Robert Byrd, together with Will Baty, of Centerforce Performance Clutches presenting Michael Morrow of K&N with Sundays Spirit of the Event Award.
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Ask anyone who has ever been to this event, The Racing Byrds, put on one heck of a race. The entertainment Robert Byrd provides makes even the hottest of days nothing short of uber cool! He and wife Trish, have the ability to create a very chill environment.
Mike Morrow pushing that newly updated Fox Body Mustang to the limits in the heat. It's clear he's enjoying the Father's Day surprise presented to him by his daughter, Brandy and son-in-law Rob Phillips.
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Not even record breaking heat kept the drivers away from this past weekend's event. In fact, the heat didn't stop the race warriors from laying down some seriously fast times and having fun in the pits.
The Racing Byrds made a special exception due to demand and allowed for an additional 6 participants rounding out the total number of registered entrants to a whopping 81. Participants could choose from racing either Saturday or Sunday or both which makes them eligible for the Hotchkis Cup.
The Hotchkis Cup is an award that recognizes speed, clean driving, and consistency across the entire weekend. The winner of the Cup will be the driver with the lowest combined average lap time for the weekend (average for Saturday + average for Sunday), so the winner may not be the person with the fastest single lap time of the day.
Hotchkis Engineer, Aaron Ogawa, laying down the fastest lap times on Saturday to earn him a first place finish in the Sports Car Class in his race ready FRS. |
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12 time SCCA Champ Autocrosser Mary Pozzi picks up a solid second place finish and the award for "Fastest Lady" with her lap time 34.771 just 2/10th's of a second off Aaron Ogawa's super-fast lap time of 34.509! |
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Mary Pozzi in her Corvette, affectionately named "Trouble". |
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Temperatures on the tarmac and in the cars reached well over 100 degrees. The usual suspects were in the house and the most notable rivalry would be that of 5th gen Camaro driver, Don Gonzales and C6 driver, Ryan Thacker. Their rivalry began at the inaugural Hotchkis event. Of course all in good fun because that's what this community is about. Going fast and having fun.
All lined up and rearing to go. Greg Thurmond in his 1965 Candy Tangerine Corvette with Richard Trujillo in his Deliciously Lime '69 Mustang nipping at his heals. |
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Robert Byrd, getting as many tips as he can from the weekends fastest guy, Caesar Martinez. Caesar is all smiles as he accepts his awards for first place in the Sports Car Class on Sunday and his award for fastest lap time for the weekend. |
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Jake Rozelle spending quality time with dad, Roy and little sis, Mallory. Jake earned a second place finish with a lap time of 34.005 just 2/10th's of a second behind Caesar. |
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Saturday morning started off with an incredible surprise at the driver's meeting. Fellow racers Brandy Phillips and her hubby Rob, had been keeping a secret from dad, Michael Morrow. Turns out that over the past month they had been working on his old SCCA Mustang to get it running again for this event. As a special gift for Father's Day, the kids along with the Racing Byrds, presented him with his race ready ride. To really put the pressure on ole dad, long-time family friend, Matt Briggs, purchased a two-day entry to the event. Mike may have been reluctant to start but by the end of the first run group he appeared to be having the time of his life. Ironically, he received The Spirit of the Event Award sponsored by Centerforce Performance Clutches, an award customarily sponsored by K&N! Happy Father's Day Mike and thank you Rob and Brandy for letting all of us be a part of the surprise!
Jordan Priestley with the hammer down trying to stay out front. |
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Matt Alcala making certain that he pulls out all the stops to be on top in the Modern Muscle class. |
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Greg Nelson putting his demon to the test with Jordan and Matt. Watching these guys run, swapping 1st, 2nd and 3rd was epic. |
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In the end Greg Nelson would be the victor with a lap time of 35.686. But not by much. Matt Alcala put down a lap time of 35.703. That's only 17/1000th's of a second behind Greg Nelson. But Greg proved he's a consistent driver. He took home a first for both days even with the 110 degree temps. |
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Casey Cronin piloting his 1972 Corvette nicknamed RIF RAFT. |
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Casey seen here with Trish Byrd accepting his award for his first place finish in Classic Muscle. |
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Caesar Martinez and his 2005 Nissan 350Z. This boosted beast complete with Centerforce Dyad Clutch, burned up the track with a scorching fast lap time of 33.723, the fastest lap time of the weekend. |
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The super-fast and very sweet Brandy Phillips led the truck class all weekend long. |
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Support from the sponsors goes beyond your typical customer service as evidenced by Will Baty from Centerforce Performance Clutches. Here he is providing much needed shade for Jane Thurmond as she sits waiting to take on her adversaries. |
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Marc Lewis of Hedman Hedders, another fantastic sponsor of the Hotchkis Cup Autocross Challenge takes a different approach. He pushes his little white 2014 Ford Focus in to beast mode on the track and earned himself a first place finish on Saturday and Sunday. |
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One of the ladies in the event, Kerry Ann Adams, driving her 2014 Ford Fiesta came away Saturday with a second place finish. And Mark Allison in his 2013 Fiat 500 took second place on Sunday. |
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Sunday would prove to be Greg Thurmond's day in Classic Muscle. With a lap time of 34.065 he came in first just 9/10th's of a second ahead of wife Jane, whose lap time of 34.926 garnered her a solid second place finish and the award for "Fastest Lady". |
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Brandy Phillips slithering around the cones, quick and nimble. |
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Don ate a little crow at the end of the day when Ryan's fastest time was 2/10th's of a second ahead of Don. |
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Ryan gave it all he had but in the end, after a hot weekend of fun and challenges, he lost by less than 2/10ths of a second. Competition is tough, but these guys know, there'll be a next time. |
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