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Monday, November 14, 2011 • Page 5 Monday
Sycamore Racing finishes in first, third places on track
Campus Eye:
Gaining insight from the reader
How did you celebrate Veterans Day this year?
“I thanked people I know that served. “
AUSTIN ARCEO
ISU Communications and Marketing
“I called my uncle, and I thanked him.”
Kara Parkes, junior psychology major
Emily Salmon, freshman exploratory studies major
“I didn’t.” “I worked, I smiled, and I thanked every veteran I saw.” Matt Newkirk, freshman construction management major Linnea Miller, sophomore exercise science major
As the final race weekend at Terre Haute’s Crossroads Dragway rolled around, Derick Troxell opted to skip out on racing as other competitors vied for the final points available. For Troxell, the season was already won. Troxell and Megan Jackson from Team Sycamore Racing at Indiana State University, placed in the top three of the season standings for the Super Pro drag racing division at the dragway. Troxell led for most of the season and he finished in first place once the points were reset for the final nine races in a similar fashion to NASCAR’s point standings. Jackson, who was racing in her first season in Super Pro, finished third. “I thought it was really pretty cool because there are some really great racers there at Crossroads Dragway,” said Randy Peters, team principal of Team Sycamore Racing and owner of the dragway. “To do this, Derick and Megan had to be very competitive, and very competitive meant they had to get out there each week and perform, and the vehicles had to perform as well.” The races occurred on most Saturdays from the spring until late October. They are run in a bracket format, with drivers competing head-to-head until there is only one winner for the day. Racers receive a point for each round they win. In the elapsed time racing in Super Pro, drivers declare the time their cars are supposed to run, which is used to program the starting lights. Drivers then race head-to-head, with the first car to cross the finish line winning. But if the car goes faster than the time the driver declared, the car is disqualified. Troxell and Jackson regularly raced the two cars owned by Team Sycamore Racing. Troxell quickly amassed a lead in the points, and by late September, he had won six races, while Jackson had won three. Yet his lead vanished once the points were reset to make way for the final nine races of the year. “It’s kind of cool,” Troxell said of the reset. “If somebody has a big lead, though, it cuts them back down to where everybody else is, but for everybody else, it levels the playing field.”