JConcepts Indoor Nats arrives in Nebraska for ’13 Finals
The JConcepts Indoor National Series has arrived at the fifth & final stop on its 2013 calendar with HobbyTown USA Hobby Plex in Omaha, Nebraska, playing host to the ‘Finals’ of the popular electric offroad championship. Attracting a competitive entry, including newly crowned World Champion Steven Hartson, day 1 of the 3-day event is an opportunity for drivers to work on set-up with open practice being split between open wheel cars and Short Course. With most of the top drivers focusing their attentions on running their 2WD buggies, it is tyre choice and preparation that is keeping them busy so far.
Winning his first World title with a thrilling victory at the 4WD Buggy World Championships in Chico at the end of September, Associated driver Hartson is pleased with how his mid motored B4.2 is running so far. Describing the track as ‘overall pretty simple’, he said the height of the rostrum gives a ‘weird’ drivers view and takes a bit of getting used to. Switching between JConcepts Barcodes in Gold and Green compounds the 21-year-old said the Gold compound for now feels a little faster but a driver known for attention to detail & knowledge in tyre prep he still has a few things he wants to try in relation to pin sizes. Also racing 4WD Buggy and 2WD Short Course, he said he will run these in the evening practice runs in preparation for tomorrow’s qualifiers.
Team-mate Ryan Maifield has also focused his efforts on what he called the ‘prestigious class’. Running his mid motored B4.2, which features a number of new parts from JConcepts he said he was very happy with a set of Black compound Barcodes he ran fresh out of the bag. Describing the track as ‘not difficult’ he sad it still had its ‘own challenges’ but overall it was a fun layout to drive. Like Hartson, Maifield will also run 4WD Buggy and 2WD short Course, winning both classes at the previous round of the JConcepts Indoor National Series in Boston, and will switch his attention to these cars this evening.
Responsible for both drivers, Team Associated team manager Brent Thielke is racing 2WD Buggy and Mod Truck. His first time to visit the Hobby Plex facility he said the track is fun to drive adding that the surface is a little rougher than what he used to for an indoor track. Having brought a ‘bunch of used tyres’, he is using them to gauge how different pin heights effect his mid motor B4.2.
Winner of 2WD Buggy at the Fall Indoor Nationals in October, Team Losi Racing’s Dustin Evans said his day so far has all been about trying to figure out tyres. He said everything he has used so far works but its getting how much they need to be broken in and sanded that he is looking to perfect. Although he raced here at the 2009 ROAR 1/10 Offroad Nationals, this is his first time to race on the track since they enclosed it with walls and a roof. Describing the track as having ‘not a whole lot to it’ he added there are a few sections which to get right are a bit tricky.
One of the few top drivers to have raced here previously this year when he took part in the Novak Race, Cody Hollis said the track is a lot different now, the snow outside probably having something to do with that. The Team Losi Racing driver said so far he has done very little to his TLR22 saying it is all about getting the right tyres first. In addition to 2WD Buggy, Hollis will also race Mod Truck and 2WD Short Course this weekend.
Making his debut at Hobby Plex TLR’s JR Mitch summed up the facility as a ‘cool place’ and the Florida driver meant that both subjectively and literally. Joking that he had gone from ’82 to 22 degrees’ he was here for racing and he was looking forward to it. Having ran both his 2WD and 4WD Buggies he said he was like everyone else playing the tyre game and tyrying to ‘follow the leader’.
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