Two-time defending Truck-class ROAR National Champion Ty Tessmann crossed the line in fourth place on the first lap, but quickly climbed to the top of the 'A' heat and out-dueled Dakotah Phend to stop yesterday's overwhelming favorite from clinching the overall TQ. In the process, Tessmann set the fastest Truck time of the weekend and gained a two-second advantage on Phend in terms of the tiebreaker should he win the final round this afternoon as well.
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Saying his truck was "really good that time" Tessmann felt the grip of the track surface was better than yesterday, and having made no changes (including sticking with X2-compound Holeshots) just tried not to crash. Shortly after turn marshaling he found out that he had a faster run than either of Phend's times from yesterday and added the fastest lap on his final circuit, giving him a small cushion for the tiebreaker of two fastest combined times. Even still, Ty said, "it's not as critical to start up front since the track is so fast" commenting that an early mistake everyone would be right on top of the TQ anyway. "As long as you're in the front half of the grid you're okay," said Ty, "but it's always nice to start up front."
Not at all disappointed with how the race went, Dakotah Phend said he had a "super good run" and that his truck was "awesome." He chose Pro-Line's X3-compound Holeshots, but because the track was hot he felt that they faded as the round continued so he may switch back to X2's for the fourth round. "I had no real mistakes or bobbles, Ty just got me at the end," said Phend, adding, "I'll just do the best I can to TQ the fourth round so I don't have to worry about the tiebreaker, but either way I'll start first or second and just focus on getting a good start in the main."
Third place finisher Ryan Maifield chose a stiffer wheel and denser foam insert than yesterday, as well as running stiffer front shocks and roll center setting, in order to make the truck "feel more positive and precise, less like a big dumb truck." Ryan said, "It was a little sketchy at the beginning trying to get used to the changes" but was in his comfort zone by the end, able to push harder. Maifield still wants to improve the truck for the fourth round, as he mentioned making the rear end stiffer so it squats less exiting corners and switching from Blue-compound Stackers to the smaller pins of Blue-compound Hybrids to make the truck corner more quickly.
"If I'm up near the front, it's good!" said Ryan Cavalieri, who left his truck the same from the second round last night, which was the first time he didn't make a change between rounds. The two-time Buggy class champ said he just tried to drive better than yesterday, but "missed a couple of lines here and there" and finished fourth.
Much happier than his mean-mugging photo makes him look after finishing seventh, Cody King said his Kyosho ST-RR Evo was "the best it has been" and he has spent the weekend "trying to find the right tire," alternating between X2- and X3-compound Holeshots. He's also been changing the rear toe-in on his truck trying to get it to rotate better through the corners, having gone to 3 degrees for the third round since he expected the track surface to be looser than yesterday, but will go to 2.5 degrees this afternoon since the grip should improve. He had a clean run with no crashes, but went wide a few times and was "afraid to hit the brakes when getting out in the dust."
Mike Truhe said his Serpent truck was "okay," but he felt that "X3-compound Holeshots were too soft and I couldn't drive as hard as I wanted to." Now locked into the A-Main with three top-10 finishes, Mike may make some suspension adjustments to make his truck better for the 45-minute final.
Ty Tessmann (Hot Bodies/O.S./Pro-Line) 10/7:32.289
Dakotah Phend (TLR/Orion/Pro-Line) 10/7:33.483
Ryan Maifield (Associated/Novarossi/JConcepts) 10/7:39.231
Ryan Cavalieri (Associated/Orion/AKA) 10/7:39.355
Ryan Lutz (Durango/Alpha/AKA) 10/7:39.504
Carson Wernimont (Mugen Seiki/O.S./AKA) 10/7:39.728
Cody King (Kyosho/REDS/Pro-Line) 10/7:40.163
Michael Truhe (Serpent/TOP/Pro-Line) 10/7:40.707
Joshua Wheeler (XRAY/O.S./Pro-Line) 10/7:41.611
Billy Fischer (TLR/Novarossi/Pro-Line) 10/7:41.969
Josh Glancy (TLR/Novarossi/Pro-Line) 10/7:42.537
Adam Drake (TLR/Novarossi/Pro-Line) 10/7:43.544
Jared Tebo (Kyosho/Orion/AKA) 10/7:44.012
Curtis Door (Kyosho/RB/Pro-Line) 10/7:45.336
Tanner Stees (Hot Bodies/O.S./Pro-Line) 10/7:45.885
Taylor Petersen (TLR/Novarossi/AKA) 10/7:45.959
6/20/2014
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