Back in December 2014, I interviewed Travis Amezcua for Talk It Up Tuesday - but the conversation centered around the expansion of his role with Team Durango, for which he had raced for four years before taking on greater responsibility as North American Technical Representative. Click here to read it:
www.liverc.com/TALK_IT_UP_TUESDAY%3A_Travis_Amezcua/
This week, I reached out to Travis to learn more about his life and racing career - where it all started for him, what his biggest successes and unmet goals are, the details of his new deal with PR Racing and what he sees for the future.
Aaron Waldron: How old are you, and where are you from?
Travis Amezcua: I am 36 years old, and I’m from Rancho Cucamonga, CA.
AW: How did you get started in radio control, and how long have you been racing?
TA: I got started in RC at a very young age. My dad had got me a few Tyco cars at first, which I drove around our house. From there, my parents got me a Tamiya Blackfoot - which took us a few weeks to build. My dad would also take me to a local park where people raced RC boats, called Legg Lake Park in El Monte, CA. They also had a flying field for RC planes. From there, we started to build a nitro RC plane - which we spent months working to finish. After many trips to the local hobby shop, we started picking up RC Car Action magazines - and that's how we found about racing cars. We never finished the plane and switched to cars. My first race truck he got me was the Team Associated RC10T, and that was the start of my racing career.
AW: When did you decide to start taking racing more seriously, traveling to larger races and acquiring sponsors? Did you ever think you’d make a living racing RC cars?
TA: We started racing in 1993 at a local track in West Covina, CA called Covina Raceway. That went on for about a year before we started going to different local tracks, like the Ranch Pit Shop, SoCal RC Raceway, and MnM hobbies just to name a few. My first sponsor was Twister motors. I remember reading magazine articles about the 1993 IFMAR Worlds, and I thought about how cool it would be to travel around the world racing RC cars someday. I think it was around 1996 that my parents, along with my grandma, started paying for me to travel to bigger events around the U.S. - and I was already sponsored by Team Associated and Reedy at that time. In 1998, Team Orion started taking care of my travel and paid me a small salary. I was still in high school at the time, but I knew then that I could make some type of living in this great sport.
AW: Tell me more about your new position with PR Racing - what will you be doing for them? Will they be expanding their presence in the U.S. racing scene?
TA: I will be a factory driver for PR Racing. The main goal is to show that the brand can compete with all the other companies out there. We have some other things we are working on to bring a bigger presence to the U.S market.
AW: How much have you run your new buggies?
TA: I've done some private testing with the cars. Since we have now finalized our deal, you will see me at more local tracks along with some major events throughout the year.
AW: Do you have a deal lined up for 1/8-scale racing yet? I’ve heard rumors!
TA: Since my Team Durango deal came to a end last September I haven’t done much 1/8-scale racing. I raced the IFMAR Worlds in Las Vegas with an HB Racing buggy that West Coast team manager Victor Guerrero, who is a good friend of mine, lent me. Joseph Quagraine gave me a JQ Racing Black Edition buggy to try, and I raced that at the first round of the JBRL nitro series a few weeks back. (Editor’s note: Amezcua finished tenth.)
AW: What’s your favorite track? Favorite big event? Favorite racing class?
TA: Man, that would be a very long list - I’ve been to way too many great tracks to pick a favorite. My favorite events are the IFMAR Worlds and Reedy Off-Road Race of Champions, because you have the best drivers in the world competing. Hands down, my favorite class is 2WD Modified Buggy.
AW: What are your most proud racing moments?
TA: My biggest accomplishment was winning the 2003 ROAR Nationals in 2WD Modified, at The Tiltyard in Virginia. It was the first ROAR Nationals for the Team Associated B4, and the track was awesome. I also won three NORRCA national titles - but most younger racers won’t even know what NORRCA was! At the 2002 IFMAR Worlds in South Africa I finished 4th in both 2WD and 4WD. The list goes on from there.
Source: ROAR
AW: Do you have any goals for your RC career you haven’t met yet?
TA: Yes - I’ve always wanted to win the IFMAR Worlds. Of course, there have been many other top pros who have never reached that top spot.
AW: When you’re not at the racetrack, what are some of your favorite hobbies?
TA: I enjoy spending time with my family, building projects around the house, hanging out with friends and going camping.
Photo: Joyce Frenkel, via Facebook
AW: What has been the biggest change you’ve seen in RC in the 24 years you’ve been racing?
TA: These days, it’s so much easier to go racing. The kits are easier to build, and you can make any car work for any driving style - I think that’s part of the fun. There’s a lot less work you have to do in the pits, too. You used to have to build your own batteries and go through complex charging and discharging patterns, and cut the comm on motors every few runs.
AW: Who are some of the people that have helped you the most?
TA: There have been many great industry icons that have helped me out through the years - like Mike Reedy, Gil Losi Sr., Gil Losi Jr., Cliff Lett, and Gene Husting.
AW: Thanks for the interview! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
TA: Thanks for having me on Talk It Up Tuesday. I would like to thank all of my supporters throughout the years, and the different companies that I've raced and worked for. It's been a great journey this far and I look forward to many more great years.
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