The bulk of the team flew out West on Tuesday, a day earlier than in previous years, to get some site seeing time in. Hoss and Frank flew into San Francisco and picked up the van...Jack, Jerry and Tom came into Oakland.
We had an invite from Greg Katz, to check out the fabulous Katz-Spa-Ring in nearby Fremont. So we vanned our way down to the South Bay area, and gave Greg vary little notice before descending on his doorstep. Greg's house
was totally given over to slot racing, interesting cars were everywhere. Greg, took on the role of Tour Guide, as he showed us around the house...the anticipation off seeing the Brad Bowman masterpiece was rising rapidly, while Greg
told us about the history of his AFX and Magnatraction cars...finally the Team could take it no more..."let's see the track!" the East Coast racers shouted, as they tore open the door to the house extension, containing the track. 
All of us were in awe, yes we have seen pictures of portions of the track, but nothing to convey the spectacular presense of being in the same room, with what has to be the best HO track in the world. The track totally dominates the room, the sectional track pieces hanging on the wall, giving the impression that they are not a worthy surface to run an HO car on.
We wasted little time, trying our carefully built Fray cars on this monster track...the lap record for a Fray car was about 18 seconds, we quickly realized that our cars didn't have the speed necessary for the huge main straight. You go down a sweeping, slightly banked hill, hitting the main straight, which a small section around the start finish line is the only flat bit on this track! Then, still flat out, you climb
a slightly banked uphill sweeper to the top of the track, 2 and half feet above the start finish line. Then down hill towards Eau Rouge followed by a climb to Radillion. These turns are right out the Spa-Francochamps track where the Belgian Grand Prix is held. The track has no two corners alike and they are lifted from the most storied road racing circuits of Europe. Brad Bowman, builder of five of the Fray tracks, built his masterpiece here in Fremont, California. The scenery was done by Jason Boye, of LeMonzaco fame, and designer of the Tomy Cobra Daytona Coupe.
The scenery is as much of a masterpiece as the actual track, the pits with the working Monorail elevated train are yet to be completed. The feeling you get from driving this track, is as close as it gets in slot racing, to actually driving a GT car on one of the world's finest road racing circuits. There is nothing like it!
See Greg's website for more pix: MSCRC
I found out while at Greg's, that Wizzard was in the hospital with pneumonia and not able to make the trip to California. Not having Bob and Cheryl along on our slot racing adventure, really affected our team results! With that bit of bad news, we gathered up our slow cars, after failing to make a serious run on the track record...and headed North.
The trip to Fortuna on 101 was uneventful, no rock slides this year! Wednesday was our sightseeing day, the day dawned gloomy as the northwoods rain moved in. In previous years, we only saw the giant redwoods during our travels up and down Highway 101, so this year we made the trip along the "Avenue of the Giants" which parallels 101, to really get close to these huge trees. All of us were in awe, with one ancient giant after another on this route. 
The guys wanted to see the ocean, and I knew about a lovely road, called Mattole that I found on a web site devoted to the best motorcycling roads in California it really sounded wonderful to me on the web site, but we were in a Dodge Caravan and not riding a Ducati! We drove some 50 odd miles over the roughest and twisted roads in the state...the troops were ready to kill me, and Hoss was really feeling ill. Jerry was driving, otherwise he would have been sick too...Frank and I seemed to be the only ones enjoying the non-stop switchbacks! We finally made it to the ocean as darkness descended on our minivan full of puking racers. From the ocean, the rest of the journey to Ferndale wasn't too bad, but it was dark and deserted until we got closer to Ferndale. By the time we got back to the Best Western in Fortuna, the rest of the team had arrived. Mike "Punk Kid" Deppa was there with father, Bruce and we all did the the Denny's thing...as our stomachs calmed down.
Thursday at Noon and we were at the new Fray venue, the Ferndale fairgrounds...a really nice hall with much more room than the old Portuguese Hall in the town center. The rookies were in awe of the 8 tables that they've heard us talk about and seen pictures of...but now they were itching to get on the tracks and get some practice. At least everyone but Mike had the Katz-Spa-Ring experience to get them used to Brad's wonderous routed tracks.
...Thursday practice is fairly low key, but all the top teams are there, testing each other's pace. Friday is a full day of practice, and the local teams start to show up. The tables fill up with 48 drivers testing at once, some teams have a lot of decision making to do to get down to 3 cars to present for tech inspection. We didn't have too much of a problem, deciding which cars to enter!
With no cars to work on, we could actually get some sleep on Friday night! Saturday came early with an 8am start, so a bunch of the teams were getting breakfast at the Best Western, when we heard the news of the Shuttle Columbia crash. All of us were stunned, like most of America. And then we rushed out to play with our toy cars. Fray impresario, Rick Phillis, opened the driver's meeting with a minute of silence for the Astronauts.
