Race of Champions

I really like the layout showing the car rankings...very good, and Happy New Year!

Preacher

First bracket races have been completed.

The first round saw some upsets, but no major surprises in the results. The all metal 67 Camaro was the first upset of the day by beating the lighter Triumph FTE car 2-1. In what was not a surprise the Yellow Ferrari F40, easily beat the lone Matchbox car in this bracket to move on. The Boogie Van looked very strong in blowing away the 2009 Corvette ZR1 FTE. It was making the Johnny Lightning brand, very proud.

On the other side of the bracket, there was only one upset when the all metal Ferrari 512M swept the Ford GTX1-FTE Red car. Not a big surprise there. Covelight lost his first race to the 71 Plymouth Roadrunner, but then came back in the final two races to avoid the major upset.

The second round started off with the biggest upset. The #1 overall car, the Power Piston went down for just the third time in his career. I have noticed that this car has gotten slower over the last half of our league races. I think she is just too tired to compete anymore after probably hundreds of trips down the tracks. The Evil Weeval is an all metal car though, and he looked like no slouch after this win. The Camera Car showed that his unbeaten record really meant something when he swept the Ferrari F40. The 71 Buick Rivera had only lost once in 11 races, but couldn’t keep up with the Boogie Van as he swept the race. This made the Boogie Van the Cinderella of the bracket by being the lowest seeded car to move onto the Elite Eight. The Ford GTX1 FTE-White was a close second behind the Boogie Van when he knocked off the #3 seeded Covelight to advance as a #19 seed.

The final eight was set and everyone was ready. The little 1967 Pontiac Firebird 400 surprised everyone by taking down the Evil Weeval in three races. Granted he was the #8 seed and was expected to win, but he has lost six races out of 24 attempts. The Camera car kept perfect again by easily beating the Boogie Van to send the lone Johnny Lightning car home. The Silver Bullet versus the Green Brit Speed was an anticipated match, as they both were expected to be here based on their seedings. However, the Silver Bullet won both races. They were close though. In the other bracket, we had two cars that I didn’t anticipate seeing there. The #19 Ford GTX1 FTE-White raced against the 2010 Ford Shelby Super Snake FTE car. It took all three races, but the Ford GTX1 moved onto the final four.

In the final four the Camera Car made quick work of the upstart 67 Pontiac Firebird. The Silver Bullet did the same with the Ford GTX1-FTE. This gave us a rematch from the just completed Season 13 championship that the Camera Car had won 3 races to none. The difference this time was that the track was longer by about two feet. Would it make a difference? The first race said no, as the Camera car won. But the next race, the Silver Bullet won. Just like in Rocky 3 with the Russian, it showed the Champion could be beat. Everyone was on the edge of their seat. What would happen next? Then the Camera Car ran off two straight wins to win the first round of the Race of Champions. The four final four cars move onto the title race.

One interesting thing after the races, my oldest son opened a new 2013 car and it easily beat the Silver Bullet on the track. Maybe this will be able to compete against this Camera Car. And its a car I would have never ever thought it would be fast.

And...Bracket 2 is set. Not sure when we will have time to race this one. My sleeper in this one is the Lotus Concept with the Speed Wheels. The bracket with the Shadow Jet, Spectyte, Ferrari F40, and the Daytona 01 car is brutal. Any of those cars could come out of there.

Thanks for the updates.

Those of you wondering what to race in future mail-ins should be taking notes!

Race #2 is in the books.

Once again, as we progressed through the first round all of the higher seed cars were winning. There was only one upset, and I wouldn’t consider it one as the Daytona 01 car upset the Ferrari F40. The Daytona 01 car is fast and I thought it could go this way.

