LiveRC Weekend Round-Up!

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Mike Garrison

0 Nov. 29, 2011, 6:33 a.m.

UPDATED: 12/1/2011




Chris Pace takes the NC Invitational - Team Associated Race Report
 
 

 

The second year for the NC Invitational was held at Zoo City Raceway in Asheboro, North Carolina. Jamie Tucker, Race Director/Organizer of the whole event, invited people from each manufacturer to represent their company. AE drivers Chris Pace, Max Fluer, and Jamie Grayek were present for Team Associated. The format for the Invitational class was five rounds of qualifying on Saturday and a 45-minute A Main Sunday.

Pace and Fluer TQed the first three rounds of qualifying, securing TQ in three classes. Pace and Fluer were not done there - in the Invitational class, Pace ran the only 13-lap run of the event in the fourth round. With a slight bobble on the back section, Pace was quickly marshaled, but the marshal flamed his car, killing his chances for the fourth round. Max took second for round 4 in E-Buggy and TQ 4WD SCT.

Pace and Fluer went on to TQ round 5 in the Buggy class, both missing the 13-lap run by 2 seconds. Fluer took round 5 in 4WD. With qualifying done, that would add up to 13 TQs out of 15 rounds for Pace and Fluer. Pace and Fluer were ready for battle on main day.

In 4WD SCT Fluer won both A mains to take the overall win in 4WD SCT.

The E-buggy class was a great race to watch. In the first A Main, Fluer and Pettit had a battle. With 2 laps to go, Fluer went off the back section and Pettit took A1. In A2 Fluer had to win plus beat Pettit's overall time to take the win. At the tone, Fluer checked out and pulled off the win, beating Pettit's time by 3 seconds, making that two titles for AE!

It was up to Pace to bring home the win in the Invitational class. Pace started on the pole with Pettit in second. At the tone, Pace lead off with Pettit in tow. The second lap in, Pettit made a mistake and let Pace get away. Fluer went flawless and Pace led every lap of the 45-minute A Main and took the win by a lap on Pettit. Jamie Grayek took fourth and Mo Denton in eighth put three RC8.2s in the top 10!

Grayek finished second in Truggy behind Pettit, and Anthony Saunders TQed and won Sportsman Buggy.

 

Saturday morning started with a perfect but warm Florida Fall day. Dave Dominguez got things rolling and the qualifiers were under way, with 135 entries things had to keep moving to get all the racing in before dark. In typical fashion, the track got quicker as the day went on, and as it came time for the mains to begin, the track was at it’s best for the day.

Stock Buggy had some of the heavy hitters not making it into the A Main. At the tone, it was all Daimon Borkowicz using his TQ spot to get away clean while building up a comfortable lead. Daimon then set it on cruise control and never looked back. Ruffy Rios had an early battle for the lead but Daimon was able to hold him off and Ruffy settled for second place. Kory Ferguson, also with a good run, rounded out the podium in third.

Mod 2wd Buggy had Top Qualifier Jason Ruona leading the field with Paul Wynn trying to jump his way into the lead. Although the jump over first didn’t work out, Paul was able to hold on to the third spot. Felix Law now in the second position and putting continued pressure on the leader. With time running out, Ruona made a few mistakes and allowed Law to take the lead. At the buzzer, it was a JConcepts Team win with Felix Law taking the top spot, Jason Ruona second and Paul Wynn holding on to the third spot. All three were running JConcepts Double Dees in Green Compound.

Stock Truck had a hectic battle at the front with Top Qualifier Mike Applegate leading the way. Throughout the race, the front three were battling while putting some distance between themselves and the rest of the field. As the clock expired, it was Mike Applegate with the win, followed closely by Jason Venezia, and Kory Ferguson taking the third spot on the podium.

Mod Truck had Top Qualifier Caleb Ohara with a wire to wire win, followed by Mike Barone, and Dave Dominguez, getting off the mic long enough to find the podium.

Pro 2 Stock had Top Qualifier Daimon Borkowicz laying it down again, with the rest of the field playing catch up. With some tight battles in the race, in the end it was Daimon taking the win, followed by Carl Lebo, and Dave Bowser in the third spot.

Pro 4 had Felix Law with an early lead but Bobby Smith and Ricky Layman kept the pressure on Felix the entire Main swapping positions a few times. As time expired, Layman was caught at the line giving a 1 lap shootout for the win. Felix ended the race claiming the top position, followed closely by Bobby Smith and Ricky Layman getting the third podium spot.

4wd Mod Buggy was a race of attrition on the difficult circuit. Top Qualifier Felix Law having some early troubles allowed Zack Genova to move to the front. With a comfortable gap, Zack cruised to the win with Felix Law coming in second, and Carl Lebo in third.

