Overall thoughts

[PowerByPackard]

Great year at the races for sure. Attendance looked to be up from the last few years. I'll look forward to seeing the numbers if they make them available.

Unlimited race was outstanding. Strega ran as strong as I've ever seen and there wasn't much doubt in the final. Voodoo pushed it down the chute but once Strega started to stretch her legs it was over. As mentioned in other threads, Voodoo was not herself this week. Consistently had a thick and dark vapor trail (or smoke) behind her. Bear was outstanding. Yes it was a distant second place finish but she ran well. It was great to see. I talked to John Penney afterwards and he seemed really excited about where they were. They're confident in the engine program and now look forward to making other tweaks to increase speeds. Needless to say, the whole Bear camp seemed to be happy that things are now trending in the right direction.

Sport was fun to watch as well. Great to see John Parker get his well deserved win. The Stihl racer looked and ran great. It seems like everyday there was a photo finish from a sport race. If they are the future of racing we're in good hands.

In the Jet class the Sunday gold race was amazing. The Vampire and Fast Company battled it out the whole way with the Vampire just pulling ahead at the end. Great race but the announcers were struggling to figure out what was going on, a common theme this week.

Biplane had some close races once you put aside Tom Aberle's annual beat down. That guy is just fast. The bipes are just fun to watch.

Formula One was tough to follow from a fan perspective. Senegal gets DQ'd for low flying but only gets moved back to position three. Huh? Regardless, the race was great and Endeavor moved up nicely and earned the win. Wasabi flew so well and it was fun to see Elliott get a podium finish. Congrats!!! Wish Thom had made it to the podium as well but he struggled on the start every day and worked his way up from the back every day. His plane really moves when it gets going but takes a bit to get there.

T-6 was a battler all week between Midnight Miss and Six Cat. The best race was on Saturday but was fun to watch. Midnight Miss ran away with gold today.

Breitling Jet Team and Tora Tora Tora were great. Very well done and a welcome addition/return to the air races.

Overall it was a great week. NBC should have some great material to use for their show and I hope it's a boost for NCAR. I can't wait to get back next year with the Blue Angels and hopefully the return of PM. Cheers to all!!!

Please excuse typos. Long post on a phone.

[Matt58]

I couldn't agree more! Fan attendance seemed to be way up over previous years. For Sunday, our crew got there at 0830 and went to park in our normal lot but there was three more rows of cars then there was on saturday. Looking at the stands and overall fan traffic there seemed to be a lot more people this year!

Tora Tora Tora was awesome and I even got a little emotional thinking about what it must have been like on that December day.

The racing was great all week; safe and all racers can return next year.

I was so fired up after today's race that I went down to the lobby and booked our rooms for next year. With the Blue Angels coming and the possibility of a bigger unlimited field I am so excited for 2016. I have a great feeling that RARA is taking the races in the right direction and I can't wait!

Here's to a great week of racing!

[John H]

I don't cry often but the Tora moved me, for sure. Funny I watched Sat and didn't cry but I was closer to the action Sun in the Heritage area. As soon as he said 2400 killed that got to me. I found an article last night where some town protested the Tora show , like its promoting the Japanese or something . Really idiotic. It's educational and its very patriotic when you listen to the message told.


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