Stars & Stripes 776 Pre-Race

117 cars took part in a 75-minute pole qualifying session on July 1 to determine the front row.

54 year-old Kendall Brillon, who competed on and off in the mid-90s and won the 1996 Rockford 200, shocked everyone at the track by taking his first career pole. Doppel Gang driver George Bryan will start on his outside. Both Brillon and Bryan set their times in the first 25 minutes, and nobody else was able to touch them for the rest of the day.

On July 2, four 25-lap qualifying races will be held to fill the next 32 spots on the grid. Anyone who did not participate in pole qualifying may still compete in these races (OOC: Get your crap in if you haven't done so already.). The top 8 in each of these races will transfer to the 776, and their starting positions will be determined by their fastest laps in the qualifiers.

Positions 9-16 in each of the qualifiers will transfer to a last-chance race on July 3, in which the top 6 will transfer and start in the back for the 776.

The following non-garbage drivers failed to set a time under 1 minute in pole qualifying. I haven't been given driver and/or car ratings for them. If you want your cars to be competitive in the qualifiers, please send ratings NOW.


#02- Darius Tyler
#34- Cameron Taylor
#55- Casey Lester
#000- Antony Weepers
#125- Cade Taylor
#888- Luc Pellerin

-----------------------------

Row 1:
#20- Kendall Brillon, 54.323
#81- George Bryan, 54.420

Row 2:
#8- Lucas Sweeney
#T3- Amy Porter
 
Row 3:
#17- Joseph Howard
#79- Tanner Clason
 
Row 4:
#69- Craig Jonser
#90- Ashley Tucker
 
Row 5:
#67- Brenda Riggs
#85- Joel Rodriguez
 
Row 6:
#4- Kiriki Hetsuno
#27- Richard Scott
 
Row 7:
#50- Leslie Riggs
#27W- Seth Wesley
 
Row 8:
#116- Ryan Matthews
#77- Jim Hayes
 
Row 9:
#82- Lev Azarov
#35- Jesus Ignacio Chavez III
 
Row 10:
#75- Cyrus La Terza
#000- Antony Weepers
 
Row 11:
#34- Cameron Taylor
#84- Lucy Barnton
 
Row 12:
#55- Casey Lester
#422- Kasie Campbell
 
Row 13:
#51- Jason Bates
#789- Luke Ocean
 
Row 14:
#12- Trey Ashby
#28- Radomir Stanoytchev
 
Row 15:
#97- Hazel May Frattin
#92- Barton Sandy
 
Row 16:
#48- “Mayor” Alex Whitt
#19- Allie Riggs
 
Row 17:
#64- Taylor Brillon
#44W- Jeff Wilkens

Row 18:
#06- William Ashemore
#01- Bryan George

Row 19:
#74- Bobby Porteau
#29- Chris Johaanes

Row 20:
#859- Nick Howard
#39- Nami Mura

cool, hope I make it through the Q-races

Is it just normal ratings for one-offs?

Pyrozooka0 wrote:cool, hope I make it through the Q-races

I hope so too

Luke and Lora Ocean excited about opportunity at Pocono

Luke Ocean: "Hopefully we will survive and make the first start for Forever Green Motorsports, here at Pocono."

Lora Ocean: "Never thought we would get the chance to be here, so hopefully we can prove our worth."

Qualifying race time!

Green = In
Blue = LCQ transfers
Red = Out

Race 1:

Race 2:

Race 3:

Race 4:

Luke in the race, while Lora Ocean needs to survive the last chance race

Luke Ocean was pretty pumped up, finishing 4th in his qualifying race after starting second. "I can't believe I'm in the main race, I just hope mechanical issues or big crashes hinder the big show like they ran rampant in these Q-races."

Lora Ocean, who barely got into the last chance race was certainly trying to stay optimistic but it's not looking good for her. "Got to finish top 6 next race and finished 16th in this one, so yeah not sure about my chances about getting into the main race, but going to hope for the best and yeah."

(OOC: Um, Antony Weepers doesn't drive in FARCE.)

Weepers ecstatic about runner up in qualifier, ARLA debut.

