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Event: 2016 Byron Challenge
Track: Leisure Hours Raceway â“ Joliet Illinois
Date: June 24-26, 2016
The 2016 Byron Challenge wrapped up Sunday with some fantastic racing among drivers from across the eastern half of the United States. While the forecast was for heavy rain on Sunday, the conditions were high temperatures (+90 degrees) and sunny skies throughout the weekend. A big thanks goes out to the staff at Leisure Hours Raceway for providing an outstanding facility and feeding all the drivers and crew during qualifying on Saturday.
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| 1/10 Nitro Sedan |
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| Team Serpentâ™s Paolo Morganti grabbed the TQ spot in sedan with Lon Burling (Shepard) and Demeterius Blount (Serpent) rounding out the top three on the grid for the hour long main event. At the green flag, Morganti jumped out to an early lead with number 2 Burling suffering a flame out at the start, relegating him to last position. Demeterius Blount, Jim Hulse, Rafael Angulo (Serpent) and Juan Amador rounded out the top 5 positions. The middle of the field was swapping positions in every corner. By lap 13, everyone was settling in with Morganti leading, Angulo in second and Burling storming back up to 3rd. On lap 63, just over 20 minutes in, Morganti suffered a race ending mechanical issue with a locked rear diff. The next 20 minutes saw numerous lead changes with almost the entire field taking turns leading the event. |
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Burling had been sidelined briefly with motor issues but was able to return to competition. Ken Miller (Serpent) had driven a solid race and led most of the middle segment only to lose the rear belt ending his bid for what looked to be a sure win. Tom Esposito (XRAY) had been on and off the track but was charging hard. Burling was also on a torrid pace to recover from early problems. In the closing minutes of the race, Rafael was leading with, Esposito in second and Jeff Whiting (Capricorn) rounding out the top 3. Burling had made his way back to 4th but ran out of time to contest for a podium finish. Congratulations to Rafael Angulo, Tom Esposito and Jeff Whiting on your top three finishes.
Final Results:
1. Rafael Angulo
2. Tom Esposito â“ XRAY NT1
3. Jeff Whiting
4. Lon Burling II
5. Juan Amador
6. Ken Miller
7. Nick Altieri
8. Demeterius Blount
9. Richie Tores â“ XRAY NT1
10. Paolo Morganti (TQ)
11. Jim Hulse
12. Frank Sosebee
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| 1/8 Open 4WD |
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| XRAY teammates Eric Jones and Jason Conley battled all weekend for the TQ starting position with Joseph Wright (Serpent) right on their heels. With Jason and Eric both TQâ™ing two of the four qualifying rounds, Ericâ™s better tiebreaker gave him P1 for the start of the main event. Early in the main, Eric was setting the pace as Jason had gotten shuffled back in the field. Joseph Wright and Dan Louis (XRAY) were in hot pursuit. On track incidents and early flame outs put Jason four laps back of the race leader. As the field approached the half way point, Eric was leading with Joseph Wright in second and Dwight Smith (XRAY) in third. Smith dropped out to make a repair and Conley was charging back through the field. Eric came in for a tire change and Conley elected to stay out on his original tires, in hopes of picking up positions. |
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| The gamble paid off and the second half of the race saw Conley and Jones swapping the lead at each pit stop. During all of this, Ted Hammer (Shepard) was quietly making his way through the field with a consistent run. At just over 58 minutes in, Conley and Jones were separated by a mere 3 seconds with Conley leading the way. Ted Hammer had driven into the number three position. Foster Whiting (Capricorn) and Rick Davis (Serpent) made up the balance of the top 5. Jones was pushing hard and made a small mistake that sent him into the outer barrier ending his charge. Jason Conley finished the last minute uncontested, capturing the top podium position. Congratulations to Jason Conley, Eric Jones and Ted Hammer on your outstanding results. |
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| Final Results |
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1. Jason Conley â“ XRAY RX8
2. Eric Jones (TQ) â“ XRAY RX8
3. Ted Hammer
4. Foster Whiting
5. Rick Davis
6. Dan Louis â“ XRAY RX8
7. Artur Curyllo â“ XRAY RX8
8. Ken Miller â“ XRAY RX8
9. Don Jones
10. Joseph Wright
11. Dwight Smith â“ XRAY RX8
12. Mike McBride
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