Extended absence from R/C

So, obviously I've been taking a big break from R/C activity. Sometimes life just gets in the way of fun and this year, especially the second half of it, has thrown me a lot of curve balls. The positive side of this is, I've been able to make credit card payments without being tempted to buy something else to play with at the track!

I'm not going to close down the blog, because I intend to start racing again, next year...and I find it cathartic to write out the highlights and lowlights of my racing, each time out.

So consider this a "Happy Holidays" to everyone who happens to stop by the blog, on the off chance I've updated something...and expect me to start updating again in the early part of 2010!

West Coast R/C reports good news!

It was with relief and satisfaction that I read the news that Danny Stojakovic (who took second in stock truck behind Brent Calvert at the Reedy...nice racing, Danny) and the West Coast R/C crew have squared everything away with the city and are preparing their "grand re-opening" of the off-road and on-road tracks! The hobby shop has continued operations in the meantime and these guys have had a couple of months now, to iron out any kinks and make the facility ready for its "second debut."

Part of this is the announcement that weeknight racing will start at 8:00pm, rather than the earlier 7:00pm start. This is great news for people like me, who need to drive a fair distance in rush hour traffic, to get there...only to have no practice time before racing begins. It also gives me a reason to finally install the upgrades to my RCGT car (I've had shocks and a new servo saver waiting) and get out there to practice with it!

I've been out to Hot Rod's a couple of Tuesdays, but the winter months and the open Short Course class have seen a surge of "bashers" coming to the track to do what they consider racing...which amounts to running over anything and anyone that gets in their way, with entirely too much motor for their feeble driving skills to control. They make me crazy. Team SCV co-founder, Tim Ketchepaw and I remarked on this to each other on my last race night - we spent a lap or two in heated competition with each other, without either of us ever hacking or taking the other out. That was the highlight of the race, for us - and it blows us away that guys can't see the fun that just clean racing represents. Plowing into people from behind or putting them over the pipes is just flat-out dirty and shows no skill, whatsoever. We all go out there for 4+ hours to race and to have your night ended by this sort of hackmanship is just the worst.

On an unrelated tip, a bunch of us are trying to put together a monster truck class on Tuesday nights at Hot Rod Hobbies, just for the fun of it. Five trucks makes a class, and we're getting close...I think we have four, now. So if you race Hot Rod Hobbies on Tuesdays and have a monster truck, bring it out and sign it up!

A Monster is unleashed upon the track!

Some of the other guys in Team SCV and I have been talking about getting a monster truck class together, for Tuesday night club races. I decided to just start bringing my Savage Flux HP out to the track with me from now on, in the hopes that we'll get five out there and can race. Prior to last night, I'd never driven my Savage on a track...actually, I'd only really driven it twice, since I bought it!

I showed up to the track around an hour before racing, just to get the Savage on the track and see what I could do with it. Man...what an adjustment! This truck is awesome, but it handles like a schoolbus; if that schoolbus were outfitted with a turbo-charged, nitrous oxide-fueled drag racing engine! The first time I lined up for the back triple, I came rolling down the approach, pegged the throttle and soared off the jump, clearing the triple by easily three feet, my momentum popping me right over the irrigation pipe barrier onto the turn leading to the straightaway...bypassing the middle of the track. Several murmurs erupted from onlookers at trackside and a couple startled "whoas" from the packed driver's stand. As I continued taking laps, I just kept trying to blast off that triple as hard as possible, tweaking the truck in the air and seeing just how far I could jump it...a grin on my face the entire time, and hearing more laughter from trackside. While not enough people had trucks to create a class, we only need a couple more people to bring theirs out and we'll be set. I'm hoping they come, because this will be a really great class just for purely having fun, both for the drivers and the spectators. Nobody who's expressed interest in it so far cares about winning or losing, it's all about the grins.

However, I still like to compete...and that's why I brought my SC10! It has now completely replaced my T4, I have no intention of going back to stadium truck again. I just enjoy running this truck too much; especially after the changes I'd made, putting in the ball differential and whatnot. It handles really, really well now.

There would be two heats of Open Short Course and since only two of us signed up for the ROAR rules class (which will probably disappear, after this series...nobody's interested), we were grouped with them. The other driver was teammate A.J. Warner, who really wants that victory in the points series. I'm no threat to him, since I haven't been to enough club races to take the win; but he still wanted to beat me. I just wouldn't let him.