Our draw, put us on the tan table three times, this actually worked out quite well for us. Tan and purple are my least favorite Fray tracks, but I spent probably the most time during practice on these tables. The tan table is certainly good for finding out which cars are the fastest and getting them tweaked. I had also made a new body, the Ford GT SE, specifically for this track. The nose was designed to shovel cars out of the way. In actual use, it didn't work as well as I imagined, but was able to go under wrecked cars quite well! Our team has a history of losing in the first round, when we are not quite warmed up. Going first on tan worked out pretty well. Then the third round we faced SOCAL on the tan track and beat them. This was their first loss since KC last year. We were ecstatic over that win, since we had not come close to beating them before. We went through the day, losing to the three Kansas City teams, but beating the rest of the competition. For the second year in a row, we met KC on Purple... and it was pretty much the same story as last year. My congratulations to all three KC teams, they were the best prepared teams there. The bar has been raised, and I think it will be very hard for anyone to challenge them. The level of competition, with top drivers on challenging tracks, and racing to the same rules as the Fray, all year long...is a tough nut for other areas to compete with.
Round 1 - Tan Table vs Los Angeles
Deppa------2-6-6-0-0-0-0-6-6-6--32
Phoenix----0-4-5-6-4-6-1-0-0-0--26
Bowman-----6-0-0-0-0-4-6-2-2-5--25
Spena------4-5-4-2-6-0-0-0-0-4--25
Schmoyer---0-0-0-3-5-2-5-5-5-0--25
Linden-----1-2-3-5-0-0-0-0-3-3--17
Grossman---3-1-0-0-0-0-3-3-4-2--16
Neckemeyer-0-0-0-0-3-5-2-4-1-1--16
Licausi----0-0-2-4-2-3-4-1-0-0--16
Hurtado----5-3-1-1-1-1-0-0-0-0--12
Wizzard: 133
Los Angeles: 77
Round 2 - Yellow table vs. Independence
Allen------6-6-0-0-0-0-5-6-6-6--35
Bowman-----0-0-0-4-6-6-6-3-5-0--30
Lamb-------5-3-6-5-0-0-0-0-4-5--28
Lawler-----4-5-5-6-3-2-0-0-0-0--25
Leppert----0-0-0-0-5-5-4-2-2-4--22
Stevens----0-0-4-3-2-3-1-5-0-0--18
Spena------2-4-3-1-4-0-0-0-0-2--16
Schmoyer---0-2-1-2-1-4-3-0-0-0--13
Deppa------1-1-2-0-0-0-0-4-1-3--12
Muirhead---3-0-0-0-0-1-2-1-3-1--11
Independence: 128
Wizzard: 82
Round 3 - Tan table vs. So Cal
Schmoyer---0-0-0-4-2-4-6-6-6-0--28
Spena------6-1-5-1-6-0-0-0-0-6--25
Burneson---5-4-6-3-0-0-0-0-2-3--23
Phoenix----0-2-4-5-5-2-3-0-0-0--21
Engelage---4-3-0-0-0-0-5-3-3-2--20
Jocham-----1-5-2-2-4-6-0-0-0-0--20
Deppa------2-6-1-0-0-0-0-4-5-1--19
Surratt----0-0-3-6-3-1-1-5-0-0--19
Bowman-----3-0-0-0-0-3-4-2-1-5--18
Patton-----0-0-0-0-1-5-2-1-4-4--17
Wizzard: 111
So. Cal: 99
Round 4 - Red table vs. Petaluma
Deppa------6-5-6-0-0-0-0-6-6-5--34
Bowman-----0-0-0-5-6-6-4-5-5-0--31
Spena------4-6-5-4-5-0-0-0-0-6--30
Marketos---2-4-0-0-0-0-6-1-3-4--20
Miles------3-3-2-2-4-5-0-0-0-0--19
Overman----5-1-1-6-0-0-0-0-1-2--16
Lee--------0-0-4-1-2-1-5-3-0-0--16
Muirhead---1-0-0-0-0-4-1-4-2-3--15
Daniel-----0-0-0-0-3-3-2-2-4-1--15
Phoenix----0-2-3-3-1-2-3-0-0-0--14
Wizzard: 124
Petaluma: 86
Round 5 - Black table vs. South Bay
