Round 3

Photo Credit: Cheryl Joye-Shiver

Well I headed down to Shiverville Raceway for round 3 of the 5 race points series. I had a chance to lock up the 4×4 SC and E-Buggy classes with another TQ and win. I had some great runs with the B44.1 in the 4wd buggy class but there are several that can still take the class. Since there are 2 drops I decided to go ahead and get in on the mod SC class as well.

Round 1 of qualifying went well.

In practice I had my mod SC set to blinky with a 7.5 motor. I’ve run it this way on many occasions but this time it seemed kinda slow. I added some turbo timing to it just before the race. During the warm-up it still felt sluggish. Then I discovered that my EPA was set to 80. I had turned the speed down for my nephew to run the truck at round 2 and completely forgot. I cranked it back up to 100. Lol, not a good idea. It took several laps to get used to it. I got a handle on it and qualified second.

The 4wd buggy had more grip than I expected and I had several mistakes early. Again I was able to settle down and secure a second for the round.

The Tekno EB48.2 was perfect but we only had 3 show up for E-Buggy. Very disappointing but I still a good time.

I was excited try a new shock setup on the Tekno 410. It’s been an amazing truck and I really haven’t changed much from the box stock setup. This truck never disappoints. It set the TQ by a full lap. Love that thing.

Round 2 went about the same.

In mod SC, I think I may have been on a TQ pace but got too anxious, carried too much speed coming out of the sweeper, and got into the back of some traffic that knocked me back into second.

The 4wd buggy was awesome this round. I ran some worn blue JConcepts Bar Codes. I was doing some tire management and saving a new set of JConcepts DD’s for the main. I won the heat but came up 4 seconds short for setting the new TQ.

Despite the low turnout I was still enjoying the track time with the EB48.2. I threw some worn blue JConcepts Stackers on for the high bite surface and set a new TQ time. The drove very smoothly and handled the tight turns easily.

I made some adjustments to the droop and installed a stiffer front sway-bar in the SCT410 based on how high the traction was. I was able to push the truck even harder and bettered my round 1 TQ.

The race order changed a little bit for the mains.

First up was the 4wd buggy. I’m in the running for the points lead in this class so I really wanted the win. Early on I hung tight to the leader Daniel and felt I was a little faster in certain section. All I had to do was not lose ground where we were equal. I was able to move into the race lead several laps in and a mishap gave me a nice lead over Daniel. It looked like I had it in the bag with 25 seconds to go. Then I rolled and had to sit and watch Daniel pass me as I laid on my roof. With only a lap to go there was nothing I could do. It was a great race that I wish I could do over.

Next was E-Buggy. Unfortunately one of the three cars had broke in the second qual. and he was unable to fix it. This really wasn’t how I wanted to win the class so I’ll be running the last two rounds with the EB48.2 to hopefully show that I deserve it.

The sun was going down and the shade started taking over the track. When track starts to cool it loses it’s traction. I stuck with my JConcepts blue Bar Codes on my SC10 and hoped the traction was still there.

I planned on learning from my mistakes and played it safe on the start of the mod SC main. It was a great start for all as we were single file through the first 3 turns. Coming into that tight sweeping 3rd turn I was still in second but was worried about 3rd and 4th place running into the back of the truck as I paced the leader, so I went wide and allowed them to pass me on the inside. By the straight-away I had moved back into 3rd. The leader caught a pipe going around the large sweeper and slowed up 2nd enough that I was able to pass them both and move into the lead. I settled in and held the lead for the race win.

Last up was the 4×4 SC class. The sun was going down, the lights were on, and the whole track was in the shade. I was betting on the track being slick so I went with some JConcepts 3D’s in green. I was clear from my warm-up lap that we no longer had the traction we enjoyed all day. I was glad I changed to greens and looked forward to taking advantage of my pole position. I knew I couldn’t push the truck like I had earlier so I just tried to maintain a steady consistent pace. The second place driver, Cody, and I broke away and I was able keep a small gap between us. I held on for the win and locked up points series.

I’d like to thank all of my sponsors. Tekno RC, JConcepts, Trinity, Hobbywing, Radiopost, Boys Making Noise, Boca Bearings, and Kal-Gard

JConcepts Clash

I really wanted to right this big ol’ elaborate blog about the Clash but if I stick to that mentality it’ll never get done. So this is the “express” version.

