BOBBY AKIN DIED TODAY
FROM RACE INJURIES

Bobby Akin, retired pro driver, well known in racing circles, died today from injuries received in a violent crash at The Walter Mitty Vintage Race at Road Atlanta. During the practice day ( 4/25) of this HSR event, Bobby tangled with Jim Adams before turn No. 5. Akin's car flipped over the wall and caught on fire. Valiant efforts by other drivers, got him out of the flaming car and on his way in a helicopter to Grady hospital in Atlanta. He remained in a coma, in critical condition until he died on 3/29/2002. His absence will be deeply felt by all who new him, even those who new of him.

The Walter Mitty
Road Atlanta, April 27/28, 2002

A strong group of 12 cars showed up for the qualifying race on Saturday. The qualifying race finished with The Duck first, Kevin Smith in second, followed by Paul Flowers, Juan Gonzales, and Dean Tank. That order set the Formula Ford gird for Sundays Featured Race. Unfortunately, some others available for Saturdays race were force to miss Sundays race because of its late scheduling. Sundays race started with Gonzales challenging The Duck early on along the back straight. The Duck defended his position successfully but on the next lap, found himself passed by Kevin Smith in turn 9. Kevin held the lead for less than a half lap, until The Duck was able to make a pass in turn one to retain the lead. For the next 5 laps or so, Smith was able to remain in The Duck's draft. By the 8th. lap Smith fell back slightly, out of the draft, and a Duck win was no longer in doubt.

The ARRC Race
American Road Race of Champions
Road Atlanta Nov. 10th. 2001

Steve Brooks had the Pole, with the Duck right behind. Brooks kept the lead through turn one with The Duck tucked in behind in his draft. Turn 5 saw Brooks go off and hit the wall on the right. Perhaps the afternoon sun, which was blinding at that turn, cause his off road excursion. Without Brooks in the race, The Duck coasted through the rest of the race.

Sarrc Invitational Championship
Sept 30th. 2001

The Duck easily took the Pole, and took the checkered without much competition. This win gave The Duck the SARRC 2001 Points Championship.

HSR Watkins Glen
September 9th. 2001

The Race started with Dean Baker on Pole, The Duck right behind. The Duck stayed within kissing distance of Baker's transmission until the last lap. On the straight before the bus stop (chicane) The Duck drafted by to take over first place. What appeared to be a win for The Duck disappeared when Baker straight-lined the Chicane through the grass. Coming out of the Chicane, The Duck found himself behind Baker again, and thats the way the race ended.

Road Atlanta, SARRC RACE
Sept 2nd. 2001

A damp rainy qualifing season left the Ford field with The Duck on pole, followed by Jack Veldan, Alan Yancey, and Bill ladd. Steve Brooks would have been second or third, except for the absence of his his timing transponder. The race started at 8:15 Sunday morning with a damp misty track. The Duck kept the lead, increasing it to 3 seconds by the third lap, when a yellow bunched everyone. The restart had The Duck maintaining his leed of about or 4 seconds, until another double yellow again bunched up the cars, bringing Veldan and Steve Brooks within striking distance. With only three laps to go after the second restart, The Duck had an easy time holding a several second leed. Velden took first in Formula Fords, Brooks took second in Club Fords, with Bill Ladd taking third.

Mondays race was much the same, with even more water. A good wet qualifing season had The Duck second overall behind Glen Cooper in his Formula Mazda. He kept the leed throuhout the race without a serious challenge. A bad engine put Velden out early.

Road Atlanta SARRC RACE
July 28th. 2001

Three Club Fords and two Formula Fords, three Formula Vs. and a host of FC, FM and Sports Racers ran this rather uneventfull race. The overall winner was Tom Nastasi in a Fomula Mazda. He left the rest of the field in the dust. The Duck diced a few times with a S2.

