While we are mourning the sad ending to our last air races in Reno, we are also focused on the countless good memories created over a 60 year adventure that will live on in all our hearts forever. The incredible legacy of Reno Air Racing and our September Family that has grown and flourished from it is a certain kind of special that will never fade away.
On the last day of the event, we lost two beloved members of our air race family. Chris Rushing and Nick Macy were extraordinary pilots and pillars in the aviation community. As veteran gold winners in the T-6 class, they were truly champions on and off the race course. We share in the sorrow experienced by every person who knew Chris and Nick and extend our support to their friends, families, crew and fellow pilots.
Please join us in finding ways to honor these two great men in the coming days. We’d love to see your pictures and hear stories of how they impacted you, or how they helped to make this event special. These simple gestures keep the spirit of their passion for air racing alive, and are a meaningful way to honor their legacy.
Here are the final standings from the 2023 National Championship Air Races – the Final Flag in Reno.
UNLIMITED CLASS
GOLD
#3 Steve Hinton – Bardahl Special
#114 Stephen Koewler – Argonaut
#924 Joel Swager – 924
#64 Vicky Benzing – Plum Crazy
#31 Dan Vance – Speedball Alice
#19 John Maloney – Boise Bee
#44 Brant Seghetti – Sparky
SILVER
#43 Steven Coutches – 51
#81 Rob Patterson – Wee Willy II
#69 Jim Rust – Miss Marvel
#51 RT Dickson – Swamp Fox
#18 Jim Thomas – Sneak Attack
#27 John Maloney – Miss Trinidad
#11 Brent Hisey – Miss America
BRONZE
#4 Jeff Lavelle – Sweet & Lovely
#75 John Muszala II – Lady Jo
#63 Patrick Nightingale – Pretty Polly
#0 Mark Moodle – Spam Can
#62 Tom Nightingale – Bunny
#55 Ken Gottschall – Man O’ War
JET CLASS
GOLD
#5 Michael Steiger – American Spirit
#24 Joe “Face Punch” Swindel – Just Lucky
#8 Dave Sterling – Race 8
#11 Jerry “Jive” Kirby – Team Race 11
SILVER
#84 Scott Gusakov – Tumbling Goose
#12 Matt Guthmiller – Alpine Thunder
#55 Bob McCormack – Spirit of Freedom
#61 George Ryan – Miss Independence
#17 Al “Cool Breeze” Hoover – Texas Fouga
#555 Mark E Davis – Phoenix
SPORT CLASS
GOLD
#39 Jeff Lavelle – Race 39
#30 Andrew Findlay – One Moment
#3 Sean VanHatten – Mojo
#4 Tom McNerney – Too Much
#51 Mathias Haid – Clas Thunder One
#777 Matt Ramsey – Guardian Angel
#5 Conrad Huffstutler – Breathless
#15 Vicky Benzing – Lucky Girl
SILVER
#6 Joe Coraggio – Ramp Rat’s Ride
#67 Peter Balmer – Race 44
#56 George Catalano – Bad Dingo
#2 Vince Walker – Modo Mio
#10 Timothy Slater – Cruse Missile|
#34 John Flanagan – Screamin Mimi
#45 Doug Glover – KXP Racing
#7 Kevin Eldredge – Gryphone
BRONZE
#28 Pete Zaccagnino – Coming in Hot
#92 David Robinson – Top Shelf
#23 Bijan Victor Maleki – Reno Bear
#96 Chris McMillian – Sarah Smile
#49 Bob Mills – Rocket Six
#69 James Webb – Leading Edge
#21 Alan R. Crawford – Blackjack
#60 Dee Child – Miss’d Tuesday
MEDALLION
#88 Bob Wolstenholme – NA
#52 Colleen Sterling – Aquila
#130 Olivier Langeard – Zebulon
#55 Nick Biondo – Unleashed
#76 Jason Rovey – Race 76
#888 Neil Wischer – Triple Eight
#101 Lee Ulrich – General Lee
#22 Neil Parkinson – Greenstreak
FORMULA ONE CLASS
GOLD
#31 Josh Watson – Fraed Nought
#79 Justin Phillipson – No Strings Attached
#34 Justin Meaders – Limitless
#99 Tim Cone – What Airplane Honey?
#14 Matt Moore – ACME Special II
#81 Drew Keenan – Sleeper
#00 Chet Harris – Aught Nought
#85 Eric Dienst – Deja Vu
SILVER
#82 Austin Shaw – Cheap Thrills
#52 Trent Woodworth – Feisty
#39 JP O’Dell – Monkey Ninja
#26 Paul E. Newman – Fast and Easy
#48 Blaire Hamilton – The Atomic Pumpkin
#74 Shaun Milke – Phat Ass Cass
#73 Steve Temple – Never EZ
#21 Jen Watson – Black Jack
BRONZE
#37 Stephen Coleman – Slab Dog
#17 Pushkraj “Push” Wagh – Annie
#9 Scott Holmes – Outlaw
#6 Carl Robinson – Budde Special
#58 Todd A Rumsey – Sonic Boom
#72 Dominic Cacolici – The Sky Addict
T-6 CLASS
GOLD
#14 Chris Rushing – Baron’s Revenge
#6 Nick S. Macy – Six-Cat
#66 Vic McMann – Gunslinger
#88 John Lohmar – Radial Velocity
#50 Vitaly Pecherskyy – Abracadabra
#43 Joel B. Stinnett – Midnight Miss III
SILVER
#90 Greg Mcneely – Undecided
#5 Gordo Sanders – Big Red
#2 Chris LeFave – Bare Essentials
#388 Aaron Singer – EZ Six
#69 Lee Oman – Eros
#999 Job Savage – 999
BRONZE
#49 Bill Muszala – Miss Ellaneous
#25 Jason Karlin – Vicarious
#73 Loren Marburg – Miss Humboldt Hunny
#19 Michael Sisk – Redneck Fury
#48 Brian Reberry – The Other Woman
STOL CLASS
#44 Steve Henry – Yee Haw 8
#48 Eddy Sanches – Devil Girl
#73 Tim Shelhorn – Psycho Billy
#80 Bo Ellis – ECHO
#3 Hal Stockman – Lawn Mower III
#27 Harry Beaupre – Spirit of Louis
#221 Brian Steck – Scooter
#62 Austin Clemen
#4 Bryan Bowen – STOL Fox
#84 Aaron Greear – Moose Knuckle
#85 Cathy Page – LunaC
#21 Kevin Palmer – STOL 21
#11 Rod Hewitt – Angry Kitten
#46 Warren Grobbelaar – Cessna 180
#63 Tony Sanches – God Bless John Wayne
#22 Ty Ferkin – Evenrude
#20 Ty Berlingham – The Red Wagon
#11 David Kerley – 11
#7 Bruce Graham – Yellow Thunder
#22 Jeff Whitley – The Beast
#66 Jon Hakala – Big Tuna
#78 Brian Moore – Honey Badger
#18 Justin Tisdale – MooseStacheFlyer
We experienced an unprecedented demand for our merchandise commemorating the last year of air racing in Reno. We’re honored that so many are memorializing this event so passionately. In an effort to be certain that anyone who wants to grab a piece of this historical event has the opportunity, we have made our most popular sold-out merchandise available to order for a LIMITED TIME via the link below. The opportunity WILL CLOSE FRIDAY, September 29th, and orders will ship in 3-4 weeks.