When people talk about the big races of the year, there are a few that don’t get left out. These big events include events such as the Cactus Classic, The Reedy Race, ROAR Nats, and the one that just passed this weekend in Saugus, CA; The Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout. This year marked the 16th year of this great event and it was one for the books. With a new layout that begged for tight racing the track was more than anyone could ask for. This years layout included a massive triple, a 4 pack that could be could be doubled or tripled into, a high speed dog leg sweeper and a few other tricky obstacles.
With temperatures pushing close too 100 Degrees at this events the tire game was very important. Pro-Line’s Legendary MX Compound has always been a contender at this event and was being used by many of the top teams in the past years. With the Release of the New X2 Compound some of the nations top drivers had made a switch as the tire would stay within its comfort zone and could be pushed harder for longer without fading near the end of the run.
In the Premier class of 2WD Modified Buggy, Team Pro-Line Racing / Hot Bodies Driver Ty Tessmann was able to Lock down the 3rd spot on the Podium using Pro-Line Suburbs 2.0 Rear tires with Scrubs up front. Ty went with the new X2 Compound as he felt it was super consistent and held up great in the heat that was at this event. As A1 unfolded Ty was able to chase down Team Associated’s Ryan Maifield and hang on his rear bumper but was not able to get by for the win. In A2 Ty had a great start but unfortunately had a bobble that pushed him to the back of the field. Ty was able to gather things up but would end up in the 5th spot for A2. For A3 Ty started out running in the 2nd spot and was able to hold the position all the way through the second to last lap. On the final lap Pro-Line Racing Teammate Dakotah Phend would make a move swapping their spots on the finishing order.
In the 4WD Modified Buggy Class it was the Ty Tessman show. Ty was able to wrap up both the second and 3rd round of qualifying with his Pro-Line equipped 4WD buggy. Round 1 went to Jared Tebo with Maifield taking the honors in Round 4.
When the Mains started Ty was starting on the pole. In A1 Ty had a bobble on lap 2 that put him back to 5th place. Throughout the race Ty was abel to push hard and made his way all the way up to 2nd finishing behind Ryan Maifield and just ahead of Jared Tebo. In both A2 and A3 Tessmann’s Pro-Line equipped buggy would lead from start to finish loking him in as the winner for the 2013 4WD Buggy Champion.
As the Heaviest 1/10th scale vehicle, the 4X4 Short Course class can really put a strain on tires and how they preform through a 6 minute A main. This years champion n the 4X4 SC Class was Team Pro-Line Racing driver Dakotah Phend. Dakotah Went with the new X2 Compound and a ION SC Tire wrapped around Pro-Line V3 Closed Cell foam. The V3 foam is a slightly oversized foam that can help in high bite situations or with a very heavy vehicle.
Pro-Line Racing Teammate Billy Fischer would grab the second spot on the box behind Dakotah. Billy also running X@ Compound tires made the weekend interesting after trading off wins in qualifying and pushing it all the way to round 4.
As the Stadium Truck class fights to make a comeback the class provided some of the best racing of the weekend. In A1 The top 5 drovers were all running within 3 seconds and the battle was intense. A1 would be wrapped up with Maifield and Cavalieri taking the top 2 spots while Dakotah Phend would finish a little further down the order. In A2 Cav would take the top spot with Phend finishing a close Second. In A3 Phend stretched out the lead with his TLR 22T being chased down by AE’s Ryan Cavalieri. When it was all said and done it came down to a tie for the top spot on the box and Cav would edge out Phend by less than 2/10th’s of a second for the overall win.
Another Pro-Line driver who had an outstanding weekend was up and coming driver Wayne Wyrick. Wayne was able to lock up both the TQ and the win in the 13.5 Stadium Truck Class running his AE T4.2 Truck. Wayne Ran MX Compound Suburbs tires with Closed cell foam. Taking 3rd in the class was PL teammate Matt Gilbert
In the 13.5 Short Course Class Matt Gilbert would take the TQ and the win. In A1 matt got punted on lap 2 and pushed back to the 5th spot. He has able to fight his way back to 3rd. In both A2 and A3 Gilbert was able to take his Truck to the checkers and seal up the overall win in the Expert Stock Short Course truck.
In the 17.5 Short Course Class Tyler Fenster would take the TQ and win A1 and A2 giving him the overall win. Tyler used MX Compound Suburbs on his truck to get the job done and was super excited for such a bug win at his young age.
