New England SIOR and CCIM chapter members race on April 3rd

The New England chapters of SIOR and CCIM met on Thursday, April 3rd in a social event at F-1 racing track on Wood Rd. SIOR Chapter president Mark Stevens and the CCIM Chapter president, Chris Norwood, welcomed approximately 22 members of both chapters who met to race at this high-speed indoor track for bragging rights. The racing cars travel as fast as 45 mph and the track is 0.20 mile (1,056 ft.) in length with windy turns, warning lights and checkered flags. Each member received racing instructions, a racing uniform and helmets. The SIOR Chapter was represented by: Mark Stevens, Jim Boudrot, Mike Giancola, Dean Blackey, Evan Gallagher, Chuck Reilly. Rob Nahigian was the team's observer. The racers were squared off in a number of different race-off tournaments in which the fastest speeds were posted on the big board. The total challenge included 25 laps on the field. The speeds re-positioned the racers in the next series of racing competition. The track held about 10 racers at any one time. The track included tight turns and straight-aways that allowed the racer to go full throttle or maneuver to a slower pace. Because the turns were tight, cars were often observed as skidding or sliding sideways as they maneuvered at top speeds. Warning flags were issued to slow drivers who were required to pick up the pace or be penalized. If a racer "bumped" another racer, a warning was given and if it happened again, the racer was directed to a penalty box area and held out for one lap. Chris Norwood led all racers in penalties as he received two painful penalties in the last round of racing that set his team back in the standings. The winner was Mike Giancola, SIOR and the SIOR team. Giancola hit a top average speed of 44.34 mph and hit 45 mph at one point. The best lap time was 16.237 seconds with the average lap time of 17.25 seconds. Prizes and trophies were handed out during the winner's ceremonies and reception. Both chapters enjoyed the joint event.