Don Eichelberg Trans-Am B Sedan shows off his #1 trophy
license plate.
Race Reports
B-Sedans Kick Off the Season at Blackhawk By
Steve Bonk
June
17-19,
2011
Saturday afternoon offered up some beautiful weather for the
first race in T.A.B.S.--the Trans American B-Sedan 2.5 Challenge Series.
This was the second annual race at the Blackhawk Vintage Classic. This
year 16 cars were on the starting grid, and only two cars did not finish the
race.
The race itself brought some interesting and close racing. Mark/Dan Meller
brought out their F production spec 510. Dan's 1:20.28 on treaded tires
raised a few eyebrows, as he was four seconds faster than any other car on the
grid. The interesting part is that their car is only a 1600cc motor.
However, the combination of Dan's national championship driving skills and
Mark's car prep is quite a potent package. It makes me wonder what they
could do with a 1800cc motor?
| After Dan broke a axle shaft, Don Eichelberg moved into first place and held off Mike Besic, driving Ken Girard's Alfa GTV. Last year's race winner, John Connell, took third place; Barb Neverol, with her nuclear- powered Alfa, had a top five finish. Alex Eichelberg with his 1200cc Datsun came in a respectable sixth. Terry Stahly started third, but, after a few laps, did a 180 at Turn 7 and had to be towed in. |
|
I want to thank all the racers who made the
race possible by joining us at Blackhawk. Special thanks go out to our
Midwestern Council racers who have joined us the last few years. We also
had several racers make long tows/drives to join us. Larry Dupuis towed
out from the Detroit area in his Original Canadian B sedan Cortina.
Marc/Michael Frost towed in from Indy with their recently purchased Datsun
610. But Mike Pranka takes the tow prize. He drove his Alfa GTV to
Blackhawk from St Louis, MO, raced it, and then turned right around and drove
home. Now there's a vintage racer!
We hope to see everyone again at the second race of the series at Grattan in
August. We expect even a larger turnout, as many of our Eastern VSCDA
members will be joining us.
Trans-Am B-Sedan Race participants with their commemorative license plates.