Author: B. Hager
Edition: Model Aviation - 1993/05
Page Numbers: 39, 40, 152, 153
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'92 NMPRA's Formula I Championship Race

By Bill Hager

The 1992 National Midget Pylon Racing Association (NMPRA) Formula One Championships were held at the Crows Landing Naval Auxiliary Landing Facility, Crows Landing, California, on October 24–25. Forty-six pilots from across North America, including two from Canada, competed in the most demanding Formula One event of the year.

Only invited pilots may compete. Qualifying criteria include:

  • finishing in the top 20% in a district,
  • finishing in the top 10 at the AMA Nationals (or in the top 3 at the Canadian Nationals),
  • being a previous winner, or
  • being an NMPRA officer.

Registration and site setup

Registration began at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 23, at Mallard’s Inn in Modesto, California. Pilots registered a total of 80 models; each model was inspected for safety, assembled, and static-judged. Contest management handled processing and judging efficiently.

Dave English and crew set up the pylon course at the crack of dawn Saturday morning. By 7:00 a.m. the pits began to fill. After the morning practice period, the pilots’ briefing started at 9:00 a.m. and the first heat began at 9:20 a.m.

Race summary

Round One

  • Dave Layman set an early pace with a 1:09.13 over Gary Hover and Paul Stenberg.
  • Lyle Larson won his heat with 1:07.41 over Richard Verano, Bob Dible, and Bob Brogdon.
  • The tightest race saw Mike Helsel beat Bruce Richmond by 2 seconds.
  • Dave Shadel won his heat with a 1:09.48.

Round Two

  • Bill Hager defeated Norm Johnson with a strong 1:09.02.
  • Gary Hover posted a 1:09.09 win over Bob Dible, Henry Bartle, and Rich Tocci.
  • Lyle Larson ran 1:08.84 to beat Bruce Richmond and Bruce Brown.
  • Richard Verano held on for a 1:10.83 victory over Brian Richmond and Darrol Cady.
  • Dave Shadel set a new fast time of 1:06.99 in the final heat of the round.

Round Three

  • Rich Tocci was involved in a pylon collision on the second lap but escaped without major damage and finished ahead of Lou Rodriguez, Drew Jerina, and Bill Hager (whose engine went sour).
  • Dave Layman remained perfect through this round.
  • Bruce Richmond narrowly beat Bob Dible for second in their heat.

Round Four

  • Dave Shadel stayed perfect and ran under 1:10; Jeff Carpenter and Paul Stenberg battled for second and third.
  • Brian Richmond and Bob Dible had a wild duel; Brian held 1:09.88 to Bob’s 1:10.29.
  • Dave Layman faltered slightly but posted a personal best time.
  • Dave Shadel’s fast times were getting attention—a new fast time of roughly 1:05 was noted during the contest.

Round Five

  • Lyle Larson fought off Paul Benezra to win 1:09.29 to 1:09.84.
  • Paul Stenberg kept his Top Ten bid alive with a narrow win over Darrol Cady.
  • Dave English defeated Rusty Van Baren, Drew Jerina, and Dave Doyle.
  • In a marquee heat, Dave Shadel beat Dub Jett with a 1:07.70; Dub finished a close second.
  • A three-plane heat with Norm Johnson, Gary Hover, and Mike Helsel saw Mike come from third to win with a 1:08.66; Gary took second.

By the end of Saturday’s racing (around 4:30 p.m.), Dave Shadel, Dave Layman, and Lyle Larson had perfect scores through five rounds. Mike Helsel was one point behind, waiting for Sunday.

Banquet and awards (Saturday evening)

Pilots, family, and friends gathered for the NMPRA banquet. Annual awards were presented by Ron Schorr. Dub Jett received top season honors in Formula One. President-elect Lloyd Burnham spoke about the NMPRA’s future. The banquet was one of the best the author had attended.

National Points Standings (Top 10 for 1992)

  • 1. Dub Jett — 601.99
  • 2. Norm Johnson — 545.66
  • 3. Bill Hager — 544.48
  • 4. Mike Helsel — 538.04
  • 5. Gary Hover — 537.02
  • 6. Tom Strom — 527.92
  • 7. Henry Bartle — 524.53
  • 8. Darrol Cady — 513.70
  • 9. Scott Manning — 507.57
  • 10. Dave Layman — 502.14

Round Six (Sunday morning)

  • Heat one began at 8:35 a.m. Dave Layman capitalized on Lloyd Burnham’s two cuts to cruise to victory.
  • Paul Benezra defeated Paul Stenberg and Henry Bartle.
  • Lou Rodriguez staged a late-race pass to edge Lyle Larson: Lou 1:08.07, Lyle 1:08.10.
  • John McDermott fixed a fuel-tank problem overnight and won a close race over Don McStay and Drew Jerina.
  • Dub Jett beat Rusty Van Baren, 1:07.11 to 1:09.74.
  • After this round just two pilots remained perfect.

