This weekend I had a chance to take my Pro-Line Racing Pro-2 Short Course Truck out to 702 Raceway in Las Vegas Nevada. This was a fun trip for me as 702 was one of my first out of town trips I made almost 5 years ago when I started racing RC. Over the years I have traveled to various tracks across the country and have stopped into 702 on my travels but had not dedicated a weekend to their facility and testing on their track.
I left CA early Saturday morning with plans of reaching the track as they opened at 11 AM. I almost hit my mark but with a couple delays from traffic and stop for food I ended up about an hour behind schedule. When I arrived I got on with my normal stuff of selecting tires that I felt would be good, rebuilding shocks, and coming up with a game plan on what all I needed to test.
Once I had my packs charged up and the truck ready to go I selected a set of M3 Tazers out back with M4 Blockades up front to start with. I felt the larger blocks up front would not be too aggressive on the loose surface of 702 Raceway. In the rear I went with the Tazer as the layout was fairly fresh and had a lot of loose and loamy dirt on top. The truck felt good but the back of the truck was slightly loose and I felt it could use a bit more rubber on the surface.
For my 3rd pack out I switched over to a set of M3 Holeshot 2.0’s which have a slightly smaller pin and a closer spacing. These tires got me to where I wanted to be with the current track conditions and I was able to start putting down some good laps. I also experimented with a M3 Square Fuzzie which is Pro-Lines smallest pin with the closest spacing of pins. With how dusty and inconsistent the track was I didn’t feel it was a good tire for the time.
Once I had the Truck locked in it was time to move on to my Mod Buggy. While racing in So Cal most of my career, running on loose dirt is something new for me and I have only run pins and ribs a few times. I floated around with the front of my car trying a few tires ranging from our new ION M3 Front tire to a 4 Rib Tire in both M3 and M4 Compounds. Out Back I played with both Holeshot 2.0’s and Square Fuzzie in M3 and M4 as well, all with open cell foam. After a few packs of testing I had narrowed down my decision to The Ion Front with a Square Fuzzie out back, both in M3 Compound utilizing the stock foam.
PRACTICE DAY DONE!!!!
As I arrived on Sunday Morning I was told that 702 had laid down some sugar on the track in hopes that traction would come up a bit. Now when I heard this is was slightly disappointed since I had just spent an entire day gluing tires and testing tread and compounds only to have all that work go out the window. So I grabbed some used tires and hit the track to see what it was all about. To my surprise the track had a very similar feel and tire wear was not what I was expecting. 702 had laid down just enough of the sweet stuff to add a little grip but keep that nice loose flowing dirt that they are known for…. GAME ON!
ROUND 1-
EXPERT MOD BUGGY-
Vegas has a fairly stacked field and the conditions provide a “Home Track Advantage” making it hard for Out of Towner’s to go fast. Using the tips I got from some of the drivers I was able to pull out a 2nd place finish for the round after a couple small mistakes. I felt I had a little more in my car but I took 2nd for the round.
EXPERT MOD 2WD SC-
With a spread of 2 classes for the Mod 2WD SC Classes there were over 3 full heats. The Expert class I was running was a bit sparse but the talent was through the roof. In Round 1 I had a couple early race mistakes but was able to hold onto 2nd after a mistake on the last lap.
ROUND 2-
EXPERT MOD BUGGY-
In round 1 I had run a Holeshot 2.0 Rear on the car as I was afraid of the tire wear from the sugar. For Round two I went back to a M3 Square Fuzzie and it was the right choice. Round 1’s TQ was taken by a local AE Driver who went 13/ 5:00 and had a blistering fast run. In Round 2 I was on pace for a 14 lap run and a new TQ time. On the last lap it happened, I clipped a pipe and parked it dropping myself down from a 14/ 5:19 to a 13/5:02. I had given up TQ and it didn’t look as if any 2WD vehicle would hit 14 laps in qualifying.
EXPERT MOD SC-
Since the Square Fuzzie was so good on my buggy I decided to try them out on my Pro-Line Pro 2 as well… and they were money! My truck launched out of the gate and I was on pace for a low 13 lap run. With about 1 minute to go I was in the zone and had climbed to a 14 lap run! My Pro 2 was locked in and I was about to put down a faster TQ time in a 2WD SC truck than 5 Factory Team Drivers that were there running Mod Buggies. As time expired I was able to hold it together and lay down the quickest time of the weekend of any 2WD vehicle… with a Slash Conversion
MAINS-
EXPERT MOD BUGGY.
With a decent sized straight away, 1st and 2nd spot on the grid were just around the bend and unfortunately off line in the loose stuff. 3rd through 8th were locked in on the line so I was a bit skeptical of getting a good start. As the tone sounded myself and the TQ both spun our tires a bit so I backed off a little to avoid getting tangled up. As this happened I was collected from behind and my heart sank. I had fallen all the way back to 7th, and 6th place was a good distance ahead of me. On top of that, while trying to get back up front my first 3 laps were horrid. I had tangles with a couple other drivers and issues with marshals. All in all my first 3 laps were a 25 seconds, 27 seconds, and 24 seconds… when they should have been 22s!
By lap 3 I had fallen into a groove and was on a mission. My car was locked in and I was picking off drivers one by one set on making it back into the top 5. By lap 6 I was able to break into the top 5 and then tied up having a few more issues. As the race went on I pushed and pushed and on the last lap I was able to break into the top 3 finishing well ahead of where I had planned.
More importantly Pro-Line Racing took the TOP 3 SPOTS in EXPERT MOD BUGGGY! My buggy was also able to put down the fast lap of the race with a 21.8!
EXPERT MOD SC-
Unfortunately in Mod SC I suffered an electronics failure on lap 2. So not much to write about here
WRAP UP-
All in all I had a great time at 702 Raceway in Las Vegas Nevada. Garret and the crew at 702 Raceway are always top notch and the racers are lots of fun to hang out with. I want to thank Pro-Line Racing Drivers “The Big Shane” Lyon, Daman Barron, and James Raschko for all the help getting me on pace. Without you guys and this awesome rubber I could not have run as well as I did.
