ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com
Race report and photos by Tom Erickson:
www.michstatechampseries.com
Dirt Burner Hobbies and Raceway in Livonia, Michigan hosted Round #2 of the Michigan State Championship Series last Saturday, May 2nd, 2015. The event drew 166 entries in 9 classes all vying for a shot at the Championship title.
Nitro 8th Scale Buggy
The track space at Dirt Burners is only 95’x60’ which led to lap times below 20 seconds for most classes. Andrew Cucchiara is the main track designer and he whipped up a technical track with all the obstacles you can imagine. This played into the hands of the drivers with the most accurate skills. In Nitro Buggy Qualifying it was Nick Vasquez that put his newly built Hot Bodies D815 on top securing TQ for the class.
The opening laps of the 30 minute A-main had Nick leading Mike “Chedda” Legue and Conner Stanley when the scoring computer froze causing a restart. On the restart Nick maintained his lead ahead of Mike as B-main winner Mike Marshall climbed into the 3rd spot. Tony Carnes made a charge through traffic to challenge Mike for 3rd place. Up front Nick was caught up in lapped traffic allowing Mike Legue by. These two drivers were charging hard for the second half of the main event. Tony was able to get by Mike Marshall to finish in 3rd place. Mike Legue would hold off Nick for the win.
Nitro 8th Scale Truggy
The A-main event for the Nitro Truggies had a lot of tension as the driver’s lined up along the back wall. The track was tight for these monsters and the haze of exhaust lingered from the B-main were Steve GNS Marien won sending him to his first trip to the A-main.
Leading the pack at the start was TQ Mike Legue with Bradley Rippee close behind. Jay Chura stayed as close as he could as Mike and Brad battled back and forth for the lead. The first 30 laps saw the two leaders change positions back and forth while R.J. Hart and Conner Stanley were fighting it out with Mike Marshall for the 4th spot. R.J was able to hold his lines tight and was able to build up a gap as Brad encountered trouble sending him back in the pack. As the drivers made their last pit stops Tony Carnes began to challenge Mike Marshall and Conner for 4th. The leader started having some engine trouble allowing Jay and R.J to advance to 1st and 2nd. Mike Legue was working hard to hold 3rd position as Tony was able to get away from Conner to hold 4th place but his engine finally quite. Jay Chura took the win with a steady and smooth run. R.J. finished comfortably in 2nd and Tony grabbed 3rd place ahead of Conner Stanley.
Electric 8th Scale Buggy
Electric Buggy qualifying was all about Nick “Fastquez” Vasquez laying down the fastest lap of the day in the largest class securing TQ honors. With 41 entries it was certain that the A-main would be full of the fastest eBuggy drivers in the series.
Round#1 winner Bradley Rippee did not settle for his 2nd place starting position. He pressured Nick in the opening laps and getting by for the lead after 3 laps. Nick drove hard a fast trying to regain his lead position. Behind them was R.J hart until he was forced to retire leaving 3rd place for Paul Edwards and Eric Dragun to fight over. When the tone sounded it was Bradley in 1st, Nick in 2nd and Eric in 3rd.
Electric 8th Scale Truggy
Qualifying for the Electric Truggy class was a constant battle for smooth laps for the 16 drivers that entered the event. The Tekno R/C ET48 of R.J. Hart found his rhythm and captured the TQ for the event ahead of TLR driver Kevin Morales. Ben Belote would grab the final spot on the A-Main grid after winning the B-Main with a large margin.
At the start R.J. got caught up on the triple sending him all the way back to last place. Kevin also had to mount a comeback as he was collected too. Bill Taylor was able to avoid the pile up and jump out to a strong lead with Ben Belote in 2nd from last on the starting grid. Kevin quickly moved up and passed Ben and began to push to catch Bill. Then Bill ran into trouble sending him back allowing Ben to regain 2nd position. R.J. had regained his pace first passing Doyle Strappanzon and then Bill as Doug Burton reduced the gap between them. Doug was able to get ahead of R.J as Ben pulled off ending his day. Doug held off R.J. for a few laps but could not stop him from getting by. At that point Kevin had lapped most of the field and R.J., Doug and Bill were on the same lap with R.J. holding 2nd place. In the closing laps Doug was gaining seconds on R.J. each lap. Doug was able to steal 2nd place right at the line with cheers for the entire crowd.
Electric 10th Scale 4WD Short Course
Qualifying in the 4wd Short Course class was not a surprise with Kevin Morales turning the fastest laps and solidifying TQ early on. Only George Berridge was able to clock 17 laps along with Kevin.
The start was very clean with the pack flowing through the first lap in starting order. That was short lived as the second lap saw trucks rolling and flipping over every obstacle. George was able to point his Tekno R/C SCT410 past Kevin to take the lead. His pace was blistering as Kevin fell back to 3rd. Paul Edwards was able to also avoid issues getting past Russell Chester and Kevin to assume the 2nd position. Conner Stanley fought through the pile ups and flipped trucks to get free and chase. He quickly got past Russell and began chase after the leaders. The lead group settled into a very fast pace with the top drivers turning faster laps than qualifying. After some laps George was holding the lead with Kevin edging out Paul for 2nd and Conner in 4th. The top 4 drivers were placing their trucks so close to tubes that a slight twitch would send them tumbling. At the half way point George fell off pace with mechanical trouble allowing first Kevin and then Paul by. He held 3rd for a few laps before having to pull off. Once Kevin took over the lead he was able hold it till the finish. Paul had built enough of a cushion to hold 2nd place ahead of Conner who finished 3rd at the tone.
