FORMULA 600 CHALLENGE: RESULTS FROM CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
The long banked high speed oval turns at Charlotte Motor Speedway are tough on equipment as several drivers had equipment issues during the course of this weekend. Qualifying for the Saturday race showed that the veteran and series leader, Aaron Ellis, in command as he easily won the pole with a 1:18.628. For the rest of the grid were drivers re-learning this track and a novice. Second on the grid was John Pickle, a veteran driver but a newcomer to the F600 Challenge, with a 1:25.402. John was followed by Carl Maier in 3rd, George Fox in 4th, Mo Makki in 5th, novice Jeff DeLong in 6th and Sven deVries in 7th. For the race Aaron Ellis checked out and won by a good margin but almost did not finish as he had to slow considerably due to a deflating right rear tire thanks to the high banked oval turns. Behind Aaron was where most of the action occurred with John Pickle finishing 2nd, Carl Maier 3rd, George Fox 4th, Mo Makki 5th, Jeff DeLong 6th. Sven deVries could not start due to a mechanical failure in the grid. Sven was done for the weekend.
For the Sunday race, qualifying was held late Saturday afternoon, the third session of the day for the drivers. Aaron Ellis went slower at 1:19.599 but still had the pole. However, the rest of the field was learning the track and improved their times. Most notable was the novice driver, Jeff DeLong, who went 4 seconds faster at a 1:23.077 to qualify 2nd; close behind in 3rd was Carl Maier; 4th was John Pickle; 5th was Mo Makki; 6th was George Fox who could not qualify as he had mechanical issues. In Sunday’s race, Aaron Ellis again checked out and won the race, this time with no excitement. Jeff DeLong finished a solid 2nd and his best race finish to date. Although Carl Maier finished 3rd, George Fox almost caught Carl twice but George spun each time that he got close to Carl to finish 4th. John Pickle was 5th. Mo Makki could not start.
For the weekend, here are the series points won by each driver:
- Aaron Ellis 24
- Carl Maier 22
- John Pickle 20
- Jeff DeLong 18
- George Fox 16
- Mo Makki 14
- Sven deVries 0
For the season, the series points are now as follows:
- Aaron Ellis 72
- Carl Maier 60
- Mo Makki 52
- Sven deVries 38
- Barry Luterek 38
- Jeff DeLong 32
- John Pickle 20
- George Fox 16
- Calvin Stewart 14
- Zak Morvik 12
- Hunter Brayton 12
The ties from the June Sprints round have cleared up a little bit as there are now only ties between Sven and Barry along with Zak and Hunter. This could clear up some more when the F600 Challenge Series moves on to Round #4 at Barber Motorsports Park, Aug. 26 -28.
We are very thankful for our valued sponsors who have made this series possible:
Metalloid Corporation of Sturgis, Michigan (www.metalloidcorp.com )
Shrieve Chemical Products of Houston, Texas ( www.shrieve.com ) Hoosier Racing Tire ( www.hoosiertire.com )
Honda Performance Development (www.hpd.honda.com/racing-line)
Solo Performance Specialties (SPS) (www.soloperformance.com)
Pegasus Auto Racing Supplies (www.PegasusAutoRacing.com)
Speed Partz (www.speedpartz.com )
Hawk Performance ( www.hawkperformance.com )
Winding Road Racing (www.WindingRoadRacing.com)
The Formula 600 Challenge Series was developed to help promote an affordable open wheel formula car class to showcase talent without large financial race budgets. The Formula 600 open wheel cars use a 600cc motorcycle engine and a 6 speed sequential transmission revving up to 15,000 rpm with speeds in excess of 140 mph. The sound of this drive train is likened to a F1 car.
Please visit our website at www.theformula600challenge.com for news, photos and videos.
For more information, please contact:
Jim Murphy Fred Edwards Carl Maier
770-861-2337 260-438-4295 972-897-9763
jdmurphy47@aol.com f.edwards@metalloidcorp.com cmaier@amsoil.com