Roebling Road, SCCA
Double National Weekend
July 1st and 2nd. 2001

The first race on Sunday had Seven Ford Starters. Dixon, Aschenback, and . Henderson, took the first three places in the ford lineup, followed by Leonard and The Duck. Early in the race, . Aschenback, Henderson and Dixon were in the first pack. Leonard and The Duck followed in the second pack. By the 5th lap, Leonard was able to pull ahead from The Duck , denying him the much needed draft and it looked like The Duck would settle for a 5th. Place finish. But Dixon and Ashenback were duking it out. And going into turn one on the 14th. Lap there was contact when Dixon attempted a pass. Both cars were put into the grass for the remainder of the race. Henderson was falling back, then popped oil in front of The Duck before having to pull over with a blown engine. The Duck took second place behind Leonard.
Sundays race only had 4 starters, Aschenback, Dixon, Leonard and The Duck. On the first lap The Duck went off track in turn 4 when tapped by a DSR. When he got back on the track, it was with a bent steering arm which made driving the next 23 laps a chore. Dixon helped The Duck's finishing position, by coming in early with engine problems. Aschenback took first, then Leonard and The Crippled (or should I say Ruptured) Duck.

Road Atlanta, SCCA
National Race
June 10th. 2001

Ten cars qualified for this National SCCA race, with Brandon Dixon on point, followed by Ian Henderson and Lawson Aschenbach. The Duck was way back in 7th. place when the green flag came down. But trouble came early. Baggett, who started 6th. was fighting in the top pack when he blew an engine in turn one. Then Shandelle Leonard went up against the wall in turn three, perhaps because of a little oil left on the track from Baggett's engine. The Duck was able to keep in Jack Velden's draft early on, but lost some distance with the lapped traffic. A full coarse yellow put The Duck right behind Velden again. But Velden and a Formula 500 had some contact in turn nine, allowing The Duck to pull ahead and take over fourth place with four laps to go. On the last lap, the top three cars saw contact in turn 9/10. Of the three, only Brandon Dixon was able to keep his car on the track. That meant that The Duck took over second place, with his 22 year old Club Ford.

HSR Vintage Race at
Watkins Glen NY
June 3rd 2001

This weekend was a reunion for the old SuperVee racing machines of the 1970's. A dozen or two showed up, with many of those who drove them in the 70's. (see the photo page). The weekend was dampened by rainy cold weather, but it cleared somewhat for the open wheel race on Sunday. The poll went to Kevin Smith from Illinois, followed by Dean Baker (Ontario) and The Duck. Early on a Formula B car got between The Duck and the top two, preventing any benefit from their draft. The Duck spent the first half of the session racing with the Formula B car. The real race was between Baker and Smith, who stayed within a car length of each other swapping the first place position. Baker took first, Smith second, and The Duck third.

Double SARRC SCCA
Regional race
Kershaw SC, May 26th, 27th. 2001

Only four Club Fords showed up for this weekends racing, and Kevin Brumbaugh had to take his Crossle 35F home with mechanical problems before Saturdays race. That left two new drivers, Bill Ladd and Robert Zaccardi in Club Fords, and Jim Lee and Oran Eicher in Formula Fords to Challenge The Duck. Saturdays race saw the Duck on the poll, but he was able to see Eicher in his mirrors much of the race until a mechanical forced him to fall back. The win went to the Duck, and Jim Lee took first in the Formula Ford class. Sundays race was much the same, except for some excitement on lap 4 in corner 11. Galiano was following Mike Eakin (in their Club Continentals) down the back straight. Eakin passed The Duck going into turn 11. Caliano, being unable to separate himself from Eakins exhaust, attempted to follow Eakin and passed The Duck at breakneck speed. The Duck had a front row seat when Galiano plowed into Eakin sending them both flying. Nobody hurt, but serious damage to Galiono's car (see the photo page).

Virginia International Raceway
Double Mars/Sarrc SCCA race
May 12, 13th. 2001

A good grid of 45 Club Fords, Formula Vees and Formula Fords showed up for Saturdays Race. This weekend saw drivers from both the Mid Atlantic Division, and the Southeast Division. The first three on the Grid were: The Duck (CF), Thomas Smith (CF), Jack Velden(FF). Turn one saw Jack Velden take the inside line and the lead, followed by The Duck, Smith and Steve Brooks(CF) . Early on Smith had a problem with the lower Esses and ended the race early. That left the battle of the top three, Velden , The Duck, and Brooks. The Duck tucked into Velden's draft and spent the race there. Brooks made a valiant effort, but without a draft he fell behind a half second or so every lap. With much collateral damage spread around the track, the stewards finished the race under yellow.

Sundays race started with Velden on the overall poll, followed by The Duck, Tom Raber(CF), Anderson Chu(CF) and Steve Brooks. The race to turn one again put Velden in the lead. Again The Duck glued himself to Velden's gear box to take advantage of the draft. On lap 7 The Duck made a pass in the Roller coaster and took the lead. It didn't last long. By the start finish line Velden was pulling in front again, and remained there until the end. Lapped traffic prevented Brooks from making a serious challenge.

