2019 Off-Road RIOT Race Recap

0 June 3, 2019, 9 a.m.

Main Photo: 2019 Off-Road RIOT Race Recap

By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com

Photos by Nikal Studios - Allen Toumberlin

This past weekend hosted the annual 2019 Off-Road RIOT event at Fastlane Raceway in Blue Springs, Missouri – organized and directed by Mike and Britani Garrison. The Off-Road RIOT is traditionally the “season opener” for outdoor 1/8-scale off-road racing in the Midwest, however, Mother Nature had different plans for 2019. The event was originally scheduled for early May, and after record amounts of rainfall it was rescheduled for this past weekend – the first sunny and dry weekend the area has seen in almost a month.

Photos by Nikal Studios - Allen Toumberlin

Racers from across the region including Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, and Oklahoma gathered to chase the RIOT title in their respective classes. The Fastlane Raceway crew provided a fast and flowing track layout that made for some of the closest racing in Off-Road RIOT event history.

Photos by Nikal Studios - Allen Toumberlin

Pit Stop Challenge

As main day got under way, the festivities began with the annual Pit Stop Challenge. Returning champions “Team Marrant” would once again defend their title by setting a pit stop time of .3 seconds faster than the next fastest team. Chris Marrant was once again behind the wheel with Dallas Boyd for the catch, and wife Michelle Marrant in charge of the fuel stick.

Dash 4 Cash Challenge

The 2019 Off-Road RIOT Dash 4 Cash was between the top 10 drivers in the Expert Nitro Buggy class. Spectators purchased raffle tickets, and each driver pulled a ticket on their way up the drivers stand. The winner of the race and the spectator with the matching ticket would split the pot. The race was a 5-minute battle, inverted start, and no turn marshalls. As the tone sounded for the race to end, only three cars remained. Team Associated’s Nick Gibson would fight off the competition, avoid crashing, and earn the Dash 4 Cash win – bringing home the cold hard cash for himself and lucky ticket holder Josh Dill.

Women’s Open

The Women’s Open class was a new addition to the event for 2018, and was yet again a major success for 2019. It was event organizer, Britani Garrison, who set the pace in qualifying by taking TQ in all three rounds. Garrison would go on put her Tekno RC EB48.4 on the top step of the podium by winning A1 and A2. A close battle for second overall ensued between Marilyn Roney and 2018 Women’s Open class champion Kaitlyn Haimowitz. Electrical issues in A3 would end Kaitlyn’s run early, and Marilyn would secure second. Kaitlyn finished up the weekend third with new racer Rachel Marrant and Marge Fletcher finishing out the top 5.

1/8 Electric Truck

The 1/8 Electric Truck Class was all about Dan Johnson. Johnson set the TQ pace in qualifying and went on to win A1 and A2 in commanding fashion. Chad Hartshorn would take his TLR truck to second overall and the win in A3, with Marilyn Roney finishing out the podium in 3rd.

1/10 Electric Truck

The 1/10 Electric Truck class saw a combination of 1/10 truggies and 4wd short course trucks. Yokomo driver Wesley Gifford dominated the class by taking the overall TQ and wins in A1 and A2. Equally as impressive as his race win was the Yokomo truggy conversion that he created on his own to allow him to race the class using a Yokomo YZ-4 4wd buggy. Alex Richards would take second overall and the win in A3, piloting the Velocity RC B64 conversion truck. Adam Garrett finished out the podium in third with Kenneth Nickle and David Sellars rounding out the top 5.

Sportsman 1/8 Electric Buggy

Sportsman 1/8 Electric Buggy saw some of the wildest racing of the weekend. At one point or another nearly every driver on the racetrack seemed to be in contention for the win throughout each of the mains. TQ Shawn Rocha looked to be on cruise control to win A1, when sudden car troubles ended his run with only a lap to go – allowing Dan Johnson to inherit the race win. Rocha would rebound to win A2, putting the title on the line for A3. What started out as a close battle between the two would begin to spread apart as Rocha clicked off clean laps one after another. In the end Shawn Rocha was crowned the class champion with Dan Johnson in second, Dallas Boyd in third, Bill Nickols fourth, and Dylan Hartshorn fifth.

Sportsman 1/8 Nitro Buggy

Sportsman 1/8 Nitro Buggy saw long-time racer Bill Nickols secure the #1 spot on the starting grid after qualifying. Only three laps into the 30-minute main, Nickols found himself dropping to the fifth with a bit of trouble on the track. As he worked to fight his way back to the front it was young racer Jake Stoeltzing who took the lead on lap #9. Leading 58 of the next 61 laps, Stoeltzing earned his place as class champion by taking a dominating race win. Beau Hall would finish second with Dan Johnson third, Bill Nickols fourth, and Jason Duffy finishing out the top 5.

1/8 Nitro Truggy

1/8 Nitro Truggy was a roller coaster of ups and downs. As the tone sounded it was Team Associated’s Jonathan Burkhalter and HB Racing’s Chris Marrant who quickly went to battle for the top spot. On lap 23, Burkhalter would flame-out, and put him a lap down to race leader Chris Marrant. As Marrant was on cruise control with only 15 laps to go, disaster struck as he too would flame out. This put the duo together once again as the final minutes of the race drew closer. In the end, Burkhalter would rebound to take the win with Chris Marrant settling for second. Tekno RC’s Eric Fletcher drove his way to a solid third overall on the day ahead of HB teammates Nick Lewis and Adam Wietrick in fourth and fifth.

40+ Nitro Buggy

There is only two words that can be used to describe 40+ Nitro Buggy – “Nick Lewis”. The HB Racing team driver took the top honors in qualifying and led 71 of the 72 laps in the 30-minute A-Main to take the overall win. He came under fire early on from track builder Tony Burton, but an unfortunate series of flame outs would drop Burton out of contention mid-way through the race. Instead it was Bill Nickols who captured second overall, JQ Racing’s Jeff Werner third, Allen Vann fourth, and Emilio Gomez taking fifth.

Expert 1/8 Electric Buggy

TLR’s Tom Rinderknecht set the pace in qualifying by taking the TQ spot and carrying on by winning A1. Troubles for Tom in A2 led to a DNF, allowing Team Associated’s Brad Dean to take the A2 win. It all came down to A3, and where Rinderknecht would return to winning form for the overall class win. Despite a “flat tire” and an 11th place finish in A3, Brad Dean would secure second overall ahead of HB Racing’s Chris Marrant in third, Paul Svejkosky in fourth, and Jeremy Mauro in fifth.

Expert 1/8 Nitro Buggy

Expert 1/8 Nitro Buggy was yet again another exciting race to watch as the leaders went head-to-head for the race win. Team Associated’s Jonathan Burkhalter earned the TQ spot in qualifying, however, a rough start saw him cross the line ninth on lap one. Team Associated’s Nick Gibson took over the early lead and checked out. After nearly lapping the entire field, it looked as though Gibson was untouchable. As nitro racing often goes, an unexpected flame out turned Gibson’s race upside down. HB Racing’s Chris Marrant capitalized and took over the lead for the overall race win. TQ Jonathan Burkhalter fought hard to earn a well-deserved second place ahead of Paul Svejkosky in third and Nick Gibson in fourth. The final trophy spot came down to an end of race battle between the two B-Main bump drivers Mike Garrison and Wesley Gifford. Gifford would earn the number five spot with smooth, consistent, and clean cut racing.