Fall Weatherly Hillclimb was held Sept 16-17, 2023. It was the eight and final event in the PHA Championship Series.
I was actually at this event, although just as a spectator, but I can tell you that the weather during the day was almost perfect. It was a little chilly in the shade, especially without a wind break, but both of my cars would have loved running in this temperature.
Ron Moreck had FTD once again in his Special 2 (S2) 2002 Norton with a 49.347.
Three class records were set at this event. Heyward Wagner took Super Production U (SPU) in his Honda Civic with a 58.609.
Michael Hunter set a record in his INEX Spec INEX Legend with a 60.014.
Michael Frohman beat his own record in his Super Street Prepared (SSP) Nissan GTR with a 54.419.
There were some changes to the winners of the overall PHA Championship Series Points, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen these awards so close and decided at the last event!
First, for Overall Points, while Michael Frohman did end up 3 positions overall ahead of Michael Robinson at Fall Weatherly, it wasn’t enough to give him the Overall Championship. That was a really fun battle to watch this year! Congratulations to Michael Robinson.
For Lloyd Geib Points, congratulations to Michele Aubele, who prevailed over Rick Johnson by 30 points after Fall Weatherly. I was also keeping an eye on Bryan McCrea, as he ended up only 20 points behind Rick.
As for Mileage, Michael Frohman and Adam Weaver were separated by .1 miles going into Fall Weatherly. It looks like Michael skipped one run, giving Adam the win with 103.4 miles.
So yes, you did read that right at the beginning of this post. I did come and hang out for the weekend, and it was great to see all of you again!
I arrived Thu night, and it was fun to talk to everyone around the campfire. This includes Heyward Wagner — he was grilled terribly, but handled it well — sorry about that! I do know that when I was responsible for timing hardware setup at every event, it felt like a huge vacation when I went to an event with no responsibilities, and I hope Heyward felt the same.
Congrats again Heyward on taking the SPU record!
The pit area was so crowded on Thu night that I ended up camping in “Wankerville”, and I only did so because I knew Patti and Timm weren’t going to be able to make it. All I can say is that after all of these years, I don’t know why I am still amazed by the PHA Family, as it is the best group of people. I was reminded of that over and over during the weekend! Heather and Hunter Huffman deserve special mention, as they made sure I was OK, even if I stubbornly refused most help :).
Tracy Gaudu, a really fast driver from the Appalachian Hillclimb series, pitted in “Wankerville” as well. I was really glad to finally meet her. She is one hell of a driver, and has an amazing car — her fast time of 58.542 meant she placed first in SMX by almost 3 seconds at her first time at the hill.
There were so many great battles at this last event. For example the one between Brian Halecki and Geoff Craig in American Sedan (AS), with them trading the win back and forth, and Brian ultimately winning by .247 seconds.
Or look at Bill Feist, who entered 2 cars, and battled himself. He drove his new car (which he bought from Bob Gardner at Fall Shenandoah), and placed 5th overall at his second event in it with a 53.203. But Bill also came in 2nd overall in his Stohr F1000 with a 51.179. I can’t wait to see what he does with the new car once he gets used to it.
Photo Credits Heather HuffmanAnd the battle between Dillon and Dustin Axarlis in Formula V was classic. Dillon was ahead until the last run, when Dustin took him by .204 seconds.
I am sure that I am overlooking many other awesome battles, but I have been somewhat out of the loop this season. I do know that I was glad to see that the campfire tradition was holding strong!
The racing season is over, but our next event is the PHA Banquet on November 4. I hope to see you there!
To see more photos from this event, check out:
Heather Huffman’s posts on the PHA Members Facebook Group.
Wayne Domkowski’s posts on the PHA Members Facebook Group
Note that if you don’t have a facebook account, you can still see the pictures by going to the PHA Members Facebook Group, and looking through the pictures.