The Walter Mitty Vintage Race
Road Atlanta
April 28th, 29th. 2001

Thirteen Formula Fords started the weekend. This number diminished to 11 by the end of the week. Saturdays qualifying race had The Duck cross the finish line first, but Kevin Smith had the faster time, which gave him a pole position for Sundays race. Sundays race had the Ford grid as: Smith, The Duck, Hailand, and Greco. Smith and The Duck took to an early lead over the rest of the pack, swapping the lead several times early on. The Duck followed Smith, within a car length keeping in the draft for the last half of the race, waiting for the last lap to make the draft by pass. But Smith, taking a page from the Dale Earnhart, made that pass as difficult as possible. He was able to hold on notwithstanding The Duck's frantic attempts to take the lead. Smith kept the lead to take the checkered flag. Third place with to Vince Greco, who was renting The Duck's RP 16 Royale. Not bad for the first time in the car.

Road Atlanta National Race
April 1st. 2001

Fourteen Formula Fords and almost as many V's and F500s qualified for Sundays Race. The poll was taken by Brandon Dixon, with a 1:31.6, Tom Scwietz 1:32.3. Also in the 32's was Steve Brooks, Donald Baggett and Lawson Ascherbach in that order. Following with times in the 33's was Ian Henderson , the Duck, and Jack Velden and Jason Byers. The race on Sunday started at 8:15 AM, with temperatures in the 40's. Cold tires and asphalt made the first half of the race very challenging. Lap one, turn one saw Steve Books and Ian Henderson make contact, taking Kyle Krisiloff and The Duck off with them. The Duck was able to get started again, but at dead last overall. The pace car came out for three laps, and the Green Flag was thrown with the last V and the Duck still on the back straight. Driving conditions improved towards the end of the race, when the Sun came out to provide some heat in the track.

Dixon and Scwietz swapped the led several times, each remaining in the others draft. On the second to the last lap, Dixon was setup to make a pass in turn one. It would have been made easily, except for obvious blocking by Scwietz. First place went to Scwietz, second to Dixon. Steven Davis took first in Formula V's, followed by Brian Keck.

HSR Vintage Race
Sebring Florida
March 3-4, 2001
Eight Formula Fords showed up this weekend for this Monoposto event. Practice and qualifying were done in sunny Florida weather, which did not last through race day. The qualifying race went to Kevin Smith, who had the fastest time of the weekend. The Duck was second on the Formula Ford pole, followed by Jeff Hailand, and Traver Hutchins. Severe weather developed on race day, with the majority of the drivers choosing avoid the mess. The only cars showing up on the race grid were The Duck and Vaughn Rockney in formula fords, and Ron Caldwell in an Indy Car. The Duck won this race, mostly by default.

SCCA Turkey Trot
Regional Races, Sebring Fl.
Nov. 25th. 26th. 2000
This weekend had a race on Saturday which offered regional points only, and the SARRC race on Sunday with year 2001 divisional points. Saturdays regional race saw The Duck in the lead, which he held for the until the finish. A new lap record was made for the Sebring long course, with The Duck taking almost a second a lap off the record he set last year. Unfortunately The Duck was short of luck the next day. Sundays race saw The Duck on the pole, but he was not able to finish the pace lap. An electrical failure caused him to pull off before the green flag was given. Race results are given for Saturdays race only, since they were not ready when the Duck and his crew left the track on Sunday. A vintage race was also offered, allowing some older cars (pre 1972 to get some track time. The Duck used his 1972 Titan Formula Ford for this event).

Andy Brumbaugh wins
ARRC Race, Road Atlanta
Nov. 11, 2000
The Duck took an early lead, which lasted until lap 7. Andy pulled off a pass on the outside of turn 5. Andy kept the lead for two laps, then the Duck drafted by on the back straight. Andy retook the lead on lap 10 with the Duck close behind. Lap 13 ended the Duck's threat when he caught lapped traffic in the Chicane. Andy continued a near perfect race to take the checkered flag. Steve Robertson took third .

