This past weekend I traveled to Katy, TX, for Round 4 of the RC Pro Texas State Series. Due to rain all throughout the week, the Katy RC track crew had to build the whole track on Thursday night. They got the job done, and managed to build a fun, but challenging track for the field of 170 racers. I was very excited to get back on the track coming off a podium finish in Lafayette a couple of weekends ago!
PRACTICE
We got there on Friday to dial in my Xray XB9 and XT8 for qualifying on Saturday. My cars were awesome from the start, and I spent most of practice just trying to get used to the challenging layout.
QUALIFYING
In the first round of truggy qualifying, I got off to a good start and was keeping up with Mike Battaile, but I just tried to push it too hard, and made a lot of mistakes. I got 2nd overall for the round, and was 8 seconds off of Battaile’s TQ time. In the second round, I got off to another great start, but I landed awkwardly off of the Anaheim triple, and the pivot pin holding my rear hub in place popped out. So I DNFed that round. In the 3rd and final round of qualifying, I got off to a great start, AGAIN, and was battling with Bradly Walton and Ryan Mosley for 2nd place. We were all close together on the track, and I made a couple of mistakes, which dropped me down to 4th overall for the round, and I was starting 2nd overall for the 30 minute main that evening, which I was very happy about. In the first round of buggy qualifying, I was battling for the lead early on with Roger Ayres, but I tried to push it too hard, which resulted in some small mistakes. I ended up finishing 2nd overall for the round, and I knew I could do better. In the second round of qualifying, I changed to a little bit softer shock spring due to the track getting rougher. And my car was so much better. I had a smooth, clean run, and wasn’t pushing that hard. I finished 3rd overall for the round, and was 4th overall after 2 rounds. In the final round of qualifying, we decided to try a different pipe to get some better gas mileage. Right when I got on the track for warmup, I knew it wasn’t the right choice. My engine got really fat at the start, and I flamed out going down the back straight, so I DNFed the round. And I was starting 4th in the main that night. I knew I had the speed to run up front in the main, I just had to had to drive smart!
MAINS
My plan for the 30 minute truggy main was to get off to a good start, and just separate myself from everyone else. I got off to pretty good start, and just tried to run clean laps, Battaile pulled away quick, and that left me and Brady Walton to battle it out for second place. We stayed within 2 seconds of each other for most of the race, exchanging 2nd place every other lap. With about 8 minutes left, we came in to pit for the last time, I got out of pitlane first, and I started to pull away. He made a couple of mistakes toward the end of the race, and I finished 2nd. It was one of the best races I have ever been a part of, and it was alot of fun battling with Brady! I would also like to congratulate Pro-Line team driver Grayson Witt on a solid top 5 finish!
1. Mike Battaile
3. Brady Walton
4. Pablo Tejada
5. Grayson Witt
In the buggy main I got a good start and was in second after the first lap behind Roger Ayres. I was running brand new M2 Blockades and they were really edgy in the beginning stages of the race, so I couldn’t push my car that hard, and I just tried to settle in in 2nd until my tires kicked in and I got into a groove. My car was getting better as the main went on, and right when I was starting to get into a groove, I tangled with a lapper on the back straight and got thrown off the track into the paintball field. That cost me about 15 seconds and I dropped down to 6th. For the rest of the main, I drove smooth and consistent and ended up finishing 3rd behind Jake Dellinger and Mike Battaile.
1. Jake Dellinger
2. Mike Battaile
4. Mark Morrow
5. Ricardo Herrera
Overall, it was a great weekend, and I was very happy with my results. I was happy that I got to hang out with my Houston friends again, and I can’t wait to come back for the Texas State Series Finals! I would like to thank Matt Duke for helping my dad with pit stops, Katy RC crew for putting on an awesome race, and last but not least, David and Susie Lovett for putting on an awesome series!
Thanks Pro-Line for all the support and awesome products!!!
Till next time,
Cade “Young Gun” Whitenton
Products Used-
Qualifying and Main- M2 Revolver 2.0s
Mugen MBX6T Bulldog
Qualifying and Main- M2 Blockades
