"The 2018 MANDRA racing season came to a close on Sunday, October 15 at South Mountain Raceway where the make-up for the rain-out of the previous day at Cecil County was held. Thanks to Tim Hansberry--Hansberry Enterprise, for sponsoring our annual Ralph Eberly Memorial Race and Picnic. Also, thank you to John Rose of Ironhorse Construction for his addition to the awards at the end of the day.
Ideally, we would of loved to finish up the season at Cecil County where traditionally we have our picnic. Unfortunately, after talking to the track owner, they would not be able to accommodate our club until the second week of November, which would be after the banquet. All of the officers and board of directors were consulted and agreed to run the next day at South Mountain if Mike could fit us in his schedule. We had South Mountain scheduled on this day as a make-up race if necessary. Mountain Mike was more than happy to have us.
Twenty cars showed up to compete in the last race of the season. The top nine points racers potentially had the chance to win the championship. Bob English had low reaction time, but because of the even numbered field, did not receive a bye-run first round. The points leader at the beginning of the day, Chris Righetti, lost first round which took him out of the chase. Bob Maulick had an earned bye-run into the finals. Bud Poust and Mark Santee then faced each other in the other semi-final pairing with Mark taking the win. That was the round that secured Mark the championship. He raced Bob Maulick in the final round and Bob won, but he was a little bit short to be on top of the leader board. Congratulations to the Bare Bones Racing team for their two-wins in one day! (Bob had the run-off with Randy for the "Wally" from Island, with Bob taking that win as well.)
Thanks to everyone who showed up and to all who brought the food and helped with the set-up before and clean-up after the picnic. If you went home hungry, it was your own fault! The food was delicious!
Congratulations to Mark Santee, 2018 MANDRA Points Champion! Bob Maulick finished second and Randy Campbell third. The updated points are attached.
It has been a great year of racing in spite of the weather; we managed to get all the races in. We'll close the book on 2018 at our annual banquet on November 3. We will recognize our points members and crown our new champion! Voting for the special awards is complete and we have new winners in every category. Please join us for a great evening of remembering the past season and looking forward to the next. Good food and great times will be had by all!
Get your reservations for the banquet to Wendy NOW! She has to turn in the final count at the end of this week."
See you all in a couple of weeks, Randy
Island Dragway Recap
"Twenty cars showed up at the make-up race for Island on Saturday, October 6. The race was sponsored by AKL Racing, with the "Wally" sponsored by Cyclone Racing. Marc English earned the bye-run first round, but due to an even-numbered field, there was no bye-run. Semi-final action had Bob Maulick earning a bye-run into the finals with Randy Campbell and Bob English facing each other in the other semi-final pairing with Randy taking the win. Weather was a factor....again....and the final race for the "Wally" between Bob and Randy has been postponed until the Cecil County race this coming Saturday. Thanks again to Kim and Anthony Picone, AKL Racing, and Merritt Snyder, Cyclone Racing, for sponsoring the event. (Randy Campbell and Brian Yarrison completed the final race for the R&A Racing sponsored South Mountain event with Randy taking his first win of the season.)
The 2018 MANDRA racing season will come to an end on Saturday, October 13 at Cecil County when we gather for the Ralph Eberly Memorial Race and Picnic sponsored by Hansberry Enterprise. Gates open at 8AM, with time trials to start around 10AM. The updated points are attached. At this point, it looks like the championship could go to one of the top nine or ten drivers and the top 20 spots could get shaken up as well! Fierce and friendly competition is what the club is all about and we will take it to the limits!
As a final reminder....banquet reservations need to be made by October 17. We always have a great time and the food was superb at the Revere Tavern last year. You won't want to miss it!"
Hope to see many of you on Saturday, Randy
Bob English Island Semi Finalist
Bob Maulick Island Winner
Randy Campbell Island Runner-up
South Mountain Recap
""It was a beautiful day on Sunday, September 30, when MANDRA went to South Mountain to run the R&A Racing sponsored event. Twenty-five cars showed up for competition. Bob English had an earned bye-run first round; Mike Volpe had a bye-run second round; and Merritt Snyder had a bye-run third round. Semi-final action had Jim Shearer and Randy Campbell facing each other with Randy taking the win and the other pairing had Brian Yarrison and Merritt Snyder battling for a spot in the final race of the day with Brian taking the win. As luck would have it, the day went long and the sun went down. For safety reasons, it was decided by the track to call the race right before the final rounds of all the classes. As a result, Randy and Brian will have a run-off for the winner of the South Mountain event at one of the upcoming races. Thanks again to Ray and Allison Bloom (R&A Racing) for sponsoring the race.