First heat was a little weird, since I'd just spent about 20 minutes driving my unwieldy monster truck around the track. I got a little out of sorts at the start, as I had begun at the front of the pack and after the first turn, the guys with more motor behind me rammed me from behind (which would become a recurring theme for the night) and popped me over the pipe and down the hill. Notch (the race director) had me wait until I was in third place, for some reason...so that irritated me. I let it go though, and just ran my race. Since the qualifiers were only four minutes tonight (eleven heats makes for a long night, otherwise), there was really no time for any major mistakes and there were definitely occasions where those could have happened. At one point in mid-race, all three Team SCV drivers were neck and neck going over the parastyle and into the triple. Notch even pointed out how clean we were driving, door to door and yet nobody was ending up in the pipes or getting hacked. It's too bad more guys can't discipline themselves to drive clean, but I think the Short Course classes have attracted a lot of "bashers" to the track, lately...and they don't know how to play well with others. I would end up finishing the first qualifier in third place, behind two guys who were running faster motors. I knew I could do a lot better though, if I could manage to stay away from collisions.

Second qualifier felt better, I was able to trim about four seconds off my previous time...in spite of a more reckless driver's best efforts to break my truck. By the time I'd run a couple of laps, one of these guys ghosted me over the wagon wheel and up the parastyle, where he took the same line as me for the approach to the triple jump. As I am driving a 17.5 motor, I always double-single this jump...and apparently, he likes to triple it - regardless of whether a slower truck is in front of him. The guy guns it right into the back of my truck and essentially launches me - flipping through the air - over the jump. In frustration I exclaimed "What was that???" I heard some muttering from my right, from the guilty party...which sounded like a "get over it." Now I know at least one of those drivers on the freeway who cut people off and don't let them merge in traffic. I didn't remember the truck or its driver - if I had, I would have mentioned something to them. Notch might have called a rough driving warning on it, but he's usually more prone to let these things slide. I would have stayed mad about it if I'd broken anything, but the truck was okay.

Unfortunately, A.J. broke down at the start of that one, so he'd have to hope that his first qualifier would be enough to get him in the A main, which it was. Although I drove better, I finished one place back from my first qualifier, since one of the fast guys showed up for his second run (he missed the first). My results would be good enough to get me the seventh slot on the starting grid in the A main, though.

In the main, I got a good start and shot past a couple of people up onto the parastyle, which I took wide and avoided the pipe-clipping mosh that inevitably happens, there. I dove down to the wagon wheel wide as well, avoiding more...and came out of it in third place! After avoiding the mayhem, I just focused on keeping a good line and not screwing up for the seven minutes of the main event...but the guys with the faster motors close the gap quickly. A.J. was keeping up with me and when I ended up getting clipped into the pipes and needing to be marshaled, he passed me and took about a straightaway lead. I had about three minutes to close the gap (thank goodness it was a long main) and I would just hunker down and keep my focus. Over the next couple of laps I steadily closed the gap on him, until he made a mistake and let me right back in, both of us screaming down the straightaway with me hot on his heels. I even said as much to him, standing next to me on the driver's stand..."I'm breathing down your neck, now!" Through the parastyle/wagon wheel/triple and around, we went...until I took the inside line in the middle of the course and got out in front of him. I think he got tangled up with someone after that, because I managed to put a comfortable distance between us and never looked back, making no mistakes the rest of the race. In the end, I finished in fifth place and only four seconds behind fourth...not too shabby. As I knock more of the rust off and get to the track more consistently, I'll hopefully start making some speed gains. After this points series ends, I'll be switching to the 13.5 motor I had in my T4 and hopefully that'll cut down on other people ramming me from behind, so much.

DNS

Yup...that was the BQ's result in the ROAR Short Course class, at this year's Reedy Truck Race of Champions. I decided against racing in the B main, due to a variety of reasons - mainly a lack of desire. My performance after two qualifiers put me dead smack at the top of the proverbial bubble, too fast for the B main competition and yet not quite fast enough for the A main drivers (Larry Aronson, who snuck into the A ahead of me, finished last in points after the triple A mains). I just didn't feel it was worth going back out to the track for one more race where, short of a catastrophe, I was pretty much a lock to win. The other major reason was, as the Hot Rod Hobbies webmaster, I didn't pay for my entry to the race...so I felt it was only right to let the paying racers duke it out for the B main win. I was only there to try and sneak into the A main.