All Formula Ford Featured Race
Roebling Road
Nov. 5th. 2000

Eighteen Formula Fords (seven different models) took the grid for this 30 minute all Formula Ford Challenge race. Dean Baker took the poll with a 1:16.1sec.qualifying time, followed by The Duck at 1:16.2, and then Kevin Smith at 1:16.3. The green flag put the Duck in the lead for the first two laps. Then in turn one, Steve Brooks tried to pass both Dean Baker and The Duck with some very late braking and a prayer. But oil had been laid down in the turn the previous lap, and Brooks ended up in the grass. Other cars followed, and a yellow flag was needed to clean up the mess. When the green was given , The Duck was in the lead, followed by Dean Baker. Kevin Smith was way back, as was Steve Brooks. The Duck led the race until about the 11th lap when Baker drafted by before turn one. But it was not to last. The track was becoming increasingly oily and Baker spun in turn 5. With Baker out, and Smith and Brooks far behind, The Duck was out for a Sunday drive. Then with only 4 laps to go in this 30 minute race, he saw a yellow and green Titan in his mirror. Kevin Smith had fought back and was challenging The Duck for first place. The Duck took the Checkered, Smith was a half car length behind in second, followed by Dean Baker in third and Dean Tank in fourth.

HSR Group 6 Race
Roebling Road Nov. 5th. 2000

25 cars took the green flag in this 12 lap race and headed towards turn one. 5 Formula B cars lead the 17 or so Formula Fords into the turn. Several of the B cars broke early, causing the leading Formula Fords to lock their brakes and skid off the track. Kevin Smith (second on the poll) was one of the first to go, closely followed by The Duck. When The Duck got back on the track, he found himself in 9th. position. Smith was even worse off. The Duck fought back, picking up a position each lap. By the 10th. lap he found himself within a car length of the first place car, Dean Baker. The only problem was that the car length was filled by the second place car, Steve Brooks. On the last lap, before the finish line, both Brooks and The Duck were attempting a draft by Baker for the first place position. Three cars went across the finish line 3 abreast. At the award ceremony it was too close to call, and all three got a bottle of champagne. The win went to Baker, second to Brooks, and the Duck took third. Dean Tank who kept his nose clean the whole race was rewarded with fourth place. Larry Rossi took fifth, and Kevin Smith fought back to Sixth.

HSR Vintage Race
Road Atlanta, Oct. 22nd. 2000

Four formula fords and two supervees were all that took to the grid for this race. The Duck was on the pole , followed by Gary Diver in a borrowed Merlyn formula ford. Then the two supervees, followed by Tom Fisher and Mitch Wilkens in formula fords. The first half of the race saw The Duck swap positions with Gary Diver several times. Then, on the six lap, David Boles in his supervee got around Diver. Although he had his sights on The Duck, it was not going to happen. The Duck pulled away by the 7th. lap. The Duck took first overall, followed by Boles.

Roebling Road
Sarrc Invitational Championship
Sept. 22nd.

First on the poll overall was James V. Lee, in his Formula Ford. 1/1000 of a second behind him was The Duck in his Club Ford, followed by Steve Robertson (CF), Robert Poma (FF) and Andy Brumbaugh(CF). The green flag saw Lee, in front, followed by Robertson, and the Duck. Robertson and The Duck swapped a time positions a time or two, and then Robertson was able to take the lead overall from Lee about the 8TH. lap. The Duck was following Lee, following him was Brumbaugh and Poma. With Lee as a buffer, Robertson was able to extend his lead toward the end of the race. Lap 10 saw Brumbaugh attempting a pass on The Duck in turn 5 on the outside when tires touched and Brumbaugh ended in the grass. Had bad luck not struck, he would have ended in the top three. Jim V. Lee took first place in Formula fords, followed by Robert Poma. Steve Robertson took first in Club Ford, followed by The Duck. This was the last race in the SARRC point series for year 2000. For the yearly points total, click the current points total link on the home page of this website.

Ruptured Duck Racing International
has new members in Holland. Take a look at the photos page to see Dr. Smul, President of RDR Dutch Duck fan club and other honorary members. Many countries are still available! Wanna be a member?

