The 51st
National Championship Air Races are just around the corner. While the
teams are putting the final touches on the racers, packing the tools and
trailers and trying to remember what they forgot, let’s take a look at what to
expect.
Unlimited
At this point, we have 14
aircraft on the roster. Again, the numbers are down, but the FAST ones are all
scheduled to be there.
Last year’s winner, Voodoo,
will be back to challenge all comers. The team has been working diligently all
year to make some secret speed mods. They expect to be faster than ever and
have 3 engines to utilize. One for Qualifying, one for Racing and one to make
sure they get home.
Nelson Ezell and his crew
believe they have found the missing horsepower in the Rare Bear’s 3350. Stewart
Dawson will be in the pilot seat once again and ready for the challenge. Will
all of their hard work pay off? I certainly hope so!
After a catastrophic inlet
failure last year, Rare Bear’s little sister, 232 is also ready for the Gold.
Sanders Aeronautics and AeroChia have done their magic on the inlet. Hoot Gibson is back in the pilot seat and Sea
Fury fans are looking for everyone’s favorite astronaut to finish in the top
three.
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| Sea Fury 232 could be a spoiler this year |
Strega has been a giant
question mark again this off-season. First Tiger was retiring her, and then
coming back. Then, he attended PRS, but didn’t fly. Then rumors of her being
sold, and then unsold. No rumored sightings of Strega test flights and no good
gossip. What will we see on the ramp? I hope we see Tiger and Strega in all
their glory!
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| Will Strega be there? |
After coming back from a
wild few years of changes by the Shafter Skunk Works, Czech Mate was in
impressive form last year, only to suffer a landing incident after the
races. Another year of hard work and
they are back again. We look forward to the mighty Yak and her grand pilot,
Sherman Smoot, to make some waves out there.
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| Will the Giant Killer bring home the win this year |
Dreadnaught had a difficult
off-season but will be ready to go – as they always are. Brian Sanders is the
primary pilot this year and we look forward to him doing what he does best.
The Precious Metal team has
been working all year on the Griffon Powered Mustang. Haven’t heard any good
gossip about speeds or mods, but we know they are looking to win. Good luck to
Thom and the team.
The final likely Gold
Competitor, Sawbones, had a gear collapse a few months ago and the team has been
burning the midnight oil getting ready for the races. She will be there again
this year, with a hard working crew and Curt Brown in the pilot seat.
Miss America has decided to
stand down this year. I know I will miss having her on the ramp and will miss
the team from Oklahoma led by pilot-owner, Doc Hisey. All the best to you guys,
I hope we see you again on the ramp.
You Tigercat fans will be
happy to know that La Patrona, Rod Lewis’ beautiful Tigercat will be there. And
Corsair fans should be happy to know that Jim Tobul is bringing his gorgeous
Corsair to race for the first time.
Doug Matthew will have his
stunning Mustang, The Rebel and the Seghetti’s Sparky will also be there.
Sanders will be bringing their other 2 Sea Furys -- Bristol-powered, 924 and 2800-powered,
Argonaut.
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| Sparky! The Jelly Belly Mustang! |
This group should lead to
some amazing racing. I cannot wait to see who walks away with the big trophy on
Sunday! Is in the year of the round engine? Or will Merlin Power take another
one? How about that Griffon?
Sports
The Sport Class has the
largest number of entries ever this year! Again, they will be running four
races, instead of just the usual three. Will Jeff Lavelle be our winner again
this year? Or maybe John Parker in the Thunder Mustang will be the one. Will
Kevin Eldredge with his Titan Engines Sponsorship make some waves? Or, will it
be Lynn Farnsworth in his Super Legacy or someone else?
The Sport Class will be
exciting, with so many fast aircrafts and interesting aircraft.
Biplanes
Aberle’s Phantom is the
favorite again this year. Jeff Rose is
bringing his new Mong – Reno Rabbit and Jake Stewart will have Bad MoJo there.
Both these aircraft could be spoilers.
I will be back in Ruby this
year. So, stop by the Biplane Hangar and say HELLO!
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| Dasher and Ruby are BACK in 2014 |
IF1
Last year, Vito
Wypraechtiger was able to capitalize on a small mistake by favorite, Steve
Senegal to capture the win. This year, we expect Steve to be the favorite again
in Endeavor.
With only 13 entries this
year, I know IF1 will be working on adding new members to their class. So, if
you’re interested in racing next year in any class, especially Biplanes and
IF1, let me know!
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| The teams in IF1 have a great time balancing hard work and fun! |
T6
Last minutes withdraw from
John Zayac leaves the race to returning veterans Dennis Buehn and Nick Macy.
But keep an eye on Mike Kennedy, from Airplane Repo fame to have the crowds
around this year.
Jets
Seventeen jets are
scheduled to race this year – including a Marchetti S211, a Dehavilland Vampire
and the Iskra. All the others are the usual L29s and L39s.
This is now the second
largest Class at Reno. Interestingly enough, the two largest classes are also
the newest. Coincidence?
Wrap up…
I know that the Reno Air
Race Association (RARA) has an exciting show planned with Concerts, Drone Races
and a great list of Performers.
Live Airshow TV will be
airing the races on their website this year also, so you should be able to
watch from your cubicle if you weren’t able to get the entire week off to join
us.
Again, I wanted to give a
special thanks to all my fellow Air Racers, Pilots, Owners, and Crew Members
for putting in the time and making this event so special every year. And to the
people of RARA, thank you for continuing to innovate to build momentum; to the
volunteers for giving your time and making it happen; and to the fans who come
out each year in heat, cold, rain, and snow, to watch us do what we love.
See you there!
Marilyn Dash
Ruby Red Racing
Marilyn Dash
Ruby Red Racing
All Photos used this month
are from Rob Miller and Anthony Taylor – Thank you, Phred and Hopper!