Anyway, the top three in each class are posted on the Hot Rod Hobbies website and as expected, Brent Calvert won stock truck...again. He was very competitive in both super stock and mod, as well. He and Cody Turner are undoubtedly the two most talented electric drivers at Hot Rod Hobbies, both of them on their way to becoming well-known pros in the future, I'm sure. Jared Tebo won both of the pro classes, mod and nitro truggy. He just seems to be winning everything, lately...the switch to Kyosho has apparently agreed with him!

Maybe next year I will spend a little more time in practice and preparation for the big event, so I can make a better showing for myself. I knew the chances of making the A main this year were really slim with only two qualifiers and no practice, but it was worth a shot...and I very nearly did make it in. I expect that next year, the short course class will draw a much larger number of entries...should be interesting!

Saturday @ Reedy Truck Race

Well, I wasn't able to make the first day of qualifying at the Reedy Truck Race of Champions, this year...had to work. That meant I'd have far, far less time to try and come to grips with the track in blue groove condition. I showed up early this morning, hoping to get in on the structured practice; unfortunately, my race would be the first race of the morning and I needed to glue up some Bowties - the stock SC10 tires were not going to be any good out there and one of the hubs on my Goosebumps stripped out, last race. Those Associated SC10 wheels suck...I'm using JConcepts from now on.

Last night, I decided to cannibalize a lot of parts from my T4, which I really don't plan to race anymore. I transplanted the ball differential, threaded shocks and CVD's...which really made a huge difference. It just felt like driving a heavier T4.

So, my first qualifier (third round) would be my only chance to practice and get a feel for the track. I had three sub-par laps where I either got hit, or just messed up myself. The bad thing about coming in on day two is the re-sort...I not only had to learn the track, but also avoid the "slower" drivers in this heat - some of whom didn't have real great track awareness. I came in second behind Larry Aronson, who very nearly had 16 laps (which, I assumed, would be the only way anyone in the B qualifier would make their way into the A main). I managed a 15/6:17 or something like that. Something to build on.

Second qualifier was much better...we started in order of our finishes in the third round, so I got to start in second position, rather than in the back of the pack. Things were going great, I caught up to and passed Larry and was on top of his pace by 4-6 seconds through most of the race, running a 15/6:02 and knocking on the door of 16 laps...when tragedy struck and I got knocked over by a back marker who cut me off while I tried to pass. There went my hopes of a 16 lap run. Larry would get knocked over the pipes in the midsection of the track and right into me as I was coming the other way, but luckily it was from the side and didn't upset my car. Unfortunately, it rattled me enough that I got off-angle on my approach to the turn just before the straight, clipped the pipes and rolled my truck on my second to last lap. The marshal watched it happen and even though you could see it coming a mile away, he waited for me to come to rest on my lid before he moved to get me. Oh, well.

I still managed to finish in first place over Larry, but both of us would have to hope for some miracles in the fourth A qualifier, in order for one or both of us to sneak in. Looking at the final results for the day, it appears Larry got the miracle he needed...he snuck into the tenth spot in the A main. I will have to be satisfied with the "BQ" (top qualifier for the B main).

I've just got too much rust from not racing much this year...with the fast guys that are racing in the Short Course class this weekend, I needed two flawless runs just to sneak into the A main, with only two qualifiers and no throw-outs. At least Jimmy says the plan next year is to make the race only two days long, on the weekend. That will help level the playing field for the working stiffs!

Last race on the old layout...will he run in the Reedy?

I had time on my hands this weekend, so I decided I'd get one last run on the old Hot Rod Hobbies "Shootout" layout, before they rebuilt it on Sunday. I entered my SC10 in the "ROAR Short Course" class...and was placed in Open Short Course, since I was the only one registered for the ROAR rules class. In fact, looking at the club racing results for the latest two month series, virtually nobody is interested in running ROAR's rules for a Short Course class. It appears that the concept of an open class is the only one that has any traction at all. Even more interesting is the fact that Jimmy Babcock dominated it Saturday night, with a spec Slash...the same one he raced in the Slash class, in fact. With guys running 13.5 or faster motors in their trucks getting beat by a stock Slash, it just seems to prove that the Short Course class is all about the driver, even with "open" rules.

