Phend flew to fourth Michigan State Championship Series round win

0 July 29, 2015, 3:47 p.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Race report by Tom Erickson, photos by Joe Gates and Alex Vande Berg:
www.michstatechampseries.com

Stateline R/C Raceway hosted Round#4 of the Michigan State Championship Series Saturday, July 18th, 2015. The event drew 142 entries in 9 classes covering Off Road Nitro and Electric, 8th scale and 10th scale vehicles even with looming storms on the horizon. Kevin Myers, Track owner, called the event all day.

George “G3” Berridge marshals during a qualifier

Kevin and his crew updated the track layout for the event. The 2015 season has been battling Mother Nature all season and Round#4 was no different first delaying the event for a few hours and then ending the day at 8PM. Not all classes were able to complete their main events even though qualifying was shortened to only 2 attempts.

Dakotah Phend holds off all challengers

High flying track design challenged all classes

The weather did not keep away the familiar names that make up the Nitro Buggy class. With 32 entries it was the largest class of round#4. The track was completed in time for practice on Friday allowing many to get laps. Among the entries for the class was the newly crowned National Champion TLR’s Dakotah Phend and his skilled mechanic Chloe Myers. This was Dakotah’s first MSCS appearance of the season. Brian Borle and Colton Kruse were also first time attendees testing their new Associated RC8B3’s. Other Season contenders such as Nick Vasquez (HB), Mike Legue, Bradley Rippee, George Berridge(Tekno RC) and Mike Sontag(Nankin Hobbies) were also present. Another notable attendee was Silvio Rodrigues Neto traveling all the way from Brazil.

Nick Vasquez and Brian Borle awaiting the track to dry out

With so many top drivers in attendance qualifying was very close. Dakotah was able to take the early TQ before rain would slow down the program. Once the track was dry again, qualifying was shortened to two rounds putting additional pressure on everyone. Mike Legue was able to handle the pressure and hold 2nd place behind Dakotah. Behind them was Colton Kruse, Nick Vasquez, Bradley Rippee, and Another first time attendee Sam Daleo. The stage was set for the 30 minute main event. At the start Dakotah was able to get away clean. The rest of the field followed.

Tom Erickson starts the field of the Nitro Buggy A Main

The entire field was tight on the opening laps with some position changes occurring. Colton and Nick were able to get by Mike “Chedda” Legue. Not far behind the leaders was Brad Rippee. Just before the mid point of the event Nick retired with mechanical difficulties as Mike was able to pressure Colton and get by for second place. Pit strategy seemed to play a role as both Dakotah and Mike were able to gain through pit lane. This also helped Brad as he began to gain on Colton setting up a long battle between to two. Dakotah took the the win with Mike Legue in 2nd. Colton was able to hold off Bradley for third leaving him in 4th place. Sam Daleo performed well finishing 5th on the same lap as Colton and Brad.

Mike Sontag supervises Chloe Myers pit job....no need for any help!

Dakotah wins Nitro Buggy from the start supported by Chloe Myers

Colton Kruse finishing 3rd

Nitro Buggy 1st: Dakotah Phend 2nd: Mike Legue 3rd: Colton Kruse

Due to looming storms with lightning there were only a few classes that were able to complete their A-mains prior to the race being called off. One of those was the 10th Scale 4wd Buggy class. The attendance was light in this class for Round#4 as the track was challenging for this small cars. Qualifying was smooth with a wide track capable of handling the traffic with ease. Points leader Jeff Waltz was the fastest of the day driving his Hot Bodies D413 clean to capture the overall TQ. As Qualifying ended Eric Dragun was able to place his D413 in 2nd place. Serpent’s Doug Burton put his new ride on the grid in third ahead of David Joseph and Jess Chambers setting up for the 7 minute main event. During warm-up two cars were already out. Doug and Jess were not able to start. Jeff would lead the group for the opening laps hold a large lead with Eric Dragun and David behind. By the midway point Jeff was out with mechanical issues leaving Eric in the lead. Attrition was high as David broke on a hard landing off the high speed triple a lap ahead of Eric who also broke ending the main early. Eric completed more laps finishing in 1st place. David was awarded 2nd place staying alive nearly as long as Eric and Jeff Waltz rounded the podium in 3rd place. With Eric’s win he closed the points gap between himself and Jeff for the championship.

4WD Buggy 1st Eric Dragun 2nd David Joseph 3rd Jeff Waltz

The only other class that completed the main event was the Novice class. James Perrin Jr. has been unstoppable this season. His skills are growing each round. This round he chose to drive a 2wd Buggy instead of his 4wd Short Course truck as did Gavin Joseph. James showed that he can drive the small buggy just as good capturing the TQ after qualifying. Gavin secured 2nd place on the starting grid. This left 3rd place open for Tatiana Niemer and Luke Chilenski. This was Luke’s first big race and he and Tatiana were running very close with Luke getting the position. With Weather looming only three started the main event. James jumped out into the lead. Gavin kept the race alive working each lap to reduce the gap. Luke was running strong in his 2wd Slash. The end of he 5 minute main event the order did not change with James in 1st, Gavin in 2nd and Luke in 3rd.

