Evans gives his rivals a Dustin in Dallas

Dustin Evans is stamping his authority on the fourth & final event of the 2011 Short Course Showdown Nationwide Tour having dominated proceedings in qualifying today at Mikes Hobby Shop in Dallas, Texas, to hold the provisional overnight TQ honours in both 2WD & 4WD Modified classes.  A racer who over the last 12-months has established himself as a World class talent, the factory Losi driver topped the time sheets for all six of his qualifiers and with just one more round of heats in the morning looks very much on target to start both A-Mains on pole.  One of the friendliest and most approachable team drivers in the sport, the 25-year-old said he was ‘super happy’ with both his trucks and in particular with the progress he has made this weekend with his 2WD which he took to a new TQ time in the third qualifier.

In 2WD the closest challenge for Evans came from one of the great legends of off road racing as Brian Kinwald came close to becoming the only other driver to make 16-laps as he also put in his fastest run of the day in Q3.  Sitting top of 4WD thanks to his Q1 time, Evans looks even more in control of proceedings of the premiere class with fellow Losi driver and local track ace Quincy Hughes the nearest challenger among the 98 truck field. Hughes looked like he was on a fast run in the final race of the day until he lost a wheel on lap 11.

In the other classes Garrett Tokuno, the owner of 702 Raceway in Las Vegas, holds the provisional TQ in the 2WD Stock class with his Thunder Power powered Associated SC10, while fastest times in Q3 from Kent Everett and Marc McGurren see them on target to carry No.1 on their trucks in the Novice Short Course and Traxxas Slash spec classes respectively.

Drivers have one last chance to improve on their qualifying times with Top 8 the main target as the finals will see the top two finishes bump up to the back of the grid of the proceeding final.

Provisional top 10 after 3 of 4 qualifiers
4WD Short Course
1. Dustin Evans – Losi – 17/5:10.858 (R1)
2. Quincy Hughes – Losi – 16/5:04.798 (R2)
3. Josh Glancy – Losi – 16/5:06.420 (R1)
4. Chris Allison – Losi – 16/5:11.086 (R2)
5. Brian Kinwald – Associated – 16/5:11.452 (R2)
6. Aaron Reynolds – Losi – 16/5:12.410 (R2)
7. Mike Dumas – Losi – 16/5:12.538 (R1)
8. Hunter La Flower – Losi – 16/5:15.574 (R1)
9. Courtney Tate – Losi – 16/5:19.213 (R2)
10.Nathan Dean – Losi – 16/5:20.363 (R3)

Modified Short Course
1. Dustin Evans – Losi – 16/5:12.305 (R3)
2. Brian Kinwald – Associated – 15/5:00.777 (R3)
3. Cody Hollis – Kyosho – 15/5:05.218 (R2)
4. Quincy Hughes – Losi – 15/5:07.966 (R3)
5. Randy Pike – Losi – 15/5:17.645 (R3)
6. Clayton Easley – X-Factory – 15/5:18.528 (R2)
7. Paul Wynn – Associated – 15/5:18.963 (R2)
8. Trevor Nault – Kyosho – 15/5:19.497 (R2)
9. Gary O’Brien – X-Factory – 15/5:19.829 (R2)
10.Mike Stoll – Associated – 14/5:01.678 (R1)

Stock Short Course
1. Garrett Tokuno – 14/5:01.278 (R3)
2. Brent Burns – 14/5:01.778 (R3)
3. Richard Trujillo – 14/5:03.228 (R3)
4. Charlie Martin – 14/5:07.608 (R2)
5. Kevin McCoy – 14/5:08.728 (R1)
6. Bill Jeric – 14/5:10.841 (R2)
7. Brian Butts – 14/5:12.002 (R3)
8. Gary O’Brien – 14/5:13.254 (R2)
9. Sonny Brown – 14/5:15.891 (R3)
10.James Green – 14/5:16.903 (R3)

Novice Short Course
1. Kent Everett – 12/5:01.934 (R3)
2. Joel Irvine – 12/5:02.879 (R3)
3. Cole Copley – 12/5:22.769 (R3)
4. David Walker – 11/5:04.238 (R3)
5. Josh Prior – 11/5:06.007 (R2)
6. Clinton Majors – 11/5:10.634 (R3)
7. Richard Terry – 11/5:18.091 (R2)
8. Paul Forgey – 11/5:19.007 (R3)
9. Ron Topping – 10/5:05.956 (R3)
10.Dizodrick Darners – 10/5:06.468 (R2)

Traxxas Slash
1. Marc McGurren – 13/5:06.237 (R3)
2. Justin Johnson – 13/5:07.245 (R3)
3. Joel Merritt – 13/5:10.985 (R3)
4. Andrew Doherty – 13/5:16.766 (R3)
5. Ron Simpson – 13/5:20.601 (R1)
6. Keith Moore – 13/5:23.322 (R1)
7. Bill Darnell – 13/5:23.370 (R3)
8. Dan Prior – 12/5:04.831 (R3)
9. Robert Reaves – 12/5:06.997 (R2)
10.Jeremiah Carter – 12/5:09.411 (R3)

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Evans stays in control in Dallas

The second round of 4WD qualifying at the Short Course Showdown Nationwide Tour in Dallas saw Dustin Evans’ domination continue as the factory Losi driver once again topped the time sheets but like in 2WD it is his Q1 run that remains the provisional outright TQ time.