 

Road Atlanta
Double Regional
Sept 3/4, 2000
Both races started with The Duck on pole in the Club Ford Class, followed by Steve Robertson, Mark Drastal, and Bob McKeown. Grided directly ahead of The Duck was Ian Henderson who had the pole position in the Formula Ford class. Sunday's race started with The Duck getting a good start, passing a few wing cars. A good separation developed between The Duck and Steve Robertson, who was experiencing mechanical problems. Then, about 1/2 way through the race, The Duck developed an engine miss that got progressively worse. Although this caused his lead to narrow toward the end of the race, Robertson's car problems were worse than those of The Duck. The Duck took the Chequered Flag, followed by Robertson, Drastal, and McKeown. Monday's race went exactly the same, with the same problems. Mark Drastal did not enter Monday's race. Ian Henderson won both races in his Formula Ford class.

 

VIR National Race
August 13th. 2000
The Formula Ford grid was as follows: Brandon Dixon, Ian Henderson, Lawson Aschenback and The Duck. The race started with The Duck moving up to 3rd. early in the race. But soon after, he was passed by Aschenback. Henderson and Aschenback exchanged positions a time or two, with Dixon holding on to first place. Unfortunately for Dixon, a spin at the end of the Esses in the last third of the race put him behind The Duck. He fought back, passing the Duck on the 13th lap, to take third place. The Duck finished forth, with Aschenback first, and Henderson second.

Road Atlanta Regional
July 30th. 2000
The race started with The Duck on the pole, followed by Andy Brumbaugh. The first 13 laps saw The Duck maintaining the lead, but a miss developed in his engine late in the race and a 5 second lead evaporated. Andy Brumbaugh was behind The Duck driving a mistake free race. A well timed pass on the last lap earned him the chequered flag.

 

Mid-Ohio, Double Regional
SCCA event: July 22nd., and 23rd.,2000
This event was part of the Champ Series in the Central Region which is run on a hard Hossier spec tire. The Duck took the pole in Saturday's qualifying session, but Vince Monteleone's time was close and he was grided with his club ford in the row directly behind the Duck. The start of the race went very poorly for the Duck, and he lost 3 positions before turn one. He was able to gain back two positions on the first lap, and was able to pass Monteleone by the second lap. Montelone kept close however, never more than a few seconds behind the Duck. On lap 8, a red flag was thrown, followed by the chequered ending the race 4 laps early, with the Duck still in the lead. (Take a look at the photo of the upside down Continental on the photo page).
Sunday's race saw the Duck again on the pole, several rows in front of his next Club Ford competitor. The green flag saw the Duck pick up a position or two, and he held on until the chequered flag , 12 laps later. See the results page for complete results and times.

HSR VINTAGE RACE
VIR, July 16th. 2000

The weekend was going fine, with the Duck posting the fastest times of the Formula Ford Class, and winning the qualifying race. 11 Cars were grided up for Sunday's race which started fine. The Duck was in the lead until the third lap. Then a faulty steering system made it impossible to steer the car, and the Duck was forced to pull in early. Travis Engen finished an easy first with his Chevron B-17 in the F-1 class. The formula ford class was won by Domenic Toto, followed by David Paqua.

SCCA Double Regional, Roebling Road
July TH. and 9th. , 2000
The Duck thought the race on Saturday would be a piece of cake. It started with the Duck on the pole, and he remained 3 to 5 seconds ahead of his closest competitor, throughout the race. But the last lap had a surprise. When approaching the sweeper which leads onto the straight, the Duck was pinched at the apex by a DSR which he was attempting to lap. The only way to avoid contact was braking and a delay until the DSR moved over. Brumbaugh, who had been behind the Duck and was keeping the race close and competitive each lap saw his opportunity. Keeping his speed up through the sweeper it was an easy task to pass the Duck and take the Chequered flag. Brumbaugh took first, and the Duck took second overall.
On Sunday's race, the Duck saw his luck change. He was again on the pole overall, followed by Robert Poma in his formula ford, and then Andy Brambaugh in a club ford. By turn one Andy had taken a position behind the Duck and the chase was on. Several times the lead changed hands, but when the music stopped the Duck had first overall.

SCCA Double Nationals, Roebling Road
July 3rd. and TH. 2000
The gird of 9 formula fords had the Duck stuck in TH position with his aging club ford. But the old Duck gave up its engine on the 3rd lap. A rod went through the block, necessitating an early entrance into the paddock. The race stated with Brandon Dixon on the pole, then Steve Brooks, Donald Baggett, Ian Henderson, the Duck, and Erick Langbein. The Duck's early demise, as well as the same by Ian Henderson, moved Jack Velden into TH. And that's the way the race ended. The Duck pulled his backup car off the trailer for the following days race.

