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March 31, 2014, 6:44 a.m.
3/31/2014
By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com
This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend my Saturday in St. Louis, Missouri for the Monster Energy Supercross Series. We arrived plenty early, and had a lot of time to wander the pits and take a look around. If you have never attended a Monster Energy Supercross event, let me tell you first hand that it is far more than just a dirt bike race...it is a full-on party, show, and great time. The pits are open to fans before the races and are FULL of entertainment. Monster Energy has their track party going, various vendors have activities going, and the riders are out signing autographs and chatting with fans. While it is all very impressive, there was one particular activity/vendor that caught my attention.
HPI Racing and Falken Tire was setup with a full blown R/C drift course. The HPI crew were working hard keeping the cars charged up, sharing our hobby with young and old, and helping new-comers to get their chance behind the wheel of an R/C car. The line of people waiting to drive an R/C car quickly grew to massive lengths, rivaling the autograph lines of top factory riders.
I was in awe of the HPI setup. Friends kept asking me, "What's the big deal. You don't R/C drift anyways do you?" To me the big deal was not what form of R/C they were displaying, demonstrating, or promoting. The big deal was the attraction they were gaining among the 40,000+ supercross fans. When I started racing motocross at the age of 5, the kids at school had no idea what I did on the weekend while they were out playing baseball. Over the next 20 years, it exploded to massive proportions and has become a well-known sport in households of all ages worldwide. With the efforts of companies such as HPI, I see R/C car racing following the same path as motocross, and holding the potential to grow immensely over the coming years.
Watching so many people smile and enjoy their time driving an R/C car was truly encouraging. My hat is off to not only HPI and Losi (also in attendance with a display), but ALL of the R/C companies that have reached out into crossover sports to further promote our hobby. With the efforts of companies like these, I truly believe R/C car racing will grow to massive proportions, and who knows, maybe someday we will be watching the Monster Energy R/C Series on TV as well.
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