As we progressed through the 2nd round, things started to get interesting. The #1 seed Brit Speed had no problems and moved on. The Turbo Flame was looking much quicker than I had remembered. The biggest upset was the Huffman Stocker against the Toy Story Blastin Buzz car. The Huffman had never lost but with the track being longer, it seemed his weight was hurting him as he just didn’t have enough power down the stretch to keep the Blastin Buzz car behind him. The red Ferrari Testarossa moved on as expected. On the other side of the bracket, an upset was happening when the #2 Tee Gray-Black lost to the black 2009 Ford F150. This wasn’t a huge surprise as the F-150s have been some of the fastest and most consistent cars on my track. The Shadow Jet showed that he would be strong when he easily beat the Daytona 01 car. The 2007 Chevy Tahoe fell to the “White Ghost”. The only fast Speed Wheel car on the planet, took care of the HW Ambulance, but the Ambulance did get him in one race and pushed it to three, the only race in round two to do so.

We were down to the Elite Eight where the winner moves onto the Race of Champions. The first race saw the #1 seed Brit Speed go down to the #8 Turbo Flame. This did surprise me. At the bottom of the bracket, the Cinderella story ended for the Blastin Buzz as the Ferrari Testarossa won, but it did take three races to stamp his ticket to the final four. Once again, the Shadow Jet easily won against his opponent, this time the 2009 Ford F-150 Black. The Speed Wheels keeps moving along by beating the White Ghost.

This set us up with the #5, #6, #7, and #8 cars in the final four. All move onto the Race of Champions. I was seeing that the Shadow Jet and Lotus Concept seemed to always pull ahead over the last few track pieces. I was looking forward to that matchup. Looking at past results, the Turbo Flame had two losses---both to this same red Ferrari Testarossa. It took three races, but the Testarossa pulled out the win again against the Turbo Flame and moved to the Championship race. It was close, but the Shadow Jet beat the Lotus Concept-SW both times. It was about a car length each time. In the final, the Testerossa just couldn’t keep up with the Shadow Jet as it swept the race 3-0. This pushed the Shadow Jet’s record to 12-1, with its only loss to the Silver Bullet which earned runner up in Bracket #1.

Brackets #3 and #4 are now posted. Not sure if I see a real sleeper in Bracket #3. I expect a Truck v Truck in the final race.

Race #3 is done and as I predicted it was an all truck championship race. Twelve cars are now in the Race of Champions with twenty to go.

We finally saw some upsets in the first round as we raced through the 32 cars from Bracket #3.
First we saw a minor upset when #17 Ferrari 458 FTE Blue #2 beat the Dodge M80 pickup 2 races to one. Then the #25 Ferrari 458 upset the #8 Twin Mill 3-Green two races to one. Up next, the #24 Infinity G37 FTE #1 beat the #9 Synrko-Orange 2 races to zero. And finally in the biggest upset based on rankings the #25 Orange Rescue Ranger upset the #5 67 Chevy Carmaro two races to zero.

It was onto the 2nd round where two of the upset minded cars raced each other as the Infinity blew past the Ferrari 348 in both races to set up matchup against the #1 seeded Diesel Boy. The Rescue Ranger Black, went up against the FTE Batman. It was closer than I thought, but the Rescue Ranger won both races. At the bottom of the bracket, we had the chance of seeing a Rescue Ranger v Rescue Ranger race. However, the massive 1968 Nova said no way and beat the Orange Rescue Ranger 2 races to 1. One of our faster 2012 cars, Eagle Massa-Green pulled the biggest upset so far in the tournament when it upset the #2 Fast Fish FTE-Grey. In a matchup that I was really looking forward to, the Amazoom Grey couldn’t keep up with the F Racer-Yellow and was swept. The long, wide, and light Reverb got the only Matchbox car that has moved on from Round 1. It actually lost a race against the Ford Explorer Sport matchbox, but eventually Reverb moved on. In a strong showing, the 2009 Ford F150 blew past both the Ford Mustang FTE and the 67 Pontaic Firebird 400 to get to the final 8.

In the final eight, the upset minded Infinity couldn’t keep up with the Diesel Boy as he became the first #1 seed to move onto the Race of Champions. At the bottom of the bracket, the heavy 68 Nova was trying to beat another Rescue Ranger. However, the Rescue Ranger won both races. They were close though, within a car length. The F Racer showed why it is a top car on our track and swept the Eagle Massa. The Reverb surprisingly kept it close to the 09 Ford F150, but the Ford was able to hold on in both races.