Electric 10th Scale 2WD Short Course
Traction was changing all day and 2wd Short Course vehicles were constantly challenged to select the right tires. Only Kyle Gough and Andrew Daniel were able to make 14 laps in qualifying with Kyle grabbing the TQ with a large margin. With 12 entries each round was full of traffic on top of the close racing. Qualifying times were very close between 3rd and 9th!
The early laps in the main event had position changes at all levels. First Kyle rolled allowing Andrew to get past. As Kyle was getting back to on his wheels Dennis Savage and Justin “Krash” Crandall both got by with Dennis in 2nd. Justin pressured Dennis and was able to get by until Kyle returned to pace and passed them both. Andrew was out front with a large lead when Kyle assumed 2nd position. Justin was chasing in 3rd with Dennis Savage and Doug Wendling close behind. The race shifted quickly with Kyle out pacing Andrew lap after lap. Kyle was 14 seconds behind Andrew when he took over 2nd position and each lap he was reducing the gap. 3rd place was up for grabs between Justin, Dennis, and Doug. The lead pair was already a lap ahead of the others and a last lap battle occurred with Kyle coming out as the victor. Another fight behind the lead pair came down to the last corner with Doug grabbing the 3rd and final spot on the podium.
Electric 10th Scale 4WD Buggy
The track size was perfect for the 10th scale buggies. Nick Vasquez came out on top in qualifying with laps on par with the eBuggy class. Doug Burton, Eric Dragun, and Jeff Waltz all turned similar laps and qualified very close to each other with Doug in 2nd, Eric in 3rd and Jeff starting 4th.
At the start Nick and Doug both flipped over the triple requiring marshal help allowing Eric to take over the lead. Corey Daniel followed in 2nd after starting 6th and was chasing close behind Eric. Jeff avoided the crashes some but was held up and slipped into 3rd place. Eric had a clear track ahead of him and took advantage of it setting a consistent pace. Nick quickly moved back up the leader board striving to turn his TQ into a win. His pace was close to Eric’s pace as he passed Jeff for 3rd. Corey held 2nd until this point and had some issues that caused him to pull off. This moved Nick into 2nd with Jeff in 3rd. Eric had a large gap over Nick and a steady fast pace that was good enough to take the win. Nick reduced the gap but not enough to challenge for the win. Jeff maintained 3rd and marked the fastest lap of the class at 16.908s.
Electric 10th Scale 2WD Buggy
Qualifying was exciting in the 2wd Buggy class with Kris Norlock, Kyle Gough, and Kevin Westendorf all on 16 lap runs. Kris captured TQ by only 0.22 seconds over Kyle. With 16 entries the class fielded a B-main were Doug Wendling won and grabbing the final spot on the starting grid.
When the A-main started the top drivers all charge for the lead. Kyle came out ahead at the start line leaving Kris behind after spinning out and falling back to 5th. Then Kevin charged forward and passed Kyle to take over the lead as Kris regained his pace. Kris then responded with a solid lap and was able to get past Kevin to take over the lead. Kyle dropped to 4th place as Eric Sisco was able to get by for 3rd place only to give it back to Kyle on the next lap. By the midpoint of the 7 minute main Kris had a comfortable lead with Kevin holding 2rd place and Kyle in 3rd all spaced equally apart. Behind the leaders Larry Williams and Roger Wendling were fighting for 4th place. As Kris maintained his lead gap Kyle challenged Kevin for 2nd and was able to make it stick. Roger was able to get around Larry and move in on Kevin eventually passing to finish 3rd. Kris would take first with a large margin over Kyle in 2nd.
Novice
The Novice class was dominated by James Perrin Jr. in qualifying and in the Main event. He drove his TLR SCTE 2.0 smooth and steady with few mistakes finishing 1st. Brayden Bridges kept it cool and finished unchallenged in 2nd place. The Denton brothers completed the field with Nicholas ahead of his brother Nathan. These boys are getting closer to the big classes every race.
The organizers of the Michigan State Championship Series would like to thank all that participated. We have made significant changes this season to continue to strive for excellence. Thanks to Dirt Burner Hobbies and Raceway for hosting the event and all our series sponsors for their support and confidence in our program. We look forward to seeing everyone at our next event at the Legendary T.A.R.C.A.R.Raceway in Toledo, Ohio on May 30th, 2015.
For more information catch us on Facebook
Or our Website: www.michstatechampseries.com
Current Series Points standings:
Nitro 8th Scale Buggy
Nitro 8th Scale Truggy
Electric 8th Scale Buggy
Electric 8th Scale Truggy
Open Electric 4wd Short Course
Open Electric 2wd Short Course
1/10th Scale Electric 4wd Buggy
1/10th Scale Electric 2wd Buggy
Novice Class
ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
ADVERTISEMENT | ADVERTISE WITH US
Eng / Usd
Français
Deutsch
Italiano
Recent comments