The updated points are attached (Randy or Brian's points may change slightly depending on the outcome of the final race for South Mountain). It looks like it will be down to the last race to determine the top twenty who will be recognized at the awards banquet. If you haven't already done so, make your reservations for the banquet now. All racers, crews and families are welcome to attend.
Our next race is Saturday, October 6, at Island Dragway, sponsored by AKL Racing. This race is also a race for the "Wally", sponsored by Cyclone Racing. Gates open at 10AM. Hope to see you all there!"
Randy
Jim Shearer South Mountain Semi Finalist
Merritt Snyder South Mountain Semi Finalist
Randy Campbell South Mountain Winner
Brian Yarrison South Mountain Runner-up
Recap of Cecil County
"Twenty-six MANDRA cars showed up at Cecil County Dragway on Saturday, September 15 to compete in the D&M Engineering and Thomas Racing sponsored event. Bud Poust had low reaction time, but due to the even field, did not get a bye-run first round. Semi-final action had Bob English facing Gary Conte with Gary taking the win. The other semi-final pairing had Randy Campbell and Chris Righetti running each other, with Chris taking the win. The final race of the day was Gary up against Chris. Gary had brake problems and could not make the final round, giving Chris the bye-run for his second eliminator win of the year. This win also moved Chris back into first place in the points chase. Freels Racing sponsored an award for low-reaction time in eliminations which went to Marc English who had a .003 light in the second round. Congratulations to all our winners and thanks to Dick DeMott (D&M Engineering) and Bruce and Denise Thomas (Thomas Racing) for sponsoring the event.
FYI -- the Island race (sponsored by AKL Racing and the "Wally" sponsored by Cyclone Racing) has been rescheduled and confirmed for Saturday, October 6. Our next race is Sunday, September 30 at South Mountain. It is also the make-up for their Glory Days event of which Ray Bloom is their event poster boy! R&A Racing is the sponsor for the MANDRA event.
Looking ahead -- make plans now for the annual club picnic at Cecil County on October 13 and the awards banquet on November 3. Deadline for reservations for the banquet is October 17. Ballots for special awards to be given at the banquet will be available at the next three events. All members may vote for "Favorite Car", "Sportsman of the Year", "Team Spirit Award", "Hard-luck Award". We also recognize the low-ET of year and "MANDRA Rookie of the Year". Updated points are attached as well as the banquet invitation once again."
See you soon, Randy
Recap of BSD "MANDRA raced at Beaver Springs Labor Day weekend. The weather threatened both days, but we were able to get racing finished. Twenty-seven cars competed on Saturday. Merritt Snyder had low reaction time which gave him an earned bye-run first round. Semi-final action saw Mark Santee against Bud Poust; Bud had starter issues and couldn't make the round. This gave Mark a bye-run into the finals where he competed against Pete Boyer who took out Merritt Snyder in the other semi-final action. This was Pete's second showing in a finals race this year, but Mark went on to his first MANDRA win and moved ahead to become our new points leader. Congratulations to Mark. Thanks to Team Ferraro (Ralph and Loree) for sponsoring the event.
Sunday's race for MANDRA was titled the Brad McKinsey Memorial Ironman Challenge, sponsored by Rivers Truck Center. Twenty-nine cars were present for this event. Mark Santee had oil pressure problems and couldn't make first round, so this gave us an even numbered field with twenty-eight cars. Bill Wert had low reaction time with a perfect light. Semi-final action had Anthony Picone up against Bud Poust with Bud taking the win. The other semi-final pairing had Bob Maulick facing Ray Bloom with Bob taking the win. Bud and Bob then faced each other in the finals with Bob becoming victor for his second MANDRA win of the year (both being at BSD). Congratulations to the Bare Bones Racing team. Thank you to Judd McKinsey and Rivers Truck Center for sponsoring the event in Brad's memory--he would be proud.
Our next race is Sunday, September 9, at Island Dragway. This is an AKL Racing sponsored event where we will race for the Wally (sponsored by Cyclone Racing). Good luck to all who make the trip to Great Meadows. Attached is the updated points and information for the annual awards banquet. Our banquet is earlier than usual this year, so we must get our plans made and reservations in much sooner than in the past. It is always a good time. Although we recognize the top twenty points racers, all MANDRA members, friends, crews and families are welcome to attend. Mark your calendar now!"