Novice 1st James Perrin Jr. 2nd Gavin Joseph 3rd Luke Clinenski

Some of the lower mains were able to complete prior to a major storm front that descended on the track. The Nitro Truggy B-Main was the last to complete as large droplet rain began. Just 10 minutes after the end it began to pour. Many people were able to get packed up in time but others were soaked to bone. Some even took refuge in the pole barn.

Track Operator Kevin Myers cleans up the track with peat moss

Tater Sontag and Brayden Hart help to clean up water around the track after the midday rain storm

The turn out for Nitro Truggy continues to strengthen. Round#4 had 19 entries. Qualifying was full of fast drivers vying for the top spot. The series points leader Mike Legue laid down the best qualifying run to secure TQ and 1st overall. Jay Chura secured 2nd place with a capable challenge to Mike’s runs. Bradley Rippee captured 3rd overall ahead of Conner Stanley and Tony Carnes. With this finish Mike has a commanding lead in the series overall standings. Jay Chura, Bradley Rippee and Tony Carnes are very close together so the podium is not nearly decided with two events left.

Joe Gates flies over the triple in his clear body Truggy

The Electric Buggy class has been strong all season and Round#4 was no exception with 30 entries. The shortened qualifying did not effect many of the top contenders as they all were on their game. Nick Vasquez repeated his success from previous rounds to secure TQ. Conner Stanley ran some very clean laps to secure 2nd overall. His TLR 8ight 3.0e was running flawlessly. Bradley Rippee continued to demonstrate his abilities with a solid qualifying attempt clinching 3rd place. Tater Sontag has improved dramatically after attending Nationals capturing 4th overall. The lower mains were able to complete prior to the storms. Ben Belote showed a dominating run in the C Main getting the bump to the B Main. Serpents Doug Burton held off a challenging Eric Dragun to secure the bump to the A Main. The A Main was cancelled due to the storm so the final positions were based on Qualifying. This victory for Nick gives him a slight lead over Bradley Rippee for the season championship. George Berridge is a close third in the series overall points standing.

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eTruggy qualifying was close in the early stages

8th scale classes are the strongest classes in the Michigan State Championship Series making up more than half of the entries. The eTruggy class for 2015 has been a big part of that success. Round#4 fielded 13 eTruggies overfilling a 10 minute A main. The storm eliminated the chance to go head to head for the win. Qualifying defined the finish positions and championship points. The TQ and overall win for the day went to Jeff Waltz. No one could match his pace. Michael “Tater” Sontag continued to show that his skills are something to watch securing 2nd place. Series points leader R.J. Hart captured 3rd place in his Tekno R/C ET48 followed by Serpent’s Doug Burton. The season points have tightened up a bit after these results. R.J. still holds the lead with Jeff Waltz and Doug Burton in the hunt for the championship.

Another class without a chance to run in the main was the 4WD Short Course class. Qualifying would define the day’s results. After dominating runs in qualifying, George “G3” Berridge solidified the win in his Tekno SCT410. This is his 3rd win out of 4 rounds extending his points lead in the championship. James Perrin has his TLR SCTE dialed in and was able to secure 2nd place overall running a clean qualifier. James is also having a good summer in this class and is in the championship hunt. Josh Salewsky finished 3rd overall and his best so far. Series regulars Dan Stebbins and Tony Morales finish out the top five.

This season has seen a resurgence in the 2wd Short Course class. Twelve entries continues to show that this class is strong and this round it was dominated by WRCR drivers Ben Belote, Randy Drapinski and Jeremy Salewsky. Dennis Sauvage put down a good first qualifier but it would not hold in the second round. Ben drove his TLR 22SCT 2.0 clean and secured the win. Randy was able to capture 2nd and Jeremy 3rd. The points are nearly a three way tie between Randy, Dennis, and Doug Wendling with Justin “Krash” Crandell not far behind. The points championship is far from over in this class.

Round#4 had another strong turn out for the 1/10th Scale 2wd Open Buggy class with 16 entries. Points leader Mike Weihl was not in attendance offering a chance for others to catch him in the season points. The large 8th scale track proved to be a challenge for these little machines. It was Eric Sisco that was able to connect clean runs to take the TQ and overall victory. Second place was controlled by Jason Blades in his first appearance at the MSCS. Third place went to Josh Salewsky with Jess Chambers in fourth. With 34 different people testing the competition this class has a deep field of drivers in contention for the championship.

The organizers of the Michigan State Championship Series would like to thank all that participated in our Round#4 event. Thanks to Stateline R/C Raceway and all our series sponsors for their support and confidence in our program. We look forward to seeing everyone at our next event at Central Michigan R/C Raceway August 15th, 2015.

Race Control Trailer provided a dry space for man