Monday's race the next day started much the same way , except with Dan Carney replacing Henderson in TH. place. This race started early with Carney falling back, and the Duck and Velden swapping the third position every lap or two. Baggett had spun early on , leaving third position open. On the last lap, Baggett who had fought his way back to fourth, was able to dive into turn one, putting himself between Velden and the Duck. Unfortunately he was unable to keep the car from spinning after that dive, and the Duck was forced to drive off the track to avoid contact. The much fought after third position went to Velden. First place belonged to Dixon, and second place to Books. Baggett, who was able to keep his car running after the spin on the last lap came in fourth, with the Duck in fifth.

SCCA National Race, Road Atlanta
June 10th. and 11th. 2000
Seven Formula Fords qualified for Sunday's race, as follows: Steve Brooks, Donald Baggett, Ian Henderson, The Duck, Jack Veldun, Oran Eichler, and Randy Anderson. A spin on the exit of turn 1, midway through the second qualifying session put Ian into the wall. Unfortunately parts were not available for repair before Sunday's race. The race found Baggett and Brooks swapping the lead several times, with turn one being their favorite place for exchanging positions. Then in the last third of the race, with turn 7 becoming more and more greasy, Baggett found himself doing a 360. He lost less than 10 seconds, which was not enough to allow the Duck (running in third place) to catch up. That 10 seconds was enough to allow Books to take and keep the lead until the end of the race. The formula V race ( five entrants) went to Stevan Davis.

 

VIR Double Sarrc/Marrs Weekend
May 13/14- 2000

Seventeen Club Fords Showed up for this combined Marrs / Sarrc event, which combined drivers from both the Northeast and Southeast Divisions. Only a few had the luxury of practising on this new track earlier in the year, since this was only the second race since VIR reopened after being closed 20 years. Saturday's Race started out as a tightly fought battle between Jeff Duncan, Steve Robertson and Andy Chu. Duncan had the pole, followed by Robertson, Chu, Raber, Brumbaugh and the Duck. A good start put the Duck ahead of Brumbaugh, and two laps later he got around Raber. But buy that time Duncan, Robertson and Chu were in a race amongst themselves. The Duck was over seven seconds behind, with little to do but watch the excitement ahead. Chu was able to pass Robertson by the third lap, but the favour was returned. In fact the lead changed several times, with each of the top three holding first place for a while. The Duck watched from TH. place with envy. Chu was able to take the lead again a little beyond the half way point, but was unable to hold it and spun in turn three. That left Duncan and Robertson to battle for first and the Duck in third. On the last lap, with Duncan in first, the duo met lapped traffic before the Oak tree. Robertson was able to take advantage of the moment to pass Duncan and hold the lead until the chequered. Results: Robertson in first, then Duncan, the Duck, Tom Raber, and Andy Brumbaugh. The SE Div. looked good at the finish, placing three in the top five.

Sunday's event saw Duncan again on the pole, followed by Raber, the Duck , Chu, and Brumbaugh. The first lap saw Chu pass Rabin and the Duck in turn three, and the Duck got around Raber on the back straight. Starting with lap 6 the Duck and Brumbaugh swapped the third place position twice every lap. When the music stopped, Brumbaugh was ahead by 1/2 car length. First place went to Duncan, followed by Chu, Brumbaugh, the Duck, and Raber.

 

The Walter Mitty Vintage Race
Road Atlanta, April 28th. - 30th. 2000

Perfect weather greeted a large entry list this weekend. Late comers were forced to paddock in the infield and out behind the registration trailer. The perfect weather did not prevent mishaps during the two practice days however. It was a rare event when a practice session went the full 20 minutes without much of the time consumed by black flags. Group 5 stated the weekend with about 17 Formula Fords and 9 F1 Brabhams. Mixed in was one Formula V and one F2. As the weekend progressed , the top of the pack of Formula Fords was able to get their lap times down into the 1:38s. The qualifying race found the Formula Fords grided as follows: Steve Brooks on the poll, followed by The Duck, then Paul Flowers. By the second lap of the qualifying race, Dean Baker move from 6th. position to behind Brooks and in front of The Duck. Brooks and Baker swapped positions several times until Brooks broke his steering column and came in. This left The Duck in 2nd. place being challenged by Juan Gonzalez . That challenge was ended when Gonzalez blew his engine. On the last lap The Duck passed Baker in turn one and took the chequered.

