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Moment with Mike: The mod truck comeback

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Mike Garrison

0 March 16, 2012, 5:21 a.m.

Main Photo: Moment with Mike: The mod truck comeback

3/16/2012

By Mike Garrison

LiveRC.com

Several weeks ago at a local trophy race, fellow Team Associated driver Chad Parks, was kind of enough to lend me his T4.1 stadium truck for an extra class to race. While the idea behind borrowing his truck was to simply give me an "extra" class to run just taking up time in a very long weekend. I threw together some electronics, washed the tires, and hit the track.

My plan was to run a battery pack practicing just to get the feel of mod truck, and then focus on my other classes. As I made my first lap in almost 4 years with a stadium truck, I pulled the truck over, looked it straight in it's headlights and said, "Mod truck...where have you been all my life?"

Needless to say despite running 4 classes, all I could think about was the next time I'd get to drive the T4.1! On a local level the stadium truck class has been "dead" for some time, with the exception of 5 or 6 at a trophy race. Since the release of the TLR-22T, it seems as though the class is coming back as local club racing turnouts have improved, trophy race turnouts have improved, and more and more factory drivers are back running the mod truck class at major events.

In MY OPINION, the stadium truck is making a comeback, but I wanted to go higher up on the totem pole of racing authorities to get their opinion on the topic. I sat down with 3 of the major manufacturer's team managers to talk stadium truck, and here is what they had to say:

Team Associated - Brent Thielke

LRC: Stadium truck seemed to be nearly extinct on all levels of racing, but has recently spiked back in popularity. Why do you think this is?

BRENT: There are two reasons. 1) Customers that first fell in love with R/C through Short Course racing have graduated and Stadium Truck is the next logical step. Many of the same parts that are on an vehicle like a SC10 fit a T4.1. Plus the size and ease of driving, combined with a bit more “racy” feel is a good transition from Short Course. 2) Anytime a new kit is released by a major manufacture in to a racing sector, customers gravitate towards that class. Especially when there are multiple manufacturer’s to choose from.

LRC: As team manager, do you now expect your top drivers to race "Mod Truck" at major events now?

BRENT: We’ve always supported “Mod Truck” at the events. That won’t change. However, there may be more of our team split among 4wd Buggy, Stadium Truck and Short Course. There are so many classes now to compete in, unfortunately the competition gets a bit diluted in some classes, but this also gives up and coming drivers a chance to shine with A-main and podium finishes.

LRC: What are your personal pros and cons of stadium trucks?

BRENT: Personally, I’ve had a lot of success in the class so I enjoy it. With the look of the cab-forward bodies now the aesthetics of the class has really changed. I joked and dubbed it “1:10 2wd eTruggy” last year when JConcepts and Proline released their Punisher and Bull Dog. The biggest pro for me about the class is that it’s a great stepping stone up the ladder of difficulty. Trucks are a bit more forgiving to drive and more stable on the track, so it’s easier for a new comer to control. Plus most hard core racers compete in 2wd Buggy and Stadium Truck is the closest vehicle to that as far as driving style, so it’s more track time with a similar feeling vehicle. However, since they are bigger it’s more difficult to race side-by-side without interlocking tires and in comparison to Short Course, the tires are about the same cost, however buggy tires are about 2/3 the cost of those.

LRC: Last year's ROAR Offroad Electric Nationals had only 15 total entries in the Mod Truck class, do you feel this year it will increase? Will it reach the level of short course classes?

BRENT: It’s difficult to say. I go to races all over the country and there has definitely been an increase in Stadium Truck racing. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much 17.5 racing in this class, but I think as modified continues to grow, so will stock. I don’t know if anything will hit our industry as hard as Short Course racing did a few years ago, but with all the different types and price points of vehicles available for customer there’s surely something out there for everyone; and that’s what I’m most excited about.

LRC: For entry level racers, do you recommend short course or stadium truck? Why?

BRENT: It depends on what the person is looking to do. If they have ambitions of climbing the ranks and competing against the top pros, I’d stay Stadium Truck. That class is more precise than Short Course. However, if they want to bash around, run in to their buddies and go play in the park between races, there is no match for Short Course. In the end, both vehicles get them to the track and that’s what I like to see.

LRC: Are their plans for either major updates or a completely new stadium truck in 2012 for Associated?

BRENT: We are always working on new products. That’s what we do…lol. As far as any details, that’s confidential. However, it’s obvious that electric off-road continues to grow across the country and world, so it only makes sense to continue to develop vehicles for that category of competition.

