On March 29 I was able to attend The Ashley Cup 2, a Race for St. Judes at Heritage RC Park in Chula Vista, California.  This is benfit race put together by my friend Egyptsean, where all of the proceeds are donated to St Judes hospital in his daughter Ashley’s name. In June of 2012, Seans daughter was killed in a tragic car accident, and this race was started as memorial for her.  This year, they raised about $6,400 for St Judes. For more history about the Ashley cup, you can check out the website at:  http://ashleycup.com/.  It is a heart wrenching story.

With a little over a hundred entries, I had an ambitious day running three different large scale classes.  In the highly competitive Expert Pro4 truck final, I was able to manage a 3^rd place finish behind fellow Losi/TLR/Pro-Line teammate Brian Sullivan.  My Bartolone powered 5iveT was fast all day, with my Pro-Line Blockades providing superior traction,  I was able to battle my way from a 6^th place starting spot on the grid the final podium position in the 25 minute final.

In Expert Pro4 Buggy, a rough start had me chasing fellow Losi/TLR/Pro-Line teammate Brian Sullivan and MIP’s Matt Olson from the beginning.  A servo issue hindered my ability to challenge and charge for the top spots, but I was able to maintian the final podium spot finishing in 3^rd.

The final class I ran was Expert Pro-2 truck. My Losi/OC Baja designs hybird 2wd truck is still a work in progress. I have been working with my friend Tim at OC Baja Designs on a hybrid 2wd Losi truck. My Pro-Line Blockades provided plenty of traction. I had a great battle with Kyle Christy from Team KCRP.  We battled all the way to the end of the 25 minute final, coming down to the second to last corner.  A rubbed pipe scrubbed enough speed to let Kyle stay just in front of me, keeping me in 3^rd once again.

– Chris Higa