Pro 2 Mod had Ryan Eckert cruising to a perfect day with TQ and the win. The number two spot was Zack Genova followed by third place starter Paul Wynn.

The sun was already down as we finished the great day of racing and the end of the Super Cup Fall Session. A special thanks goes to Mike Applegate and Dave Dominguez for race control and to all the racers for another great series.

 

 

 

24 Hillbilly Invitational drivers were hand selected by Steve Hale himself and featured 6 rounds of 2wd on Saturday and 6 rounds of 4wd on Sunday. Invitational drivers ran the Reedy Race (Heads up) format and received a complete set of JConcepts control tires, Bar Codes, for the most equal Invitational experience. All racers were on-hand early and during check-in received an official JConcepts t-shirt with their first entry and had access to a select amount of top-shelf prizes throughout the weekend courtesy of event sponsors.

Racing got under-way on Saturday morning with 3 heats of the Invitational class and then rolled into the open class first round of qualifying. Nick Gibson jumped to the top of the field in open qualifying taking the TQ in the modified 2wd and 4wd class after 3 complete rounds on Saturday. Kody Numedahl, Jared Tebo and Rod Rippee were sitting 1st, 2nd and 3rd after 6 rounds of 2wd Invitational and Kody ran a brilliant 24 lap run earning him an all important advantage over Jared Tebo in a tie-break situation.

Sunday morning started with the 4th and final round of qualifying in the open classes and the first round for the 4wd Invitational drivers. Nick Gibson solidified TQ in the 2wd and 4wd open classes and the chase was on in the Invitational class. After 9 rounds of racing, Kody Numedahl and Jared Tebo remained in a tie for points until they met in round 10 of 4wd invitational where Jared pulled off a victory and Kody suffered his first loss of the event taking a 4 for the heat in an obvious bad run. In round 11, both drivers regained their winning form setting up a round 12 winner takes all showdown. Local drivers Nick Gibson and Mitchell Gardner jockeyed for the 3rd and 4th position while Jason Ruona and Chad Parks made a late push into the top 5 and 6 with both drivers gaining momentum setting up a battle within the top 5.

The open class 4wd A-main was up first and Nick Gibson simply checked out. His B44.1 buggy topped off with Finnisher body was on rails in the 10 minute main, easily taking the victory in a fantastic run. Colton Kiefer finished 2nd and Nate Jaskot finished in 3rd.

2wd open A-main quickly lined up on the grid and TQ Nick Gibson got a great start and maintained a steady lead. A few mistakes and traffic incidents moved him back into the field and Jason Porter took control of the race. Jason’s style was perfect for a long main, and with smooth and consistent laps he maintained a comfortable lead all the way to the finish line. Joe Buckley ran a great race and finished 2nd and Nick Gibson recovered to finish 3rd.

Pro 2 Modified A-main took to the track for the 10 minute A-main. Jared Tebo and Kody Numedahl sitting in the 1st and 2nd position blasted off leaving the rest of the field behind. Jared consistently maintained a comfortable pace netting quick lap-times and narrowly staying ahead of Numedahl. Toward the end of the main a mistake by Tebo left the door open for a battle to the finish. Numedahl powered down and turned the fastest lap of the race at 15.361 and pulled right up on the back of Tebo and with 1 lap to go the 2 trucks continued bumper to bumper. Approaching the finish Numedahl cased the double jump which allowed Jared the cushion to cruise to the finish-line in 1st place. Kody Numedahl finished 2nd and Chad Parks 3rd.

Pro 4 modified was the last open A-main of the day. TQ Michael Twilling led at the beginning of the race until an issue on lap 14 cost him valuable positions which dropped him back to 2nd and eventually 3rd. Mike Garrison was having a great main event and was turning a few sub 16 second laps while taking the lead. The Bar Codes tires, Hazard wheel and JC Raptor X-Flow body combination on the SC10 4×4 proved to be the ticket for Mike as his truck stayed smooth and consistent throughout the race. Taking the victory, Mike Garrison crossed for 1st place, Matt Gosch finished 2nd and Michael Twilling 3rd.

It was Invitational time again and the drivers were peaking in performance just in time for the last and final round. Heat 2 of round 12, 4wd Invitational had Jason Ruona and Chad Parks, tied in points battle it out to the end with Ruona taking his first win of the weekend and gaining the advantage over Parks earning 5th place overall.

