Tournaments
Indiana Diecast Racing by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
In a continuing effort to cover every race in the Sock Hop Slam tournament, we’ll be up front with you and let you know that this summary article is covering groups 15 through 24. Groups 25-28 have already been released, but due to our spoiler policy, those races will not be covered until next issue. So, without further delay, let’s take a look at the races! Group 15 was made up of two pairs of classic cars: two ‘57 Chevys and two Shoebox Fords. The nicely polished ZAMAC ‘57 Chevy driven by The Feels and Jimmy John’s distressed white ‘57 Chevy made for a fun odd couple. And painted flames abounded on the white Shoebox of Momo and the magenta Shoebox of Robin. The Feels dominated the first lap. The second lap was carried by the 57s which swapped places just at the finish, giving The Feels their second win. Jimmy John took the third lap, while Momo put in the best lap by a Shoebox up to that point, taking second. In a scoring fluke, Robin was able to tie The Feels in the points because The Feels DNF’d when they hit a seam in the track and then the billboard in turn two. So, Jimmy John’s ‘57 was sure to move on, but a race-off had to determine if Robin or The Feels would take the second spot. With a wide open track in front of them, The Feels accelerated too much, and flew off the entrance to the triangle, launching on an orbit-attempting trajectory. Robin completed the lap, and moved on to round two. Group sixteen featured a pair of 8
Crates, one of which was the highly modified “Ape Crate” built by Josh Paufler, and driven by “Not A Thief”. The remarkably tall car was notable for the giant crate sticking out of the top of the vehicle, with the graffito “Live Ape” written on the side. Rusty Meyer’s 8 Crate by contrast was a stock gray, black, and red. Mr. DarQ was in a ‘55 Chevy, and RatTag Jim showed up in a Frankenbuilt car made up of a Big Air Bel Air and a Cruise Bruiser. Clearly, RagTag wanted to challenge Not A Thief for the title of most top heavy car in the group. Rusty took the lead when RagTag did as expected, and put the Big Air monstrosity on its roof. What was unexpected is that the regular ‘55 Bel Air stopped at the same point on the track, while the Ape Crate managed to come in second on the lap. Mr. Darq and Rusty made lap two fit to proper form, the two lower profile cars hugged the track and finished 12. RagTag Jim ended up on his roof after turn two, and Not A Thief flipped partway through turn one. Rusty and Mr. Darq swapped positions on lap three, and the other two maintained the status quo: upside down and sideways. In what turned out to be the most unlikely move of the day, RagTag won the fourth lap by slowing everyone else down to a crawl. So much so that they all fell of the track at Hagrid’s hut. We’ll see Rusty and Mr. Darq again when we someday reach round two! Group 17 featured a lovely blue TBird with fancy white detailing, driven by Kabird!. Mopar Mac ditched his namesake brand in favor
of a ‘55 Chevy Nomad. Henson Drakes brought another ‘57 T-bird to the group, and Lulu was behind the wheel of a purple ‘57 Chevy. Lulu spun out early, opening the door for a non-57 Chevy win. And though Kabird! Led most of the rest of the lap, they squandered their lead in the final stretch by spinning around, allowing Mopar Mac to make his move. The second lap ended much like the first, although this time Drakes was on his roof along with Lulu. Nevertheless, Mopar Mac tallied another lap victory. The third lap saw Drake not finishing again, but Lulu successfully completed a lap for the first time. And on the fourth lap, Lulu managed to win the lap. Yet, it wasn’t enough, and Mopar Mac and Kabird! Moved on to the second round. Group 18’s vehicles included Cody Irons in s ‘52 Chevy truck. A Big Air Bel Air in the hands of The Commish, a pink ‘57 Chevy driven by Coral Rose, and Goldie came to race in a ‘55 Bel Air Gasser. With three of these four cars presenting with high centers of gravity, and the tournament being dominated by the ‘57s, this heat seemed a foregone conclusion, but the laps had to be run anyway. At first glance it seemed like the Big Air and the Gasser were faring better than expected, but in short order they both flipped and the pick up April 21, 2021 | 17
