Short Course Nationals
Enfield, CT
August 3rd-5th
Over the past weekend RC Madness in Enfield, CT was host to the 4th Annual Short Course Nationals. I was very excited for this event as last year’s event was cut short because of Hurricane Irene, but the weather looked like it would hold for this year’s event.
There were some new additions to this event, now in its fourth year. Instead of running all the classes on the same track like they did last year, Chris Marcy (owner of RC Madness), and Dean Berry (RC Madness Promotions Director) and the track crew built 2 tracks for the race. One of the tracks was small (approx. 90 x 40) and this was where they would end up running all of the Stock and Spec classes. This track featured smaller jumps and resembled a true scale Short Course track. The larger track was for the Open, Nitro, and 5th Scale classes. It was about 3 times the size of the smaller track and had much larger jumps and features.
For this event I was running 3 classes so I would have my hands full for the entire day. I would be running the Losi XXX-SCT in Stock SCT, the Losi XXX-SCB in Stock and the brand new TLR 22SCT in the Open class. This meant that I would get a chance to experience both tracks which meant I would need to motor up with the new truck, something I have not done in 20 years.
Stock SCT A Main
As the rain was starting to show up, it was time to run the Stock SCT A main event. The light sprinkle was not a problem and actually provided a little bit more grip on the track. When the tone sounded I was able to pass 2 cars and get into the 5th position and a few turns later I was in a strong second place position. I was able to capitalize on a mistake by the leader and took over the lead. It would stand this way until I made a mistake of my own and dropped down a few spots. Unfortunately I was not able to make up enough time and settled for the 5th overall position only 5 seconds back of the leader.
Stock SCB A Main
This would end up being my last chance to try and put my buggy at the front of the pack. Again the rain was coming down on the track, but that did not stop the spectators from lining up to see some of the most realistic looking vehicles run. At the starting tone, I did not get off to a good start and was passed by several cars by the first turn. After that I realized it was going to be a hard fought battle to get back to the front. Within a few laps I found myself in the top 3 but was still not that close. However I did have open track in front of me, so I was able to run some of the fastest laps of the field until I finally caught up with the leaders who were battling for position and consequently slowing themselves down. I took advantage of this and was able to get in the mix for the win. With about 4 laps to go, I made an inside move to take over the lead. 4 nerve wracking laps later I would cross the line with the win.
Open Main events
Because of the rain, some of the Open Class mains had to be cancelled with qualifying order determining finishing order. In the end, this would crown Ryan Dunford the King of both 4 wheel Open and 2 wheel Open, the latter with the brand new TLR 22SCT. Way to go Ryan!
Thank you’s
A special thank you goes out to everyone at RC Madness for putting on such a great event. The list includes Dean Berry, Chris Marcy and all of the Madness Crew. Without you guys this event would not even be happening. The event set a new record for attendance with 330 entries which says something about both the discipline (SC), but also for the staff at Madness.
I would also like to thank Ryan Dunford and Gary Katzer, my roommates for the weekend! These guys not only went above and beyond for me, but also for our customers. And it was just plain fun racing with both of you!
Lastly I would like to thank Randy Pike of Tekin and Gerardo Gonzalez of Pro-Line. Without these guys I would not have been able to show as well as I did at this event. In RC racing it is never really a one man show, there is always someone behind the scene helping no m matter what level of racing it is. Thanks again guys, it was much appreciated.
Equipment used:
Stock SCT
Losi XXX-SCT—Pro-Line M4 Holeshot (R) and M3 Tazer (F)
Stock SCB
Losi XXX-SCB—Pro-Line M4 Holeshot (R) and M3 Tazer (F)
Open SCT
TLR 22SCT— Pro-Line M4 Holeshot (R) and M3 Tazer (F)
-Keith Whisler, Horizon Hobby
