Mike Truhe‘s rise from “local hero” to one of the fastest racers on the planet was a quick one – after winning 2WD and 4WD at the ROAR Stock Nationals in 2002, he finished third at the IFMAR World Championships in 4WD just one year later, and scored another ROAR National title in 2WD Modified in 2004. He caught on quickly in nitro racing as well, sweeping The Dirt Nitro Challenge in 2007, dominated the ROAR Nationals in 2008, and TQ’d the IFMAR Worlds in Charlotte on his way to a second place finish. He added a second 2WD Modified national championship in 2010, but his career took its biggest turn at the end of 2013 when he left long-time sponsor Team Losi Racing to join Serpent America. Six months after his Serpent debut at the Reedy Off-Road Race of Champions, Mike sat down for our Talk It Up Tuesday interview to give us an update on his progress.
Aaron Waldron: Congratulations on the win at the Novarossi Challenge over the weekend! Going into practice, did you think you had what it took to beat the nitro on-road diehards at the race?
Mike Truhe: Thank you! I did have some confidence going into the race of doing well. I didn’t expect to win, by any means, but knew that I had a good program going Into it with Joaquin DeSoto preparing the car and with his knowledge of on-road racing. My plan was just to put in my best performance and keep the car and engine in one piece and that plan worked out great for us!
AW: How much practice did you have with your new 977WC before heading to GLARCRC?
MT: The first time I ran the car was Friday morning. We had 3-4 hours of practice before the first round of qualifying. The car right out of the gate was pretty dialed so it was just a matter of getting used to the track and driving on-road again.
AW: You raced a bit of 1/8-scale on-road in the past, didn’t you? How long had it been since the last time you raced nitro on asphalt?
MT: The last time I raced 1/8-scale on-road was probably at least 10 years ago. I have driven a car here and there in the past few years, but only for a tank or two…just to play.
AW: Was racing nitro on-road part of your deal with Serpent, or was this a one-time thing?
MT: This was kind of a “hey, this race is really close to my house, so why not?” kind of thing. I really hope to get a car now and do some more racing, at least with the GLARCRC club. And who knows? Maybe some other races when the off-road schedule permits.
AW: How much different is it to race for 45 minutes on pavement versus in the dirt?
MT: The biggest difference for me was the intensity of focus that you need to have. In off-road you are very focused, but at least have the time to “pull a tear off” over a jump or down the straightaway. In on-road there is barely enough time to blink. Things happen so fast with these cars!
AW: With the switch to Serpent came a whole new assortment of cars for you to run. Between the new 2WD Buggy, Short Course Truck, 1/8-scale Buggy and Truck, and now the 977WC on-road car, has it been difficult to focus on putting your all into each discipline when you’ve been spread across so many?
MT: It is pretty much the same as what I was used too. The only difference is having all these new cars and learning the characteristics of each one all at once. The Serpent team has been really good about working together and doing what we need to do to make the best cars for us and our customers. It has been a learning curve these first six months or so, but one that has been moving in the right direction. For that I am very happy and don’t plan on stopping it from moving forward even further!
AW: What was the greatest success you’ve felt since making the switch?
MT: I feel that we have had quite a few positive things happen since joining the team. I feel that the brand, especially in the off-road market, is growing and feel that we have made an impact especially here on the west coast with the cars. I truly feel that we have learned a lot about the cars and collectively have made them better and have many ideas to further the success of the brand in the near future.
AW: What has been the biggest challenge?
MT: It hasn’t been much of a challenge in my eyes. As with any new venture you have to learn the new ways of how things are done, but Joaquin and all the guys at Serpent have made this a very comfortable change.
AW: From 2005 through 2010 there were several periods in which you were pretty much unbeatable, scoring two 2WD Modified National Championships, one in 1/8-scale, TQ’d the 1/8-Scale Worlds in 2008, swept the Nitro Challenge the year prior…you had a great run. Since then, though, the wins have been a bit harder to come by. Do you think it was a change in your program? Or was everyone else just catching up?