The Race on Sunday was even closer. The grid in the Formula Ford class remained the same. The Duck jumped into first place in turn one with Steve Brooks in his draft. The 2nd. lap had Brooks take the lead in turn one with the Duck following. The following lap saw the Duck draft by Brooks on the back straight. Dean Baker, fighting from his starting gird position of TH., was able to draft by The Duck and had his sights on Brooks. The lead changed each lap from that point on, being shared by Brooks, The Duck , and Baker. The second to the last lap saw Baker in the lead, followed by The Duck and then Brooks. A draft on the back straight put The Duck ahead of Baker. The finish saw The Duck being challenged by Baker, who was being challenged by Brooks. Not two car lengths separated the three cars. And that was a fitting finish, since the last 3/4 of the race never saw a period when all three cars were not in each others draft. Kevin Smith finished TH. with the fastest lap of the weekend ( 1:37.959) but was prevented from making a serious challenge for first place because of an early spin. Full results are shown on the results page.

April 16th. Sarrc Regional Race
Vintage Race
Roebling Road, Savannah

The starting Grid had 13 Fords, 7 Formula Fords and 6 Club Fords. First on the poll in formula fords was Jack Velden, followed by the Duck in his club ford, then Steve Robertson in a club ford. A split start separated the Fords from the wing cars. Turn one after the green flag saw Velden , theDuck, and Robertson in a single file in that order. The first half of the race stayed that way until a black flag bunched everyone up for a restart. The restart saw the same order , but had the top three fords backup up behind 4 winged cars at every corner. This bunch of cars moved through the corners as a lump of food would move through a snake. Passing was difficult, and no one was willing to give up a position. The end of the race saw Velden taking first in formula fords, the Duck took first in club fords, followed by Steve Robertson. The best drive was by Roy Rosmanitz in his Zink Z10 Formula Ford. Since he missed qualifying, he was forced to start in the back of the grid. But by the end of the race he fought his way up to third place (formula ford class) behind Jack Velden and James Lee.

April 2nd. 2000 National Race
Road Atlanta, Ga.

Did you hear the last race was a wild ride? Forget it. This race was run in a major downpour. The Formula Ford race was won by Brandon Dixon in his DB6 Swift, mostly because he only spun once. Stevan Davis won overall in a Formula V, probably because he did not spin at all. A nice day for qualifying had the Fords qualifying in this order - Brandon Dixon, Steve Brooks, Donald Baggett, The Duck, and Jack Velden. But all bets were off on race day when it rained. First to fly was Donald Baggett in turn one, immediatley after the green flag. Well, maybe he wasn't first to spin, because a F500 spun on the pace lap! The Duck was feeling very cocky until he did two rapid 360's in the Esses. He was able to recover with little time lost and moved up to second place when Steve Brooks went off in 6 and was stranded over the berm, loosing several laps. Jack Velden lost a lap early on with a flat tire. The race only lasted 15 laps, but for the 2nd,3rd,and TH. place in the Formula Ford class the race finished on the 14th. lap. The 15th lap saw the back stretch with the Duck in second place, followed by Jack Velden, then Donald Baggett, all only several car lengths apart. All three broke late into turn 9, losing traction and sliding off the track. The Duck took 2nd. place, followed by Baggett, then Velden and Brooks.

March 12th. ,2000 National Race
Roebling Road, Savannah Ga.

And a wild ride it was. The race started with Richard Leslie on the Formula Ford Pole, followed by Brandon Dixon, then Don Baggett, Steve Brooks, and Jon Adams. Richard's luck did not last however. His spinning on the pace lap in the Carousel was a omen of what followed. Early in the race a second spin put him out with apparent mechanical problems. Half way into the race, Baggett found himself parked on the grass. The reason was not apparent to this observer. Steve Brooks went off in turn two towards the end of the race. The Duck found himself at a distinct disadvantage in the 20mph head wind . The 1979 Crossle Club Ford, with outdoor suspension made it impossible to draft by any of the more aerodynamic cars on the straight. The Duck started in 6th. position. A pass around Jon Adams in turn two in the second half of the race put the Duck into 2nd position in the Formula Ford Class. Not a bad place for a Club Ford , in a race which grided 8 Formula Fords. But towards the end of the race, a few more spins by the Formula Mazdas cause a yellow flag. This allowed Steve Brooks and Jon Adams to close the gap, and easily overtake The Duck on the straight on the last, and next to the last lap. Brandon Dixon took the flag, then Steve Brooks, followed by Jon Adams. The Duck finished forth, complete results are shown on the schedule,results and photo page.