Evans said after the run that he knew his morning time was good and that bettering it was going to be difficult.  Pushing hard in an attempt to see if he could go faster he over drove, something he said is easy to do in 4WD, which resulted in two bad laps.  Even without the two crashes, which cost him around 5 seconds, the winner of the second date on the Scotty Ernst run tour said a new TQ run wasn’t on the cards.

Second fastest in Q2, improving on his morning time to move to move up to second overall, Quincy Hughes was much happier with his lowered Losi. Deciding against adjusting the droop, the local ace said the lower ride height worked perfectly and he was very happy to be sitting second behind a driver of Evans’ caliber.

Setting the third fastest time for the second of the four scheduled qualifiers was Chris Allison.  The owner of Speedster Hobbies in Austin, he said his Losi TEN-SCTE is set-up the same as Evans’ example and feels ‘fantastic’ but his driving has not matched the capabilities of truck.  Running in the same heat as Brian Kinwald, who he said it was a real pleasure to race against, Allison felt while he drove much better in Q2 but there is still room to clean it up a little more.  The time leaves him fourth overall just ahead of Kinwald who enjoyed his best run in Q2 to move up one spot to fifth.

Two drivers that failed to improve their Q1 times were Josh Glancy and Mike Dumas who dropped to 3rd & 7th respectively.  14-year-old Glancy put his lack of pace down to bad driving but found afterwards that his motor may have contributed to the below par performance. With a new motor fitted for Q3, the Losi driver is hopeful he can better his Q1 time in the final run of the day.

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2WD update – Q2

Dustin Evans remains the provisional Top Qualifier of the 2WD Modified class despite failing to improve his Q1 time in the second round of the qualifying.  The Losi driver still topped the times for Q2 as he again was the only driver to make 16 laps.  On target to improve his time a mistake on his 7th lap which left him stuck on a pipe cost over 2-seconds and he crossed the finish just a second shy of his morning time.

Improving his morning time Team Associated’s Brian Kinwald was again the closest challenger to Evans but still couldn’t break 16 laps. Switching additive for Q2 he said his SC10 was slighter better but overall it still feels loose.  Improving his time by almost 8-seconds, Kinwald said he will focus instead on trying to work around the problem with his driving rather than trying to chase a set-up.

Sixth fastest after Q1, teenager Cody Hollis made a big improvement to go third quickest.  The Kyosho driver said lengthening the rear camber links really improved his truck and other than changing to a fresh set of AKA Wishbones on the rear he will stick with the same set-up for the reseeded third round of qualifying which will complete today’s track action.

Another to improve, local Losi ace Quincy Hughes didn’t improve on his overall time as he stays fourth overall.  Dropping to fifth having been third after Q1 Randy Pike said he went too far in his quest to get more steering on his Losi XXX-SCT.  Adding weight to the front of the chassis he said he made the mistake of also saucing his tyres which he said was the wrong way to go.

Driving an X-Factory chassis, Clayton Easley moved to fifth fastest time for the round to move himself into the Top 6 just ahead of JConcepts’ Paul Wynn who improved his Q1 time but drops two spots to sit 7th.

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Evans TQs first 4WD qualifier

Having TQ’d the opening round of 2WD qualifying this morning at the Short Course Showdown Nationwide Tour in Dallas, factory Losi driver Dustin Evans carried his form through to the premiere class putting his TEN-SCTE top of the 4WD time sheets.  The largest grid of the five classes running this weekend at Mikes Hobby Shop, Evans once again displayed why he is one of the top electric off road drivers in the world as he finished a lap up on fellow Losi drivers Josh Glancy and Quincy Hughes.

The only driver to post a 17-second lap, Evans joked after the run that it looks like he could be in for an easy day of wrenching with both his trucks are working perfectly.  Used to being kept a lot more busy between runs when racing 1:10 buggy, the 25-year-old said the lack of work required in running Short Course is one of the big appeals of the class especially for newcomers.  With a reseed to be carried out after the second round of qualifying, Evans expects the competition to hot up for Q3 as the top drivers will get grouped in the same heat. With heads up starts, a format he really likes, the Losi drivers is looking forward to mixing it with his rival picking out Mike Dumas and Quincy Hughes as being potential threats.

