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Peter LaRose wins first Challenge Series Race!
The only bright spot in this entire weekend was
Peter LaRose taking his first Challenge Series win. Days in advance the
weather report promised rain, sleet and snow. And of course, this was
the only time they got it right. There were four Challenge Series racers
registered, but only Peter and Brian Sanders showed up.
Friday morning started out wet and cold. Peter took
this in stride and made runs in all 4 sessions of the test and tune. On
the other hand, Brian only ran during the one dry session of the day and
was impressed with his freshly rebuilt engine's performance. But good
engine or not, rain is the great equalizer.
Saturday morning was dry but colder than the
previous day. But this was to change halfway through qualifying. The
track was lost if you were on dry tires. In the end, Peter earned his
first pole. This was a short lived rain. Immediately following
qualifying, the rain stopped, the sun came out and everything dried up
again. Now came the question as to what to do about tires for the race.
Peter decided to put on rains saying, “If it rains, this may be my only
chance to win, if it doesn’t, nothing lost.” Brian opted for dry’s. So
this became your typical hero or zero scenario. Who made the right call?
The headline says it all. As we sat on grid, the sprinkles began to
fall. Three laps into the race, Brian was sliding all over the place and
decided to protect the car and come in. Peter went on to complete the
entire race and claim his first win.
Sunday was forecasted to be the worst day of the
weekend. Light rain and snow flurries sporadically fell all day. Brian
decided to write the weekend off and head home. Peter decided to tough
it out. In an e-mail from Peter Sunday evening, he said, “The race was
WET and my fingers froze (combination of cold and wet) but I finished
the race.” Chalk that up as win number two.
April in Ohio is always an unknown as to how the
weather will fair. After two years of incredible April weather, we paid
for it this weekend. The next stop for the Great Lakes racers is Putnam
Park in May. We certainly look forward to better weather.
C’ya at the
track!
Brian
Sanders
Great Lakes
Challenge Series Director
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