It’s hard to believe that we’re only days away from waving the final checkered flag of the 2017 NHKA Racing Series powered by K1 Speed. (Hey lady, behind the scoring computer, wipe that grin off your face.) And wow, what a year! It’s been the year of crazy fast and tight racing with the return of road racing to the Northeast. It’s been the year of new milestones with new #1 and #2 best-attended events in the club’s sprint racing era (Saturday and Sunday of the Northeast Super Series weekend.) Last, but not least, it’s been the year of the hooligans… ‘nuff said on that.
The season isn’t over yet! There are still a number of class championships that won’t be decided until the last lap of this last race. Here’s a preview of the high-stakes races you’ll want to watch:
Cadet: The world of motorsports is filled with sibling rivalries. Michael and Ralph Schumacher. Kurt and Kyle Busch. Caleb and Wyatt Jarvis-Comi. After an entire season of racing, the brothers are only separated by five points, but in the end it could very well be that neither wins the championship. That’s because Matthew Winter is only 15 points out of the lead. Can he pull off the upset from third place in the points? The fact that he has won every race he has entered this year would seem to indicate the answer is yes. This should be a good one!
TaG Mini: Nehal Ramlukan has had quite a season, only finishing outside the top two twice this season. His consistency has put him out front going into the last race, but not by much. Theo Corelli sits just 30 points back with Evan Slater only 10 points behind him, leaving the TaG Mini championship podium very much up in the air.
TaG Jr.: Nikolas Georgantis has a reasonably comfortable 40-point lead for the TaG Jr. title. However, he can’t afford a disastrous day. Not with Garrett Miskoe on a four-win tear.
TaG Masters: “King TaG” Ricardo Nunes has sailed away with the TaG Masters championship tucked safely under one arm, and the TaG Senior championship tucked under the other. Meanwhile, Tim Ferroaro’s string of eight top fives has him safe and sound on the second step of the podium. The third step is another story entirely, with Ray Leonard needing a good result on Saturday to hold off Ryan Ouellette who is only 25 points back. A real nail biter for the two popular veteran racers.
World Formula Light: To absolutely nobody’s surprise, “Fast” Freddie Fawcett and “Dammit” Dave Nadeau have been waging the battle of the season at the front of the uber-competitive Hooligan Light field. Going into the last race, a scant 10 points separates the two. The only surprise here has been fallibility. Dave, who swept the entire season last year, took a wild ride to a 12th-place finish in Race 2, and hasn’t hoisted a Lefty’s on the podium the last two races. Freddie, who launched into 2017 with three wins and a 2nd, has also struggled to get on the podium of late, including an ugly 13th-place finish in Race 8. Will the championship be decided by attrition or wheel to wheel? The battle for the coveted third step on the podium has also come down to the wire. The NHKA’s hardest working solo act, Dan Dupree, finds himself in holding onto third by only 15 points over Michael Antonov, who probably hasn’t stopped kicking himself for his 15th-place stumble in Race 9.
World Formula Heavy: With so much happening at the front of the World Formula melee, it has been easy to miss the battle being waged for the Heavy Championship. Geoff Lockett has really come into his own this season, becoming a podium regular, earning three wins and the points lead. But don’t count out Fabiano Oliveira just yet. He is only 20 points back and has a competitive streak as wide as the front stretch at Canaan and as deep as the infield grass. (haha! Just teasing!) This is certainly one of the races to watch on Saturday.
It’ll be all the usual NHMS procedures: Friday night entry and camping 5-10pm. Gates open back up at 7am Saturday. No race engines before 8:05am. However, we are short on corner works, so if you or anyone you know is interested in making a bit money for watching some great racing, contact Mike Camarra cfmotor@aol.com ASAP
The trophy sponsor for this event is the club, NHKA Racing Series. Mike, Lee and the entire NHKA crew want to thank all our competitors and their families for your continued support and making the 2017 season so much freakin’ fun! You people are the best! We’ll see you at the track on Saturday.
We’d like to wish all the racers, families and workers of the NHKA Racing Series family the most joyous of holiday seasons. And… remind you to RSVP for the 2017 Awards Banquet by January 1st. We need to confirm food quantities, prizes and give away items, so we won’t be able to accept reservations after the deadline.
