2016 ROAR Region 4 8th Scale Championships
Triple Nickel Raceway – Bartow, FL
We were excited for the long weekend as we made the 3 hour drive to Triple Nickel Raceway in Bartow, FL. This was our first time there and it won’t be our last. The track was in a gorgeous park and the facility was well kept up. Practice began at 12:00 PM Friday. #William Goodwin and #Mike Santana did an awesome job on the track layout. It was super fun and around every corner there was a different feature waiting for you. This would be David’s first time racing Nitro Buggy. During practice he lost his upper engine mount screws. We took a trip over to see #Ken Van Curen owner of #Speed Demon Hobbies and found some screws that would work to get him back running. As we were cleaning cars and packing up for the night David noticed his front carrier was cracked on his E-Truggy. Thanks to Team Manager #Janos (Lazi) Lazar of TriCounty Hobbies in Tamarac, FL he had the part to fix it.
David ran Pro-Line X3 Hole Shots in E-Truggy and X4 LockDowns in Nitro Buggy
Jessica ran M3 Hole Shots in 4WD SCT and X4 LockDowns in E-Buggy
Saturday morning was here and all I could think about was qualifying in the 10 top to lock into an A-Main at a Roar Regional event. Last year I had missed it by one place. We arrived at the track to be treated to a yummy breakfast cooked by #Christina White from Team WhiteLightning. A drivers meeting was held followed by qualifiers starting at 9:00AM. With 3 qualifiers and 180 official entries we knew #Lance MacDonald was the right person for the job to keep the program running smoothly.
I raced in the Open 4wd SCT class. Q-1 I had 14 laps 6:14.988, Q-2 I ran 14 laps 6:05.513. I was super excited as I was in the top 10 so far, but that ended fast as an announcement was made that they had decided to only lock in 8 and have 2 bumps. I ran Q-3 and finished with 14 laps 6:09.105 knowing it wasn’t going to be enough and I would be starting in the second position of the B-Main Sunday. There were 4 full heats of 1:8 Sportsman E-Buggies. I was rocking out my awesome Assassin body by Leadfinger Racing (LFR) owner #Chris Schaefer. Q-1 I took 3rd in my heat with 14 laps. Q-2 I was able to get in an extra lap to make 15 and was able to take 1st in my group. Q-3 I didn’t do as well, but still took 3rd. At the end of the day I will be starting 1st in the C-Main on Sunday.
David was racing Nitro Buggy and I was going to pit for him. In Q-1 he ran 14 laps at 6:05.267 placing 3rd in his heat. Back at the pits he noticed he lost the same engine mount screws that he lost the day before in practice. Thanks to #Janos (Lazi) Lazar again for having our back and giving us some screws. Q-2 his tire was coming unglued, but he was holding onto 1st place up until lap 12 when he came into the pits. His tire completely folded over his rim and we needed to do a quick tire change. Unfortunately, this took a lot of time and he dropped to 7th place with one more lap to go. Q-3 was tough as they were racing in the dark and it was hard to see. David qualified starting 6th in the B-Main overall. David also raced E-Truggy. Q-1 he took 3rd with 15 laps 6:06.610 and a fast lap of 22.897. #Tilar Pollack and #John Bernard seemed to be on another level and both turned 16 laps. Q-2 David brought his game and improved his time to 16 laps 6:16.753 with a fast lap of 21.992. Again #John Bernard and #Tilar Pollack did something insane and improved their time to 17 laps. Q-3 he held onto his 16 lap pace and ended up qualifying 4th in the A-Main.
Sunday we arrived at the track early as my E-Buggy was race 4. I started off in the 1st position, but I was way overdriving and making mistakes. I dropped all the way back to 8th. It took me several laps to finally calm myself down and to start driving within my means. Once I started doing that I slowly made my way back up through the pack, but it wasn’t soon enough as I only made it back to 3rd and would finish in the C-Main. My SCT was race 9. I would be starting in the 2nd position. I was hoping to shake off my nerves as I wanted the bump so bad to the A. I just hoped I wasn’t psyching myself out. I took a deep breath and the buzzer went off. I gave it my all and was able to take over the 1st spot and get a little lead on everyone. #Kayla Espinel was battling for the 2nd position and the last bump spot. I was excited to know that when I crossed the finish line in 1st she was behind me taking 2nd and two girls were heading to the Triple A-Mains. David was up race 14 with his nitro buggy. He was starting in the 6th spot of the B-Main. Before the race we decided to have him pit at 7 ½ to 8 minutes into the race for fuel. I remember hearing the announcer say “fuel them up….fuel them up……down and quiet……down and quiet…….buzz” and they were all off. David moved from the 6th position to 1st by the third lap. I was so excited and cheering him on when the worst possible thing could have happened on lap 7. We had thought his buggy flamed out, but when we got it back to the pits we noticed he lost his throttle linkage screw. It was over at that moment and he wasn’t able to finish the race.
Here we go…….Triple A-Mains. David came in 3rd in A-1 with 27 laps 10:12.607 with a fast lap of 21.619. A-2 he made a few mistakes that cost him some time, but he still finished 3rd with 26 laps 10:17.711 with a fast lap of 22.275. A-3 David pulled off a 2nd place finish with 27 laps at 10:21.064 and a fast lap of 21.367. I have to say this was one of the best races I have witnessed in a long time. What great sportsmanship especially from #Larry Mays. You don’t see someone stop and give a position back to someone very often. I am very proud to say that David finished 3rd in E-Truggy on his Pro-Line Hole Shot tires.
I was starting in the 9th position in the Triple A-Mains in SCT. A-1 I finished 9th with 19 laps 8:23683 and a fast lap of 24.117. I was very consistent and finished 9th in A-2 with 19 laps 8:22.000 and a fast lap of 24.637. A-3 was rough for me as my SCT kept nose diving over the jumps. I was making mistakes and even though I had finished 8th my time dropped to 18 laps at 8:11.317 with a fast lap of 24.482. I might not be going home with a plaque, but I was going home proud of my 9th place finish at a Roar Regional event.
To wrap up the weekend we had a blast and we both were very happy to be able to make it to the Triple A-Mains on Sunday. We enjoyed hanging out with some great people. Thank you to teammate’s #Brett Hold and #Kiarra Hold for letting us pit in their trailer with them all weekend. See everyone at the next race.
David Iler Race Results:
E-Truggy
Qualified: 4th
Triple A-Main Results: A1-3rd, A2-3rd, A3-2nd
Final Result: 3rd
Tires: Pro-Line Soft X3 Hole Shots
1:8 Sportsman Buggy
Qualified: 6th B-Main
Final Result: 10th B-Main
Tires: Pro-Line Super Soft Lockdowns
Jessica Iler Race Results:
Open 4wd SCT
Qualified: 2nd B-Main
Finished: 1st B-Main – bumped
Triple A-Main Results: A1-9th, A2-9th, A3-8th
Final Result: 9th
Tires: Pro-Line Super Soft Hole Shots
1:8 Sportsman Electric Buggy
Qualified: 1st C-Main
Final Result: 3rd C-Main
Tires: Pro-Line Super Soft Lockdowns
A special thank you to our sponsors #Proline, #LFR2016, #BocaBearing, #DERacing and #TriCountyHobbies.