This set up the Dieselboy v Rescue Ranger and F Racer v 09 Ford F150. The initial round was not close as the Rescue Ranger and 09 Ford F150 both moved onto the championship race. This was a very exciting race. The Rescue Ranger won the first two races, but the Ford was within half a car length each time. Race #3 went to the Ford. Would he win out ? The Rescue Ranger answered with a NO and won 3 races to 1.

For Bracket #4, I see the Nitty Gritty Kitty being the car to beat. A pair of Ferrari's could pull some upsets with the 360 Modena and the Ferrari 458 FTE.

Bracket #4 was raced today. Sixteen Cars are set for the Race of Champions. 16 to go.

http://orangetrackracing.org/hot_wheels_race_of_champions.htm

This bracket was all about the upsets and had me scratching my head at the results I was seeing. Three of the top four seeds lost in the first round. The #3 Nitty Gritty Kitty, which had never lost and had won multiple titles on the league track, lost to the Toyota Off Road Speed Wheel truck in the first round. The #2 Chrysler Thunderbolt lost to an all metal Pony Up that hasn’t seen tons of track time. The #4 Tire Frier had only lost twice, yet looked slow against a Power Pistons which has never showed tons of speed. It didn’t stop there, I thought the #16 Ferrari 360 Modena could make a run of it but lost against the #17 Howlin Heat.

It was onto the 2nd round with some very interesting matchups. Would these upset minded cars find a way to keep doing it?
The #1 overall seed Cadillac V16-Yellow made easy work of the Howlin Heat. The 07 Chevy Escalade #1 beat the C6 Corvette FTE. These are the two cars that we expected, based on their seed. The Toyota Off Road showed he was not kidding when he knocked off the AMC Javelin FTE. The all metal Way 2 Fast blew past the Vega FTE-Black.

On the other side of the bracket, the Pony Up continued his march with another upset of the Lakester. The 2009 Ford F150 was ranked higher but really surprised me with a sweep of the Ferrari 458 FTE #3. The Brit Speed Blue #2 easily beat the Power Pistons Purple #2 and saw another Power Pistons on the horizon as the #11 Power Pistons Red upset the #6 Rescue Ranger Red #1.

The Final Eight was set with the winners moving to the Race of Champions. It took three races, but the Cadillac V16 showed his #1 seed meant something and moved to the Final Four. The Toyota Speed Wheels keeps pulling off the upsets. This time against the Way 2 Fast. The 2009 Ford F150 took three races but made it past the #31 Pony Up. Two cars that I didn’t expect to see here, the Power Pistons-Red beat the Brit Speed in three races.

In the final four, the Toyota Off Track Speed Wheels truck did it again, this time against the #1 Cadillac V-16. It did take three races. The 2009 Ford F150 also needed three races, but got by the Power Pistons. This set up a truck v truck race. The 2009 Ford F150 just plowed through the race by winning three straight races. He has now won 10 of the last 11 races he has been in, with his only loss to the Silver Bullet from bracket #1.

At the end of the day, it was good racing but there were some major surprises here. A few of these cars I didn’t expect to see advance to the Race of Champions.

We have half of the spots in the Race of Champions. We are now onto the final four races to get the next sixteen.
Bracket #5 is stacked. The Blastous, Blastous FTE, Way 2 Fast FTE, Ferrari 355, Fast Fish FTE-Red, Thomassina III, Straight Pipes-FTE, and Nerve Hammer-Red are all very fast cars.

Bracket #5 has been finished.

Bracket five was stacked with multiple cars that I thought could take it all and even other brackets. The bad part was that they were all on the same side of the bracket. We had #1 Blastous 18-0, #4 Blastous 9-0, #8 Way 2 Fast FTE 10-2, and #21 Ferrari 355 5-0. That is a 42-2 record right there! Plus we had the two remaining Speed Wheels entries.

In the first round, there were only a few upsets based on the rankings but they really weren’t huge surprises. The # 21Ferrari 355 upset the #12 White FTE Vega, #18 Bone Shaker SW upset the #15 Sol Aire, and #19 Synkro-Purple upset #14 Ferrari Testarossa #2.

