Welcome to Cannock Motorsports! The official site of the #21 Tobias Slingshot piloted by Fred Cannock and the #121 Tobias Slingshot driven by John Mann.
The Cannock Motorsports Team can be found at Oakland Valley Race Park on most Saturdays from April until November. You can get info on the track at http://www.ovrpdirtoval.com/ Feel free to come and check out the excitement that is Slingshot racing. You will love it!
Congrats Becky!
John and I would like to acknowledge our sponsor BK Photos! BK is of course our good pal, Becky Eakley Kosch and she was just named "Photographer of the Year" by Speedway Entertainment (they run the Slingshots). Most of the great shots you see on this site are Becky's and we appreciate the support she has shown us both with the lens and in the pits. Love ya kid!
If you want to purchase photos of your favorite slingshot drivers (me and John of course!) go to BKPhotos.net!
2009 Wrap Up
December 22, 2009
A day after winter officially started and with 2009 rapidly coming to an end I figured it was time to get this together. 2009 was a very odd year for Cannock Motorsports. We started the year with the mindset of getting back to having fun. No drama, no renting, no points racing, just climbing in and hammer the gas trying to get the checkers. We raced less (thanks to the economy and various states of mental and physical ailments), got our butts whooped by RJ and Kayla Smykla pretty much every week, thought about packin it in mid summer but rebounded with a strong finish and positive outlook for 2010.
As usual we made some new friends this year and really enjoyed spending time with our old friends at the track. One of the best days was with Becky, Rich, my Aunt June and Uncle Bud, John, Wendy, Kaitie and the Van Valkenburgs and their family the day we rented the track. When I win mega millions we will do that all the time. We met Matthew, who is officially our youngest fan. You can see pictures of his day at the track in the Photo Gallery. We rented the car only once to Meghan McGregor (she was slated to rent it last year but the weather didn't cooperate so we owed her a shot). She is an up and coming 16 year old who was very fast in her first time behind the wheel. She is currently searching for a Slingshot of her own for the 2010 season. I am not looking forward to racing against her, she will be tough to beat.
I have to send kudos to John Leiby, Roger Guest and another friend who will remain nameless. Those three kept me and John pushing when we were ready to pack it in and with their help and encouragement we came on strong at the end. Thanks guys, you are class acts! Also Steve and Kevin who kept racing fun, we had a lot of laughs in the pits this year and we will miss them very much in 2010. Good luck in whatever car you decide to destroy next year Kev and thanks for taking Steve away from us, ass! Lol
Congrats to: (in no particular order)
The Smyklas. RJ, Kayla, Ron and Jesse - Thats was an amazing season and you definitely had us close to throwing in the towel. Total domination every week, impressive.
Charlie and Randy Lawrence and their crew chief Chris who won the Empire Tour and were the only team that would consistently pressure RJ and Kayla.
Tyler Pirone who got his first Senior Slingshot win and will be a strong competitor in 2010.
Matt Reilly on his National Championship.
Kaitie McCardle with multiple victories. Good luck in the Speedstr next year.
Kyle VanDuser on kickin ass at Accord and taking home the Sr. Championship. The same goes for Jesse and Jimmy Leiby who dominated Accord in their divisions.
Vinnie Zazzero on winning at Hamlin. If you win there that is saying something! Stay there next year, we don't want any more competition! Lol
Joe Kata on a strong Senior year. Good luck in the Sprinter!
Anthony Perrego who was five points away from a Spec Sportsman Championship at Accord. Remember his name, he will be on TV running with the big boys one day in the not to distant future.
Vern McLaughlin on another strong season at New Egypt and a great Turkey Derby win at Wall Stadium! Good luck in AC I hope you bring home the checkers!
John and I would like to say thanks from the bottom of our hearts to our friends and family for their support and encouragement. They must get sick of our one track minds!
Happy Holidays! We hope 2010 is great for all of you!
Finally!!
December 22, 2009
Desperate times call for desperate measures and believe me after getting killed every week I was ready for some changes! With 3 races left on our schedule I threw out my old set up and took a last gasp effort to salvage the season. The first stop Sydersville:
9/4/09
Snydersville is a great little track in the Poconos that runs on Friday nights. I left work early, jumped in the truck that was already packed and waiting for me at the train station and got to the track by 5pm. Steve and Kevin showed up a little later with their new garage on wheels, a huge, VERY RED, 40 foot race trailer. Sweet! I pulled a great number and started third in the heat. The car was really hooked up. The new set up seemed to be working great. I blew by the track champ but couldn't get by the leader. I was very happy with second place! Just after I took the checkers I lost power. I had no idea what the problem was until a track official told me I broke the chain. Actually the axle had shifted and the chain came off the hub but was still intact. I got the car back together and hit the grid in second for the feature. I gave it a good run but second was where I started and finished. After the season we had this was just like a win!
