and 4 in a row. Both tie the TPSA record set by David Hubbard in the 2006 season.

Our thanks to Freddy Cruz for allowing the TPSA to be part of the “Midnite Madness”, and Todd, Judy, Russell, Tommy and the entire crew @ SAR. Russell, Tommy and the track crew, drug & sprayed the track before each TPSA session providing the best possible surface. We appreciate it guys.

Congratulations, and thanks to all of the TPSA teams and their families. And finally, thanks to all of the tracks, sponsors, and fans for making 2007 the best yet. This season was quite a ride!

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Replies:

[> Homepage & points page are updated.... -- ., 11/14/07 1:10am


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[> Well, who'd 've thought it ??? A year ago I'd just got my ticker replumbed and wasn't sure if I could still drive one of these things. Here I sit today the newly crowned "King of TPSA". There are so many people to thank I don't know where to begin so I'll play it safe and thank my wife, the beautiful and talented Charlotte Pigford first, followed closely by "Animal" Jack Cothren, Merv Davis, David Reher, Brad Morgan and all the crew at Reher/Morrison, Marv Ripes, Wally Stroupe, my brother Roy, and a host of others. We've had a great time this year and I'd like to believe it wasn't just because we were winning ( I've got way more experience losing and I enjoyed most of that racing too ). The people who make up TPSA are as great a group of individuals as I've ever been involved with and they are just a lot of fun to be around. I'm really looking forward to next year and hope to see all of you at our 1st race. KEEP TUNING AND KEEP THE SUNNY SIDE UP !!!! -- "Pigman", 11/14/07 2:37pm


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[> Congrats to all TPSA competitors for another great year of races. Glad to see LP gettin down the track now (it works way better with ALL the shock settings, huh LP!) Eddie, quit reading this and get back to findin some more power and JB is lookin for a drivin job since we may never finish the vette - LOL! Naw, it's rollin complete, just need to squirt some paint on it then its motor time. -- J Owen, 11/14/07 10:38pm


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