See you all soon, Randy
Recap of Maple Grove
"Maple Grove held their Glory Days event on Saturday, August 18. Twenty-five MANDRA cars came ready to race. Mark Santee had low-reaction time, but Jamie Reichert broke and couldn't make eliminations, so this left an even-numbered field with no first-round bye-run. Merritt Snyder had an earned bye-run into the finals and Tim Hansberry beat Randy Campbell to the stripe in the other semi-final action pairing. Tim went on to win the event when Merritt red-lighted in the finals. Congratulations to Tim on his first win of the season. Thanks to Bare Bones Racing--Bob and Wes Maulick--for sponsoring the event. Once again, thanks to all who helped me with the logistics of running the event for MANDRA.
Points are really getting tight and interesting. The previous top six or seven drivers all lost first round. Chris Righetti is still leading by a very slim margin over Mark Santee and Marc English and the rest of the top twenty spots are all up for grabs (remember the 70% rule when calculating final points standings). We have a roster of thirty-eight points members this year with tough competition all around. Six races remain for the year with lots of excitement to come! I hope we see all of you as the season winds down.
For planning purposes, the banquet will be held Saturday, November 3 at the Revere Tavern in Paradise, PA. The banquet date has been moved up a bit and reservations will be needed by October 15. Details are being finalized and we'll let you know more in the near future. Plan now to be there...good food and good times are had by all!
Our next race is the Labor Day weekend two-day event at Beaver Springs. Saturday's race is sponsored by Team Ferraro and Sunday's race will be the "Brad McKinsey Memorial" Ironman Race sponsored by River's Truck Center. See you all then!"
Randy
Recap of South Mountain July 29th
"Twenty-two cars showed up at South Mountain on Sunday, July 29 for the FWG Racing sponsored event. Thanks to Mike Natoli and his crew at South Mountain for getting things in shape for the weekend's events due to the fact that Mother Nature gave them 12" of rain that week with the track under water on Wednesday. The track was in excellent condition for Sunday's race.
Tim Hansberry had low reaction time, but due to the even-numbered field, he did not receive a bye run. We almost had an all English Brothers final when semi-final action had Marc English and Pete Boyer facing each other with Pete taking the win. Bob English received an earned bye-run into the finals and took the victory over Pete in the finals when Pete ran under in a very close race. There was a lot of good racing with decisions of fractions of a second. MANDRA gave the crowd a good show. Congratulations to Bob English for his first win of the season and thanks again to everyone who participated and to the day's sponsor, Frankie G (FWG Racing). With half of the year's racing over, it looks like an exciting chase to the finish in the points race. Chris Righetti regained the top spot by five points and has many people knocking on his door! The English Brothers are making power moves and it is still anyone's championship.
The next race is this Sunday, August 5 at Island Dragway with AKL Racing as our sponsor and Cyclone Racing as the sponsor of the coveted Wally. Entry fee should be $45; make sure you tell the gatekeeper you are with MANDRA. Gates open at 9AM with time trials to start at 10AM and eliminations at 2PM."
See you soon, Randy
Winner - Bob English
Runner-Up Pete Boyer
Semis - Marc English
Recap of Numidia July 14th
"The make-up race at Numidia was run on July 14, sponsored by Blue Oval Racing (Jim Mullin). Twenty cars came to compete with Ralph Ferraro having mechanical problems and unable to make first round. This gave Bud Poust an earned bye-run first round. Semi-final action had Marc English facing Carly Boyer with Marc taking the win and Mark Santee had an earned bye-run into the finals. Mark and Marc then faced each other with Marc taking the win! That would be Marc English! Congratulations on his second win of the year. The English Brothers racing team seems to have the bugs worked out of the MG. Thanks to Jim Mullin of Blue Oval Racing for sponsoring the event and to Merritt Snyder, Vice President and Jim Shearer, Race Director and help from race wives and a few others for running the logistics of the race. The next race is Sunday, July 29, at South Mountain, sponsored by FWG Racing. See you all there!"
Randy
Numidia Winner
Numidia Runner-Up
Numidia Semis - Carly Boyer
Recap of BSD make-up race July 8th
"The English Brothers sponsored make-up race from Memorial Day at BSD was held on July 8. Twenty-three cars showed up to compete. Josh Nevells had low reaction time and had an earned bye-run first round. Semi-final action had Mark Santee earning a bye-run into the finals with Bob Maulick facing Chris Righetti in the other semi-final pairing with Bob taking the win. Bob and Mark then battled it out with Bob becoming the victor. Congratulations to the Bare Bones Racing team for their first win of the year. Thanks to English Brothers Racing for sponsoring the race. Our next race is being run today as a make-up race at Numidia sponsored by Blue Oval Racing. The next scheduled race is at South Mountain on Sunday, July 29, sponsored by FWG Racing. Hope to see you all then!"
