On the track and off, 2017 was a wild year for the RC racing industry. Some major companies closed down, while others released groundbreaking products and kits. Some of the biggest names in racing moved to new teams and achieved career highlights, while controversy at some of the year’s biggest events stirred up enough conversation to melt down Internet servers and social media sites.
As the 2018 season kicks off this weekend at the CRCRC Winter Midwest Electric Off-Road Championships in Ohio, here’s a look back at the 20 biggest stories of the last twelve months.
#20: ROAR NATS: Triple win for Tessmann, two titles for Tater, Cavalieri, Stoub and Wight with one each [VIDEO]
Date Published: Sunday, August 13
The ROAR Electric Off-Road Nationals at The Track wrapped up with XRAY’s Ty Tessmann thoroughly thrashing the field, earning TQ in 2WD, 4WD and Stadium Truck and then clinching the title in all three categories after two rounds of A-Mains. Ten-year-old Tater Sontag also had a career-defining performance, overcoming serious pressure to win the incredibly-competitive 17.5 Stock 2WD and Stadium Truck classes.
#19: Pit photo confirms Maifield at Yokomo and Mugen Seiki
Date Published: Wednesday, January 11
RC Car Action posted a photo of Ryan Maifield talking to Atsushi Hara at OCRC Raceway, confirming the offseason rumors that Ryan Maifield had switched after two and a half years with Team Losi Racing to Team Yokomo and Mugen Seiki Racing. The picture was shot the same day that Carl Hyndman, then an editor for the magazine, also snapped the press pictures Maifield’s new sponsors used for their official announcements. It wasn’t the last time Maifield made headlines in 2017.
#18: WHERE’S WALDO: Smashing records and radios: reflecting on the ROAR Nationals
Date Published: Wednesday, June 28
The 2017 ROAR Fuel Off-Road Nationals at Stateline R/C had a ton of action and drama — from nearly-race-cancelling rain, to a truly grueling track layout, to controversy over the enforcement of rules, to finally two thrilling main events — so I discussed the week’s biggest stories in my weekly column.
#17: New miniPRO R/C chassis dyno
Date Published: Wednesday, August 16
North Carolina-based miniPRO introduced its revolutionary dynamometer which measures a vehicle’s overall power output just like that used for full-scale vehicles. The dyno records how quickly the vehicle can spin a flywheel, and uses an accompanying computer program to measure rpm, kv, voltage, current draw, power and torque output.
#16: FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Timeline of Team Losi Racing 2WD buggies
Date Published: Friday, March 3
In 1988, Team Losi released its first kit called the JRX2 and ignited a head-to-head battle with Team Associated that still exists to this day. There have been more than a dozen race-oriented 2WD buggies from TLR since, and this article - published the day after the public announcement of the 22 4.0 — offered a trip through nearly two decades of racing history.
#15: GT5 gas truck conversion for T5M stadium truck [VIDEO]
Date Published: Monday, April 3
Casey Wright, a prominent member of the niche RC racing community dedicated to the survival of the 1/10-scale nitro stadium truck class, put together a package that combines parts from the T5M electric truck and GT2 nitro truck, along with a new chassis, to create a modern platform for a category in which no kits are offered from manufacturers. Along with his press release, three videos showing Adam Rayls, a Team Associated driver from Indiana, taking his GT5 for a test run.
#14: Maifield won Pro Buggy to finish off first-ever clean sweep [VIDEO]
Date Published: Sunday, February 26
2017 was inarguably the best of Ryan Maifield’s racing career, and the success started early. After a runner-up finish at the Reedy Race, Maifield destroyed the field at the Dirt Nitro Challenge in his Mugen Seiki debut with victories in the Electric Buggy, Nitro Truck and Nitro Buggy classes. Maifield started third, dropped as low as sixth, and then climbed to the lead around the 15-minute mark of the 45-minute race and pulled away to become the first driver to win all three Pro classes at the DNC.
#13: WHERE’S WALDO: Five ways you can help improve your local racing scene
Date Published: Wednesday, April 12
In a brief series of my weekly opinion columns in which I gave suggestions for industry improvement, the most popular was this one that gave five tips for racers to be the most positive additions possible to the tracks and RC environment in their area. A sixth bonus tip suggested those that couldn’t bother following the previous five should just leave.
#12: Jeff 'Humpty' Helms charged with sexual conduct with a minor
Date Published: Wednesday, January 11
Shockwaves hit the RC industry when Jeff Helms, best known by the nickname “Humpty” and for running a team of racers that he advised, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual conduct with a minor and molestation of a child. Helms reached a plea agreement on June 15 and began his prison sentence on August 17.