It was onto round two as we got closer to some intense matchups. The four cars noted above, were all on a crash course to meet each other as they all won and moved on. Only the Ferrari 355 didn’t sweep their matchup. On the other side of the bracket, the #2 Never Hammer went down to the Bone Shaker-Speed Wheels. The Sooo Fast-Blue was looking really strong in dominating its first two rounds. The Synkro was the surprise as it swept the Straight Pipes FTE. The F-Racer was also looking strong.

As we raced to the final four and a spot in the Race of Champions, the Way 2 Fast-FTE took down the #1 seed and undefeated Blastous 2 races to 0. On the bottom half of the bracket, the Blastous FTE took down the Ferrari 355 in two races. It took three races, but the Bone Shaker-Speed Wheels beat the SOOO Fast in a surprise. That is the third Speed Wheels car to make it to the Race of Champions. The F Racer blew past the upset minded Synkro.

The final four was set. It was a super close race, all of the races were within a car length but the Blastous FTE held on to win 2 out of three races to move to the title and to be the favorite in the championship. On the bottom side, it also took three races but the F Racer-orange was able to get past the Bone Shaker-Speed Wheels.

In the final race, Blastous shows why he could be a favorite in the final 32 cars as he swept the F Racer. However, it was closer than I thought and all were within a car link.

Bracket #6 is pretty weak when you look at the cars, especially compared to this bracket. I see a Shadow Jet and another 09 Ford F-150 coming through this.

Bracket #6 is in the books with a huge surprise.

http://orangetrackracing.org/hot_wheels_race_of_champions.htm

Bracket #6 looked like the weakest of all of the brackets. There were two cars that were undefeated that I thought would cruise through (Shadow Jet and 2009 Ford F150) until the final race when they met each other.

Since this was viewed as a weak bracket, there were tons of surprises here. Including a single car that came from out of nowhere to beat both of the unbeaten cars.

In the first round, it mostly went as expected with the top ranked cars winning. However, there were a few exceptions. The biggest upset saw the #2 T-Rextroyer go down for only the fifth time in an upset by the Mercedes C Class. The upper twenty’s had some upsets. #26 Trim Trk beat #7 Ford Sierra, #29 Aston Maritn DBS FTE beating the #4 Carbonater-FTE, #28 VW Beetle taking out the #5 Yur So Fast.

Onto the 2nd round and the surprises continued. The #1 seeded Corvette Grand Sport-FTE was taken out by the 1937 Ford. The Mercedes C Class and Trim Trk continued winning to meet each other in the third round.

The third round saw the Orange Madfast show why it was ranked #8 as it got by the 1937 Ford to earn a post in the Race of Champions. At the bottom of the division, the undefeated Shadow Jet beat the Split Decision but both races were wins by just a bumper. The Mercedes C Class proved the upset of the #2 T-Rextroyer was not a fluke as it took down the Trim Trk in three races. Then the biggest surprise of the day (so far). The #14 Land Rover Matchbox which had just one loss under its belt, took down the undefeated #6 2009 Ford F150. That put these four cars into the Race of Champions. The Shadow Jet would easily win this, right? Not so fast.

It did blow past the Madfast by winning both races. At the bottom, the Matchbox easily beat the Mercedes C Class. In the first race between the Shadow Jet and the Land Rover, the Shadow Jet won but not by a lot. Then the Matchbox ran off three straight wins to pull yet another major upset to claim this bracket. A Matchbox!

Lots of good information here. It really puts my brain to trying to sort out and retain what's going on. There is A LOT going on.

Bracket #7 was run. One more race until we get to the Race of Champions.

Coming into this bracket I saw a huge matchup coming early that I wished had occurred in the championship race as I rated the Shadow Jet-Yellow #2 and Chrysler 300c FTE as the top two cars in this bracket.

As we got into the races, we did see some upsets in the first round that I didn’t expect. The biggest upset was the #28 Retroactive Yellow upsetting the #5 Cadillac V-16 in three races. I was also very surprised to see the Orange 1970 Roadrunner pull off the upset of the #6 2011 Camaro.

