Well JBRL round 4 is in the books. It was 2 days of running, with practice Friday and racing Saturday. We were testing some things Friday and it went really well. We were looking forward to racing Saturday.
Qualifying was frustrating, as my pace was fastest, but started 2nd on the grid in both buggy and truggy. It’s tough to surrender a series point in each class since the final is many times decided by only a single point at the end of the year.
As the buggy main went off I felt pretty comfortable with my car. We had softened it up and used the rough track set-up that has worked here before. My first pit stop was 10:30, as Pro-Line’s Adam Drake and I both came in to pit lane at the same time. At that point we were still close together on the track, and I knew it was going to be a tough hard fight with Adam for the win. With about 5 minutes left in the 20 minute main Adam had a couple mistakes and allowed me to stretch out a bit. This would give me about a 6 second lead and I could cruise home to the win. Really pumped on the fuel economy, as we were consistently well over 10 minutes on a tank and with fuel to spare. This was at race pace with a lot of wheel spin and a lot of throttle input. I’m really pumped to retain the #1 number plate going down to Chula Vista next round. Can’t wait to get down there and race on the super fun track.
Truggy did not go as well. I just could not get in a groove the first 7 minutes and would drop to 6th place and let Adam get about an 18 second lead. For some reason my engine went rich, I think from the new air cleaner, and I had to stop for needle adjustment. I knew I had to push really hard to catch Adam, and maybe it was possible knowing he would drive easy with such a big lead. I tried as hard as I could, but only closed the gap down to 5 seconds, and took 2nd for the day in truck. At least I saved 2nd place points because it wasn’t that easy getting past Cody Smith! I gave up 2 points to Adam, which means I have my work cut out for me in the truggy class if I want the overall at the end of the year.
I want to thank all my sponsors for all the great support. Also my dad for all his hard work at home and in the pits. It’s not easy sitting in the 100 degree weather working on the cars. Big shout out to Cody Smith, putting Kyosho and Reds on both podiums. Reds Racing Engines went 1st and 3rd in the buggy class. Also, big props to Sean Gaffney for battling out there in the buggy class, and putting Kyosho in 3 of the top 4 spots. The battle for 3rd was raging and I had to go through those guys with Adam behind me with a couple laps to go. That was scary! Also, great result for Pro-Line, pretty much sweeping everything. I ran M3 Holeshot 2.0 tires on both cars.
Thanks to the entire JBRL crew, and ARC for putting on this race. Rumor has it that this may be the last race at ARC, because they might move again. As the day came to a close, it was bitter sweet. I really like this track and the real off-road feel it has. Nothing smooth and simple about it, which is what off-road should be. Hopefully the new location is closer to the freeway or near town.
Thanks a lot everyone. Enjoy the photo gallery below. Now on to the Hot Rod Shootout!
