Mark Shaw Wins Vette Doctors Pro 8 Shootout Race 2!
by Edgar Perez
04/15/06 - Englishtown, NJ -
The Vette Doctors Pro 8 Shootout presented by Neverlift Racecraft was back in action today and the only numbers being put up that were lower than the ET's was the car count. It was a little disappointing to only have 5 Corvettes make it out to this race. To take a look on the bright side, one could say the series is so competitive it is taking many of the 20 registered participants a fair amount of time to finish up those new 2006 combinations and keep them all in one piece. Paul Ziajski, winner of the previous event and 2005 Champion, was back at the track after suffering damage to a turbo a few days earlier. The turbos were no longer twins with one larger than the other. Previous event runner-up, Angelo Valla, suffered internal engine damage at the last event that he was not able to repair. He risked losing his 2nd place position by not entering today's race.
Today was probably and hopefully the longest day we had to endure ever. You would have thought it was Friday the 13th not April 15, Tax Day, with all the breakage on the track and worse, oil downs, that had us at one point in a two-hour delay. It was so bad we even had a biker lose control at the starting line and flip her bike for a delay. She was okay of course. The second round of qualifying did not change the order that had been established in the first round. The Fab 5 were led by Paul Ziajski in the not-so-twin turbo combination at 8.896 followed by Mark Shaw, who had his 1970 big block sporting a new black hood that had not been to the paint shop yet. Both these drivers treated us to very serious wheel standing qualifying passes which were captured on video. The videos were captured on Eric Fischer's Canon Optura 40 camcorder that I borrowed to test its widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio which makes the wheel stands even better to watch. For Paul Ziajski's wheel standing pass click here. For Mark Shaw's wheel standing double take click here.
For today's Corvette Challenge bracket results click here.
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Runner up Alan Eckert (photo from prior event)
Photo by Chris Young
| Check out the lift on Shaw's Corvette in the near lane
Photo by Edgar Perez
| Race 2 Winner Mark Shaw (his car)
Photo by Mike Roberts
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Round 1
Alan Eckert was out first with his 2001 Blue 402 cubic inch Paxton powered East Coast Supercharging built car. He would face Anger Management independent Tommy Michalkowski in his 1997 Vette. Tommy attempted to distract Eckert with a quick horn blowing but it did not work as Eckert was focused. Eckert ran a 10.084 @ 120.96 to defeat Michalkowski with a 10.723 @ 128.22. (video). Mark Shaw was out next against Dr. Rob Zona in his 2003 Z06. Zona's 11.616 was no match for Shaw's Red C3 which ripped off a 9.855 @ 139.13 (video. With an odd number of cars, there would be a couple single's on the way to the final. Number 1 qualifier Paul Ziajski got the first single. Ziajski ran his car all out and at the top end a large trail of white smoke was seen. It appeared the car had been hurt on a competition single (video).
Round 2
Ziajski brought his car back to staging lanes after the smoke had cleared and appeared not to be worried a bit about the trouble from the prior round. In a rematch of the prior events final round, he would be up against Eckert. The track was freshly sprayed right before this round which proved to be a challenge for Eckert as he pedaled most of the track to maintain traction. It was obvious however by mid track that Ziajski's not-so-twin turbo had lost something and Eckert took the win with an 11.757 @ a 112.82 to Ziajski's 14.778 @ 79.20. Ziajski later stated head lost a turbo and used some odd items to keep the turbo from leaking. Nice try (video). Shaw got the single in this round due to his number 2 qualifying position. Shaw also appeared to have a problem as his pass was 10.979 @ 123.19 but he was on the way to the final (video).
Final RoundAlan Eckert and Mark Shaw would meet in the final. Both drivers were a bit anxious to get the round in as both were suffering issues with keeping the cars charged and the track prep took longer than they wanted. Eckert ran in the low 10's all day while Shaw ripped off a several high nine second passes so it would be a battle at the tree. Shaw was off with a .222 light while Eckert was late. Shaw kept the lead throughout the run and secured his first Vette Doctors Pro 8 Shootout race victory by crossing the traps ahead of Eckert. (video). Eckert was left with the runner-up spot and advanced to second in the points making this a close chase for the Championship.
Congratulate the drivers and sponsors on the Corvette Forum.
Awards and Payouts Today
- Winner Mark Shaw earned a payout of $100 cash and a trophy.
- Runner-up Alan Eckert earned a payout of $50 cash and a trophy.
- Number 1 Qualifier Paul Ziajski received a plaque for his 8.806 qualifying run.
- Mark Shaw received the Best Reaction Time plaque for the best winning reaction time in the first round at .338
Points Standings
Click for points standings
Next Race
The Vette Doctors Pro 8 Shootout will be back in action on June 24, 2006 for an evening event with gates opening at 3:30 PM. We are hoping for the return of more series regulars such as Mike Mitchell, Paul Major, Angelo Valla, Bill Maloney, John Carter, Mike Conway and more. See you there.
Pictures and Videos
- To see video of Pro 8 and other races visit www.challengevideos.com. All runs captured including qualifications.
- See a special compilation put together by Paul Ziajski with music by Linkin Park Click here
Picture gallery
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