Steve Hinton Jr. Wins Reno Again!!

Steve Hinton Jr. and Team Strega have won the Reno Races again!!

It was the fifth consecutive victory and 10th win overall for the Mustang Strega. And third victory for pilot Steve Hinton Jr. (Research shows there was no winner last year as the race was officially canceled) SteveO and Strega  covered the course in 8 minutes and 5 seconds – and average speed of 477.523 mph.

On the first lap Hinton turned the fastest lap ever 504.7 mph. Then the announcer let out a rousing “Take that NASCAR”.  Robert “Hoot” Gibson, who piloted the Hawker Sea Fury No. 232 “September Fury” ended up finishing second with a lap average of 456.74.  It had been a closely contested race for second. Rare Bear held the lead over September Fury for most of the race but had to pull up and off the course with heating problems. Third place went to Dreadnought, a past Unlimited Gold champion, piloted by Dennis Sanders of Ione, Calif averaging 417.24.

Precious Metal Race 38 piloted by Thom Richard also called a Mayday when his landing gear door opened on about the third lap and he did not finish. The Unlimited Gold race capped a successful return to racing at the Air Races following last year’s fatal crash.

The attendance seem a little lower than last year but that would be expected. But the feeling was still there and we are hoping for a better turn out next year as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Reno Racing.

This year they renamed the event. Now calling it “TravelNevada.com Reno National Championship Air Races and Air Show Presented by Breitling.”

Hope to see you guys out there next year. We need your support!!