Competing only in 4WD, 14-year-old Josh Glancy was very happy with his opening qualifier.  Describing his run to the second fastest time as a ‘good clean run’, the promising youngster who comes from a 1:8 Off Road background said his TEN-SCTE was working well but he plans to try a lighter shock set-up for Q2 to try and fine tune the stability of the truck.

Despite traction rolling three times during the 5-minute qualifier, Hughes was happy to set the third fastest time.  One of the men to beat on club race nights at Mikes Hobby Shop, the Losi driver will lower the ride height and says he may also take out some droop for Q2.

Responsible for feeding the drivers and teams that make up the 230 plus entry at the final date on the inaugural Short Course Showdown Nationwide Tour, Mike Dumas, who runs the Pickles & Peppers diner located at the track, said he had to make a dash for the drivers’ stand which wasn’t the best way to start his first qualifier.  Setting the fourth fastest time, the former onroad ace said his Panther tyred Losi needs improving and he will switch to a harder set-up for Q2.  The winner of a hotly contested club race held on the track on Thursday night Dumas is confident he can challenge for the top spot once he gets the truck more to his liking.

Another youngster to get his event off to a strong start was Hunter LaFlower.  Making it five Losi’s at the top of the time sheets the 15-year-old, said his truck was really good but pushing a little too hard he made a few mistakes.  Liking the flow of the track that Mike Darnell created for this event, LaFlower said his focus for Q2 is to just settle down his driving rather than go messing with his set-up.

Highest place non-Losi for the opening 4WD qualifier was Team Associated’s Brian Kinwald.  Starting his heat from the back of the grid, which he said cost him a little time as he worked his way to the front, he once again said he found conditions ‘loose’.  Using the same additive as he did in 2WD he said he didn’t switch to additive as he is a little short on his second option and he wants to save that for his 2WD.  In an attempt to give his SC-10 a better feeling Kinwald said he will go with a completely different set-up on the rear shocks.

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Evans tops opening 2WD qualifier in Dallas

Losi’s Dustin Evans has topped the opening round of qualifying for 2WD Modified at the fourth and final event on the Short Course Showdown Nationwide Tour which is taking place at the amazing Mikes Model Shop facility in Dallas, Texas.  The US 2WD Buggy Champion took his Orion powered Losi XXX-SCT to the fastest time ahead of Team Associated’s Brian Kinwald and Randy Pike’s Tekin powered Losi.

Winner of the second date on the Showdown tour when it stopped off at Trackside Hobbies in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Evans was the only driver to record 16 laps as he set the fastest lap of the opening qualifier.  Not happy with the performance of his 2WD truck recently, the factory driver said yesterday’s open practice was very productive and he is really happy now with his set-up.  Running AKA super soft Wishbones Evans will leave everything as is for the second of the four qualifiers.  Asked about the track Evans said it worked well for Short Course and while it looked easy the centre double double was hard to pull off every lap.

The man with the most wins of the tour in 2WD and a legend of Off Road racing Kinwald described his run as ‘loose’.  Running JConcepts Barcode tyres on his SC-10 the multiple former World Champion put the lack of grip down to the sauce he used on his tyres and plans to try a different sauce for his next run.  Really impressed by the facility here at Mikes Hobby Shop, the ‘Dirtinator’ described the track as ‘pretty simple’ but hopes in Q2 he can mount a stronger challenge to Evans.

The team manager at Tekin electronics, Pike ran a fresh set of Panther tyres which he said took a few laps to come in but overall it was a solid first run.  Looking to find a little more steering on his XXX-SCT, the racer from California is planning to add some extra weight to the front of his truck.

Also driving a Tekin powered Losi, local track hot shot Quincy Hughes set the fourth fastest time just 6/10th shy of Pike’s time.  Making his Short Course Showdown Nationwide Tour debut, Hughes was happy with the performance of his AKA shod truck and says he has no plans to change anything for Q2.

Advising Kinwald on his tyre choices here in Dallas, JConcepts’ Paul Wynn took his Reedy powered Associated to the fifth fastest time.  Also finding the track a little ‘slick’, the man responsible for body design at JConcepts has been an A finalist at all previous tour dates and is hopeful he will qualify directly this time round having had to bump up from the B Main at the last two events.  Running his latest body creation, the Highflow, which features some nicely moulded air escape holes, Wynn said the size of the track doesn’t realise the full potential of the holes but instead the benefit is the lower weight helping to reduce body roll.

Completing the Top 6 for the opening qualifier was 18-year-old Cody Hollis. Driving a Kyosho Ultima SC, the Oklahoma driver said his truck was not great to drive but by keeping his run clean he was pretty pleased to take sixth.  Lacking forward traction he hopes by lengthening the rear camber links he will have a better package for Q2.

In the other 2WD drive classes Kevin McCoy topped the Stock class from Brian Butts while Kent Everett and Ron Simpson set the pace in the Novice and Traxxas Slash Spec classes respectively.

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