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 First
light on race day revealed heavy clouds and fog, and it looked as
though it would rain. Regardless, RX7.COM and the RX7 Club of Dallas
met that morning at Rotary Performance in Garland for the traditional
caravan to the Texas Motorplex. Once at the track, the humidity
began to dissipate and for the first time in several months an ID
event would not be rained out.
Time trials began shortly after 11:00 am, a little behind schedule
due to the uncertainty of the morning weather. Many RX7 owners came
out to race in this event. In the time trials Tony Farkas ran a
13.01 @ 109.2 MPH in his red '87 Turbo II. Ken Scheepers' black
'87 Turbo II ran a 13.16 @ 103.8 MPH, and Steve Kan, who ran DOTs
the whole day rather than his usual slicks, ran a 10.81 @ 132.1
MPH. Finally, after a slippery launch, Ari managed a 10.57 @ 132.9
MPH.
 Qualifying
During the first qualifying round Ken improved his ET to a 12.66
@ 112.3 MPH, as well as Steve who ran a 10.57 @ 132.9 MPH. Next
up was Ari who unfortunately broke an axle stub shaft at launch.
The axles have become a recurring issue this season. Of note, the
high performances shafts have not been breaking, only the original
CV ends are now snapping. Ari's car is producing so much power that
the axles must be replaced after every event to avoid such tragedies
at the line.
Back at the camp, the team worked quickly to replace both axle assemblies
in time for the special 2nd qualifying round. Ken continued to better
his ET with a 12.34 @ 115.2 MPH. Joining in this qualifying round,
Tony qualified with a 13.18 second pass. Steve, comfortable with
his first qualifying run, sat this round out and watched the show.
Ari made an impressive comeback with a 10.2 @ 137.6 MPH.
Eliminations
The first round of eliminations put Steve up against a Supra from
which Steve emerged victorious with an 11.08 @ 124.3 MPH. Next up
was Ken versus Tony which proved to be a close race with Ken seizing
the win with a 12.1 @ 115.3 MPH to Tony's 12.6 @ 112.54 MPH. Finally,
Ari won with his fastest time of the day - a 10.01 @ 137.3 MPH-against
local racer John Neese's 3rd gen. Even more impressive was the fact
that Ari turned the nitrous off and went part throttle for the second
half of the track.
Semi-Finals
The Semi-Finals was an all RX7 show. First up we had Steve with
a buy run in which he ran a 10.82 @ 132 MPH. Then we had Ari versus
Ken. Lady luck was on Ken's side. At the launch the RX7.COM car
broke its second axle assembly of the day - after having already
replaced both assemblies during the qualifying intermission. This
just goes to show how powerful the RX7.COM car is, albeit an expensive
show of power. Ken won the race with a 12.03 @ 113.3 MPH.
 Finals
The Quick 8 RWD Finals paired Ken Scheepers against Steve Kan. Ken
ran the best time ever for his 2nd gen with an 11.86 @ 115.9 MPH,
but Steve was faster with a 10.69 @ 132.9 MPH. Steve took home the
first place trophy for the second time this year, with the first
being the ID Drag Nights in August.
Other class news . . . In the All Motor class, Brad Smith's '88
Convertible RX7 took home 2nd place. Congratulations, Brad!
The ID Point Series Finals proved to be a satisfactory ending to
a long, productive, record-breaking drag season for all RX7.COM
racers. Team RX7.COM broke record after record to become the fastest
uni-body RX7 in the world. Steve Kan has become one of the most
consistent racers this year as well as setting a personal best time
of 10.437 @ 131.34 MPH. Team RX7.COM also traveled farther and many
more times than any season before to show the nation the power of
the rotary. With such a successful and eventful season, it should
be interesting to see what next year brings.
RX7.COM would like to thank Anthony Bulger and the RX7 Club of Dallas
for providing the food and for coming out in force to support our
racers and show off their RX7s. We would also like to thank Imran
and ID Drag Wars for putting on the event. Finally we would like
to give a special thanks to Texas Motorplex for hosting the re-scheduled
event so late in the season.
| Event
Pictures |
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Left: Ari and
the team work on replacing the axle assemblies.
Right: Brad Smith's '88 Convertible RX7 |
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Left: Ken Scheepers,
his '87 Turbo II, and his trophy for 2nd place Quick 8 RWD.
Right: Ken Scheepers' Turbo II. |
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Left:
Rocky entertains the team with his daring scooter stunts during
intermissions.
Right: Rocky performing more tricks. We call this one
"King of the World."
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Left: Anthony
Bulger and Dan Schecter. Anthony and Dan have been regular supporters
at many events. They've even traveled out of state.
Right: A picture of "The RX7 Camp." |
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