So my wife got us in very late Wednesday partially due to the extra hour we gained heading west. I got up and made my way to the track Thursday morning to claim a pit spot. I thought it was a little weird but practice wouldn’t start until about 1 o’clock so all you could do was get a good spot and wait. What I wasn’t expecting was JConcepts to make room for me under their tent. Great way to start the event.

I decided to race my Tekno RC SCT410, that has been very good to me, and my brand new Tekno RC EB48.2. This only be the second time racing the EB but I have a lot of confidence with Tekno RC.

The track was very slick to start. It was something I could handle with the SC pretty easily but the starting setup I was using on the EB was honestly terrible. It was from a setup sheet online for higher grip situations and that was not the case here. I knew something had to change so I made some camber tweaks and headed back out. Thank goodness it started to act like it should and I started to get a feel for it. Some toe changes and I was ready.

Friday was more practice in the am with a round of qualifying scheduled for a 4pm start. Both Tekno’s felt good. The plan was to just put in two safe runs. Qualifying was going to be based on qual points and your performance scored over 3 of the 4 qualifiers. That means being fast once don’t mean much. You have to be consistent. So finishing 7th overall in E-Buggy and 4th overall in 4×4 SC was a great start.

 

Saturday was three rounds of qualifying. The E-Buggy class was nuts. It was the biggest class and just full of talent. Watching them go around was amazing. I still didn’t quite feel used to the EB48.2 quite yet. I had been driving a Tekno converted Mugen MBX-6 prior. So this felt like going from a Caddy to a Porsche. Despite that my performance netted me a 8th place position in the A-Main.

The SCT410 was great like always. I finished Saturday with two 2nds and a 1st that put me number 2 in the A-Main behind JR Mitch.

 

Sunday was triple A-Mains meant consistency was going to pay off again. E-Buggy A1-Main was first and what a great way to start. Sneaking through a pile up after the start and picking the JConcepts tires to start the day, gave me a 3rd place finish.

I was feeling good going into A1 of the 4×4 SC mains. The Tekno was great again and I finish in second behind JR.

Unfortunately bad luck and mistakes knocked me out of a podium finish in E-Buggy but I’m still proud of my 7th place overall finish. 4×4 SC was close but I finish A2 and A3 with a 2nd and a 1st to secure a 2nd place overall.

 

This was my second JConcepts Clash and it doesn’t disappoint. A great facility and great racers make this one of the best races of the year.

 

Clash Prep

This past weekend was the first offroad race at River Rat RC Track in Palatka, Fl. I was announcing the race but had an opportunity to race with the new Tekno EB48.2 before I had to get everything ready for the Clash. Despite a computer failure just before the first qualifier, the race went very smoothly and there were a lot of happy faces by the end of the day.

 

The car worked very well but because of the upcoming Clash event I only used my heavily worn tires. I could definitely tell the weight difference between my EB and MBX-6 conversion. The car is much quicker but also easier to over drive. 

Race Day done I got to spend my Labor Day getting the Tekno’s into to race condition. That meant cleaning, checking screws, and replacing any worn parts. Amazingly the SCT410, that I’ve been running since January, only needed new upper shock mount bushings.

 

Excuse the mess 😉 but it gets messy sometimes.

Back home!

Had great results yesterday. We ran 3 rounds of qualifying and 10 minute mains.

I feel like I’m getting much better at picking out the best JConcepts tire, at least for me, based on the track conditions. The track changed every round and the mains.

My Tekno SCT410 was perfect all day. I actually changed tires every run. I’ve honestly never done that before. I beat my own TQ (top qualifier) time every round with it. Couldn’t of asked for more from the Trinity motor/batteries, Hobbywing esc, and JConcepts tires.

My Tekno converted Mugen was great too. I was just behind fellow JConcepts driver Travis Dupree all day. I really wanted to push it and try to grab that top spot in the quals but I kept it under control and drove smart. Just like the SC, I changed tires often and it was better every run. When the main started I wanted to hang behind Travis and wait for him to make a mistake but beside us both having first lap bobbles, he never made a mistake and we finished 1 & 2.

I borrowed a Nitro Truggy from my good buddy Brian to help fill up the class and help Brian break the motor in. It was fun and even came home with a 3rd place finish.

I’ve been doing this a long time and my nerves still kill my appetite. I always come home several pounds lighter after a race. I told the wife if she let me race more often I’d be skinnier.

I had a great time but was glad to be home last night. Nothing like sleeping in your own bed. I always drive to these things since I have a heavier foot but I’m always so wiped out by the end Carmen always drives us home. Thank you honey for always taking care of me!