Michigan State Championships Rd.3 report

On Saturday April 21st, the third round of the Michigan State Championship Series was held at Proving Grounds Raceway in Jenison, MI. The indoor track was very tight, but provided very close racing in all classes.

1/8th Scale Nitro Buggy

The premier class of the series seems to be 1/8th Scale Nitro Buggy, as once again this was the biggest class present. Just like the first 2 rounds, Dakotah Phend was the man to beat, as he once again was TQ and was started at the front of the grid. Behind Dakotah, who was the only one that was able to put together a 17 lap qualifier, the time qualifying times were very close.

A surprising clean start with 11 1/8th scale cars on a tight track and the battle was on. Dakotah took the early lead, followed by Scott Ullig and Mo Denton. Behind Dakotah, positions changed frequently. Halfway through the 30 minute main, tire wear started to become the challenge, as the track surface changed drastically throughout the day. At the end of the race, Dakotah Phen took the win with Mo Denton in second, who had dropped back as far as 9th place, and Mike Sontag in third, who also had some issues throughout the race and was as far back as 10th place.

Current standings in the series:

1.      Dakotah Phend (456 points)

2.      Scott Ullig (432 points)

3.      Tony Carnes (418 points)

4.      Mike Marshall (409 points)

5.      Nick Vasquez (406 points)

1/8th Scale Nitro Truggy

Dakotah Phend was also the top qualifier in the Truggy class. As tight as the track was for 1/8th scale buggy, it was an even bigger challenge passing other cars with an 1/8th scale truggy! Dakotah was able to get a clean start and it was smooth sailing for him. The battle for 2nd place was between Scott Rapoport and Mo Denton and lasted the full 30 minute main. In the end, Dakotah Phend won the race, Mo Denton in second and Scott Rapoport in third.

Current standings in the series:

1.      Dakotah Phend (456 points)

2.      Mo Denton (437 points)

3.      Kid Dynomite (409 points)

4.      Justin Hughes (397 points)

5.      Adam Hughes (392 points)

1/8th Scale Electric Buggy

The 1/8th scale electric buggy class showed a few new contenders for the class, including Proving Grounds owner Chad 'Uncle E' Stoub. Scott Rapoport was able to qualify at the top of the list with his A Main Hobbies sponsored Losi 8ight 2.0. Scott Rapoport was able to take the holeshot, but Nick Vasquez, who has won the first 2 rounds of the series, took over the lead on the second lap. A few laps later, Scott Rapoport claimed back the lead and would not give it up for the remainder of the race. Behind Rapoport the battles continued and on lap 10 disaster struck for Nick Vasquez and he was out of the race. The battle continue for second place between Uncle E, Bryan Couher, Larry Cornell and Edwin Hartman. In the end, the finishing order was Scott Rapoport in first place, Uncle E in second place and Bryan Boucher in third place.

Current standings in the series:

1.      Nick Vasquez (442 points)

2.      Scott Bostelman (423 points)

3.      Brian Trammel (398 points)

4.      Christopher Stroh (395 points)

5.      Ron Jackson (385 points)

2WD Open Short Course

Panther sponsored driver Johnny LoGuidice was able to take the top qualifying position in the 2WD Short Course class. Right after the start, Johnny LoGuidice took control of the race and never looked back. The battle behind LoGuidice continued between Paul Edwards, Bryan Boucher and Larry Cornell. In the end, Johnny LoGuidice won the race with Paul Edwards in second and Larry Cornell in third.

Current standings in the series:

1.      Russ Bryant (304 points)

2.      Paul Edwards (292 points)

3.      Jimbo (292 points)

4.      Larry Cornell (285 points)

5.      Bryan Boucher (283 points)

4WD Open Short Course

The fight for the top spot of the series championship in the 4WD Short Course class is between Steve Culbert and Tony Carnes, but neither were able to secure the top qualifying spot. This honor went to Scott Rapoport, earning him valuable points for the championship. Rapoport took early control of the race, but was passed by Mike Sontag on lap 4. The title contenders Steve Culbert and Tony Carnes were in 5th and 3rd place, until Carnes had some bad luck and dropped all the way back to 9th place. In the end, Mike Sontag took the victory with Scott Rapoport in second and Steve Culbert in third place. Tony Carnes was able to fight all the way back to 4th place and still salvage points for the championship.

Current standings in the series:

1.      Steve Culbert (438 points)

2.      Tony Carnes (438 points)

3.      Scott Bostelman (420 points)

4.      Brian Trammel (410 points)

5.      Scott Rapoport (297 points)

Novice Class

In the novice class, the battled for the top 3 spots lasted all the way until the final lap. The race lead was held by David Yonkers, followed by TQ and early leader Hayden Heath and Austin Weihl in third. All top 3 made mistakes towards the end of the race and in the end, Hayden Heath won, David Yonkers second and Austin Weihl in third.

The organizers of the Michigan State Championship Series would like to thank everybody for coming out and supporting the series and helping it grow into the ultimate off-road series of Michigan. A very big thank you as well to the series sponsors: O'Donnell Racing Fuel, Duratrax Performance Tires, Team Losi Racing, M2C Racing, Dirtburner Racing and Twisted RC.

Round #4 of the Michigan State Championship Series will be the first outdoor race of the series and will take place at The Track in Carleton, MI on May 12th 2012.

For more information about the series, results, pictures, current standings and more, please visit the best RC Racing Series website on the internet: http://www.michstatechampseries.com. The website is also designed and optimized for mobile devices. Check it out!