2020 Tekno RC Off-Road JAM Race Recap

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Mike Garrison

0 Jan. 28, 2020, 10:02 a.m.

By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com

The 2020 Tekno RC Off-Road JAM is in the books, and it was perhaps the most exciting, fun-filled, and action packed event in Off-Road JAM history! This year saw just over 230 of the Midwest's best drivers from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, and Oklahoma gather at Fastlane Raceway in Blue Springs, Missouri spread out among 12 different classes.

Lead by Chad Parks, the Fastlane crew and volunteers put together a very exciting, fast, flowing, and challenging track layout that provided some unbelievable racing in all classes. 

CLICK HERE for Full Event Results
CLICK HERE for Event Photos by NIKAL Studios

(Custom Awards from BOOMrc Graphics & Design)

An enormous "Thank You" goes out to all of the racers in attendance, the Fastlane Raceway staff, and event sponsors who provided racers an exciting Racer Raffle with tables full of great prizes including Tekno RC, Mod-X, JConcepts, VRP, Motiv RC, Maclan Racing, XactRC, PTRC Racing Oils, AJRC Designs, Leadfinger Racing, Reedy, Velocity RC, and BOOMrc!

 
(Charles Day and Andy Lachance with their big wins from sponsors Motiv RC and Reedy.)

(Jared Scott and Zach Spears the lucky winners of the Mod-X Modified Motors.)

 
(Orlando Martinez with his new Maclan MMax Pro ESC, and Mark Garner with his brand new Tekno EB410.2.)

(Josh Wiechens earning some extra cash for him and the Barnes family after winning the 50/50 Dash 4 Cash)

NOVICE

The Novice class saw the biggest turnout of drivers in Off-Road JAM history with A and B-Mains. This class was open to all Novice skill level drivers with any 1/10-scale vehicle. Austin Smith set the pace in qualifying by taking the TQ spot with his stadium truck, however, it was local newcomer Dwight Solis driving a 2wd buggy who put in a smooth and consistent performance to take the A-Main win. Austin would cross the line in second, with Deegan Barnes a close third.

21.5 2WD BUGGY

The 21.5 2wd Spec Buggy class was a new class for this year's event, and was it was a huge success! Local racer, Brandon Shrout, started first on the grid after earning TQ. An unfortunate first lap full of troubles for Shrout buried him in the pack. As Shrout moved backwards to start the race, Scott Simon (who started 10th) quickly began moving forward. Simon made his way to the front of the pack for the overall win just ahead of early race leader Jason Morey in second. After a hard fought battle, Brandon Shrout was able to work his way back for the final podium spot in third.

17.5 SPORTSMAN 2WD BUGGY

17.5 Sportsman 2wd Buggy was yet another new class added for this year's event, and it did not disappoint! Young gun Shane Alberico earned the number one spot in qualifying. As the A-Main got underway he quickly began to stretch out his lead, but a hard charging Michael Maggard from 9th on the grid had other plans. Mid-race Maggard would take the lead, but only for a few laps, as Shane remounted and went on to take the win. Maggard would finish second with Connor Johnson finishing third.

17.5 EXPERT 2WD BUGGY

17.5 Expert 2wd Buggy was stacked with talent from across the region. Qualifying would see Brad Dean and Kyle Gannon starting first and second in the A-Main. As the start tone sounded, the two would stay no more than a few seconds apart the entire race. Dean led every lap for the win, with Gannon crossing in second. Long-time racer Ken Peterson lined up 8th on the grid, but drove a steady race to finish an impressive 3rd overall.

13.5 2WD BUGGY

13.5 2wd Buggy saw the return of the 21.5 2wd Buggy class winner, Scott Simon. Scott would start first in the A-Main, but was quickly caught up in a battle with a hard charging Trevor Phillippe in second. Phillippe would take the lead on two occassions, but couldn't hold off a determined Simon looking for his second win of the day. In a photo finish, Scott Simon would take the win only .2 seconds ahead of Trevor Phillippe in second. James Ham finished out the podium in third only 1.6 seconds back from the fight for the lead.

13.5 STADIUM TRUCK

13.5 Stadium Truck was better well-known as "The Mitchell Brown Show". Brown would take TQ and dominate the A-Main with a solid run from start to finish. Brian Valles started second and he too was unchallenged as he stretched out his gap on third, allowing him to cruise home to second overall. After a devastating start, Brett Nelson fought his way back from the back of the back to finish an impressive third.

13.5 SHORT COURSE TRUCK

13.5 Short Course saw Dustin Hamiliton taking the TQ spot after qualifying, but the A-Main saw an exciting battle between the top three qualifiers from start to finish. Hamiltion, Nick Cummins, and Jaylen Wettengel all three led multiple laps at some point throughout the race, but in the end it would be Dustin Hamilton who crossed the finish line first. Cummins would take second, and Wettengel a close third.

1/10 4WD TRUGGY

The 1/10 4wd Truggy class was dominated from start to finish by young gun Braxten Culley. Culley made his truggy class debut with a TQ in all three rounds and a tone to tone win in the A-Main. David Wiechens jumped up from his third place start to finish second, and Shane McCall would overcome a rough start to fight back for third.

40+ 2WD BUGGY

40+ 2wd Buggy was a first for the Off-Road JAM event, and the interest was above and beyond expectations with an A and B-Main stacked full of talent. Rico Karstens earned TQ after qualifying, but it was event track builder Chad Parks who would take the top step of the podium after a pass on lap 6. Karstens would finish second with Rod Rippee finishing out the podium in third.

MOD 2WD BUGGY

Heading into the 2wd Mod Buggy A-Main it was Jonathan Burkhalter and Nick Gibson who started 1 and 2. An early race collision betweent the two dropped them down in the field, and third place qualifier David Alberico took full advantage! Alberico jumped out to the lead with Oklahoma's Trevor Nault chasing in a close second. A mistake from Nault and a charge from 4th place driver, Rico Karstens, put Rico into 2nd in hot pursuit of Alberico. Burkhalter pushed his way back to the front, battling with Karstend momentarily for second, but a crash would leave him settling for third. In the end, Alberico was all smiles with a well-deserved A-Main win, Rico Karstens second, and Burkhalter third.

13.5 4WD BUGGY 

13.5 4wd Buggy was the largest class of the weekend with nearly 50 entries. Matthew Pyle started first on the grid, but it was former ROAR Stock National Champion, Rod Rippee, who quickly took control. Trouble for Rippee on lap 11 allowed Bradley Peterson to take over the lead, and dropping Rod to 4th. As it looked to be Peterson, Pyle, and Ian Morey for the podium, last lap chaos changed the running order entirely. Mere feet before the finish line a pile up cars moved Rod Rippee to third, dropped Ian Morey to 7th, and mixed up the remainder of the finishes beyond belief.

MOD 4WD BUGGY

After a frustrating Mod 2wd Buggy A-Main, 4wd TQ Nick Gibson was determined to redeem himself. As the tone sounded he never looked back from his number one position. Tekno RC's newly signed Braxten Culley made his way up from sixth on the grid to finish 5 seconds back from Gibson in second. 2wd Mod Buggy winner David Alberico finished out the podium and a successful weekend in third.