For our 8th Wedding Anniversary, my wife and I planned a trip to Columbus, Ohio to attend the third round of Scotty Ernst’s Off-Road Showdown. It is a 15-hour round trip from our house to Sparks Park RC Raceway so I decided to enter four classes to get as much track time as possible. In addition my wife raced in the Novice division.
I had previously attended round 2 at Beach RC and was highly impressed with the way Scotty Ernst ran the race program so we decided it was a great way to spend our anniversary.
Friday was a full day of practice; it was also my first time on the track with my brand new HB D413. I spent the majority of the time getting familiar with the Buggy and working out any kinks associated with a new build. We were told treaded, clay compound tires were best for the surface at Sparks Park but with track maintenance and frequent watering the best tires ended up being Pro-Line Primes. I had a full set of Primes for all my vehicles except my 4wd Buggy so I had to make due with what I had in that class.
My Pro-Line PRO-2 SCT felt great in the modified 2wd SCT division.
My goal was to make the A-Main in each of my classes. When Sunday’s mains rolled around I had achieved my goal of reaching all four A-Mains and focused on finishing the event as strong as possible.
In 4wd SCT, I had my truck ready to roll with a fresh set of Boca Bearings. I had my strongest showing taking 2nd overall and qualifying 2nd in three out of the four qualifiers. Each qualifier featured some extremely tight racing from second through fifth. The truck and Maclan MR4 4105kv combo did not disappoint as it allowed me to consistently put down some of the fastest laps in the class.
The tight racing continued into the A-Main, I got off to a good start but a minute into the race a bobble and then a subsequent tangle up with lap traffic on the same lap dropped me all the way back to fourth. After a few minutes, I was able to race my way back to second but things weren’t settled until the final lap, as I was unable to create any kind of separation from the third place truck. It made for some exciting racing since the margin of error was non-existent and a single wreck or slip up would have dropped me down the board. I was happy to cross the finish line in 2nd place against some very good drivers.
My Pro-Line PRO-2 SCT felt great in the modified 2wd SCT division. I believe I put down some of the cleanest laps with the tightest lines in this division. The competition however was on another level though and had lap times that rivaled the buggies. I guided my truck to a 6th place finish and felt I kept things respectable by turning 20 laps and staying within striking distance for a top five finish. I really enjoyed the 2wd SCT class and the flow of the track.
I might begin exploring a mid-motor configuration for my PRO-2. I believe that will help me trim off a little more time on these high-bite indoor tracks. Overall though I felt my Pro-2 and Maclan 8.5T motor felt great, I was happy with the results. I will keep pushing to improve my racing and finding ways to continue shaving off time. This year has easily been the best and most rewarding for my PRO-2, it has performed well in every setting and has helped me take home a lot of hardware from a handful of tracks.
The final two classes were both four-wheel drive. I debated entering the 1:8 E-Buggy class, as I was kind of concerned about 10 large 1:8 scale vehicles and the limited space on the indoor track. Surprisingly, the class was super clean and all the A-Main racers were very respectful of each other and the turn marshals. Several of the 4wd SCT racers also participated in this class so the racing was very similar and very tight, I qualified fifth but losing a wheel in the third heat stayed with me throughout the remainder of the event. It was the same wheel nut that caused a similar DNF at the Summer Scorcher. Thankfully Tekno’s Jeremy McGuigan gave me a wheel nut that allowed me to continue racing.
Due to his generosity, I was able to take home 4th overall in the E-Buggy division. The A-Main race was very close and on the final lap it looked like I would finish no better than fifth when the 4th placed buggy clipped the pipe. It opened up the window I needed to dart past him and hit the final straight away and finish the race in fourth.
The fourth and final class was modified 4wd buggy with my HB D413 and Maclan 6.5T motor. It is always exciting and nerve-racking racing a new vehicle for the first time. My plan was to log some track time at local indoor track, The Warehouse before jumping into a big race with it. Sadly, the local track closed its doors for the final time on July 22nd. I know I will miss The Warehouse R/C Complex and the club racing.
I really wanted to have a strong showing the first time out with my D413 and as a member of the HB Racing team. I felt making the A-Main was a success but I expect more out of myself and will be looking to improve on these results in future races. With the odd tire combination (treaded tires on the front and slicks on the rear) I raced to 8th place overall. I received some odd looks and some funny comments as other racers inquired about my tires selection. It was a little embarrassing but the hobby shop did not carry Primes so I had to race what I had.
I also stayed busy keeping my wife’s 4wd SCT ready as she participated in the Novice division. She had a blast and ended up taking home a 3rd place plaque. She also started attempting jumps, usually she rolls the jumps but she is starting to feel more comfortable with truck. The highlight was her final lap, when she nailed the big double jump perfectly and the landing set her up for the immediate turn. She left the driver’s stand with a huge smile and is looking forward to attending Scotty Ernst’s future showdown races.
The atmosphere of the race was amazing; we would like to thank Scotty Ernst, Thomas Tran and everyone at Sparks Park RC Raceway for hosting such an enjoyable event. We also left with a handful of goodies from the raffle and would like to say thanks to all the companies that sponsor the Showdown, two of which I am proud to represent, Maclan and Pro-Line!
Also a big thanks to Venom batteries for supplying power in all my vehicles, Xpert Servos for continuing to provide lightning quick and reliable steering and BoomRC for keeping my vehicles looking great with custom decals and chassis protectors.
Finally, my wife filmed each of the four A-Mains and I hope to have them loaded on my YouTube channel as soon as possible.
