This past weekend I was attending Rd. 2 of the RC Pro Texas State Series in Corpus Christi, TX at my hometrack of Star-Car Raceway. The Star-Car crew built a very fun, but challenging track for the field of about 160 racers. I for one was very excited for this race knowing that after race day I could go home to my own bed!
PRACTICE
Practice went very well at this race. My Xray XB9 and XT8 were dialed from the start, and with some changes to the suspension on the XB9, my cars and my driving were ready to go for 3 rounds of qualifying on Saturday!
QUALIFYING
The format for qualifying was 3 5-minute rounds with your best 2 out of 3 rounds deciding your qualifying spot for the mains. Truggy qualifying went awesome! My XT8 didn’t have any issues for all 3 rounds. It was very hard to get a good clean run on this track but I managed to get a 3rd overall in the first round, and 7th overall in the second round. For the 3rd round, I decided to put some brand new M2 Revolver 2.0s on the car to break them in for the main and had another good round and got another 3rd! This would add up to put me 3rd on the grid for the 30 minute main Saturday evening! In buggy qualifying, I just wanted to get top 10 runs every time I went out, and I did. In the first round, the track was very grippy especially in the corners and I had to baby it to not traction roll. But I still managed a 7th overall for the round. For the 2nd round, I added some camber to my car and this helped alot. My car was awesome in the corners and I could push it the way I wanted to. I got a fast but not very clean run in and got a 5th overall for the round. In round 3, I knew I was already in the A-Main, so I wanted to try and get a fast run in, but I tried to push it too hard, resulting in many mistakes, and another 7th for the round. I was starting 8th on the grid for the 30 minute main, but I knew I had the speed and the car to battle for a spot on the podium!
MAINS
My plan for the mains were to get a good start, and stay smooth for the whole race. In truggy, the start didn’t go so well, I got rear ended on the second corner and that sent me from 3rd to 8th after the first lap. For the rest of the main, I battled with Steve Slayden and Jason Beam for 5th. I stayed smooth and consistent and ended up 5th when it was all said and done. I knew I had the car to do better, but I was happy to get a top 5!
Truggy Results-
1. Jason Branham
2. Mike Battaile
3. Robbie Darby
4. Steve Slayden
In the buggy main, my plan was to get a good start from 8th and give myself a chance to get a podium finish. I got a good start and after 1 lap I was 4th. For the next 10 minutes I battled with Jake Dellinger, Roger Ayres, and Steve Slayden. We were going back and forth battling for 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The track was really rough and it was very difficult to stay on all 4 wheels and stay consistent. After the first pit stops, I just settled in in 4th and drove smooth and consistent for the rest of the main and ended up finishing 4th! My car was so easy to drive through the really rough sections and was very consistent. I really like my car, and with every race I learn something new about it! Its so easy to drive and whenever I get to drive it, I dont want to come off the drivers stand!!!
Buggy Results-
1. Jake Dellinger
2. Jason Branham
3. Mike Battaile
5. Steve Slayden
I was very happy with how my weekend went. My Xray cars were awesome and had zero issues all weekend, my Pro-Line tires were hooked up all weekend and very consistent, and my Werks motors were screaming! My next stop will be in Lafayette, LA for the second round of the RC Pro South Division! This will be my first race in the Pro class for the US Series and I am very excited!!!
Thanks to all my sponsors for all the help and support!
Till next time,
Cade “Young Gun” Whitenton
Products Used-
Buggy-
Practice, Qualifying, and Main- M2 Blockades
Truggy-
Practice, Qualifying, and Main- M2 Revolver 2.0 VTR
