Fastlane RC Raceway– Spring Trophy Race 5/30/14-5/31/14
The Spring Trophy Race was the first “big” event at Kansas City’s best RC track, Fastlane RC Raceway. It was a two day race, Friday practice and Saturday qualifiers and mains. The outdoor track is medium sized, with normally a very challenging a fun layout. The track surface was very grooved up, even on Friday after only practice. Generally anything in the X3 Compound works at this track, and between Pro-Line Teammates, Chad Parks and Jeremy Cathlina, and myself we used a very wide variety of Pro-Line rubber. I stayed loyal to X3 HoleShots for both my electric and nitro buggys all through practice, qualifying, and mains. I saw M4 Suburbs, X3 Blockades, X3 DiamondBacks, and even X2 Bow-Ties working great on the highly grooved, abrasive, and bumpy track. With my X3 Holeshots I qualified 6th in E-Buggy and 8th in nitro. Chad Parks was able to lock down TQ with X3 HoleShots.
Come main time I mounted two new sets of X3 Holeshots, one set for my 30-min nitro main, and one set for my 10-min electric main. My mains were back to back, so I had to prep my cars far in advance so that they would be ready (and so I would be ready) to race for 50+ mins of A-Main action.
First was nitro, I started 8th so the driving in the back of the pack was rough at the start. I was able to work my way through to about 5th or 4th by about the first pit stop, just by driving clean and consistent. By the half way point, I was in 3rd and my tires were still working great. The Holeshot tread allowed me to push hard in corners without catching the ruts and holes. I finished 3rd joining Pro-Line teammate Jeremy Cathlina who was in second using X3 DiamondBacks. My X3 Holeshots wore a lot better than I was expecting, since the track was dry and abrasive. I could have gone and extra 15-20-mins pretty easy.
Next was my 10-min E-Buggy main. Starting 6th really made me nervous, since I was right in the middle of the pack. But to my surprise I was able to capitalize and make my way to 2nd by the end of the first couple of laps. The whole race I was chasing fellow racer and friend Mike Garrison. We were 1st and 2nd, and putting distance between us and the rest of the field. I was slowly catching him every lap. I didn’t get within striking distance until about 2-mins to go. From there, I tried just to stay calm, make zero mistakes, and wait for Mike to open a door for me. My patience paid off. On the last lap, Mike ran wide and I capitalized making my pass for the lead. It was short lived because 2 corners later Mike launched his car over the table top making an impressive mid-air pass and he was able to hold on for the last couple corners to take the win.
Overall it was a great race weekend. Both my cars worked great, and my Pro-Line tires never let me down. I would like to say thanks to all my sponsors for the 2014 season, Pro-Line, Byrons Fuel, Castle Creations, Xray, Rcamerica, Hudy, Lutz R/C, and a special thanks to Riggs designs for the awesome paint work.
Pro-Line products used were:
X3 HoleShots #9041-003
Lightweight Velocity Wheels White #2738-04
Pro-Bond Tire Glue #6031-00
2012 BullDog Body for RC8.2E #3377-00