Round Seven

  • Lyle Larson won over Rich Tocci (Tocci plagued by cut-outs), 1:09.67.
  • Mike Helsel posted a commanding 1:07.26 over Lou Rodriguez, Jeff Carpenter, and Brian Richmond.
  • Tom Strom ran 1:12.91 to beat Dave Doyle, Pete Reed, and Rudolf Tisza.
  • Gary Hover used one of his faster times to beat Drew Jerina, Al Watson, and Todd West.
  • Bob Dible beat Don Rice (Stinger vs. Stinger), 1:11.91; John Headley was third.
  • Richard Verano flew 1:08.01 to defeat Bruce Brown and Matt Mikko.
  • Lloyd Burnham flew his fastest race of the weekend (1:11.71) but was matched against Dub Jett (1:08.88).
  • Bill Hager, in a points battle with Paul Stenberg, took a 1:11.74 victory; Dan Kane Jr. was second and Stenberg third.

Round Eight

  • Jeff Carpenter led Darrol Cady until lap five when a caller error at pylon one cost him; Darrol won with 1:11.93, Dave Doyle second.
  • Round Eight saw the only significant aircraft losses on the course: Don McStay crashed exiting pylon three; Scott Manning tested the concrete at pylon one; and Ron Schorr also crashed two heats later. Fortunately, these were the last casualties.
  • Gary Hover won with a 1:10.03 over Bruce Brown and Lloyd Burnham.
  • Dub Jett posted a strong 1:07.75 over Norm Johnson and Richard Verano (Verano later suffered a plug failure).
  • Dave Layman benefited when Dan Kane Jr. cut and Rich Tocci struggled with cut-outs.
  • Henry Bartle forced Rusty Van Baren into a cut and won with 1:08.47.
  • A dramatic heat with Dave Shadel, Lyle Larson, Brian Richmond, and Andrew McIndoe ended with Shadel first (1:05.00), Lyle second (1:11.88), Andrew third (one cut), and Brian out (two cuts).

Round Nine (final round)

  • Shadel and Layman started the round with perfect scores; Lyle Larson and Mike Helsel were two points behind; Dub Jett three points behind.
  • Dave English won his heat as Don Rice double-cut.
  • Bruce Brown recorded his first win in a close race with Paul Stenberg and Todd West.
  • Chuck Brown posted back-to-back wins as his heat opponents suffered cuts.
  • Dave English took another heat despite a cut, after Gary Hover four-stroked around the course.
  • Dub Jett won a hotly contested race in 1:08.13 over Rich Tocci and Paul Benezra (Benezra two cuts).
  • Richard Verano found a good needle-valve setting and flew 1:07.49 to beat Bill Hager.
  • Dave Layman posted a slow 10-lap time (1:17.88) but still won his heat when Brian Richmond’s engine quit after four laps.
  • Dave Doyle beat Dan Kane Jr., Andrew McIndoe, and Henry Bartle (cuts).
  • Lyle Larson won with a 1:07.54 as Rusty Van Baren double-cut.
  • Dave Shadel faced Darrol Cady and Al Watson, then a flyoff with Dave Layman. Layman’s engine died after leaning a little too hard on the needle valve; Shadel soloed for a fast time of 1:07.73 (in that flyoff).

Awards and closing notes

Final standings and results reflected a fast, consistent contest. If you missed this event, it was a loss—plans are already underway for the 1993 championships.

The 1993 NMPRA Formula One Championships will be held in Valkaria, Florida, October 16–17, hosted by the Indian River Kontrol Club. SEMPRAS president Tom Bogut and Mark Brown will serve as contest directors.

NMPRA Formula One Championships Results

Place — Name — Points — Fast Time

  • 1. Dave Shadel — 36 — 1:05.17
  • 2. Dave Layman — 36 — 1:07.40
  • 3. Lyle Larson — 36 — 1:07.41
  • 4. Mike Helsel — 34 — 1:07.26
  • 5. Dub Jett — 34 — 1:07.75
  • 6. Richard Verano — 32 — 1:07.49
  • 7. Gary Hover — 31 — 1:09.09
  • 8. Lou Rodriguez — 30 — 1:09.22
  • 9. Darrol Cady — 29 — 1:11.66
  • 10. Bill Hager — 28 — 1:09.02

Registration recap: Registration began at 6:00 p.m. Friday, October 23, at Mallard’s Inn, Modesto. Pilots registered 80 models; models were inspected for safety, assembled, and static-judged. Dave English and crew set up the pylon course early Saturday; the pilots’ briefing was at 9:00 a.m. and the first heat started at 9:20 a.m. The 1992 race provided great competition and great fun.

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