April 11, 2014

Track Focus – Tacoma R/C Raceway

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Track Name – Tacoma R/C Raceway
Owner – Scott Brown
Country – USA
Location – Tacoma, Washington
Direction – Clockwise
Surface – Dirt

This weekend the JConcepts Indoor National Series visits some new territory taking the second stop on its 5-race calendar to the north-west of the country to Tacoma R/C Raceway in Washington State.   A hobby shop that has been in business since 1984 and moving to its current location 5-miles from the centre of Tacoma City 14-years-ago, the JConcepts Spring Indoor Nationals is the biggest race to visit the Scott Brown owned facility.  A former World Championship finalist and ROAR National Champion, Scott has been the driving force behind the popular r/c outlet since 1995.  Born in Tacoma but working for the original Losi company down in California, when the opportunity came up to buy the business he jumped at the opportunity to move back home. Heading into to his 20th year of running the business this year he said he still enjoys the fact he gets to ‘play with toy cars everyday’.

Covering a total of 9,000 square feet, the facility has a well stocked r/c car shop, off which the indoor dirt track & pits are housed in an airy high roofed building.  Built in a space 90ft by 60ft, a new track layout for this weekend JConcepts race was built by Scott on Monday with a good 2WD lap pace running at a low 15-seconds lap. On a regular week the track runs racing four nights a week (Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) with a good night attracting around 80 entries but Scott said racers tend to spread themself out well over the four nights meaning that he can run a good programme of racing each night without running too late.

In terms of the layout, World Champion Steven Hartson , who is making his first visit to the track, said one of the most notable things of the track is the height of the drivers stand which for an indoor track is very highly elevated.  Describing it as fun to drive the Team Associated driver said the biggest challenge of the lap is staying within the narrow racing line, with it easy to get out of your rhythm.  In terms of the tracks features he said the step-up chicane after the triple in front of the drivers stand can be a little tricky.   Commenting on the track Associated team-manger Brent Theilke said the piping takes a bit of getting used to describing it being more like curbing.  With the track being built up to the piping rather than the piping having been laid afterwards he said its hard to differentiate between whats track and whats more like curbing which on some corners can lead to rolling.

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March 17, 2014

Maifield pulls off 4 in a row at Cactus Classic

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Ryan Maifield has pulled off a fourth consecutive 4WD Buggy title at the Pro-Line Cactus Classic, taking second in the deciding third A-Main behind Top Qualifier Joern Neumann securing him the overall win at SRS Raceway in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Finishing third in A3, having run ahead of Maifield for 5-laps, HB’s Ty Tessmann claimed the overall runner-up spot with newly crowned 2WD Buggy Champion Dakotah Phend completing the podium on the event’s final visit to the popular location which since 1993 has been home to America’s longest running offroad race.

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Maifield, who took the final A-Main of 2WD to take the runners-up spot behind Phend, said after struggling in qualifying his Reedy powered B44.2 ‘today came to life and was a hell of a lot faster for some unknown reason’.  Having won A1, the Team Associated driver said he knew he only needed second to secure the win saying he ‘had a good race with Tessmann’, the only driver that could end his winning streak at his home event.  Having moved to second following the retirement of the No.2 Kyosho of Jared Tebo due to a broken slipper shaft, the US National Champion would half way into the race catch the piping allowing Maifield into second.  With Neumann off in the distance, Maifield said his focus was just to maintain the position, which he did crossing the finish line just shy of a second in front of Tessmann.  While Tessmann and Phend, who was fourth in A3, ended tied on points the Canadian got second thanks to his A2 victory.

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In the last race of the 28th running of the Pro-Line Cactus Classic, 2WD Buggy, Maifield won leading from start to finish as Top Qualifier Phend sat out the race having claimed his first title at the event in A2.  Challenged by team-mate Ryan Cavalieri, two mistakes late in the race would see the former World champion lose touch with the leader.  Posting the fastest lap of the race outgoing champion Jared Tebo would get his best finish in A3 with third but he would miss out on the podium, the final step going to Cavalieri.

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The last running of the Pro-Line Cactus Classic, one of the world’s most famous electric offroad races, at its popular current outdoor venue, next year the event is set to move indoors.  Commenting on the impending switch to indoor, racing outdoor so early in the season being one of the races unique selling points thanks to the beautiful Arizona weather, Maifield said he gets what HobbyTown SRS is trying to accomplish with its new venue but added it ‘would be cool if they could somehow try to keep the race outdoors’.  Maifield’s thoughts were echoed by the majority of drivers at the event.