After a miserable qualifying lap, Antony Weepers knew he was going home. Still, he just wanted to see if he could get lucky and sneak a spot in the field, so he and his makeshift team took a big swing at it and changed everything they could. Weepers started 20th in his qualifier, a position that he would need to improve on in order to even have a chance of making the field. He did improve on it. Weepers slowly and steadily gained spot after spot until the end of the race, where he up in second place. During an interview, Weepers had this to say,

"This was just sort of a last minute deal. We weren't sure if the car would be ready or not. When we bought it, it is wrecked. It got wrecked, and it was in bad shape. We took it into the shop, and just went to work. Almost everything had to be replaced. We had to get some new bodywork in some places. We got a previously used engine in it, and that wasn't very strong to begin with. Painted the car up in some new colors. Then we came down here, and the car was so far off, we just swung for the fences and hit a grand slam."

When asked if he'll attempt any more races this year, Weepers said, "Maybe. If I do good this race, I might some customers for my repair shop, so that'll keep me busy. We'll see how the race goes."

Wesley Family Racing, WilsonTech to perform driver changes?

In the aftermath of the qualifying races for the Stars and Stripes 776 at Pocono, two teams have been reported as potentially requesting driver changes for the main race on July 4th. WilsonTech's one-off entry, the #44W driven by FARCE driver Jeff Wilkens, may surrender its position to the team's primary driver, Kelly Splison, who failed to qualify for the main race or the Last Chance Qualifier after a camshaft failure. Meanwhile, Wesley Family Racing managed to qualify two of its cars for the main event, but, surprisingly, is rumored to be seeking to replace the 27W R&D car driven by Seth Wesley in favor of Aaron Singer. Neither team could be reached for contact at this time.

Splison grateful for team owner's move to get her in the race

"This is really nice of him to do this, especially after the horrible luck I've had this season." Splison told reporters after learning of the gesture, "I really didn't want to step on anyone's toes."

Taylor to advance in LCQ, Pellerin has Gearbox issue & will miss race

Cade Taylor, after an exciting battle with Casey Lester, came one spot short, to make the field. Taylor has another chance to make the racr via the Last Chance Qualifier.

Pellerin, who was looking forward to return to ARLA after a 10th place at Mosport, had a gearbox fail on him. Pellerin will miss the race.

Pellerin : Had a great run until the car just broke like in qualifying. Keep getting bad luck in ARLA...

Tanner Clason makes it into Pocono!

"YES! You guys rocked it today, awesome job!" The ecstatic owner/driver Clason said after finishing fifth in his qualifier, which is good enough to get the #79 into the Stars and Stripes 776 on July 4th.

Ashemore comes up short, going to LCQ
William Ashemore, the debutante from Montana just barely missed a spot in the Stars and Stripes 776, coming home 10th, two spots below a transfer. "I'm sad we didn't get our car in, but I'm gonna try my hardest in the LCQ for all those innocent little saplings back at the nursery... Daddy loves you!" Ashemore said, before breaking into tears.

is the LCQ going to have a video like the Rockford B Mains?

Porter Delighted To Debut Huntley In First Attempt.
"I was very happy with the finish, especially after qualifying 27th." Porter told interviewers. "It's also technically my first podium in ARLA competition which in a brand new car is amazing."
The car that was due to compete initially arrived late to the event after a shipping delay but arrived to the circuit in time for the qualifying races.

Last-Chance Qualifier

Makoto Yamada looked to have the race locked up until being run over during a late caution by Tom Delgado, who had been waved by the field. Yamada pulled off his best Norm Benning impression for about three laps after the restart, but fell through the field after being sniped for the lead by William Ashemore.

Benji Flynn blew his engine while fighting for the lead, was hit from behind by Isaac Lightener coming into turn 1, and got clobbered by Ike Durbin. Flynn was transported to a local hospital for further observation.

The provisional field is now set for the 776, but it is expected that some ride switching will take place before then.