#11: First look Tekno RC EB410 on-track at SDRC [VIDEO]
Date Published: Wednesday, March 22
Three and a half months after announcing the project’s existence, and nearly six months before the kit was finally available to the public, Tekno RC published a video that Joe Bornhorst had shot of teammate Ryan Lutz driving a test mule at SDRC Raceway, the company’s home track in San Diego, CA. The video has been watched more than 26,000 times.
#10: RC Racers: This Is Not A Toy documentary trailer [VIDEO]
Date Published: Tuesday, January 24
A preview of Logan Hall’s 2013 Midwest Nitro Series documentary piqued the interest of LiveRC’s audience just a day before the short film was published for free on Vimeo. The one-minute mash-up of action shots and snippets from various interviews helped pump up the video’s full release even higher on this list.
#9: EXCLUSIVE: What really happened at Fear Farm RC Raceway?
Date Published: Thursday, October 12
Last fall, a disgruntled racer — and building code inspector — turned in the Fear Farm RC Raceway to the city of Phoenix and the facility was shut down. At the time the original story was published, AZRCR president Bill Mason was confident the track would be open within a month, and that the Dirt Nitro Challenge would go off without a hitch.
As of now, though, the track is still closed to club racing and practice. The Dirt Nitro Challenge is still scheduled to be held there, however.
#8: Quagraine weighed in on tire controversy at NEO race
Date Published: Tuesday, April 18
JQ Racing founder Joseph Quagraine broke the news of Ty Tessmann’s tires at the NEO Race on his blog, using the screenshot of a video from the event which showed Tessmann’s car being carried prior to the start of the main event that clearly showed a clean set of JConcepts Diamond Bars installed on his XRAY buggy. The accompanying blog, of which we posted only a short abridgment along with a link to the original, included Quagraine’s thoughts on what could’ve possibly influenced Tessmann’s tire choice - particularly since Tessmann’s Pro-Line teammate Elliott Boots finished second in the final.
#7: WORLDS: Maifield pulled off the double win with wild finish to 4WD [VIDEO]
Date Published: Saturday, November 18
Arizona native Ryan Maifield capped off the best week — and year — of his racing career by winning the 4WD world championship after finishing second in an absolutely bonkers third A-Main in Xiamen, China. Maifield raced his way up from fourth on the first lap to finish second behind protégé Spencer Rivkin, edging title rivals David Ronnefalk and Ty Tessmann for his second title in four days.
#6: Tessmann statement acknowledged NEO Race tire controversy
Date Published: Wednesday, April 19
Ty Tessmann’s decision to use JConcepts tires in the nitro buggy final at the NEO Race stirred up a ton of conversation, but not as much as when the Canadian star published an apology to his fans and sponsors on his Facebook page — which appeased some and stirred up even more anger in others.
#5: WORLDS: 2017 IFMAR Electric Off-Road World Championships broadcast schedule [UPDATED]
Date Published: Thursday, November 16
This year’s IFMAR World Championships for Electric Off-Road, which was held in China for the first time ever, was the most-watched live RC car racing event ever. With two different categories of racing competing over seven days, and a bunch of rain forcing changes to the program, LiveRC readers and viewers were constantly checking out our broadcast schedule.
#4: New Raceform Lazer 1/8-scale tire jig
Date Published: Tuesday, April 4
Accessory brand Raceform RC, a division of Singaporean company YK Technologies, introduced its first Lazer tire-gluing jig for 1/8-scale off-road tires at the beginning of April and created a lot of buzz. Tire jigs of many forms have been introduced over the years with varying degrees of success, but this one, which is available in different colors and was followed up by similar units for 1/8-scale trucks as well as 1/10-scale tires and wheels, proved incredibly popular.
#3: LRC: Newest MyLaps firmware update adds features, disables MRT transponders
Date Published: Friday, October 27
When we shared a heads-up that new MyLaps decoders would acknowledge the company’s new drone transponders as well as existing Hybrid and RC4 transponders, but not MRT clones or early-generation personal and track transponders, the RC racing industry took notice.
#2: RC Racers: This Is Not A Toy short documentary film now online [VIDEO]
Date Published: Wednesday, January 25
Filmmaker Logan Hall shot and edited an in-depth look at the racers that competed in the 2013 Midwest Nitro Series and showed the more serious side of RC racing. After drumming up a lot of excitement with a teaser clip, he published the short film on Vimeo. However, the video is now password protected.
#1: BREAKING: Hobby People and Global Hobby Distributors to close doors
Date Published: Monday, January 16
Less than a month after the passing of Paul Bender, the company’s founder, Global Hobby Distributors and the Hobby People chain of retail stores it operated in the southwestern US closed. Proprietary brands like XTM Racing and DHK Hobby were left without an American distributor, and Airtronics - the long-time U.S. moniker for Sanwa products, which had been acquired by Global in 2007 — also disappeared. Sanwa is now distributed in the U.S. by Serpent America. The development shocked the world of RC, and was our most-read story of 2017.
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