| Blais Racing, JBRL Round 7 Race Report! Nick Blais takes the Pro-2 TQ and Win! |
| JBRL Round 7 Palm Desert RC Raceway 9-14-2013By Nick Blais:HOT, HOT, HOT! The Blais Racing crew picked me up Thursday night and we headed for Palm Desert Raceway. After getting off the freeway around 10pm we noticed that the thermostat said it was 94 degrees outside. They were doing some track check over’s when we got there and they said we could hit the track if we wanted too. So I ran what juice was left in my Venom battery packs from the last race I went to. The track was hooked up thanks to them running it dry for the past couple of weeks. After running Friday when it was about 110 outside it was time to stiffen up all the suspension as you could tell by the chassis getting completely ground down. My Pro-Line tire choice would be to run MX IONs in the rear with M3 Blockades in front on my SC trucks. My Tekno EB48 was completely dialed with Pro-Line MX Blockades wrapped all the way around. You could tell it was going to be good racing.Race Day qualifying went very good for me with my Tekno’s and my new Pro-Line PRO-2 truck that was awesome. Pro 4 was up first and I was able to get a pretty good pace going but everybody was going fast and I knew I was going to have to pick up the pace in round two. I ran with David Jenson for most of the qualifier until I mad about a ten second mistake as it takes a long time for the turn marshals to get to you on such a big track. Round 2 I was able to put together a sweet first lap and that kept me going as I was to keep that pace and take the TQ for pro 4 thanks to the changes I made to the Tekno SCT410. Pro 2 was up next with my Pro-Line PRO-2 truck doing wheelies with how good my IONs were hooked up. I was able to get a good pace going with Ryan Dunford very close the whole way but I would take the TQ by less than a second but pretty far ahead of third. I was able to win the second heat locking up the TQ for the main. So now time to break out the super fast toys my Tekno EB48. Time for one more TQ or that’s just what I was wishing. I got off to a pretty good steady run but was just running a little slower pace than everyone. Second heat came around and I was able to pull the win but it was only good for a 5th place starting position.
Pro 2 race 16 was off to a good start until I got to the first triple jump and I came up short but my prototype Big Bore Pro-Line shocks were to keep me on the track and able to maintain the lead. I was going good until Dunford pulled up on me again and after struggling through the whoops he was to land on the back of my truck sending me into the pipe but back on the gas again going for the lead back I was to roll it over and letting Matt by for 2nd. Dunford made a mistake in the whoops and I was to get 2nd place back, now I was after the 1st place position. After some rubbing I was able to get the lead and then Bam a little run in from behind sent me sailing upside down. Right after I got going Matt and Dunford made big mistakes pretty much taking Ryan out of the race, and after chasing down Matt for a lap he would move over to give me the spot back like a true sportsman. He was to chase for a little until he crashed and I was to run away and take the first place position by a mile.
Pro 4 race 5 was up and it was time to have some fun. Starting up front I had a pretty good chance on staying up front at least until I hit a bad spot in the triple on the second lap and it sent me into a nose dive. Ryan and Casper were able to sneak by before I was to get moving again. From that point I just wanted to stay close but with Barry right on my bumper I had to push. Casper made a mistake the next lap and that moved the top 3 up a spot. Soon after I was to make a push for the lead and with Dunford trying to hold the line he was to get hung up just enough for me to sneak by. The next lap he went for a pass on me and almost flipped me in the first turn but he let off just in time saving us and Barry was almost to get by both of us. Barry would make the pass on me a few turns later and then he would come up short on the very next jump allowing me to get back by. Then again the very next lap he was to come in hot and I was already dedicated to a wider line and he was to get by again and after that I was to stay close but on the next to last lap I was to make a mistake in the loose stuff and just wanted to drive in to my very exciting 2nd place finish. 1/8 scale race 17 was going to be a ten minute main event. I had ran my Tekno EB48 for ten minutes in practice and everything was good to go. In the main event everyone was to start getting impatient and trying to win the race on the first lap. My brother pulled right up on me in the first turn and gave me some brotherly love, after getting on the gas everybody started going crazy. Dunford jumped off the track, Jenson got squirrely, Casper got into him and went into a barrel role over the triple. I got into the back of Chad after Dunford jumped back onto the track and gunned it for the turn. The race was on! I was to put some solid laps together and run third most of the race until about the 6 minute mark when my car would come to a stop. After the inspection I noticed that one of the motor wires had broke off the motor, possible could off happened when my bro landed on me earlier in the race. It’s all good, that’s how racing goes.
I can’t complain with 2 TQ’s for the day and a 1st and 2nd for the day. I would have been sweat to wrap it up with 3 podium finishes. Big thanks to Blais Racing Services, Coyote Hobbies, Pro-Line, Venom, Tekno, and Tekin. It wouldn’t be possible without family and the best in RC products out there. Hope to see you out at Hot Rod Hobbies for the season final. ———————————————————————————————————————
By Chris Blais: We arrived on Friday when the track opened in the early afternoon and started putting some time in on the track. It was really hot but I really enjoyed the layout and all my cars were working great. My Pro-Line tires had me hooked up on the dry track. In Pro 4 I would have really good qualifying rounds with the 2nd round being my best. My brother and Casper would just edge me out in their 2nd qualifiers also to put me in 3rd for the main event. The top 7 drivers were only about 4 seconds apart. In the main event I would have a few bobbles that left me battling in the middle of the pack. I would make my way back up and had a great battle with Rudy Rico going back and forth the last couple of minutes. Rudy would be able to hold me off and I would finish up with a 5th place finish in Pro 4. It would be a different story in 4wd Modified Buggy. I have been driving my Team Associated B44.2 a lot lately and trying to improve my consistency with this car. After installing a Avid chassis and some fresh Venom batteries my car was a rocket. I would qualify second just a little behind Matthew Pages. In the main we were all making small mistakes and Matthew took off. Once we got spread out I put the charge in and Matthew made some big mistakes allowing me to catch up. We had a great battle all the way to the end and I was able to take the win by .1 seconds. I kept my cool and held him off to the end. This was my first 4wd Modified Buggy win at a JBRL and it felt great. My Pro-Line MX Suburbs worked great and held up the whole run. In 1/8 scale E-Buggy I would have a great time all weekend. My Coyote Hobbies, Pro-Line, Venom, Tekin sponsored Tekno EB-48 was working great. I would have 2 good qualifying runs to put me in 6th place position for the main event. This time I would be more aggressive the first couple of laps and put myself in a good position early on. I had a few small mistakes that set me back a little but would finish in 5th place which was better than I qualified. I can’t wait for the final round at Hot Rod Hobbies next month. Hope to see you at the races!
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