 F S # DRIVER INTERVAL LAPS LED POINTS STATUS
1 23 06 W Ashemore 130.676 20 5 180 Running
2 17 01 B George -R- -0.13 20 0 170 Running
3 24 74 B Porteau -0.21 20 0 165 Running
4 29 29 C Johaanes -0.38 20 0 160 Running
5 10 859 N Howard -0.64 20 0 155 Running
6 13 39 N Mura -0.75 20 0 150 Running
7 3 22 M Yamada -0.89 20 11* 156 Running
8 8 056 C Winter -1.04 20 0 142 Running
9 30 798 L Ocean -1.16 20 0 138 Running
10 4 010 D Leckliter -R- -1.63 20 0 134 Running
11 12 41 J Dempsey -R- -1.96 20 0 130 Running
12 14 86 R Griffin -R- -2.05 20 0 127 Running
13 26 46 N Azure -R- -5.33 20 0 124 Running
14 5 98 K Walker -T- -5.41 20 0 121 Running
15 15 40 M Driver -R- -5.52 20 0 118 Running
16 18 125 C Taylor -5.90 20 0 115 Running
17 11 005 J Lester -R- -5.96 20 0 112 Running
18 2 004 B MacIntyre -R- -5.98 20 0 109 Running
19 27 451 A Aeroski -13.55 20 0 106 Running
20 31 104 K Gleason -13.81 20 0 103 Running
21 16 07 K Gaffigan -21.20 20 0 100 Running
22 28 11 R Bullet -38.43 20 0 97 Running
23 6 83 T Delgado -8L 12 0 94 Fuel Ln
24 25 37 C de Pretto -T- -9L 11 0 91 Piston
25 7 21 D Stevens -9L 11 0 88 Accident
26 9 94 I Lightener -9L 11 0 85 Accident
27 20 100 T Brayton -R- -14L 6 0 82 Piston
28 21 086 I Durbin -R- -15L 5 0 79 Accident
29 19 707 E Schwarzloski -15L 5 0 76 Accident
30 1 36 B Flynn -15L 5 4 78 Accident
31 32 383 C Beckett -16L 4 0 70 Valve
32 22 45 H S. Enola -19L 1 0 67 Retired

Ashby's have a good family day
Qualifying would prove successful for the Ashby family as Trey Ashby would drive his #12 car to 4th in his q race, while Tommy Ashby, Trey's father, and his #97 car, driven by Hazel May Frattin, would win it's qualifying race. The elder Ashby expressed great joy after everything was over "I'm real happy bout all this, Hazel and Trey both drove great in my opinion and hopefully this luck goes over to the main race."
Trey Ashby also was glad, but didn't have too much to say. "We finally get good luck again in the season, I'm glad for this and I hope to continue this in the main race."
Ashby will start on Row 14 and Frattin on Row 15 for the main event

Delgado Humiliated at Pocono

After a terrible weekend which saw Tom Delgado fail to qualify for the Stars & Stripes 776, a race that he had been looking to as a great shot at winning, the soon to be 39-year old former Master Cup race winner admitted that perhaps his planned comeback as a part-time driver (and ASCC rookie) was a bad idea.

"This was utterly humiliating. It takes a lot to bring me to my knees, but a bullsh*t performance like this will do it." A heartbroken Delgado said as he pushed his way through reporters, seemingly wanting to leave as fast as possible. The defiance that he had shown leading up to this event made way for the harsh reality that his skills are pretty much gone, having not raced a full season in any series since 2011. When asked if he'd return for Rockford, Delgado ignored the question entirely and rambled. "Time erodes everything, man. I think this is a wake-up call to tell me that this whole comeback thing might have been a bad idea" Delgado added before getting into a limo and leaving.

Lora Ocean, fails to make Pocono, slightly disappointed

"Well, we went from 30th to 9th, but needed to be better by 3 spots. I am happy Luke will make the team's debut, and I will be back next race to start my part-time schedule. Does it suck? Yeah but hey, I could be like some of the people this weekend who have been needing to go to the hospital due to the accidents. Hope everyone is alright and we will get them next time."

Atomic Autosport willing to "buy their way in" to the main race

After Alex Areoski failed in the LCQ, his team, Atomic Autosport, has announced that they are considering buying someone else's spot. When asked about this, Areoski responded "It was fun to race against these guys, and even lead a lap in the Q-Race, but it really sucks not to make it in. Hopefully someone will be willing to part with their spot, but if not, there's always Rockford"

Zachary Jacobs was disppointed. He came within two postions of making into the lcq.

Makoto Yamada Unhappy After Being Hit in DNQ

Yamada did not have any comments for the interview, but he seemed bluntly disappointed on his Twitter account. Yamada was leading the race when he was ran into and received car-altering damage, and he could not hold on for a transfer spot.

Jonser to make first ARLA start at Pocono

Craig Jonser, having never made a start in the ARLA Elite Series since starting his Master Cup career in 2008, will start 7th in the Stars and Stripes 776 after transferring through his Qualifying race.

"I'm happy to see something go right for me for once!" He joked. "We've been fast all week, I think we can get ourselves a nice finish."

