The winner of each Reedy Race of Champions rightfully receives plenty of praise for achieving such a landmark accomplishment, but it’s easy to forget that the other 29 drivers whom he beat are also among the fastest off-road racers in the world. There may be more drivers in the field capable of winning this year than perhaps any other, but some of the best action to watch may come a bit further back in the pack as some of the lesser-known drivers compete for attention - and valuable points toward the overall. Here are ten wild card entries who may produce quite a surprise in a round.
Drew Moller (2WD: Kyosho - 4WD: HB)
Moller may be best known for nitro racing, but the young SoCal native can wheel an electric buggy with the best of them. “Drew Mo” didn’t compete in the Reedy Race last year, but qualified for the Invitational class for the first time by finishing 5th in the 4WD division at last year’s ROAR Nationals. He did race the Open classes in 2012, where he missed the 2WD A-Main and finished tenth in 4WD.
Tanner Denney (2WD: Team Associated - 4WD: Team Associated)
Denney is among the drivers who will be looking to fill Maifield’s shoes at Team Associated, and is a former Open 4WD class champ from 2011 who earned his invite this year after making the finals at last year’s ROAR Nationals. Last year, Tanner finished 12th overall and will look to step into the top ten this week.
Spencer Rivkin (2WD: Team Associated - 4WD: Team Associated)
Last year’s Open 4WD champion Spencer Rivkin has high hopes for his first Invitational appearance, as the young Arizona native says he’s shooting for an overall top five finish!
Chad Due (2WD: Team Associated - 4WD: Team Associated)
After winning the Open 2WD class in 2012, Due finished 15th overall in Invitational in 2013. An A-Main finish in 2WD at last year’s Nationals got him back into the heads-up division at this year’s event and hopes to break into the top ten.
JP Richards (2WD: Team Losi Racing - 4WD: Team Losi Racing)
Last year’s Open 2WD winner is just happy to be racing with the top drivers this year, so his plan is “just to go run consistent laps and don’t do anything super crazy.” If Richards makes the top ten this year, he’ll be stoked.
Atsushi Hara (2WD: Yokomo - 4WD: Sworkz)
Running the only Yokomo and Sworkz cars in the field, Atsushi Hara was qualified for last year’s event but didn’t get a chance to compete - the former nitro off-road and electric on-road world champion’s resume put him at the top of the standby list, and the Japanese driver got in easily. Hara finished 10th in 2013, but only barely missed the podium when he finished 4th in 2012.
Carson Wernimont (2WD: Team Associated - 4WD: Team Associated)
The Open 2WD winner in 2013 finished 17th in last year’s Invite-only class, and is making his Team Associated debut at this event. Running for a third different team in three years, the top-level nitro racer should be a shoe-in for a round win or two this week.
Cody King (2WD: Kyosho - 4WD: Kyosho)
The 2012 1:8 Off-Road World Champion competed in his first Reedy Race last year, and finished 14th after an incredible start to the 2WD portion of the event. Back in the Invite class again as an alternate, Cody is a true dark horse who can steal points from other drivers with solid round finishes.
1/22/2015
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