Spena------6-0-0-0-0-5-5-6-6-4--32
Hurley-----4-3-5-5-5-6-0-0-0-0--28
Coaxum-----0-0-0-0-3-3-6-5-3-5--25
Phoenix----0-6-4-4-6-1-4-0-0-0--25
Schmoyer---0-0-0-6-4-4-3-3-4-0--24
Deppa------5-1-3-0-0-0-0-2-5-6--22
Drake------0-0-6-2-2-2-2-4-0-0--18
Muirhead---2-4-2-3-1-0-0-0-0-3--15
Lee--------1-5-0-0-0-0-1-1-2-2--12
Leech------3-2-1-1-0-0-0-0-1-1--9
Wizzard: 118
So. Bay: 92
Round 6 - Blue table vs. Oregon
Spena------6-0-0-0-0-4-4-6-6-4--30
Schmoyer---0-6-5-6-4-3-6-0-0-0--30
Deppa------4-4-6-0-0-0-0-5-5-5--29
Phoenix----0-0-0-5-6-5-5-4-4-0--29
Smith,D----5-2-4-4-2-6-0-0-0-0--23
Muirhead---2-5-1-2-5-0-0-0-0-6--21
Bostic,J---3-3-2-3-0-0-0-0-3-2--16
Cockerham--0-0-3-1-3-2-1-3-0-0--13
Skinner----0-0-0-0-1-1-3-2-1-3--11
Bostic, B--1-1-0-0-0-0-2-1-2-1--8
Wizzard: 139
Oregon: 71
Round 7 - Red table vs Ferndale
Deppa------5-6-6-0-0-0-0-3-5-6--31
Stretch----0-0-5-5-6-3-6-4-0-0--29
Spena------2-0-0-0-0-4-4-6-6-5--27
Phoenix----0-0-0-6-1-5-5-5-4-0--26
Machado----6-3-3-4-4-6-0-0-0-0--26
Muirhead---4-5-1-1-5-0-0-0-0-4--20
Bowman-----0-2-4-3-3-2-1-0-0-0--15
Martin-----1-4-0-0-0-0-2-2-3-2--14
Phillis----0-0-0-0-2-1-3-1-1-3--11
Decker-----3-1-2-2-0-0-0-0-2-1--11
Wizzard: 119
Ferndale: 91
Round 8 - Purple table vs. Kansas City
Ward-------4-5-6-6-5-0-0-0-0-6--32
Habernal---6-6-4-0-0-0-0-6-4-5--31
Huston-----0-3-5-5-6-3-6-0-0-0--28
Carter-----0-0-0-1-2-6-5-5-6-0--25
Bourne-----5-0-0-0-0-5-3-3-3-4--23
Deppa------3-4-2-4-0-0-0-0-5-2--20
Bowman-----0-0-0-0-4-4-4-4-2-1--19
Spena------1-2-3-3-3-2-0-0-0-0--14
Phoenix----2-1-0-0-0-0-2-2-1-3--11
Schmoyer---0-0-1-2-1-1-1-1-0-0--7
Kansas City: 139
Wizzard: 71
Round 9 - Green table vs. San Diego
Spena------6-0-0-0-0-6-6-5-6-4--33
Deppa------5-6-4-0-0-0-0-6-3-6--30
Muirhead---3-3-5-4-6-0-0-0-0-5--26
Dunlap-----4-5-0-0-0-0-5-4-2-2--22
Brittain---0-0-0-0-5-3-4-1-5-3--21
Phoenix----0-0-0-6-3-5-3-2-1-0--20
Bowman-----0-4-6-5-2-1-1-0-0-0--19
McEntee----0-0-1-3-4-4-2-3-0-0--17
Tipps------2-2-2-1-0-0-0-0-4-1--12
Ellis------1-1-3-2-1-2-0-0-0-0--10
Wizzard: 128
San Diego: 82
Round 10 - Purple table vs. Fremont
Deppa------6-6-5-0-0-0-0-6-6-3--32
Bowman-----0-0-0-4-4-6-6-5-5-0--30
Schmoyer---0-5-6-6-2-5-4-0-0-0--28
Muirhead---5-4-4-2-5-0-0-0-0-6--26
Eberman----3-3-0-0-0-0-5-4-4-4--23
Nier-------0-0-2-5-6-4-3-3-0-0--23
Phoenix----4-0-0-0-0-2-2-2-3-5--18
Katz-------2-2-3-1-3-3-0-0-0-0--14
Laurio-----0-0-0-0-1-1-1-1-2-2--8
B Bowman---1-1-1-3-0-0-0-0-1-1--8
Wizzard: 135
Fremont: 75
Round 11 - Black table vs. Overland Park
Rutherford-0-0-4-6-5-3-6-6-0-0--30
Deppa------4-6-6-0-0-0-0-2-3-6--27
Spena------6-0-0-0-0-5-2-5-5-4--27
Belshe-----3-5-0-0-0-0-4-4-6-3--25
Stacy------2-3-5-4-0-0-0-0-4-5--23
Phoenix----0-0-0-5-3-6-5-1-2-0--22
Welty------5-4-2-3-6-1-0-0-0-0--21
Schmoyer---0-1-1-2-4-4-1-0-0-0--13
Kinnard----0-0-0-0-2-2-3-3-1-1--12
Bowman-----1-2-3-1-1-0-0-0-0-2--10
Overland Park: 111
Wizzard: 99
Round 12 - Tan table vs. Eureka
Spena------6-1-6-5-6-0-0-0-0-5--29
Deppa------4-0-0-0-0-6-6-3-6-3--28
Schmoyer---2-2-5-0-0-0-0-6-5-6--26
Bowman-----0-5-1-6-3-5-3-0-0-0--23
Phoenix----0-0-0-4-1-4-5-4-3-0--21
Weir-------0-0-0-0-4-3-4-5-2-2--20