The track was lined with spectators and families as the last race of the day hit the track. Kody Numedahl and Jared Tebo were lined up 1st and 2nd to decide the overall championship. Kody took the early lead and looked very comfortable throughout the first lap. Jared made a pass attempt as the 2 cars entered the sweeper but Kody stayed on top of the turn and maintained his lead. Coming onto the back straight-away Jared got a little wide and brushed the wall which caused a small amount of damage to his vehicle. A turn marshal quickly repaired Jared’s buggy but was now a lap down to Kody who was just out front and cruising. Crossing the finish line in 1st, Kody Numedahl took the largest win of his racing career. Jared Tebo finished 2nd overall and Nick Gibson having a great weekend finished 3rd, Mitchell Gardner 4th and Jason Ruona 5th.

2WD Mod Buggy saw Mike Gay set the pace throughout qualifying, putting his Reedy/LRP-powered B4.1 on the TQ pole position for the A-Main event. In the end of the main, new AE/Reedy driver Mike Wilder was able to put together the cleanest run to take down the win. Rounding out the podium was another new AE/Reedy/LRP driver and local fast kid, Alex Kosciuszek, from in third.

4WD Mod Buggy qualifying was very competitive between AE drivers Alex, Gunnar Rieck, and Mike Gay, with the A Main top three starting in that same order. The 4WD main was one of the most exciting races of the weekend, with multiple drivers leading the main each lap of the 8-minute race. In the last 2 minutes, there was an exciting four-way battle for the lead between Mike Wilder, Mike Gay, Alex Kosciuszek, and AE privateer Peter Davagian, with Mike Gay breaking away in the final minute to put his B44.1 on top of the podium, with Alex finishing third and Wilder fourth.

 

This past weekend was the Arizona State Championships in Scottsdale, AZ at SRS.  Although the grip level is usually high when the track drys out and the surface is swept. This year it was fairly cold and the moisture never got completely out of the track.  The surface became polished and the grip level was fairly low.  Team Durango’s Billy Fischer brought his DEX210, DEX410 and DESC410R to compete.

4wd Modified: TQ & WIN – DEX410
Billy started with the setup he ran at the Nationals and SIGP, just going down in shock oils between rounds 2 & 3, due to the cold weather. Billy TQ’d all four rounds of qualify which he backed up in the 8-minute long single leg A-Main – cruising to victory.

Billy’s DEX410 setup from the race

4wd SC:  TQ & WIN – DESC410R
A heavy crash in round 4 of qualifying was the only mark on a near-perfect day for the DESC410R, as Billy took the opening three rounds of qualifying for the TQ spot.  Billy was running his normal setup with no changes – only running a 550 sized motor for the first time to test.  The 8 minute main was another great test for the DESC410R and Billy brought it home ahead of former World Champion Brian Kinwald for the win.

Billy’s DESC410R setup from the race

2wd Modified: 3RD overall – DEX210
 
In practice Billy tried lots of things with the new car including different sized packs & placement, rear toe, springs and shock oil.  Once he found a setup he liked he just concentrated on learning the new car – only changing tyres during qualifying. After the four rounds had run Billy lay 2nd on the grid with the DEX210 behind TQ man Ryan Maifield.

In the triple-leg A-Main Billy changed to a larger battery pack which helped in some areas but hurt in others. in A1 Billy finished 2nd, around 4 seconds off the leader Maifield.  After taking 3rd in A2 Billy was looking for a win in A3 – 5:15 on the clock and 45 seconds left to play and Billy had lead from the start but a bad landing cost him time and two positions as he came in for another 3rd to give him 3rd overall.

 

The 12R5.1 is the car to beat at this seasons 1:12 nationals.

For the second meeting in succession the combination of the Associated 12R5.1 and Olly Jefferies proved untouchable as Olly dominated both modified and stock qualifying.

At Hereford on Saturday Olly was on pole for the stock A final and was looking good for a win but in the final Olly clipped a track marker which spun him around and dropped him to third. Olly fought back to second by the end of the race and was rewarded with runners up spot behind Mark Stiles

Sunday and modified and from round one it looked like the battle for TQ was between Olly and Dave Spashett. Olly stayed out front for all four rounds of qualifying to put his 12R5.1 on pole for the A final once again.

In the modified A final some strong early quick laps saw Olly build up a comfortable lead over the chasing pack. By the mid point of the race Olly was already in cruise mode and despite a strong finish by Andy Griffiths Olly was able to control from the front and take his second modified A final in style. Third was Mick Farrell.


Images courtesy of Merv Wignall.

Olly now leads the BRCA 1:12 modified class on a perfect score, plus Olly has been dominant in both classes when it comes to qualifying taking all of the this seasons TQ’s so far. Olly just needs to sort his stock finals out but with a third and second in his pocket already this season he is still in a strong position in this class.

One of the Associated Academy drivers made his 1:12 debut at Hereford over the weekend, swapping his TC6 for a 12R5.1 was Kyle Gardner. Kyle worked with Olly over the weekend and was delighted to take a win in the C final on Sunday in the modified class.