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Great Lakes FFR Racers
Return to Mid-Ohio
Lexington, OH - The weekend of
July 12-13 saw the return of the FFR’s to Mid-Ohio. But the races
actually started much earlier in the week. This weekend was to be the
first with six cars, all in the Great Lakes Region. But a lot happened
and this number dwindled. It all began as Greg Wellinghoff Jr. worked
all week to get his new build ready for the weekend. Brian Sanders even
traveled to Dayton to put in an 12-hour day helping Greg but it just
didn’t happen. Wes Holiday figured out a brake issue he was having on
Thursday morning and could not make the fix in time for the weekend.
Peter LaRose had unforeseen commitments arise. So that left Brian, Gregg
Wellinghoff Sr. and Ed Boothman. But being a great dad, Gregg Sr.
brought his son, Greg Jr., and even allowed him to drive the car half
the time. So Gregg and Greg both got their first races in this weekend.
We started the weekend on a
Friday test and tune. Weather was beautiful and the sessions were pretty
uneventful except for Ed and car issues. The car was overheating after
only a few laps but this was the least of the problems. In the last
session of the day, the engine started making noise that you knew were
no good. Subsequent troubleshooting proved Ed had spun a rod bearing and
his weekend was done.
So this left Brian to square off
against rookies Gregg Sr. on Saturday and Greg Jr. on Sunday. Saturday
started off dry and beautiful but this changed as time to grid
approached. This reporter was asked to include, in this race report, a
summary of the race as seen from a rookie’s perspective. So here it
is…….verbatim.
“Crowd favorite Gregg
Wellinghoff Sr. ran his inaugural race at Mid-Ohio on July 12, 2008. He
scored a resounding win over a sizeable field in extremely adverse
weather conditions. Gregg spent most of the race chasing the ever
popular Brian Sanders, who also ran a marvelous race. In the late stages
of the contest Gregg got by Brian to score his first victory.” -- Gregg
Wellinghoff Sr.
WOW!!!!! Now, that’s
impressive………unless you were there! While the above does contain a fact,
it was raining, the rest might be attributed to the over zealous
imagination of a rookie. I feel it is my responsibility to report the
facts.
Fact 1 - Gregg put on rain
tires, Brian did not.
Fact 2 - It was a field of two
cars.
Fact 3 - Brian retired from the
race after 2 laps.
In all seriousness, Gregg and
Greg are an incredible addition to the FFR family. We had a blast this
weekend, on and off the track. The sense of humor exhibited above is
just a small sample of what went on the entire weekend.
As for Sunday, Brian started the
race with a poor handling car and Greg Jr. was able to keep pace for the
first few laps. But then the car came to me and I lost sight of Greg. I
just wasn’t going to beat by two different rookies in a single weekend.
I think the best part of the
entire weekend was seeing the faces of the two rookies every time they
came off the track. You couldn’t have removed the smiles with a crowbar.
The next stop for the Great
Lakes FFR’s is Road America on August 2-3. Besides the sprint races,
there will be a 2-hour Enduro.
Cya at the track!
--Brian Sanders
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