Race 3 of the Coral Springs RC Track South Florida Off Road Championship Series II had the feel of Autumn in the air. After some brief showers the night before, the track was in the best shape of the series. We also had a new class “Nitro” and we’re hoping to see it finish out the series. We opened the gates at 7 AM with qualifiers starting just after 9 AM. Everybody just knew, this was going to be a great race day.
The 2WD Stock Buggy class had thirteen entries who basically ran together all day long. Corey Record took the first heat, easily. Due to marshaling issues we switched things around moving the second stock class (13.5 4WD Buggy) up giving them the opportunity to get in earlier than usual. David Iler took full advantage and the first heat win. Mod. Stadium Truck was up next, Bart Collins did what he always does…win! A smaller than usual 2WD Mod. Buggy class barely got the amount of entries to run but just made it, Corey Record got the opening round victory. Daniel Paz squeaked by Jader Lopez with a 0.846 to win during the first round of 4WD Mod. Buggy. Pro 4 Mod. SCT Race 3 saw the renewed Paz/Kranz war and after the first heat, Paz was on top by under four seconds. E buggy was the days largest class and the early win went to Jader Lopez breaking into the 23 club with a 23.943. Finally, we got a Nitro class going and Bart Collins easily took the first qualifier.
Round two started up with points on the line. Out of nowhere and with his first TQ win ever, Jared Cooper took the point in 2WD Stock Buggy. The 13.5 TQ point went to Jeff Kranz as he got his timing and consistency together. Bart Collins continued his dominance in Mod Stadium Truck and earned another point. Corey Record keeps the point and wins both qualifiers to get the pole position for the mains in 2WD Mod Buggy. Daniel Paz showed why he’s always a contender in every class he runs and today it was 4WD Mod. Buggy. There’s a new gun in town racing Pro 4 Mod SCT and his name is Jader Lopez. Taking the TQ point and the number one spot in the A Main, Jader made a huge impact in his first SCT race. As for E buggy, Jader Lopez did it again, getting the TQ point. Bart Collins keeps his spot and wins the first TQ in our newest class, Nitro.
The Semi Mains began with the E-Buggy C-Main, Nicole Kaplan and Cesar Souza moving up to the B-Main. Next up were the Pro-4 Mod SCT and the E-Buggy heats to set up the Featured Mains. While they were hard fought battles, Massimo Fabiani and Shaun Quiros bumped up in SCT and Franco Desiderio and Fred Rodriquez completed the last of the bump ups and the A-Mains were finally set.
2WD Stock Buggy started off the Featured Mains. First time TQ winner Jared Cooper started off strong but had some problems mid way through and at the end of race dropping him down to fourth. Jeff Kranz starting in third, ran consistent and won the race. Tom Allen pushed all the way up from the fifth spot to take second. Series point leader Corey Record was steady and kept his cool by starting and ending in third place. Bart Collins staked his claim by getting the TQ and win in Mod. Stadium Truck, edging out Sebastian Hazbun by 1.309 seconds to earn his 101. Corey Record fought up from fifth to third, keeping the pressure on the top two. 13.5 4WD Buggy is starting to get very interesting, as Jeff Kranz got the TQ plus the A-Main’s win 101 score, putting pressure on today’s third place finisher and series leader, David Iler. Tom Allen’s second place finish gave him a boost and put him in the thick of it. 2WD Mod. Buggy’s A-Main winner Jeff Kranz had to split his “100” with second place and TQ winner Corey Record. Richard Hazbun locked in third place and the 98 points that goes with it. The 4WD Mod. Buggy A-Main was one of the best raced and controlled heats of the day. Daniel Paz and Corey record went toe to toe. They both raced exceptionally well but Daniel Paz’s six 24-second laps out of his last seven made Corey Record shake his head and take second by 0.754 seconds. Gavin “The Hammer’ Butera ran great as well ending up in third. Pro-4 Mod. SCT Daniel Paz raced like a new man with more control and finesse. Jader Lopez got the TQ but A-Main ended quickly after three laps, giving Daniel Paz the SCT class with his two lowest lap times in the low 26’s. Jeff Kranz once again ran a nearly perfect race, but going against a smarter driving Daniel Paz was a bit too much. Scott Delfino finished third in this highly competitive class. With a combined score of 302, it looks near impossible to knock Jader Lopez off his E Buggy domination. Today he got another 101 while Daniel Paz was second by over nine seconds and Luis Perez third by over eighteen seconds. Finally, after a long day the last twenty minutes went to the Nitro Buggy’s A-Main. Bart Collins easily won as John Bertelsen and Luis Perez flip-flopped giving John the edge and second place while Luis dropped down to a third.
The day was amazing, the track was awesome and the racing spectacular. Another one went into the books for the South Florida Off Road Championship Series II. TriCounty Hobbies, Pro-Line Racing along with Boca Bearing, JConcepts, Gens Ace, Venon, Big Boss Beef and Speed Demon Hobbies once again gave us a great event. Three down and three to go at the halfway point. On November 8, 2015 we’ll start the second half of the series and as time passes, it just gets better and better…

Michael