RC community came together to replace stolen buggy

0 June 30, 2016, 1:18 p.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

On Monday, I shared the story of Alabama racer Hunter Cupps - whose nitro buggy was stolen from his pit trailer at the Alabama Manufacturer Shootout.

While the buggy hasn't yet been recovered, this story does have a happy ending.

On Tuesday, Jeramy Riggs of Warrensburg, MO, posted the following to Facebook:

After reading that Hunter Cupp had a HB buggy stolen at AMS this past Saturday, I wanted to help him out, I reached out to the companies that support me. Many people really stepped up big to help out a fellow racer! First off my HB Racing teammates who made monetary donations, you guys are awesome! You guys got the ball rolling.

I reached out to Gord Tessmann who contacted Philippe Neidhart (new owner of HB Racing) he graciously cut the price of a new HB racing buggy and Orion engine combo.

I then contacted Felix Harsh (team manager of Bellgate Distributors) about just ordering some servos at my cost. He collaborated with Richard O'Hara (owner of Bellgate) who stepped up big also donating 2 Highest Servos and an Ultimate M5 engine combo. You can never have too many engines!

I then took the extra money we gathered and went shopping for a receiver, transponder and rx battery. It's truly humbling to see the generosity of so many people come together to help out a fellow racer! So once again thank you to everyone involved!!!

www.hbracing.com
www.bellgatedistributors.com
www.teamorion.com
www.highestrc.com

Hunter Cupps, a student at the University of Alabama, was understandably ecstatic and appreciative. He sent me the following message:

"I haven't had any luck finding the car, but I wanted to pass along some good news! Jeramy Riggs and the HB Racing team brought funds together and purchased all new equipment for me.

Once again I really appreciate the help. I would just like to thank these awesome guys for going out of their way to set me up with new equipment in any way I can."

Though such a theft can cripple a racer’s ability to enjoy his hobby and send a scare through those who spend their hard-earned cash on doing what they love, this story results in the fuzzy feeling of seeing the close-knit RC community work together to help a fellow hobbyist.