Author: B. Hager
Edition: Model Aviation - 1994/04
Page Numbers: 37, 38, 63, 67, 68
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21st NMPRA Championship Race

Fall marks the end of the racing season... well, almost the end. For those of us who fly Formula One there is that one big race left: the National Miniature Pylon Racing Association's Formula One Championship Race.

We work all year to qualify. To qualify you must fall into one of the following categories:

  • Be in the top 20% of your district
  • Be an officer
  • Be a past champion
  • Be one of the AMA Nats top ten
  • Be a past NMPRA Championship Race winner

It is quite an honor to get invited to this race.

Event details

  • Date: October 16–17, 1993
  • Location: Valkaria Airport, Valkaria, Florida
  • Host club: Indian River Kontrol Society
  • Contest director: Tom Bogut

Practice and registration

Most of us arrived Thursday afternoon and were at the airport early Friday morning for a final practice session. After the smoke cleared, most agreed that Bob Greer had won practice—or at least he gave everyone a good scare. Bob sure had his Shark moving.

After practice we made a mad dash back to the motel to clean up our racers, fix any damage, and put on a final coat of wax before registration. All models were safety checked, measured, weighed, and scale judged. Scale judging determines the takeoff positions; the best-looking planes take off first.

Tom Bogut called a pilots' meeting Saturday morning. The weather was not great and we'd already had a few showers, but the show must go on.

The rounds

Round One (about 8:30 a.m.)

  • Dub Jett won the first heat.
  • The author (narrator) had a no-start.
  • Dave Shadel won his heat with a 1:24.
  • Lloyd Burnham set a personal best with a 1:07.28, beating past Florida champ Gary Hover.
  • Ralph Rinaldi won his race.
  • Dave Layman secured a 1:09 against Lyle Larson's 1:10 and Drew Jerina's 1:11.

Round Two

  • Bob Greer posted a 1:09.13; Gary Hover ran 1:09.39 and dropped a point.
  • Dave Doyle reached a personal best of 1:09.91, beaten by Lloyd Burnham's 1:09.55.

Round Three

  • Richard Verano won his heat with a 1:08.
  • Gary Hover posted a 1:06.49, the meet's fast time so far.
  • Dub Jett won his heat 1:10 but damaged his model on landing.

Round Four

  • A very competitive four-model race: Dave Shadel 1:10.31, the author 1:10.68, Red Cranfill 1:11.0. Dave Doyle had a cut near the end.
  • Lloyd Burnham got a zero in another heat.
  • Norm Johnson won his heat with a 1:10; his son Ben came in second in his heat with a 1:18.

Round Five

  • Ben Johnson reached 1:17.
  • Ralph Rinaldi was in first place with a perfect 20 at this point.
  • Dub Jett and Dave Shadel raced wingtip-to-wingtip for about nine laps before a big crash at the Number One pylon ended that race.

Saturday evening banquet and meeting

  • Racing paused until Sunday morning. The banquet was held at the local Days Inn.
  • NMPRA president Lloyd Burnham led a brief meeting where members discussed concerns about falling attendance (some districts down about 15%) and rising fuel costs.
  • Trophies were handed out to the top twenty national points winners. Henry Bartle took first-place national points, beating partner Lyle Larson by five points. Henry also received the Florida perpetual trophy and an original oil painting of an airplane by Connecticut artist Ken Wakeen.

Sunday (Rounds Seven through Ten)

  • Sunday morning brought rain, but racing continued.

Round Seven

  • Ralph Rinaldi cut pylon Number Two and dropped three points.
  • Richard Verano and Dave Shadel beat out Bob Greer in their heats.
  • Lloyd Burnham and Gary Hover won heats; Gary took the overall lead for the first time.

Round Eight

  • Dave Shadel ran a 1:09 in difficult weather.
  • At this stage, the leaders included Gary Hover, Bob Greer, Lloyd Burnham, Richard Verano, and Dave Shadel.

Round Nine

  • Richard Verano pushed Ralph to a second double-cut.
  • Lyle Larson forced a cut on Hover, costing him another point.
  • Bob Greer double-cut against Lloyd Burnham.
  • Ben Johnson posted a 1:16.06, a new Senior national record, and went on to finish in the top ten overall.

Round Ten

  • Going into the final round Gary Hover was still in first, followed by Lloyd Burnham, Richard Verano, and Dave Shadel; Bob Greer and the author were tied for fifth at one point.
  • Lloyd Burnham dropped three points in his heat against Gary Hover.
  • Richard Verano and Dave Shadel won their heats.
  • The author tied with Lloyd Burnham for fourth place after a close heat in which the author pulled inside the Number One pylon while leading.

Final results and awards

  • Gary Hover won the Championship — his third Florida race in a row — and also won Best in Show and the contest's Fast Time. Congratulations to Gary!
  • Richard Verano finished second.
  • Dave Shadel finished third.
  • Fourth- and fifth-place winners received silver bowls.
  • Ben Johnson, in his first year, finished tenth in his first NMPRA Championship Race and set a new Senior national record.

Additional awards

  • Cash awards and silver bowls from the NMPRA were presented to the top finishers.
  • National points: Henry Bartle finished first in national points, with Lyle Larson second; Henry received the Florida perpetual trophy and the painting by Ken Wakeen.

Thanks and closing

Thanks to Neal Chancellor, Chairman of Valkaria Airport, for making us feel welcome, and to the Indian River Kontrol Club for doing a great job putting on the race. Contest Director Tom Bogut and his crew put in many hours of hard work to make this event a success.

If you missed this one, you missed a good race. The 1994 Championship Race will be held in Dallas, Texas — start getting ready. See ya!

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.