March TH.,2000 Regional
SARRC RACE

The weekend started off with a rainy practice session Saturday Morning. By noon the rain stopped and the rest of the weekend was fine racing weather. An open wheel grid included two Formula Continentals, one Mazda, 9 Club Fords and Formula Fords, and 2 DSR's.  Qualifying found the Mazda and a Continental number one and two on the pole, followed be the Duck in the third overall position. The top three finished in the same order. The number two Club Ford slot went to Jack Velden, who is welcomed back to SCCA after several years of Vintage Racing. The Formula Ford first place position went to Robert Poma, who was initially challenged by Francis Macri from Quebec.

First National Race in 2000
In Sebring Florida
Jan. 9,10

Fine Weather found a healthy Grid of 12 Formula Fords and even more Formula Mazdas. The event was held on the Sebring short course. A previous qualifying session had the Van Diemen Ford 2000 works team driver, Brazilian Daniel Muniz turning a Lap Record of 1:12 seconds in a new Van Diemen Formula Ford. 2nd on pole was Richard Leslie with a 1:13.25 in his DB1 Swift, followed by Tom Schwietz at 1:13.52 (99 Van Diemen), Chuck Brewer 1:13.73 (Citation), Lewis Cooper:13.90(2000 Van Diemen), Bruce May 1:14.29 (DB1 Swift), and then The Duck at 1:14.45 (79 Crossle 35F). The first few laps found the Duck following Bruce May and Lewis Cooper as the two of them diced for position. Problems effected Muniz who dropped out of the race early, allowing the Duck to move up a position. Then, with the future of the race looking bright for the Duck, the brakes in his old Club Ford began to act up. Finally , going into the hairpin they failed completely. Pumping them brought them back, but when they failed again in the next lap, prudence dictated giving up the race and accepting a DNF. The win went to Richard Leslie who fought his way to the front, followed by Tom Schwietz and then Bruce May.

4 races over Thanksgiving weekend

in Sebring

The first race on Saturday a Regional Race, without Sarrc points, found the Duck grided in the middle of the Mazdas and Continentals. He held that position for the first three laps, until he completely striped 2nd. gear going into turn one beyond the start finish line. During the next lap the Duck experimented with driving the course in 1st., 3rd., and TH. without the benefit of 2nd gear. It seemed possible, so the remaining 5 laps were driven with three gears. The Duck still finished first in his Club Ford class, but several Mazdas and Continentals , as well as a Formula Ford were able to pass him by.

Sunday's SARRC race had the Duck again grided with the wing cars in the 15th. position (out of a grid of 29). With the drop of the Green flag, he lost two or three positions in the drag race to turn one. But by the end of the race he made back a position or two, and several of the cars ahead spun, allowing him to finish 14th. overall, and again first in his class. Sunday's race was run on the seldom used long course. The Duck was able to secure a new lap record with this configuration: 2:24.515 seconds. See results on the Results and Photos page.

This weekend also allowed the Duck to drive his 1970 Mark6 Titan formula ford ( see photo on the "Cars" page) in the vintage races which were run on Saturday and Sunday. The Duck took the Chequered Flag overall both days.

Photos of the participants in the Vintage group, The Formula V and F500 group, and the FF,CF, FC , Mazda group are shown on the photo page.

Mid-Ohio Runoffs!

Formula Fords: Keith Nunes wins the runoffs driving his DB6 conversion, John LaRue drives his new Citation to a second, followed by Mark Jaremko in his 1999 Strohs. And the Southeast Division's Brandon Dixon takes fourth. The Duck went from 27th. to 20th. when on the 11th lap he was kissed on his back wheel while going threw turn TH. A bent header necessitated an early departure to the pits. Steven Davis takes to the podium for a third place finish in Formula V's.

Can you find the Duck in this photo? Here is a tough one, see if you can find the Duck and his car among some of these top finishing cars. Click here. Then click on the photo's hot spot to find out why the Duck has a superior car.

Click here to see Miss Ohio.

Click Here to see the runoff results.