Post by porrsjim on Jan 8, 2009 15:39:19 GMT -5
SYDNEY, Australia -- Miskatonic driver Paul Hamilton sat on the pit wall following his unlikely win at Eastern Creek just shaking his head. "I still can't believe it," he said. "After I'd ... er ... borrowed some Weasel Juice to get a good qualifying time, I guess there was still some in the tank for the race. I'd held the lead through the first 18 laps but I guess the Weasel Juice overheated my flux capacitor or something and I hit a time warp. The colors were nice but I was there to race, not to watch the light show..."
He wasn't in some other dimension but his head spun after watching Sandy Robinson run out of fuel just two turns from the finish at the 2.4-mile course.
Hamilton had led the first 18 laps only to see Robinson fly by and take a several second lead.
"Sandy was by me and clear out of sight so I just started driving as hard as I could to cut the gap. I'd made up a couple seconds when he pitted,'' he said. "I had plenty of fuel because I just don't trust my math when it comes to figuring mileage so I had a few laps before I had to pit. Taking a hint from Sandy last time, I did not change tires, and before I could even grab my cup of Cthulhu's Supernaturally Strong Coffee, my crew chief signalled me back into the fray.
"I was going to be quite happy with whatever I got when, shortly after I began the final lap, I noticed the gap was falling quickly. I figured he was having tire issues, so when I got close behind him in the final hairpin, I readied myself for a drag race to the finish, but then Sandy pulled over to the right and I got by. He was out of fuel with just two corners to go."
As Robinson sputtered, Hamilton flew by followed by Tom Nasella, who wound up with a career-best second and Gary Redshaw, who was third.
"Right from the start and for the entire race I was in a hornet's nest with Dave (Slee), Greg (Haley), Terry (Vreeland), Gary and who knows who else,'' Nasella said. "No one ever let up, we raced each other hard but clean, it was really intense and exciting. I sweated the armpits out of my shirt.''
Hamilton took another sip from his coffee cup.
"What rotten luck for him. He'd run a perfect race -- not so much as a bobble and clearly deserved the win. But I guess I'll take it and I'm sure that he'll be back on the top step of the podium very soon."
Vreeland finished fourth and Haley fifth while Robinson ended in seventh.
He wasn't in some other dimension but his head spun after watching Sandy Robinson run out of fuel just two turns from the finish at the 2.4-mile course.
Hamilton had led the first 18 laps only to see Robinson fly by and take a several second lead.
"Sandy was by me and clear out of sight so I just started driving as hard as I could to cut the gap. I'd made up a couple seconds when he pitted,'' he said. "I had plenty of fuel because I just don't trust my math when it comes to figuring mileage so I had a few laps before I had to pit. Taking a hint from Sandy last time, I did not change tires, and before I could even grab my cup of Cthulhu's Supernaturally Strong Coffee, my crew chief signalled me back into the fray.
"I was going to be quite happy with whatever I got when, shortly after I began the final lap, I noticed the gap was falling quickly. I figured he was having tire issues, so when I got close behind him in the final hairpin, I readied myself for a drag race to the finish, but then Sandy pulled over to the right and I got by. He was out of fuel with just two corners to go."
As Robinson sputtered, Hamilton flew by followed by Tom Nasella, who wound up with a career-best second and Gary Redshaw, who was third.
"Right from the start and for the entire race I was in a hornet's nest with Dave (Slee), Greg (Haley), Terry (Vreeland), Gary and who knows who else,'' Nasella said. "No one ever let up, we raced each other hard but clean, it was really intense and exciting. I sweated the armpits out of my shirt.''
Hamilton took another sip from his coffee cup.
"What rotten luck for him. He'd run a perfect race -- not so much as a bobble and clearly deserved the win. But I guess I'll take it and I'm sure that he'll be back on the top step of the podium very soon."
Vreeland finished fourth and Haley fifth while Robinson ended in seventh.