Jonser also opened up about racing with a different car and some unfamiliar faces.

"It's new territory for me, and I absolutely love it! There's some familiar faces out there like Johannes, Delgado, even my old pal Phillip Borland, but for the most part, I don't know many of these guys. The car on the other hand, is much slower than the Cup cars, but damn are they fun to drive!"

Zins escapes Canadian custody and fails to qualify at Pocono

Following his arrest in Canada after assaulting fans outside of the track, Zachary Zins escaped custody and fled Canada with the help of New World Orphans test driver Michael Mannseth. Zins would later post on his page that this was a "VICTORY AGAINST THE HIPPIE-NAZI'S OF CANADA WHO TRIED TO KILL ME!"

Taylor Making First ARLA Start at Pocono

An excited Cameron Taylor qualified for his first career ARLA Elite Series race at the Pocono Raceway. "We really nailed the setup and I was able to knock off some great laps in qualifying and things just kind of clicked", the Cleveland native said. Shepard Samuel, the president of Taylor's sponsor, Blunt Instruments, was quoted to have said that "having our logo on a car in a race as prestigious as this one is a big step for the company". This race is the first sponsorship for the Bay Village, Ohio based instrument maker.

Ashby puts the #12 into the show

Despite dismal luck throughout the 2013 ARLA Elite Series championship, a bit of good fortune shined on the #12 team as driver Trey Ashby avoided trouble to put the Brinson Engineering entry onto the grid for Pocono

Brinsob: Something positive happened? Well I'll be damned. In all seriousness, I'm happy for our boys and especially Trey as he'll be running alongside his father out there.

776 miles means that there's a lot that can go wrong. As a team owner, I can't stress pre race preparation enough; you have to ensure that the equipment you're bringing is not only good enough to get through the intial qualifying heats but durable enough to last the entire race. It's a unique challenge we face but right now, we're happy to simply make it into the show with the way our luck has been. I'll be pleased if we can finish this one with a top 15 run.

Catastrophe Strikes PSI at Pocono!

Lycoia Beset With Gremlins?


In a stunning development, PSI will not have a single car in the field for the Stars & Stripes 776. For those of you scoring at home-- that's an 0-6 effort if you include Greg Woodard's attempt.

  "This pretty much deals a death blow to our points championship hopes," a supremely dejected William Power stated glumly. "It don't look good. I mean, I won't say that it's impossible after what I witnessed Rip Tyler do last year, but it's way more than just an uphill climb now. It'd be more like scaling Mt. Everest."

 The usually good qualifying PSI squad was unable to take a spot in the initial 75-minute pole qualifying session that determined the front row. In the ensuing four 25-lap qualifying races, disaster struck what has been an extremely reliable Lycoia Interceptor chassis. Q1 saw TM Master Cup driver Kurt Plissken suffer suspension problems and finishing 3 places shy of a transfer spot. Q2 saw Bigsby Foote deal with ignition issues. Q3 had Greg Woodard fight and lose his battle with his gearbox. Q4 watched Libby Bell's camshaft explode. Rip Tyler, third in the points championship, inexcusably ran out of fuel.
 
 PSI's last hope was pinned on hot new rookie Reid Bullet who had been hopelessly slow all week, but still stumbled his way into the LCQ round after a 12th place spot in the Q3. The reprieve was short lived as Bullet didn't just fail, but he failed miserably in the Last-Chance Qualifier missing the cut by a whopping 16 slots!

  "I have not seen this level of... I just can't believe that... I can't put into words my..." stammered Power. "It's hard to be negative about our cars as we won back to back races and have 3 drivers in the top 15 in points. This reminds me of the Anthony Griffith sabotage from last year-- but he's gone and I have no explanation as to why this happened. Hopefully we got all of our mechanical issues over in one destructive shot. This is a disgrace!"

 "Unless someone is caught cheating or fails inspection, it seems we have plenty of time to scour through all the debris in our garage that was formerly our cars and hopefully find some answers. We're calling in the Lycoia experts to take a look for sure!" Power exclaimed.

PSI had apparently fielded the Plissken and Bullet entries in the hopes that it would provide an insurance policy should Bell, Foote, or Tyler be befallen by misfortune.

"This was a debacle of epic proportions," Power lamented.

Looks like the awful, horrible, miserable weekend is finally over for PSI-- for now at least.