Points are updated and are posted.
Randy
Maple Grove Recap
"The Maple Grove event, "Race for the House", a charity race for the Ronald McDonald House was run on Sunday, June 24. Twenty-eight MANDRA cars came in support of the event. Iron Horse Construction (John Rose) was the sponsor of MANDRA's race. John Hake broke, so that left us with an uneven field giving Bob Maulick an earned first-round bye-run. All first round winners were presented with a trophy. Semi-final action saw Bill Wert and Marc English facing each other with Marc taking the win. The other semi-final pairing was Charles Cockerham and Randy Campbell with Randy taking the win. This put Marc English and Randy Campbell in the finals with Marc becoming the victor. Congratulations to Marc and the English Brothers Racing team on their first win of the year. Thanks again to all who participated, Iron Horse Construction, and Mother Nature--she allowed us get one in today, but ten minutes after the final run she left us know she was there!
The updated points are attached and the Shutterfly account has updated pictures (thanks to Dick DeMott and his photography efforts).
Our next race is Sunday, July 8 at Beaver Springs, sponsored by English Brothers Racing. See you all there!"
Randy
Winner
Marc English
Runner-up
Randy Campbell
Semi's
Charles Cockerham
Semi's
Bill Wert
Recap of Cecil County Dragway June 9th
"MANDRA made its way to Cecil County Dragway on Saturday, June 9 with a field of 29 cars. The race was sponsored by CarMike's Restoration and was the 10th Annual Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Drags event. Chris Righetti had low reaction time and had an earned bye-run first round. Due to the threatening weather, we were running on an accelerated program and only had one time shot. Semi-final action had Charlie Innerst running Ray Bloom with Charlie winning; and the other pairing was Bud Poust against Chris Righetti with Bud being the winner. The final round had two long-time fierce competitors running each other--Charlie and Bud--and Bud became the victor. Bud is no stranger to the winner's circle! Congratulations to Bud and thanks again for Mike Witt of CarMike's Restoration for sponsoring the event.
The next race is Sunday, June 24 when we will make up the Maple Grove race (charity race for Ronald McDonald's House), sponsored by Iron Horse Construction. Hope to see you all then!"
Randy
Recap of Beaver Springs Dragway
"Memorial Day Weekend 2018 is in the books and almost one-third of our race schedule is over with only one race being completed! Mother Nature is not being kind and Lady Luck is kicking some butt as well. Several of our members have had set-backs in getting race ready, some have had troubles on their way to the track, and some have seen misfortune in various ways while at the track. In spite of it all, we all keep pushing forward, hope for the best, and have a good time along the way.
Saturday's Arc Plasma Cutting sponsored race was completed with 31 cars showing up to battle. Bob Maulick had low reaction time, but Ralph Ferraro's car broke leaving an even-numbered field, so Bob did not get the earned bye-run. Semi-final action had Pete Boyer facing Chris Righetti with Chris winning; and Brian Freels and Mike Volpe running each other in the other semi-final pairing with Brian winning. Brian then faced Chris in the finals with Chris taking the win. We had a few new members this weekend and few familiar faces joining the regulars once again. It was a good night of fierce competition giving us all a preview of what may come on down the road.
Mother Nature won on Sunday. English Brothers Racing sponsored Sunday's event, but it was called early due to rain.
Our next race is this Saturday at Maple Grove for the charity event for Ronald McDonald House. Iron Horse Construction will be our race sponsor. Entry fee for the race is $65, but crew members in the tow truck will get in free. Be sure to tell the gatekeeper you are with MANDRA.
The points have been updated; pictures will be posted to our Shutterfly account."
Hope to see you all Saturday, Randy
Recap of Island Dragway April 28th, 2018
"Twenty-one cars traveled to Island Dragway on April 28 for the season opener. It was great to be back together as a club after what has seemed an endless winter! Mother Nature still is a bit moody though, and after one round, she decided to ruin the day and the event ended early. Marc Longacre earned the first-round bye run, but had to drop out due to mechanical issues. The good news of the day is we have a ten-car tie for first place! Of those ten cars who won first round, you have bragging rights on leading the points; and those who lost first round are all tied for second place! Marc Longacre will hold third place all on his own! Thanks to Cyclone Racing for sponsoring the event.
Our next race is on Saturday, May 12 at Numidia, sponsored by Blue Oval Racing. See you all then!"
