Michigan 5th annual 24 hour race

[cgingras]

4 out of 6 rotations are now done. Dixie Chicks are still in front, near the world record pace. SCC has now taken a lead for second but the difference is still slim. Team CanAm is now 4th.

[nhdungeonracer]

Going to try to come over later this morning. Feeling a bit better finally.
Go Dixie Chicks!!

[cj74]

Cars as they say after the 5th rotation.
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[nhdungeonracer]

Happy to be able to make it back, and very happy to be able to drive after being so sick.
I understand other teams have offered to help our team with marshaling duties in my absence. Just shows the great sportsmanship that goes on in this event. There are some great people here. :music-rockout:

[cgingras]

Those are the results with only one rotation left. Dickie's Chicks (yes, Dickie's back!) are still in the lead but their lead has shrunk a bit and they're now off the record pace. With 56 laps ahead of Slot Car Corner, they're still in the lead but they can't rest on their laurels.

Interesting race, very interesting!

[Racie35]

Hazard boys fell back?

[cgingras]

Yes, a bit. But SCC is also falling back now and unless there are major technical problems, the race will end this way. 3 heats to go.

[Mark]

We had a chance at the record, but our braid was slowly wearing away and causing some power issues. We nursed it as long as we could, but we finally had to pit and change the guide/braid which cost about 4minutes.

[cj74]

Prepping for the last heat.
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[cgingras]

Here are the final results:



And here's the tech sheet for all teams:



A BIG THANK YOU to Mike and his numerous assistants this weekend. Again, we had a lot of fun! And we'll be back to get this trophy back.

Now, I have to get back to work. More comments will come later.

[HomeRacingWorld]

"Dickie's Chicks" :)

Thanks for the report. Congrats to all racers.

[SlotCarCorner]

A big "thank you" to Mike Stott for hosting the 5th annual Michigan 24 Hour Endurance Race over this past weekend. Hard to believe it's already been 5 years! This year's event was the best yet - Mike continues to raise the bar. I also want to thank everyone who helped Mike to organize and execute this great event.

Thank you to Mike's wife Kelly for opening up your home to roughly 30 racers.

Thank you to Craig's wife and daughter for cooking dinner Saturday night and breakfast on Sunday morning. The food was delicious!

Thank you to Diane and the videographer for capturing stills and video of this great event. Looking forward to viewing the event video!

Congratulations to the Hazard Boys (or Hazardous Boys or Dixie Chicks or Dickie's Chicks or ???) on a well-deserved win. You guys were thrashing with your setups on Friday but never gave up. You lost one of your racers to illness on the morning of the race but just sucked it up and drove a great race. If not for some minor car problems you would have set a new world record. Always great racing with you and we enjoyed spending some off-track time at Lucky's Steak House with you Thursday and Saturday night.

Congratulations to Cincy Slots and Team CanAm - despite some nagging car problems, both teams were the fastest they've every been at this event. Always fun racing with you guys.

Congratulations to Team Professor Motor - your first Michigan 24 and a steep learning curve. I'm sure you'll be back stronger next year. We enjoyed racing with you.

A big thank you to Mike (Smokeio) for his dedication preparing great race cars for these events. Next year will be our year! To all of my teammates - it was great racing and hanging out with you as always.

To everyone who donated to the Charity Raffle - a big THANK YOU! We raised close to $1,500 for 6 charities!! This is the second year we've raised money and is truly one of the highlights of this event. Thank you to the event sponsors for donating some great raffle prizes.

:text-thankyouyellow:

[ElSecundo]

Still in recovery mode, but a big congratulations to the Hazzard Boys -- great short-handed effort under difficult circumstances. They earned the win with a lot of perseverance.

All the teams really stepped it up this year. Usually, by the half way point, three teams are struggling with beaten-up cars, and wondering if maybe they couldn't have just stayed home and watched TV. But this year, all the teams had something to race for, and ended the day with some pretty quick cars. It was really good to see the Cincinnati guys running as well as they were at the end.

Big thanks to Mike Stott and the rest of the Cloverleaf crew for putting on such a great event. Everybody has a great time, as long as they're not puking their guts out in a hotel room (you know who you are), they're well fed (not the cause of puking guts out in the hotel room), and they get a chance to chance to talk and have fun with some of the most knowledgeable slot car guys in the US.

And one more big thanks to all of SlotCarCorner for letting me be a part of SCC this year. It's been a great privilege to drive with you guys this weekend, and an even bigger privilege to call you friends these last several years.

[cgingras]

Steve beat me to the punch. He basically wrote what I wanted to write. :text-yeahthat:

I'll just say that the team from Atlanta (whatever their real name is!) deserved the win with a great drive in difficult conditions. They were pushing all the way and ran great heats, even some over 400 laps. That's quite an achievement. During the race, the results projection had them over the record pace for a while, until some technical problems made that «dream» seem more difficult to get to. But they kept on pushing until the end and this victory is well deserved, with only a 4.5-members team. I'm getting to know these guys more and more each time we race together and there are wonderful human beings behind those fast slot car racers.