Team Kyosho - Joe Pillars

LRC: Stadium truck seemed to be nearly extinct on all levels of racing, but has recently spiked back in popularity. Why do you think this is?

JOE: I think the main reason for the spike in the stadium truck class was because of the new release of the TLR 22T.

LRC: As team manager, do you now expect your top drivers to race "Mod Truck" at major events now?

JOE: Kyosho makes 4 1/10 electric cars for racing. At most events 4 classes is just too much for one person. Our travel drivers will run 2wd and 4wd Modified Buggy for sure. Then we will decide who will run Modified Truck and who will run Short Course.

LRC: What are your personal pros and cons of stadium trucks?

JOE: It’s good to have the Modified Truck Class back since it has such a big history in our sport. The only difficult part is now determining who runs Modified Truck and who runs Short Course at the races.

LRC: Last year's ROAR Offroad Electric Nationals had only 15 total entries in the Mod Truck class, do you feel this year it will increase? Will it reach the level of short course classes?

JOE: I feel this year the Modified Truck Class will for sure be allot bigger. Especially since 2wd, 4wd, and Truck all run at the same time. Then Short Course will run with the 1/8 Electric program later in the week at the ROAR Nationals. I think the overall Modified entries will be close to the same because how the Nationals are layed out.

LRC: For entry level racers, do you recommend short course or stadium truck? Why?

JOE: I would recommend Short Course Trucks for entry level racers. The trucks are very strong and you can get into any Ready to Run Kit very cheap. Then if they like the racing part of R/C, they can always upgrade.

LRC: Are their plans for either major updates or a completely new stadium truck in 2012 for Kyosho?

JOE: We are actually releasing our NEW Kyosho RT5-SP in April. There are a few smaller changes in the kit with the biggest being it will include our Big Bore Shocks.

X Factory - Chazz Sinclair

LRC: Stadium truck seemed to be nearly extinct on all levels of racing, but has recently spiked back in popularity. Why do you think this is?

CHAZZ: Stadium truck is just so much fun to drive. Personally I compete in just one class, and it's 17.5 blinky stock truck. (It suits my driving ability too.) So I'm biased toward the class. There are two schools of thought for the beginner. One says to start in mod buggy -- jump in the deep end -- because that will teach you to drive. The other, to which I subscribe, is to start at stock truck because it's so easy and so much fun. Why did stadium truck fall off? I think everybody went to SC, assuming (wrongly) that it would be more fun. I think some people want better handling and jumping, and a faster vehicle, so some are returning to stadium truck.

LRC: As team manager, do you now expect your top drivers to race "Mod Truck" at major events now?

CHAZZ: X Factory Team drivers are encouraged to drive whichever of our products are most popular at their tracks and what they have most fun driving. We make very few demands of our Team drivers. That's just not us, so it's a non-issue here.

LRC: What are your personal pros and cons of stadium trucks?

CHAZZ: The difference for me between SC and stadium truck is that the stadium truck is more of a 'real' race vehicle. I"m a former WRC driver -- I love cars that handle well in the dirt. NASCAR and Indy don't interest me nearly so much. At the same time I don't have the skill at R/C to be at all competitive in buggy and at my age that probably won't change a whole lot. Stock truck is just the right fit for Young Chazz.

LRC: Last year's ROAR Offroad Electric Nationals had only 15 total entries in the Mod Truck class, do you feel this year it will increase? Will it reach the level of short course classes?

CHAZZ: No way in 2012 will mod truck get as many entries as SC, but the new format will mean that more guys have time to run the class so I suspect there will be more entries this year. ROAR's mistake, in my opinion, is that many guys will not stick around for the second weekend just to run one class, 2WD SC for us.

LRC: For entry level racers, do you recommend short course or stadium truck? Why?

CHAZZ: For any entry-level driver I suggest a mid-motor X Factory car. They are easier to drive fast, therefore more enjoyable.

LRC: Are their plans for either major updates or a completely new stadium truck in 2012 for X Factory?

CHAZZ: Once our all new carbon fiber SCX - 60CF is on the market, hopefully in less than two weeks, we will turn our attention full time to the X - 7 1/10 electric 4WD buggy. (Paul ran a prototype in Kansas City, and later finished 3rd at the J Concepts Clash.) This is the first car where X Factory designs the entire thing and uses almost all our own parts. No Conversion Kit, and almost entirely our own. We hope to have it on the market late this year. Anything else is too far away to think about now.

Well now we have professional opinions on the matter...but we still want to know YOUR OPINION! Share your thoughts and comments below! Will the class make a comeback, and will you be racing it? Why or why not?