The fast and solid dirt of Arapahoe County Fairgrounds opened to rallycrossers for the first time this season, and it was good to be back. With the tired timing bus undergoing extensive repair, our faithful community stepped up and offered their own vehicles to transport equipment and house the timing crew during the event. Despite the equipment challenges, the event carried on smoothly with minimal delay, and by the time the trophies were handed out, drivers were treated to seven passes on two fast and flowing courses. There are three surfaces and big elevation change to play with at ACF. With its proximity to Denver, this a favorite venue for many of our drivers and the attendance was strong! We saw new faces and some old friends as well, all happy to rip their fast and frequently quirky cars. The competition was fierce and when the racing was done, the fast and clean were handed their magnets. In Stock Rear, Lee Jones Toyota pickup took the win after Cody Clausen’s Volvo lost it’s way and suffered afternoon gate penalties. Novice Chris Whitney’s ten cones and veteran Jerome Bozic’s gate penalty left the door open for the Jetta of Brett Nelson to take the win in Stock Front. Jerome’s Morris Mini was fast enough in the morning to hold off Whitney’s Fiesta, which finished 3rd. Ryan Ruhle avoided penalties all day and his cleanliness helped him win the Stock All class. In his OBS Impreza he beat the mighty WRX of Steven Wong and Bryson Downing’s nimble GL. An all Volkswagen podium in Prepared Front saw Jacob Light dominate in his 07 Rabbit. An intense battle for second saw codrivers Jacob Hickman and Cameron Gransee finish within 0.3 of each other. In the end, Hickman proved fastest in the TDI Jetta. The Prepared All class saw the Subaru of Max Johnson edge out Wade Eldridge’s Evo for the win. The Modified Rear cars slithered their way around the course and novice Joshua Davis proved too fast in his FRS, beating the BMWs of Kellen McIntyre and Harrison Loomis. McIntyre was faster in his SWB E36, crushing third place Loomis by 15 seconds. Not used to big time penalties, Aaron Miller had to settle for second in Modified Front. Jaylyn Daugherty ruled the day in his Focus, besting Miller’s Civic. The zombie-camo Fiesta ST piloted by Josh Karczewski completed the podium. This event’s largest class was modified all, but that didn’t bother Eric Genack, who racked up another class win. It wasn’t easy, though- less than 4 seconds separated the top three cars, with none of them incurring a time penalty. The Subarus of JK Kendall and Joe Lavelle fought one of the day’s closest battles, with Lavelle taking the second podium spot by half a second.