To the Clover Leaf team and «assistants», you are truly a wonderful organizing committee. This is quite an undertaking and you are able to pull it off each year. Even when the software issues stopped the race for a while during the night, you all kept your smiling faces on and just worked at it until it was resolved. Bravo! And a huge THANK YOU. To all the green shirts out there (Rob, Mike, Paul, Art, Dave and Craig), I can say that I'm very happy to count you as very good friends.

Steve said it right when he said that the CanAm and Cincinnati Slot Rods were much faster than they ever were at this race. CanAm is a nice group of guys and they work very well together as a team. They were faster and had more fun in 2015. Keep it up! The Cincy car was very fast in the last part of the race. And their drivers were able to do something with a fast car. Kudos to you. The podium is in sight for next year!

Also, congrats on Professor Motor for their first team effort in a 24-hour race. They were in 4th place for a while before technical problems had to be resolved and they lost a lot of ground. But they kept fighting and finished not too far away from 5th place.

Now, to all my long-time teammates from the Slot Car Corner team and the «rookie» Kurt, it was a pleasure to share this car with you. Mike has been working for months and months at building great cars for this race. Nobody can even understand how much effort goes into this on Mike's part. What he does for this hobby and this race team is truly incredible. During Friday practice, all the cars were so good, we didn't know which one to choose. We finally picked a race car at the end of the day. We'll never know what would have happened if... But we sure know that the Hazzard Boys were fast and they had a great car. It was their year, no doubt about that. Now, it wouldn't be a competition if we didn't want to get back at them next year. And we'll certainly try.

Mike, even with this second place, I've never seen you smile and laugh so much at a race. You're a great friend and teammate.
Steve, you're the best captain a team could have. You care a lot about every team member and the health of this hobby. Nobody can ask for more, you give everything to this hobby and to Slot Car Corner. Thank you.
Georges, if I'm still racing slot cars, it's in great part because I have someone like you to share this hobby with, in Québec or elsewhere. Travel companions like you are rare to find.
Kurt, I've gotten to know you over the past years, including a few trips on the old continent where our friendship was solidified. Racing with you on the same team just made this even more fun. I feel like we've let you down for your first experience with us.

Dickie, my friend, you and I started this link between us in Québec and you in the Northeast US. That night around my track in Québec City a while ago was the start of a wonderful decade of fun and friendships. I really hope you feel better now, after this awful Saturday that came at the worst time possible.

This was again a wonderful event. We have to drive a long way to get there. But it's always worth it.

[Mark]

First and foremost, thanks to Mike, Art, and the rest of the Cloverleaf Racing group for hosting this event. It requires a tremendous amount of work and coordination for an event like this to move along smoothly. I know this probably sounds like a broken record, but it takes a lot of work to keep 30+ content with food, space, etc. Cloverleaf Racing's generosity does not go unnoticed in this event. My only suggestion is to stock up on more brownies - more brownies means Jason spends more time eating - that means he's not talking even when he's awake.

I'm having a tough time finding the right words to describe my experience this year, and this is because it was the best time I've ever had racing slot cars. We could have finished last this year and it wouldn't change a thing. The camaraderie in this event is amazing, and our group is very thankful for the folks that gave a helping hand when we needed it most - Fumey, Kurt, Rob, Team Cinci, and everyone that I have forgotten - thank you! I also want to thank James of team CanAm, Craig of Cloverleaf, and Mike of Cloverleaf for good, clean racing throughout the entire race.

On paper, Dickie looks like he barely lifted a finger only having run 2 heats out of his 6 and marshaling while laying in bed in his hotel room. The truth is that Dickie's efforts to helping our team this year started months before the race with team talks about car setup, tire preparation, etc. - he even attempted to get us coordinated and purchase team shirts. You are always welcome to come race on our team Dickie. Just never forget this.....



To Steve Sawtelle, Christian Gingras, and all those who help Slotcarcorner USA & CA operate - thank you for being the "go to" for many of the components required to build these amazing endurance cars. It must be rewarding to watch your precision parts at work and withstanding the test of endurance racing. It truly is a testament to the quality of parts you provide when the majority of the cars are sporting some form of SCC parts - all you have to do is look at the spec sheets! Thank you guys.

Smokeio, thank you for all of the tips you have provided over the years on this site and to me personally. I have the utmost respect for you, your driving, and your car building. I missed racing along side you this year. I'm lying - it was nice not to have to dodge the swivel.

To Mr. Rob Hall - You are a class act. You have turned this event into something you and the rest of Cloverleaf Racing can truly be proud of. Team Dickie's Dixie Hazzard Chicks' total charity donation of $240 will be split into two - we will be donating $120 to our original charity of choice, SPCA, and $120 to the Wounded Warriors Project - a great suggestion by our good friend, Jay Hodges (The Old Jaybird).

Last but not the least, thank you to my great team mates. We set a goal for ourselves to do better - all we wanted was a podium. We never expected to win the race, especially after Friday practice was over, but we somehow made it happen. I couldn't ask for a better group of guys to race with every Wednesday evenings. I couldn't ask for a better group of guys to race with away from home. But ****, please make sure you guys serve more brownies next year.

Does anyone know what Rob likes to eat???


Mark
Team Dickie's Dixie Hazzard Chicks