Around fourteen drivers entered the Open SCT Saturday night; in fact, it was a busy night overall, with eleven heats. I guess everybody wanted one last run around the old layout! My first qualifier wasn't bad...everyone was really struggling with the track conditions; at this point the track was rutted, had car-devouring craters scattered throughout, and was covered with loose dirt. Finding any kind of line to drive was a challenge! The class had been divided into two qualifying heats; of course, I was stuck with both Jimmy Babcock and Cody Turner in my heat, along with my fellow Team SCV driver, Tim Ketchepaw...all of whom are fast. So finishing my first qualifier in fourth place seemed like a victory, since it'd been well over a month since I'd last raced.

Second qualifier, I got caught in several moshes with other drivers and spent more than my fair share of time waiting on turn marshals. At one point, a marshal (I won't name names, but it's a guy with a penchant for yelling at marshals from the driver's stand) just sat and stared at my truck on the pipes, after someone rubbed me into them...a spectator at trackside yelled to them to help me out, but another marshal ran from their position to get me going. I ended up finishing in fifth, with serious doubts about whether I'd make the A main.

Fortunately, the results of my first qualifier were just enough to seat me in the A, without having to worry about trying to bump up from the B main. Ours would be the final race of what ended up being quite a long night. Everyone remained for the final race, ten trucks in a battle against each other and a very unforgiving track surface, for seven minutes! I like it when they give us a minute or two extra in the mains, it gives you the chance to recover from a mistake and gives other drivers more time to screw up! I managed to squeeze past the first corner pileup and come out among the top six cars, at which point I just tried to stay focused on driving clean and under control. One difficulty with using the 17.5 motor in this mixed class is, some of the guys with more power and tunnel vision tend to ram you from behind (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, it may very well be intentional). When this happened in the main, however, I was fortunate enough to be in "power slide" mode for a turn anyway and the offending driver ended up careening off my tail end and putting himself into another car, which caused a bit of a pileup. This gave me some breathing room, and I would spend the last three minutes or so running clear of any traffic. I didn't have enough to catch the four guys in front of me, but it was good enough to come away with a fifth place finish, after qualifying in ninth place.

I suspect that the ROAR rules class will disappear after this two months of club racing and we'll only have an open class to run...if that's the case, I am liable to make a few modifications to my SC10. Namely, robbing my T4 of its ball differential and 13.5 motor.

From what I was told on Saturday, the weather forecast is predicting over 100 degree heat for this coming weekend. If that holds up, I almost certainly won't participate in the Reedy Race. It's already hard enough to justify going to the track all day for three days straight just to race for a total of like 30 minutes...but to bake in brain-melting heat all three days, too? No, thanks! I am liable to get out there tomorrow for the club race, though - it's almost like having a mini-Reedy anyway, with most of the participants attending the club race to get more track time on the new layout. There should be enough for a ROAR rules Short Course class...so even though it's likely to go pretty late into the evening, I may try to make it.

The Reedy Truck Race 2009

I'm still debating whether or not I'm going to enter the Reedy Truck Race of Champions, this year. If I do, I will almost certainly only enter with my SC10, in the ROAR Short Course class. I have enjoyed driving that truck a lot more than my T4...I'm gradually losing interest in the old "stadium truck" class. I like the closed wheel, realistic look of the short course trucks and while they aren't as nimble, they're more fun. I think this is the main reason the Slash spec class is so huge now, in comparison to stadium truck...at least, on the club level.

I haven't been out to the track in quite a while; I keep having these long lapses in between race nights. Part of it is just not wanting to go out in the heat and sun; I was enjoying the option of heading down to West Coast R/C to drive indoors, along with the fact that I could practice with my on-road car there. It will be nice to have them back up and running, again. As the weather cools off, I will try to get out to Hot Rod's a little more often.

Participating in the Reedy race could be sort of embarrassing, since I haven't been practicing...but I'll probably go, anyway.