It was about 36° when we pulled into the facilities @ Easley RC Complex ( ERC ). Formerly known as The Carolina RC Complex it has recently received a plethora of changes and updates.

The biggest change is the fact the races are now being ran by Robbie Burgess and Tim Smith. For those that do not know them, they have both been around the sport for a long long time in this area and have always been huge supporters of the ERC facility. Not surprisingly, these two have put in an amazing amount of work and changes to the facility to create one of the best places to race in the South East. An all new layout designed by Joey Christensen, new pit road, new dirt, and laboriously manicured track are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg!Yet, With all the rain mother nature dumped on us over the last two days I was skeptical the race could be ran. So as I walked up to do my usual check of the layout and surface I noticed the track crews had already begun to work. Despite having been working on the track until after midnight the two nights before. With the way these boys are working this race was gonna be a go!!

As I drooled over my first views of the layout, first thing u see is its jumps. lots and lots of jumps! Doubles, triples, quads and even a 5-pack! The surface was steam rolled, packed, had a smooth surface and loads of bite! the crews got the track into simply amazing shape! Now to get in some laps!

Some folks opted to use Slicks.. yes, Slicks, but I bolted on my fav setup: M4 Hole Shot 2.0s on all 4 Wheels and waited for my turn in controlled practice. After making a few laps to get used to the new layout one thing was for certain. Grip was not a problem. The Hole Shot Tires and Renegade wheels felt like velcro on shag carpet. Not to mention my EVO SC Body allowed me to make the doubles with ease.

I attempted some triples later in the day. I made several, but missed a few. However, it was the failure in my line or I just plain shorted the jump, but it wasn’t by wind or parachute. Man I love This Body!

With the Truck feeling really good, I pulled it off to let some others get some practice and to prep for heat 1. While my batteries charged and my motor cooled, I walk over to check out the heats that were just posted. Wow! 18 heat races per round!! this was gonna be a LONG, LONG day!

Heat 1 : With the track packed and grippy, I was anxious to get a heat udner my belt. There were 2 heat races of 2WD mod SCT and i was in the second heat race. I like this because it allows me a lot of strategic advantages. Robbie Davidson set the early TQ in round 1 with a time of 11 laps in 7:31:607 a heck of a time! Sticking with my M4 Hole Shots, My main focus was to get a clean run,  and of course try to get the TQ from Robbie. Since we all had very few laps on the track it really made the back stretch difficult to navigate. Because of this I wanted to focus on keeping it shiney side up! As I rolled off after my name was called I hit my groove quickly.

The Hole Shots were simply dialed!

I could run any where on the track I wanted, which made passing a breeze. Speaking of breeze, the wind had kicked up some since practice, yet the EVO SC took it all with stride allowing me to cross the finish line first with 12 laps in 7:09:726 to take the TQ!

Heat 2: Now its about 7:30pm. The sun has set, the track started to get packed and shiny. not to mention the temperature was plummeting. Despite this the track was still dusting up in some places, so I left the same set of M4 Hole Shots on it and let her eat ! After a few corners it was clear the track was getting slick and greasy as the truck was a tad skatey, but manageable. Although I did win the heat it wasn’t any faster then round 1 so, I kept the TQ. ( i apologize for not getting a picture of the heat race in my haste to repair my truck after breaking it in practice after the 3rd round, I never got a chance to get it. )

Special Thanks: I would like to take this moment before the main to Say thank you to someone. Zak Morton. Zak has been a huge part of the RC community in this area for the last few years. He is always , always around to lend a hand and offer the shirt off his back if necessary, and tonight he offered his shirt to me: I decided to go out between the last heat and the main to try some tires for the conditions. long story short I broke the front end , and I did not have the part to replace it. Zak, who had qualified second, offered me the one off his truck. I refused to take it but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. I truly was and still am at a loss for words at his generosity. His blinding loyalty to helping others at his own detriment is legendary and today was no exception. Usually Zak can be found corner marshaling 2-4 Nitro Mains in a row, and still help others pit their vehicles all while his truck waits to be prepped. All with zero complaints , a huge grin, and contagious laughs! You are an inspiration to us all sir, and I for one am proud to call you my friend! Broski’s for life!!

A-Main: Here we are! The Main event!! Its 11:30 pm 34° and down right frigid! The track was hard, slick, and almost frozen so what tire do we use? While watching the B-Main it was pretty obvious the grip was changing out there. Since i think the best tire at that time would have been a square fuzzy ( which I didn’t have ),  I went to plan B which was M4 Hole Shots ( surprise !!! ) and some traction additive to help. Starting from the TQ position, my tires held true to the name as i posted a half second lead into turn one. The truck was on rails! I hit my marks and never looked back to capture the win at the Inagural trophy race @ ERC speedway!!