Then there were the upsets in round one that I expected which did happen. #25 Phantasm FTE over #8 Chevy Vega and #21 Ferrari 458 FTE over #12 Nerve Hammer-Purple.

As we got into round two, the #1 Tee Gray-White continued to move on. The Phantasm FTE easily won to go up against the #1 seed. The #4 97 Ford F150-Red showed why he is ranked so high by easily beating the Rocket Fire. The Ferrari 458 FTE which only had one lost took out the Retroactive in the #21 v #28 race. It took three races but the #2 Chrysler 300C FTE got past the upset minded 2007 Chevy Tahoe Black #2. #7 Shadow Jet just crushed the #10 VW181. In the bracket that was up for grabs, the #14 Dino School Bus moved on to race #11 GP 2009.

As we got to the final eight, we had the race we wanted with the #2 Chrysler 300C FTE against the #7 Shadow Jet. The results were within a car length, but the Shadow Jet took both races, giving the 300c just his 2nd loss. The School Bus continue to surprise as he beat the GP2009 in three races to earn a spot in the Race of Champions. Phantasm FTE showed why those FTE1 wheels are strong as he swept the #1 seed Tee Gray. The Ferrari 458 FTE took down the 97 Ford F150 in three races as well.

As we got to the Final Four. We had the Phantasm FTE up against the Ferrari 458 FTE. I thought the Ferrari could win this but he didn’t have enough to compete as Phantasm surprises me and moves to the final race. Shadow Jet just shrugged his shoulders at the Bus and went out and won both races. Then it was the final race. It was a sweep and the races were all within one car length. The car that finished ahead each race was the Shadow Jet Yellow #2 to take the championship.

My picks for the "Train" Bracket are #8 Krazy 8s, Vandetta-FTE, Jet Threat, Fire Eater-White.

Bracket #8 marked the final 32 cars of the top 256 ranked cars. And what an ending we had in the final.

http://orangetrackracing.org/hot_wheels_race_of_champions.htm

In the first round, we saw three straight upsets. This included the first #1 seed to go down in the first round. The #32 Dixie Challenger (70 Dodge Challenger) took out the #1 Mustang Fastback in three races. Then the all metal #17 Mercedes 380 SEL took out the #16 07 Escalade. Finally, the #25 Nissan Skyline took out the #8 Formula Street. Finally, the #9 Krazy 8s ended the trend with a win in the fourth win. Otherwise, the first round went as expected. Some lower seeds won, but they were not surprises.

In the second round, we first saw that Dixie Challenger go up against that Mercedes that pulled the upsets and the Mercedes won in three races. The Krazy 8s sent home the Nissan. The #13 1970 Chevelle Taxi avenged a previous loss by beating the #4 Brit Speed-Grey in three races. The Vandetta FTE looked strong by easily winning his first two races. On the other side of the bracket, the Jet Threat was cruising in its first two wins. This is one of our smoothest rolling cars. The all metal 360 Modena needed three races but got past the Kyle Petty car. No one was even close as the #19 Fire Eater was blowing past the cars it races. One train survived into the final eight, as the #22 Turbo Hauler-Back showed why it only had one loss (against the Camera car).

As we got to the final eight, it became more serious as the final four race of champions cars would be determined. In a huge surprise the all metal #17 Mercedes 380 SEL pulled the upset by beating the #9 Krazy 8s in three races. The #5 Vandetta-FTE again won in two straight races. The same with the #2 Jet Threat. A really good matchup happened between the Fire Eater and the Turbo Hauler-Back. The Fire Eater finally got the win after going to the third and final race.

In the final four, the Vandetta-FTE just blew away the Mercdes. It was a good six car lengths. Then we saw the Jet Threat against the Fire Eater. I had no idea who would win. It took three races, but the Jet Threat moved on to race the Vandetta who had not yet lost a race.

We go the best three of five in the final race and for the first time in the series, it took all five races. The Vandetta-FTE started with a half car length win. Then the Jet Threat won by a car length. Then it was a repeat of the first two races. In the fifth and final race, the Vandetta-FTE got that half car victory again to win the race 3-2.

And now final onto the final 32 cars in the Race of Champions.