1999 Unlimiteds Air Race Page
Welcome to The 1999
Air Race Addict Page
Day 1 Report
Unlimited Racing at Reno 1999
In Memory of....
In Respectful Memory of Gary Levitz, Pilot of Race #38 "Miss Ashley II"
Reno 1999 "Unforgettable"
Well, here we go. This isn't really the way I wanted to start this report, but I think I should. 1999 will go down in the annals of Air Racing as truly interesting, as well as tragic. The racing was great, but a genuine hero to the sport of Air Racing, Gary Levitz
is gone. I don't want to dwell on the latter subject, as anyone who was witness will have it
etched in their memory forever. So I won't. The man and machine do need a mention on this
page though, as they were a big part of the show. I will put my perspective on the events
of the four days in a rational way, hopefully without boring you to tears. This is my first
real attempt at this type of report, so lets get on with it.
Thursday September 16th
(Or, Welcome to Margaritaville)
After a late arrival in Sacramento Wednesday night, Dave and I were awakened by our host
and fellow Air Race Addict, Steve, to prepare for the assault on Donner Pass in the newest
mode of Reno Air Race Addict decadence, (for us), the mighty Class A "Pursuit".
Our plan was to get the MH and get to Stead for the first Unlimited Race. Well, the owner of the "Mighty Pursuit" had this crazy idea, (after we had told him we were up to speed on motorcoaching), that Steve would need to test drive the rig, as well as tell us all the horror stories of past renters. This all took time, of course, (valuable time as it turned out). Eventually,after a quick beer stop on the outskirts of Folsom, we were on our way. Our friend Bob, (yes,"Fed X Bob"), had driven to Stead the previous night, to our favorite spot in the "Valley of Speed", and had staked out our spot.
(This was done in anticipation that things might be a little more crowded with the shortening of the Unlimited course.) He had called Wednesday night from the "Valley of Speed", via cellular phone, (a wonderful invention and welcome addition for us), to inform Steve that the access to, and our spot, were "all systems go"! He brought his weedwacker and had trimmed the whipgrass and sage back for a decent, uncluttered, camping experience. (We have threatened to do this for years, we just happened to remember this year.)He also brought his KLR650 for riding around in the desert, and his telescope for the great astronomical, (and other interesting), observations that you get, out on the high desert. So all was prepared for another Reno Air Race Experience. Getting there in time for that first race became our first real challenge, and we missed it by this [ ] much. Fortunately, we did manage to make it in time to witness the race from Red Rock Road, just above our camp. It did give us some idea of our relationship to pylon #6, so it wasn't a total waste.
HEAT 1B (Second race of Thursday)
So, we get pulled into our spot, (confirmed by GPS, and Bob Miller's presence), get camp set up, (what Bob hadn't done already), and start the generator. Why? To get the blender going for the first of many margaritas of 1999, of course! Chairs were set up, the awning deployed, and Margaritas poured in anticipation of the start for Heat 1B. This was our first exposure to the "New and Improved" "Voodoo", with Bob "if it weren't for bad luck, he'd have no luck at all" Hannah
at the controls. Quite impressive result at 401. It would have been more impressive if he hadn't cut the "Deadline" during the race, sending poor Bob to the bottom of the finishing order. The aircraft had some problems with engine and prop leaks over the next few days and 
never really was able to fly to the potential of the plane and pilot. Voodoo was up and down, up and down. More on the continuing saga to come. The race was, by rule, to go to Robert "Hoot" Gibson, Astronaut Extraordinair in the nicely prepared,
Race 99, "Riff Raff". A Seafury, "Riff Raff" and Hoot would provide some excellent racing in the days to come, with the rest of the "Seafury Class". There were other really cool airplanes within this group, including Bill Eberhardt in "Merlin's Magic", Race 22, (clipped wings for racing, extensions reattached after the races for that "stock" look), and others. The racing in this group was great over the course of the four days. The Merlins, Pratts, and Bristols battled in a great roar and flashes of color. We weren't disappointed in our first race of "99" that we were to witness. We knew at this point that there was some real excitement and great racing on the horizon.
HEAT 1A
A safe and successful conclusion to heat 1B got us in the mood for the final race for Thursday.
The anticipation for some faster speeds, was at a heightened fever for us. Knowing that the
fastest qualifiers, (Strega, Dago Red, Dreadnought and Rare Bear), weren't required to race today, there
were still expectations for some good racing, as well as our first views of the changes
that had taken place on Miss Ashley II over the last year. Once again, we were not to be
disappointed. Gary Levitz jumped right into the lead, showing some of the oomph that had been
added to the horsepower and airframe of Miss Ashley II.
Hot on his tail, (sort of), were the two battling Sea Furies of Dennis Sanders in "Argonaut"
and Stewart Dawson in Race 105, "Spirit of Texas". Howard Pardue was with this group until
Pylon 6, when he pulled out with some kind of problem, resulting in a rather dramatic approach
over our heads and an uneventful landing. Next came Race 911, "September Pops". Bringing up
the rear was "Miss America" and Brent Hisey, (who appeared to be loafing along), and Race 45, the
always fast and competitive "Risky Business", piloted by Bill Rheinschild. Gary Levitz was not to
disappoint us. The Rolls Royce Griffon purred throughout the race giving him a somewhat comfortable
cushion over Dennis Sanders. Dennis and Stewart Dawson diced for the entire race and finished 2 &
3, with a difference less than .4 Mph!. This rivalry would continue for the next three days with a
couple more racers thrown into the mix. I unfortunately don't have a decent picture of Dawson's racer, for
the reason that I spent half of my time taking video. (Side note: I am hoping for some hardware for Christmas, (didn't happen),
that I can use to convert my VHS tapes to digital stills. I haven't progressed to the technical level
of other good Air Race websites like Pylon 1. I have
high hopes that I can at least provide some different perspectives as well as photos. Please check
out the other sites, though. I am hoping that they will post some of my more historically significant
photos from the past 18 years as I get around to submitting them).
Go to Day 2
Please Click Picture Below
Updated January 11, 2000 (In Spite of Y2K? heh, heh.)
Now I know why it takes until December
to get an article out for the magazines;-)
