HobbyTown USA HobbyPlex 1:8 Winter Series wrap-up

 

  

The 2013/14 1:8 Winter Series at the Plex wrapped up its year on March 30th. This season was a record year for the 1:8 side of series racing that the Hobbyplex offers. Turnouts remained steady around a 100 entries all season. While E-buggy was the largest class each round, nitro buggy was never that far behind. The mix of smooth veterans and aggressive newcomers led to an exciting finish and a peek at what’s to come for the outdoor season and beyond.

1:8 Truggy
This was one of the races everyone had their eye on. It was supposed to be a throwdown between Intech’s Chris Marrant and Mugen’s Randy Romanik. They came into the day separated by a single point. Any tie and the series would be Randy’s. With the TQ point taken out of play by Tony Bacon, the main event was going to be a nail biter. What happened instead was a form of nitro fun suck that had eluded the entire class all season. Randy’s truck flamed twice within the first five laps of the race, basically handing Chris the title. However, Chris dominated the race, winning by six laps and putting down a time that would have also won nitro buggy. Randy did match Chris’s fast lap, but we’ll never know if Randy could have kept pace, it was obvious Chris had a point to prove. Coming in second and making his fourth podium appearance of the season was Mugen’s Jason Duffy. Tony Bacon finished third. Chris Marrant is this year’s truggy champ followed by Randy Romanik second and Jason Duffy third.
 
Pro-4 SCT
Pro-4 also came down to the wire on Sunday. TLR’s Alex Sturgeon held a two point lead over AKA’s Derek Wood, but Derek had the better tie breaker. The point awarded for TQ had added weight for each driver. Alex came out swinging and put down a pace in the first qualifier that could not be touched. Now Derek had to win by three spots to secure the title. It was not to be. Alex led the entire 8-minute main event, awarding him his first 1:8 Series title since 2010. Derek finished second in the series and Summer Series champ, Dustin Hosick held off Troy Jackson in a close race for third. Most of this year’s top ten were in the final main of the year. Only young Tyler Lang broke up the reunion, bumping from the B-main to do so. He would finish the series 11th, having a strong second half of the season. Look for him to do well this summer.
 
1:8 Nitro Buggy
We knew Blue Groove Hobbies’ Devin Mcgee would be crowned the series champ before the day even started. What was still in the air was who would sit on the podium with him. In the mix was Danny Bartholomew, Sam Anderson and last year’s champ Tony Bacon. After qualifying, Tony Bacon put himself in good position starting second overall. Sam was on the other end of the grid, needing the bump to make the main. Nitro racing can be full of ups and downs and that is the best way to describe the half hour main. A rough start and a flame out took Tony from second to ninth, while Sam Anderson steadily climbed the grid to salvage a fourth place finish. Devin Mcgee, who didn’t have his best day of qualifying, worked his way up to third. Kyosho’s Taylor Timmerman and Team Associated’s Nick Gibson were both non-factors in the points, but used the weekend to prepare for the Silver State Nitro Challenge. They engaged in a fantastic battle for the entire 30-minutes. Taylor secured the victory in the final minutes, making his trip from Wisconsin a successful one. The points battle was fairly anti-climactic. Devin Mcgee followed up last year’s truggy championship with a hard fought buggy title. Danny Bartholomew, who was a no show Sunday, had a good enough throw-out score to hang onto second. Sam Anderson worked through a rough day to secure third.
 
1:8 Electric Buggy
AKA’s Derek Wood could have coasted to the finish in dead last and still took home the e-buggy championship. Instead he dropped a TQ and win hammer on the field, wrapping up a flawless second half of the season and putting a Tekno buggy on the top spot two years in a row. Last year’s champ Sam Anderson finished second on the day and for the season. There was an intriguing battle for the third spot on the season podium between Mugen’s Jason Perrotto and Mitchel Pavel, and Dustin Hosick. Each driver needed a high finish and a little help. That help came when Mitchel failed to make the main for the first time all year. Jason Perrotto battled hard with Kyosho’s Dillan Voelker to finish third, which gave him the better tie breaker over Dustin and the final big plaque for the year. E-buggy was the most well attended class of the series with over 40 cars each round.
 
Giving away new cars is a series tradition at the Hobbyplex. Each driver that attended four of the five races in their class had a chance to win a new vehicle for the summer. This season’s lucky winners were Tony Bacon, Don Drozd and Rick Baker. Thanks to Horizon Hobby and Team Losi Racing. Also thanks to series partners JConcepts, Byron Fuels, and DE Racing for donating some great door prizes! 

  

 

  

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