B. Trump---5-6-0-0-0-0-2-1-4-1--19
McClurg----3-4-3-3-0-0-0-0-1-4--19
C. Trump---1-3-4-1-5-2-0-0-0-0--16
Jorgensen--0-0-2-2-2-1-1-2-0-0--10
Wizzard: 127
Eureka: 83
Round 13 - Orange table vs. Carnage
Spena------6-6-3-6-5-0-0-0-0-6--32
Schmoyer---4-5-2-0-0-0-0-6-6-5--28
Bowman-----0-4-4-5-3-5-6-0-0-0--27
Owyang-----0-0-6-3-4-4-4-5-0-0--26
Giegel-----3-3-5-4-0-0-0-0-4-4--23
Phoenix----0-0-0-2-6-6-6-2-1-0--22
Muirhead---5-0-0-0-0-1-3-3-5-1--18
St. Clair--2-2-0-0-0-0-2-4-3-2--15
Fuller-----0-0-0-0-1-2-1-1-2-3--10
Shearman---1-1-1-1-2-3-0-0-0-0--9
Wizzard: 127
Carnage: 83
Round 14 - Yellow table vs. Seattle
Bowman-----0-6-5-6-6-2-5-0-0-0--30
Deppa------2-0-0-0-0-5-6-5-5-4--27
Stewart----5-3-4-5-3-6-0-0-0-0--26
Zenovitch--3-5-0-0-0-0-3-6-2-6--25
Schmoyer---1-2-6-0-0-0-0-4-6-5--24
Kassens----0-0-0-0-4-4-4-3-3-2--20
Muirhead---0-0-0-4-5-3-2-2-4-0--20
Spena------6-4-3-1-2-0-0-0-0-3--19
Rock-------4-1-2-2-0-0-0-0-1-1--11
Chinn------0-0-1-3-1-1-1-1-0-0--8
Wizzard: 120
Seattle: 90
Round 15 - Orange table vs. Iowa
Spena------5-6-6-6-6-0-0-0-0-6--35
Phoenix----0-0-0-4-4-6-5-6-6-0--31
Bowman-----0-5-5-5-5-5-6-0-0-0--31
Muirhead---6-0-0-0-0-4-4-4-5-4--27
Schmoyer---4-2-4-0-0-0-0-2-3-5--20
D. Forman--3-4-1-3-0-0-0-0-4-3--18
W.Williams-0-0-2-2-3-3-3-5-0-0--18
Z. Forman--2-3-3-1-1-2-0-0-0-0--12
Whitmer----1-1-0-0-0-0-1-3-1-2--9
A.Williams-0-0-0-0-2-1-2-1-2-1--9
Wizzard: 144
Iowa: 66
Here is the final results after the team races, KC wins with 15 wins and no losses, followed by Overland Park 14 wins and 1 loss, Independence with 13 wins and 2 losses, Wizzard with 12 wins and 3 losses, Socal with 11 wins and 4 losses and Ferndale with 10 wins and 5 losses. The rest of the teams: Petaluma (9-6), Eureka (7-8), South Bay (6-9), San Diego (6-9), Seattle (5-10), Los Angeles (4-11), Fremont (4-11), Carnage (3-13), Iowa (1-14), and Oregon, which withdrew after being caught cheating.
Our rookie drivers did very well in there first Fray, Mike Deppa especially was on the pace...he and Frank Spena were our top guns. The rest of the team had some good races and some bad ones. Consistency is difficult on this many different tracks! There is no doubt that we will be stronger next year!
The individual competition was held on the Green table, which by the time I got to race, was very slippery...I could get only get two laps on clean tires before my car was helplessly spinning donuts! I should have raced slip ons with tread cut in them! Anyway, by the time they got to the final six only one non-KC area driver was left, Rick Jocham of Socal. John Habernal dueled with Jack Rutherford of the Overland Park team for the win...Habby was stuck on the gutter in the final segment, which went to Jack. It was his first time to the fray, so he won the Rookie award as well as the Individual award, and led his team to a second place finish...remarkable!
The Kansas City team receiving the cow trophy, the team from last year was back intact, and stronger than ever. Congratulations to all of the Kansas City teams on an outstanding run...I wish I lived closer to these guys, they've got tjet racing figured out!