It was quite a start to the CMC season, with the West Coast Camaro Mustang Challenge’s February event at Infineon Raceway. All week long the forecast was looking pretty grim, but the races went on. 13 drivers braved the stormy conditions, including new driver Don Lariviere, who is teaming up with Adam Ginsberg this year, and CMC legend (and one of the CMC creators), Ben Pfaff.

The track proved to be damp Saturday morning, with several drivers spinning, sliding, or going off track at surprisingly low speeds during the first few laps of the warm-up. Everyone got the hang of the slick conditions, and looked great by the end of practice.

Fortunately, when Qualifying came around the track was nearly dry. Nick Steele qualified for pole position in CMC-2 with a 1:54.7. Jeremy Bua and Brady Flaherty raced hard in spite of it “only” being qualifying, trading the lead numerous times, all the way through the final lap. In the end Jeremy had the slightly faster lap and got pole for CMC with a 1:58.4.

By race time the drivers finally got to enjoy a completely dry track, and try out their new tires. The green flag dropped for the flying start, and engines roared as everyone fought for the early lead. In CMC-2 James Griffith took the lead, followed closely by Nick Steel and Tony Guaglione. The top three remained close together until engine trouble slowed James down and Nick took the lead. Nick won the race, followed by Tony, then Ryan Flaherty.

In CMC, Brady Flaherty jumped first on the green flag, followed closely by Jeremy Bua. Jeremy passed Brady in the first lap, with Brady remaining right on Jeremy’s tail. Brady was setting up to try for a pass when an ignition failure took him out of the race. About half a lap back, the competition heated up as Mike Plum, Ben Pfaff, and Pat Stone battled for position. Mike took 2nd early, then got held up behind a slower FFR car. Ben made the pass, and got into 2nd place. Pat passed Mike a short time later, as Mike and Pat raced hard for 3rd. Pat held the position for several laps, until Mike made a pass on the final lap. At the checkered flag Jeremy took 1st place, followed by Ben and Mike.

Shortly after the race, rumor (and weather.com) had it that Sunday was going to be a weather nightmare with lots of rain, and 25-35 MPH winds. A few drivers decided to pack up and head home. Meanwhile, James Griffith and crew worked all night in the rain and cold to fix blown head gaskets.

As expected, the rain started late Saturday night and never let up, alternating between drizzle and heavy downpours. On Sunday morning many drivers skipped the warm-up, but the brave few who got on the track threw rooster tails of water as they drove through the puddles. At least the wind spared us for the most part.

The drivers started the Qualifying Race in an inverted position, based on Saturday’s race finish. In CMC-2, Karl Chicca took and kept a strong lead. In CMC, Pat Stone took the lead early, and the race was on with rookie Don Lariviere. Sadly the session was cut short after an American Iron car slid off the track, hitting the tire wall. Fortunately, the driver was not injured. The remaining racers went a few more laps under yellow behind a pace car, before the race was finally ended and the drivers finished in the order they were in.

In CMC-2, Karl Chicca took his first victory (congratulations, Karl!), followed by Nick Steele and Dave Whitelaw. In CMC, Pat Stone took the win, followed by Don Lariviere in 2nd, and Mike Plum in 3rd.

Everyone took a break to dry off and warm up, while several downpours soaked the track, making for a wild main race on Sunday. At race time visibility was extremely limited due to heavy rain, there were numerous puddles, and “rivers” flowing across the track. Those without defrosters had the added challenge of foggy windows.

The chaos started immediately when the green flag waved and the pack approached the first turn. Mike Plum hydroplaned and drove up the grassy/muddy hill, finally stopping, then sliding downhill sideways. He was pulled back on the track by a tow truck about a lap later. Nick Steele also got a piece of the “off road” action, sliding through the mud into the tire wall approaching turn 10, and then again in turn 1 similar to Mike’s adventure. Ben Pfaff also did a 360, but he and the other drivers were able to continue. About halfway through the race Tony got the scare of a lifetime when a deer jumped onto the track in front of him. “There’s a deer in turn 6, no 7” isn’t something you hear on the radio often! Everyone was glad to see the deer keep running, so both Tony and the deer survived.

In CMC-2, Dave Whitelaw took the early lead and never looked back. Karl Chicca did a terrific job in the rain trying to catch Dave, but he couldn’t quite get there. Dave took first place, followed by Karl in second, and Tony “the Deer Hunter” Guaglione in third.

In CMC, Pat Stone took the lead for most of the race, followed closely by Jeremy Bua. The white flag came out, and it looked like they’d take first and second. Unfortunately on the 2nd to last lap, Pat hit a lot of water, hydroplaned, and lost control. He slid across the track in front of Jeremy, who saw only a black silhouette of a car before he hit both Pat and the wall. Pat stopped against the wall while Jeremy continued to spin, hitting the wall a second time. Thankfully the drivers were not injured, but their cars took heavy damage.

The remaining drivers continued the race, with Mike Plum taking 1st in CMC, followed by Ben Pfaff and Don Lariviere. Congratulations to Don, who took a 2nd and a 3rd place in his very first weekend with CMC. Great job!

Although the weekend ended badly for several cars, the drivers were all OK, and everyone had a great time at the first race of the season.

Next race is for the S. Cal region at California speedway in March, followed by the N. Cal region in April at Thunderhill.

Nikki Bua
Kyle Plum