4WD Buggy Overall Result
1. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 3 pts
2. Ty Tessmann – HB – 4
3. Dakotah Phend – TLR – 4
4. Joern Neumann – Durango – 5
5. Billy Fischer – Associated – 11
6. Ryan Lutz – Durango – 11
7. Carson Wernimont – Schumacher – 13
8. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 13
9. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 17
10.Daimon Borkowicz – Associated – 18
11.Kody Numedahl – Associated – 19

4WD Buggy A-Main Leg 3 Result
1.(1) Joern Neumann – Durango – 15/5:20.183
2.(4) Ryan Maifield – Associated – 14/5:01.847
3.(5) Ty Tessmann – HB – 14/5:02.818
4.(3) Dakotah Phend – TLR – 14/5:10.045
5.(7) Billy Fischer – Associated – 14/5:10.252
6.(8) Carson Wernimont – Schumacher – 14/5:13.509
7.(10)Ryan Lutz – Durango – 14/5:14.832
8.(9) Daimon Borkowicz – Associated – 14/5:23.411
9.(6) Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 5/1:47.024
10.(2)Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 1/0:15.731
11.(11)Kody Numedahl – Associated – DNS

2WD Buggy A-Main Overall Result
1. Dakotah Phend – TLR – 2 pts
2. Ryan Maifield – Associated – 3
3. Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 5
4. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 7
5. Ryan Lutz – Durango – 12
6. Ty Tessmann – HB – 12
7. Billy Fischer – Associated – 13
8. Joern Neumann – Durango – 13
9. Travis Amezcua – Durango – 13
10.Dustin Evans – TLR – 14
11.Spencer Rivkin – Associated – 17

2WD Buggy A-Main Leg 3 Result
1.(2) Ryan Maifield – Associated – 14/5:14.674
2.(3) Ryan Cavalieri – Associated – 14/5:18.824
3.(4) Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 14/5:21.694
4.(8) Ryan Lutz – Durango – 14/5:22.489
5.(7)Dustin Evans – TLR – 13/5:00.098
6.(10)Ty Tessmann – HB – 13/5:00.421
7.(11)Joern Neumann – Durango – 13/5:00.960
8.(5) Billy Fischer – Associated – 13/5:02.436
9.(6) Travis Amezcua – Durango – 13/5:08.916
10.(9)Spencer Rivkin – Associated – 13/5:12.876
11.(1)Dakotah Phend – TLR – DNS

View our event image gallery here.

March 16, 2014

Tebo & Cavalieri take Truck titles

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Jared Tebo and Ryan Cavalieri have taken the two main truck titles at the Pro-Line Cactus Classic by each winning the third A-Main of their respective Mod Truck and 2WD Short Course classes. Having won A2, Tebo backed it up with an easy win in A3 after Joern Neumann winner of the opening Main retried with a broken idler gear having just closed right in on the lead Kyosho.  Sharing the fastest lap of the race with Top Qualifier Tebo, Billy Fischer would finish second to complete the podium behind Tebo and Neumann.

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In 2WD Short Course, Cavalieri became the first driver to successfully defend a title at what is the final Cactus Classic at SRS Raceway. Starting from the TQ, the Associated driver would lead for the first 5-laps from team-mate Ryan Maifield until a roll at the end of the straight.  Maifield looked to be on target to take back the title he lost last year but on the final run up the hill, the key section of this year’s track, the local hero got just a little out shape resulting in Cavalieri tipping him into a half spin.  Cavalieri would come out in the lead and despite his best efforts Maifield hadn’t enough time to try take back the lead, the separation at the finish line just 0.074 of a second.  15-year-old Spencer Rivkin would finish third in A3 just ahead o Chris Wheeler, but the latter had done enough in the first two Mains to claim the final step on the podium.

Mod Truck Overall Result
1. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 2 pts
2. Joern Neumann – Durango – 3
3. Billy Fischer – Team Associated – 5

Mod Truck A3 Result
1. Jared Tebo – Kyosho – 14/5:16.410
2. Billy Fischer – Team Associated – 14/5:18.193
3. Ryan Cavalieri – 14/5:21.483

2WD Short Course Overall Result
1. Ryan Cavalieri – Team Associated – 2 pts
2. Ryan Maifield – Team Associated – 3
3. Chris Wheeler – TLR – 7

2WD Short Course A3 Result
1. Ryan Cavalieri – Team Associated – 13/5:06.624
2. Travis Amezcua – Durango – 13/5:06.698
3. Ryan Maifield – Team Associated – 13/5:15.389

View our event image gallery here.