November 2019

The season’s finale had a little bit of everything – weather, drama, good racing, exciting racing, parade racing, a Formula Ford Fiftieth Anniversary double-header, a rousing Saturday night Social & Party, and a visit by Mike Cobb, President of SCCA.

There were 206 entries, of which 185 actually quali ed, while 21 wereDNS. Of those 200+ entries, 29 were from out-of-region, including 13 from Cal Club, which was hosting the PCRRC at Buttonwillow the same weekend. The Worker Crews were somewhat thin, especially Course Marshals, Emergency, Pit Marshals, and F&C – which had to be supplemented by TRP track workers. The early morning Worker meetings were greeted with lovely sunrises.

Weather was a big topic. There were two days of heat – eighties and nineties with little or no wind, with a few wasps thrown in for good measure, while the rest of Northern California suffered from highwinds and fires. The third day was an about face, with temperatures dropping to the sixties, and very strong, gusty winds, the likes of which we’ve never experienced. The winds had been previously forecast, but not with the ferocity that showed up Sunday morning. The trackwindmills were running at warp speed. The flags were straight out -those that survived. A porta-potty blew over in the paddock. One hotel in town lost roof shingles, and some trees were blown over. All week the threat of a PSPS existed – Public Safety Power Shutoff. It didn’thappen, but the winds were so strong that an of cial schedule change, was made – no ve-mile course for Sunday’s races.