Mo Denton doubles up at the Michigan State Championship Series

   

On Saturday June 15th, most of the regional top racers made their way to the third round of the Michigan State Championship Series at THE Track just South of the Detroit airport in Carleton, MI. A brand new layout was put in place for this race by the crew and provided a lot of high-speed combined with technical sections and big air! With a total of 139 entries, this was ensured to become a great day of racing. Unfortunately a storm developed on the radars and the program was cut down from 3 rounds to 2 rounds of qualifying, so that we could ensure that the mains could be ran.

1/8th Scale Nitro Buggy
With the current points leader, TLR's Dakotah Phend, at the Nitro Nationals in Texas, there was room for others to step up to the plate and take full advantage! After qualifying it looked like Hot Bodies/HPI Racing/Tekin sponsored Nick Vasquez seemed like the one that was going to score maximum points by claiming TQ after the 2 rounds of qualifying.

After the start of the 30 minute main, Nick Vasquez took full advantage of his TQ and took the lead, but this was only short-lived, as VP PowerMaster Fuel/Beta sponsored Mo Denton took over the top spot and never looked back. After a few laps, Kyosho's Tyler Whittaker and A Main Hobbies/AKA sponsored Scott Rapoport made their moves forward and took over 2nd and 3rd place. On lap 15, Panther/DE Racing sponsored Kevin Morales, who bumped up from the B main, starting to get involved in this battle by passing Scott Rapoport and taking over 3rd place. This was only short lived after Kevin Morales flamed out and lost time getting restarted. At the end of the 30 minutes, Mo Denton crossed the line in first place with Tyler Whittaker in second and Scott Rapoport in third.
 

Results:
1. Mo Denton (VP PowerMaster Fuel, Beta)
2. Tyler Whittaker (Kyosho)
3. Scott Rapoport (A Main Hobbies, AKA, OS Engines, O'Donnell Racing Fuel)
4. Nick Vasquez (Hot Bodies, HPI Racing, Tekin, Venom Racing, Reilly Paint, Dirt Burner Racing)
5. Brian Borle (Team Associated, Reedy)

Standings after 3 rounds (1 drop taken into consideration):
1. Dakotah Phend (304 pts)
2. Mo Denton (294 pts)
3. Scott Rapoport (287 pts)
4. Brian Borle (283 pts)
5. Mike Sontag (283 pts)

1/8th Scale Nitro Truggy
Truggy qualifying resulted in a bit of a surprise where Shane Snyder claimed TQ honors!

Unfortunately for Shane Snyder, those honors only lasted about half a lap and VP PowerMaster/Beta sponsored Mo Denton was able to get by due to a very rough lap and Shane dropped back to 6th. Mo was closely followed by Sean Price and Scott Scarvelli. A few laps later, Scott Scarvelli was able to get by Sean Price in an attempt to keep Mo Denton in sight. In the mean time Shane Snyder was working his way through the field and eventually managed to get by Scott Scarvelli and take over 2nd place. About half way through the race, Mo Denton flamed out and Shane Snyder inherited the lead for a few laps, but Mo Denton managed to reclaim the first position. At the end of the 30 minute main, Mo Denton crossed the line first, followed by Shane Snyder in 2nd and Scott Scarvelli in 3rd.


Results:
1. Mo Denton (VP PowerMaster Fuel, Beta)
2. Shane Snyder
3. Scott Scarvelli
4. Mike Marshall (TLR, Dirtburner Hobbies)
5. Sean Price

Standings after 3 rounds (1 drop taken into consideration):
1. Dakotah Phend (304 pts)
2. Mo Denton (297 pts)
3. Shane Snyder (287 pts)
4. Mike Marshall (284 pts)
5. Chad Shorkey (284 pts)

1/8th Scale Electric Buggy
Qualifying in the 1/8th scale electric buggy division was closer than ever and the top 4 were only separated by 1.3 seconds, with the TQ honors going to young Hot Bodies/Tekin sponsored Nick Vasquez.

After a clean start, Nick Vasquez managed to keep the lead starting from pole position, but behind him it was battle galore with a 4 way battle between Serpent/Upgrade RC sponsored Scott Ullig, Panther/DE Racing sponsored Kevin Morales, A Main Hobbies/AKA sponsored Scott Rapoport and TrakPower/VP PowerMaster Fuel sponsored Tony Carnes. Scott Rapoport had to retire early after losing power, which left Scott Ullig chasing Nick Vasquez, followed by Kevin Morales and Tony Carnes. Bad luck would strike Kevin Morales on the last lap, handing 3rd place over to Tony Carnes. At the end of the 10 minutes, Nick Vasquez crossed the line, followed by Scott Ullig in second and Tony Carnes in third.


Results:
1. Nick Vasquez (Hot Bodies, HPI Racing, Tekin, Venom Racing, Reilly Paint, Dirt Burner Racing)
2. Scott Ullig (Serpent, VP PowerMaster Fuel, Upgrade RC)
3. Tony Carnes (TrakPower Speed Equipment, Futaba, VP PowerMaster Fuel, M2C Racing, Dirt Burner Racing)
4. Paul Edwards
5. Kevin Morales (Panther Products, DE Racing, BOCA Bearings)

Standings after 3 rounds (taking 1 drop into consideration):
1. Nick Vasquez (99 pts)
2. Paul Edwards (290 pts)
3. Tony Carnes (288 pts)
4. Kevin Morales (287 pts)
5. Scott Ullig (286 pts)

1/8th Scale Electric Truggy
After 2 rounds of qualifying, Rocky Whittaker managed to claim the top spot on the sheets and pole position for the main.