MT: This is something that I have thought long and hard about many times to better myself. I believe that one of the biggest changes from then until now is that the whole field is now a lot more competitive. I think this has a lot to do with the advancements of technology in the cars. Back then, a lot of things weren’t as “plug and play” as they are now. It makes it really awesome for the consumers as it makes it much more user-friendly and definitely has helped the industry grow. I believe this has also brought the competition more tightly together as the best car on the track is one that is built out of the box with no tricks or finely tuned things done to it.
AW: In the last couple of years you were with TLR, the team started going through a lot of changes – determining which drivers should focus on what classes, cutbacks on traveling to certain events, etc. Did that affect your performance at races?
MT: Things did get kind of tough with those changes. The industry was going through changes and the decisions were made with how to deal with them. Like I said before – with any change there is always some difficulty. I think we all made it through that the best we could.
AW: Were those changes at TLR among the biggest reasons that you left?
MT: I think that with where I was in my career, it was just time for a change. I spent my entire career, up until this year, with TLR and I thank them for every second of it. I still am very good friends with a lot of the guys over there. Serpent America and DeSoto Racing gave me this opportunity and I felt like it was just the right thing to do. I don’t regret any of the choices I have made. These first six months have really revived me and really feels like a good change in scenery for me. I look forward to the challenge of working for a “smaller” company again and building it up to its full potential.
AW: Moving onto an upstart off-road program at Serpent, in which you’re really the only national championship-caliber attending races in the U.S., is it difficult to run up front with little support versus having several teammates in the mix?
MT: There is a bit of a challenge with that but not one that I am opposed to taking on. We have a good core group of people running with us and they have good input to work with. Matt Schreffler and I have been working together a lot out here in California, and believe that we have come across a lot of great finds. He has been running very well lately and that is something that I really like to see. All the hard work that we’ve been putting in is paying off for not only me, but for Matt and ultimately the end consumer.
AW: Would you say that you’ve had to run more and work harder than in years past?
MT: Definitely. All these young kids are coming up fast! I never thought I’d see the day where I’d feel like one of the older guys at the race but I think that time has come, LOL. The competition nowadays is harder than it has ever been, so any extra effort you can put in will pay off. As they say, “practice makes perfect.”
AW: Have you had any input on the ongoing development of the off-road cars?
MT: So far with the cars, we have some ideas that we are working on. Serpent is very good about trying out new things if we prove them to be better.
AW: Was that one of the perks of making the switch?
MT: Just having a new viewpoint on a lot of things was very refreshing. Brought back the “spark.” 🙂
AW: Aside from Serpent being a much smaller effort than your previous sponsor, TLR was based in your immediate area – SoCal. Has racing for a company based on the other side of the country (with Serpent’s USA offices being in Florida) presented any logistical issues?
MT: I wouldn’t say so. In some ways it works out well. I am also doing sales for Serpent America, so when someone tries to call in or get help when it would be after hours in Florida I am still available to them. In today’s digital world of emails and texts, being down the street or across the country doesn’t make that big of a difference
AW: You’ve had some solid finishes this year, but what will it take for you to start challenging for wins again at every top-level race you attend?
MT: Just putting in the hard work and learning everything I can about these new cars. Every race we have attended I feel more and more confident in my cars and that’s what it’s going to take to get back to the top!
AW: What are your goals for the rest of 2014 in each class?
MT: I just want to keep progressing and learning. Ultimately, I want to make these cars the best they can be for myself and also for our customers. Having someone running a Serpent car with a smile on their face is the biggest victory I can have! Of course, that’s not saying that I am not trying to go out there to put one on the top step of a podium myself. 🙂
AW: Thank you Mike! Do you want to take a moment to thank your sponsors and those who’ve helped you?
MT: Thank you! I do want to thank all of my sponsors:
Serpent, DeSoto Racing, Futaba, Byron Fuels, Pro-Line, TOP, Novak, Trakpower, Lunsford, AVID, MIP, Bender Bodies, Stick It1, OCRC Raceway, LiveRC, Pacific Coast Hobbies, and serpentamerica.com Huge thanks to Joaquin DeSoto for this awesome opportunity, and to all the Serpent America customers!
