ROAR NATS: Cavalieri swept all four in round two

ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Track conditions again played a factor in the second round of qualifying, creating more surprises throughout the top of the charts in each Modified class. At the end of Day One, however, one multi-time former champion proved that he’ll be tough to beat as the weekend progresses.

Modified Short Course Truck

After a disastrous first lap, it seemed unlikely that Spencer Rivkin would be able to recreate his success from the opening round - though he did race his way back into the third position by the end of the six-minute heat. Ryan Cavalieri grabbed the lead early before giving it up with a crash on the fourth lap. Chad Due took his place at the front of the pack for a few laps, but the Wisconsinite steadily slipped back as the race wore on to finish seventh overall. Cavalieri raced his way back to the front and finished over 3.3 seconds ahead of Ryan Maifield, with Rivkin another two seconds back.

1. Ryan Cavalieri 18/6:01.097
2. Ryan Maifield 18/6:04.432
3. Spencer Rivkin 18/6:06.512
4. Jared Tebo 18/6:09.590
5. Christopher Wheeler 18/6:10.983
6. Brad Shearer 18/6:14.732
7. Chad Due 18/6:14.928
8. Tanner Denney 18/6:14.938
9. Michael Twilling 18/6:16.773
10. Kody Numedahl 18/6:17.807
11. Tommy Hinz 18/6:18.289
12. Mike Truhe 18/6:19.755
13. Paul Sinclair 17/6:01.635
14. Dustin Evans 17/6:02.105
15. Austin Horne 17/6:02.152
16. Nathan Bernal 17/6:04.860
17. Mike Beaver 17/6:14.395
18. Bryce Nyikes 16/6:01.640
19. Matt Chambers 15/6:08.061
20. David Jenson 15/6:17.513

Modified Racing Truck

Just as he did in the first round, Ryan Cavalieri sped away from the rest of the field - finishing nearly seven seconds faster than anyone else. The race behind him was a mess: Kyosho team leader Jared Tebo ran as low as eighth after an early crash before climbing back to second. Cavalieri’s Team Associated teammate Steven Hartson was seventh after the first lap, raced up to second by the halfway point, crashed back to fourth, and eventually finished just hundredths of a second behind Tebo.

1. Ryan Cavalieri 19/6:07.717
2. Jared Tebo 19/6:14.509
3. Steven Hartson 19/6:14.577
4. Cody King 19/6:17.540
5. Brian Kinwald 19/6:19.110
6. Drew Moller 19/6:19.164
7. Dakotah Phend 19/6:19.444
8. Tanner Denney 18/6:01.493
9. Brent Thielke 18/6:02.172
10. Ashe Deering 18/6:02.336
11. Rob Gillespie 18/6:06.176
12. Tommy Hinz 18/6:07.873
13. Daimon Borkowicz 18/6:08.575
14. Spencer Rivkin 18/6:08.618
15. Shawn Blackwell 18/6:12.122
16. Blake Beyett 18/6:12.157
17. Aydin Horne 18/6:14.080
18. Jake Mayo 18/6:14.909
19. Nathan Bernal 17/6:02.706
20. Alex Kosciuszek 17/6:03.366

4WD Modified

Ryan Cavalieri enjoyed a much better start to the race in the second round of 4WD qualifying, leading the first seven laps before two crashes in a row knocked him to third. He retook the lead a lap later and drove away to a 2.5 second win over young teammate Spencer Rivkin, who was in the hunt all race long. Ryan Maifield had a roller coaster of a race, running as low as seventh at the beginning, climbing into third just past the halfway point, then losing the spot and gaining it back in the last two laps as he edged defending champion Ty Tessmann.

1. Ryan Cavalieri 20/6:07.274
2. Spencer Rivkin 20/6:09.798
3. Ryan Maifield 20/6:12.428
4. Ty Tessmann 20/6:13.218
5. Drew Moller 20/6:16.960
6. Jared Tebo 20/6:16.961
7. Rob Gillespie 20/6:17.022
8. Dakotah Phend 20/6:17.272
9. Daimon Borkowicz 19/6:00.645
10. Carson Wernimont 19/6:02.220
11. Steven Hartson 19/6:02.546
12. Rudy Rico 19/6:02.809
13. Dustin Evans 19/6:02.954
14. Alex Kosciuszek 19/6:06.194
15. Tanner Denney 19/6:06.367
16. Cody King 19/6:07.763
17. Aydin Horne 19/6:10.921
18. Tanner Stees 19/6:12.588
19. Michael Twilling 19/6:12.926
20. Jake Mayo 19/6:14.445

2WD Modified

Ryan Cavalieri’s chance to sweep the second round of qualifying got off on the right foot, leading the final heat of the 2WD class after lap one. Team Associated teammate Tommy Hinz, who’s among the drivers benefitting from some home track advantage this week, took the lead on lap two before fading to an eventual eighth place finish. In his place, Spencer Rivkin battled with Cavalieri until the settled into their finishing places around the four minute mark. Reigning world champion Jared Tebo climbed back from as low as sixth in the heat to finish third, less than 2.3 seconds behind Rivkin.

1. Ryan Cavalieri 19/6:02.746 
2. Spencer Rivkin 19/6:03.631 
3. Jared Tebo 19/6:05.918 
4. Ryan Maifield 19/6:06.625 
5. Rob Gillespie 19/6:08.758 
6. Tanner Denney 19/6:09.625 
7. Dakotah Phend 19/6:10.907 
8. Tommy Hinz 19/6:12.371 
9. Ty Tessmann 19/6:13.293 
10. Steven Hartson 19/6:16.320 
11. Carson Wernimont 19/6:17.816 
12. Aydin Horne 19/6:17.865 
13. Ashe Deering 19/6:18.432 
14. Alex Kosciuszek 18/6:00.285 
15. Brent Thielke 18/6:00.393 
16. Dustin Evans 18/6:00.457 
17. Rudy Rico 18/6:02.002 
18. Christopher Wheeler 18/6:02.153 
19. Mike Truhe 18/6:03.522 
20. Jake Mayo 18/6:03.712

Here are the points standings for all seven classes competing this weekend after two rounds of qualifying, with each driver’s best finish counting:

Photo Gallery