9/26/09 - Oakland Valley
Inspired by the success with the changes at Snydersville I decided to finally try the "Big tire" setup at OVRP. What the hell, right? I tried one tire in the first warm-up and wasn't totally happy with the way the car handled. I tried a different tire and made some other adjustments and the car seemed to respond positively. We were still in new territory so I was a bit nervous in the first heat. John and I started 1,2 with RJ and Ron Smykla behind us.
At the start RJ hooked my bumper and sent me up into John. Luckily we didn't crash but now RJ was in first with John and I in hot pursuit. I got by John and set my sights on RJ. The car was working great and I reeled RJ in. Coming out of turn two I kept low and pulled along side RJ. I was shocked how hard the car was pulling off the turns, it was super fast! Going into three RJ and I were side by side. he had to back off and I took the lead and never looked back! I won by almost a full straight and John ended up fourth.
In the second heat I started last and knew I had to finish third or better to start on the pole for the feature. Eighth to third in 8 laps, thank god the car was a rocket. The first lap saw me pass two cars right away and then the caution flew. I got by John and was racing Charlie hard. I was on the outside going into 3 and the car ahead of us spun in four. I held my line and Charlie had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting him. I made it to third by halfway! I wanted to play it safe but Charlie and RJ were trying hard to get past me. I was holding them off and wanted to try for second but decided not to risk it. Third it was and Pole for the feature! Mother Nature then took matters into her own hands. The skies opened up, the feature was cancelled and I was declared the winner! Not exactly the way I wanted to win but after a crappy year I would take it anyway I could get it!
Up next, New Jersey Motorsports Park...
New Jersey Motorsports Park
10/3/09
For the first time since the Slingshots started they were going to run a road course. This sounded like a lot of fun to John and I so we decided to give it a try. Going from dirt ovals to and asphalt road course means a lot of changes to the cars. It broke my heart to change the setup in the 21 after being so good the week before but this road course sounded intriguing. The facility was amazing. Huge, sweeping tracks. Big dollars. 30 or so Porsches were running on the big tracks when we got there. It must be nice, taking your $100,000 car out to the track to race on the weekends. There is an airport right next to the track that houses a bunch of restored WW II airplanes that were awesome. It was really weird standing in the pits watching a B-25 bomber land or during hotlaps trying to race and watch WW II fighters flying in formations high above the track.
The day was run in a timed format. 20 minute hotlaps. Ten minutes in the pits. 20 more minute hot laps when we would get timed to set the starting grids. The car was super fast right from the start. It was so different but so great! I was the 4th fastest car out of 14, I was psyched. John was having some troubles with his brakes. They are manual brakes and this track was made for hydraulic brakes. He went into turn one really hot, overshot the turn, went thru the grass and hit the SAFER barrier. John would rebound well...
I started the first heat on the outside pole. I got behind the leader going into the first turn, nudged him wide, took the lead and led the first ever road course lap for the Tobias Slingshots! Thats when the train came off the tracks. Lol. I went to high into a turn and one car got under me and Randy Smith got next to me. I was feelin my oats so I decided to challenge him rather than being smart and settling into third for the moment. We touched and my rear wheels came off the ground, the chain came off and I over revved the motor bending the push rods in the motor. Done. I got back to the pits and Kevin VanValkenburg jumped to my aid. He changed the rods and got me ready for the feature. John was in the second heat and was nursing the 121 around with little to no brakes but he is a smart driver and was setting himself up for the feature.
I started the feature last and John 12th. I was on a mission to get to the front. I started passing cars left and right. I knew winning wasn't gonna happen but I wanted a top 5 finish. John was hanging in there and cars started dropping out. I worked up to fifth and was inching up to the fourth place car when my car got real loud. I thought I blew the motor but the muffler had falled off because I didn't put it back on correctly. IDIOT! Meanwhile John was making laps and watching cars drop like flies. He soldiered on and finished seventh with me finishing one spot behind him in eighth. Smart driving John!
We had ups and downs at NJMP but we are looking forward to doing it again in 2010! We are diggin the asphalt!