After the start, Justin Salamin managed to take over the lead from Rocky Whittaker and tried to check out, but the field was staying close together and Rocky wanted that top position back and the winner of the last round, Panther/Nankin Racing sponsored RJ Hart wanted to repeat. It took RJ until the very last lap to take over the lead and claim victory again, followed by Justin Salamin and Rocky Whittaker in third.
 

Results:
1. RJ Hart (Nankin Hobby Racing, BOCA Bearings, Punch R/C, DE Wheels, Panther Products)
2. Justin Salamin
3. Rocky Whittaker
4. Adam Leese
5. Joey Genovese

Standings after 3 rounds (taking 1 drop into consideration):
1. Rocky Whittaker (297 pts)
2. RJ Hart (296 pts)
3. Adam Leese (293 pts)
4. Ron Schwab (292 pts)
5. Joey Genovese (289 pts)

2WD Short Course
At the end of qualifying, it was TrakPower/VP PowerMaster Fuel sponsored Tony Carnes on the top of the list and getting the honors to start from pole position.

Tony Carnes managed to get a clean start and lead the tight field of cars, closely followed by Tom Tanner and George Berridge. On lap 4, the leader Tony Carnes ran into some issues and dropped down the field to 7th place, handing the lead to Team Durango/Pro-Line/TrakPower sponsored Edwin Hartman, closely followed by George 'G3' Berridge. George managed to get by Edwin on lap 8 and put in an attempt to pull away and managed to get the lead up to a few seconds, but Edwin Hartman didn't give up and close the gap, attempting to make a pass on the last lap, but it wouldn't stick. At the end of the race, it was George 'G3' Berridge crossing the line in first, followed by Edwin Hartman in second and after a late charge Gary Watts managed to claim the third position.
 

Results:
1. George 'G3' Berridge
2. Edwin Hartman (Team Durango, Pro-Line, TrakPower Speed Equipment, Advantage Racing Products, O'Donnell Racing Fuel, Sumo, Darkside Designs)
3. Gary Watts
4. Hayden Heath
5. Joey Genovese

Standings after 3 rounds (taking 1 drop into consideration):
1. George 'G3' Berridge (297 pts)
2. Tony Carnes (293 pts)
3. Edwin Hartman (292 pts)
4. Gary Watts (291 pts)
5. Jeff Barney (285 pts)

4WD Short Course
Current points leader A Main Hobbies/AKA sponsored Scott Rapoport managed to take the TQ after 2 rounds of qualifying.

After a clean start, Scott Rapoport managed to take the lead, followed by TrakPower/VP PowerMaster Fuel sponsored Tony Carnes and Gary Watts. While the top 2 managed to slowly creep away from the field, battles were going on plentiful behind them. Young George 'G3' Berridge managed to climb up through the field into third place. At the end of the main, it was Scott Rapoport who crossed the line first, followed by Tony Carnes and George 'G3' Berridge in third.
 

Results:
1. Scott Rapoport (A Main Hobbies, AKA, OS Engines, O'Donnell Racing Fuel, ProTek RC)
2. Tony Carnes (TrakPower Speed Equipment, Futaba, VP PowerMaster Fuel, M2C Racing, Dirt Burner Racing)
3. George 'G3' Berridge
4. Brian Trammel
5. Michael McDuffey

Standings after 3 rounds (taking 1 drop into consideration):
1. Scott Rapoport (304 pts)
2. Gary Watts (284 pts)
3. George 'G3' Berridge (284 pts)
4. Michael McDuffey (284 pts)
5. Richard Bauer (282 pts)

Novice Class
Young Brayden Hart managed to put in a solid run during qualifying to take TQ honors.

Shortly after the start, Nick Chester took over the lead from Brayden Hart, who dropped to third behind Austin Weihl. On the next lap, Austin was able to get past Nick and cruise on to the victory. Nick Chester finished second and Brayden Hart in third.
 
Results:
1. Austin Weihl
2. Nick Chester
3. Brayden Hart

Standings after 2 rounds:
1. Austin Weihl (302 pts)
2. Brayden Hart (296 pts)
3. Nick Chester (293 pts)
4. Kody Culbert (150 pts)
5. Brayden Bridges (145 pts)


The organizers of the Michigan State Championship Series would like to thank everybody for coming out and supporting the series and helping it grow into the ultimate off-road series of Michigan. A very big thank you as well to the series sponsors: O'Donnell Racing Fuel, Duratrax Performance Tires, Pro-Line Racing, M2C Racing, Dirtburner Racing, Team Durango, TrakPower Speed Equipment, VP PowerMasters Fuel, Sumo R/C Racing Products and Advantage Racing Products. Also a big thanks to the crew at THE Track for providing a great facility for us to race on!

A special thanks and farewell goes out to Scott Rapoport, who has supported the series from the beginning and has helped elevate the racing in Michigan. Scott will be moving out of state and he will surely be missed at the Michigan State Championship Series.

Round #4 will be at Stateline R/C in Fremont, IN on July 27th 2013.

For more race results and information about the Michigan State Championship Series, visit www.michstatechampseries.com.
 

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