I traveled north to “The Track” in Gaithersburg, Maryland to attend my first ROAR race. While I faced a series of unfortunate events and struggles in my other classes, I was able to TQ in the 4WD SCT division after two 1st place finishes in the shortened race program.
Kevin Ran Pro-Line M4 Electrons on his 4WD SCT
I was able to carry that momentum into the double A-Mains where my Maclan motor and Venom battery combo helped me take the win in the first A-Main. I also used an extremely worn pair of Pro-Line Electrons (M4) sauced with Sticky Kicks Pink formula. The track was randomly swept a couple times throughout the day so if your run happened to be on a dusty track it made things an adventure. As a result, some racers were jumping back and forth between slicks and treads. I made sure I didn’t push my truck out of the tight groove, which allowed my Electrons to provide the traction I needed.
In the second A-Main, things got a little more feisty even with the pole position I couldn’t avoid the pile up on the first turn. I took the worst of it dropping to the back of the pack and for the next 2 laps I pushed too hard resulting in two more unforced wrecks and found myself in dead last after leading almost the entire day and not falling lower than 2nd place in any race. There was a very good possibility that I might miss the podium completely unless I cleaned things up in a hurry. I took a depth breath and started chipping away. Half way through the 6-minute race, I had worked my way up to 5th and was narrowing the gap. After a few more smooth, consistent laps I found myself in 4th and within striking distance of third place. On the final lap, I was able to make a clean pass for 3rd and the combined finish of a 1st and 3rd was enough to win the ROAR Regional.
Thank you XRAY / RC America, Maclan, Pro-Line, Venom, Xpert, Boca Bearings, BOOMrc, Sticky Kicks, and Bullit RC Hobby Shop in Raleigh, NC for all your support!
