Date: 7/25/15
Race: Dirt Road Stampede Series RD2
Track: Willow Farm RC Raceway
Race Setup: 2 rounds of qualifying with single A-Mains
Classes Raced: 1:8 E-Buggy, 1:8 E-Truck, 4WD SCT
Practice:
Practice went very well. all three cars had awesome setups and all I had to change was the Tires as the track dried out and the weather got hot.
On my 1:8 E-Buggy I used Pro-Line Blockade M3, Velocity Wheels and Wheel Nuts.
On my 1:8 E-Truck I used Pro-Line M3 Blockades with Velocity Wheels
On 4WD SCT I used M3 Hole Shots 2.0, Pro-Line EVO Body
Qualifying:
Round 1
4WD SCT- My goal and gossip for this week/weekend in this class was to put up a good battle with Tekno teammate Jeremy McGuigan. In round 1 he came out swinging and beat me by 1.3-seconds. The SCT felt good but as I changed Tires and the track kept drying out the truck would need a small setup change. After this round I was going to make that change and come out strong for round 2.
1:8 E-Buggy- After having some fun in practice my buggy felt incredible ! I felt very confident as through the first round I went the whole 5-min with only 1 mistake getting me the TQ spot for round 1.
1:8 E-Truck- Same as 1:8 E-Buggy the truck felt very smooth and consistent throughout the race and I ended up taking the TQ for this round. This track was fairly small for this class, so changes were to happen for round 2 as the truck felt a little on the tight side, but still good.
Round 2
4WD SCT – After making a ride height change along with a rear camber link change on this truck, I went out for round 2. this round the truck felt very fast and it seemed like I could push it a lot harder. So, I put it to the test and reset the TQ over Jeremy by about 9-seconds! I couldn’t wait for the Main, things were shaping up very well!
1:8 E-Buggy- after gluing up a fresh set of Tires due the track starting to get a groove, Tire wear was becoming an issue . So I went out for round 2 prepared. The track got a lot faster and lap times were coming down! I went out and reset the TQ achieving a 15-lap pace!!!!
I was so pumped and was going to be starting 1st now with 2 of 3 classes!
1:8 E-Truck- Got the truck cleaned up and setup for round 2 was a breeze and I was excited to see how the truck was going to be with some changed to droop and ride height. well all I have to say is that it worked very well ! well enough to again rest my TQ and putting me on top overall with all 3 classes !
Dash for cash: This was going to be a 3-lap race with a motocross start with the top 3 4WD SCT Trucks. As the tone went off I got clipped and pushed into the loam of the track allowing Jeremy to get passed me early. As I went off again once I got back into the groove I put the burner on and started putting in work catching him. On the second lap as I started gaining on Jeremy he made a mistake in the rough whoops section and allowed me to get by and taking the win with 1 lap to go! This was the first time I ever ran one of these and I have to say I had a ton of fun!
A-Mains:
4WD SCT- Starting in the TQ spot this race was flawless for me as I got out to an early 2-3 second lead over Jeremy and held it for the whole entire race! The truck was on point and felt really good driving on the rough, grooved track.
1:8 E-Buggy- Starting pole again in the Buggy class I had the same plan as 4WD SCT and it was to go out and run my race as best as I could. I hit the track with the same tires as I glued up for round 2. 3rd place starter Mike Eglberger and I got out to an early lead. As the race went on the 2nd place starter caught back up. With about 2-minutes to go in the race I came out of a corner before a big jump and knew I could not clear it so I rolled it, allowing second place to jump over me. I tried getting my head back together and caught back up and held onto his rear wing for the rest of the race but could never get a place to make a pass as the time ran out , so I took second place.
1:8 E-Truck- Coming back for redemption I was on a roll right from the start of the race to the end! I ended up lapping the entire field with the dialed in Tekno ET48! This was a good confidence booster for what happened the race before, and I had a ton of fun!
Overall:
I am still trying to improve myself every chance I get. The E-Buggy race was definitely not what I wanted to happen and I was looking for more but the more I look at it and think about it, I have decided to take what happened and learn from it. I cant say I am a Pro, but I plan to drive myself toward that and I feel this was a good learning lesson.
Thanks go out to:
Tekno RC
Pro-Line Racing
Carpys
PT Racing Oils
and RCSCREWZ
Thank you for all of the support everyone!
Devin Chesney
