This weekend, the ROAR Electric Off-Road National Championships heads to Space Coast R/C in Cocoa, FL. For just the second time since 2006, the Nats will be held indoors (West Coast RC Raceway, which closed one year ago, held the race in 2012). Though there will be seven classes competing all eyes will be on the Modified divisions, and there’s a lot to watch this year - most notably Ryan Maifield’s first major event with TLR and Team Orion. If ROAR enforces RMT rule 13 part H, which says racers may only enter up to three classes total, we may see drivers having to make choices on which truck division to enter - especially defending Racing Truck winner Jared Tebo after he posted a video this week of his final practice run with the Kyosho SC6 short course truck.
This past Saturday, I attended the horse races at the Del Mar Fairgrounds for the first time since reaching legal gambling age, and quickly learned that the bookmakers are completely full of manure. In that spirit, here are my trifecta picks and odds for each of the four major classes:
Racing Truck Modified (18 entries)
Defending champion: Jared Tebo
The class that simply refuses to die. Despite only having two manufacturers still producing “trucks” for this class (of which none of them look even remotely like trucks), the pre-entry list for Racing Truck Modified is almost as sparse as an on-road race. Even still, there are a few heavy hitters that should make for an exciting show.
Win: Dakotah Phend (3/1)
Last year’s TQ is running the discontinued TLR 22T this weekend, and will have plenty to prove after losing last year with mistakes in the first two main events. The smaller indoor track at Space Coast shouldn’t penalize the TQ as much as last year’s big, fast, crazy outdoor course, so I think Phend takes this one.
Place: Jared Tebo (4/1)
Tebo was both lucky and good last year, capitalizing on Phend’s mistakes to wrap up the title after the first two mains. If Jared does in fact end up racing stadium truck this weekend, he’ll make it a heck of a race - but he may not get the same lucky break to beat Phend that he did last year.
Show: Steven Hartson (10/1)
Last year, Steven qualified fifth and finished sixth. A long-time resident of the Southern California’s indoor tracks, I think Steven will be more at home at SCRC than he was last year and beats the rest to take the final step on the podium.
2WD SCT Modified (19 entries)
Defending champion: Ryan Maifield
Ryan Maifield’s first big test will come in 2WD short course, racing against what may be the most competitive field in the history of the class. The provisional turnout for this class is abysmal as well, with the buggy racers split between SCT and stadium truck meaning that neither will go lower than a B Main.
Win: Ryan Maifield (5/2)
This is an easy pick. Maifield has absolutely dominated the 2WD short course class in ROAR Nationals competition, winning three of the last four years. His TLR 22SCT 2.0 looked phenomenal in his electric off-road debut with TLR and Team Orion, handily winning the JConcepts Summer Indoor Nationals. I think he’ll be a shoe-in for another title.
Place: Ryan Cavalieri (5/1)
Cavalieri is the only driver to beat Maifield for a 2WD short course national, at his old home track of West Coast back in 2012. He’s got plenty of experience behind the wheel of the SC10.2 but will surely be more focused on the buggy classes this week. I think Cavalieri will come up just short in a close battle with his former teammate.
Show: Dustin Evans (12/1)
Last year, Dustin was the only driver who kept Maifield honest over four qualifying rounds and the first two main events, though he was powerless when it came to actually challenging for the win. I think Dustin will finish behind a motivated Cavalieri
4WD Buggy Modified (71 entries)
Defending champion: Ty Tessmann
Last year, the debut of the Hot Bodied D413 and the masterful drive from Ty Tessmann to TQ and win the race generated the biggest buzz of the weekend. The class has seen a lot of action since then, with Maifield’s move to TLR, and new buggies for Team Associated and Team Durango.
Win: Ryan Cavalieri (5/1)
Armed with the new B44.3, last year’s runner-up is my pick to win. Cavalieri won the title in 2012 when it was indoors, and the back-to-back Reedy Race of Champions titleholder (not to mention three-time world champion) knows a thing or two about winning 4WD races, especially indoors.
Place: Ryan Maifield (7/1)
If there’s anyone who’s going to put the TLR 22-4 atop the podium of a major event, it’s Ryan Maifield - who has long been one of the fastest, if not slightly inconsistent, racers behind the wheel of a 4WD buggy. He won yet another Cactus Classic earlier this year with the Associated buggy, and dominated the JConcepts Summer Indoor Nationals in his TLR debut.
Show: Ty Tessmann (10/1)
The mystique over the D413 prototype last year only added to how easily Ty Tessmann snuck in under the radar and walked away with a dominating win. The Canadian won two of his six heats at the Reedy Race as well, so we know that he can get that car around an indoor track as well. If either of the Ryans slip up, Ty will be right there with a chance to win again.
2WD Buggy Modified (83 entries)
Defending champion: Dakotah Phend
In one of the most bizarre finals in recent memory, last year’s third qualifier Dakotah Phend was handed golden opportunities in the first two A-Mains that allowed him to claim his first Modified national championship. The top two qualifiers, then-teammates Ryan Cavalieri and Ryan Maifield, both crashed over a big wind-affected triple jump at the same time in A1 and A2, and while Cavalieri was able to recover to finish second overall Maifield was not so lucky - he finished fourth behind 2011 champion Dustin Evans.
Win: Ryan Maifield (6/1)
Maifield was nearly lights out at the Reedy Race earlier this year, winning three of his six heats and finishing second in the other three, and crushed the field at the JConcepts Summer Indoor Nationals in his first race with the TLR 22 2.0. This will be the toughest race of the weekend, no doubt, but I think he edges out the rest of the field.
Place: Ryan Cavalieri (7/1)
Team Associated’s B5M hasn’t yet won a major U.S. title, though the new platform will have its best shot yet with Ryan Cavalieri racing it on an indoor track. Cavalieri won the National Championship when it was run indoors two years ago, he won his first four 2WD races straight at the Reedy Race, and he came within just tenths of a second of beating Phend last year.
Show: Dakotah Phend (8/1)
It’s difficult to put the defending champion third - and if the race was outdoors I think he’d be the favorite to repeat. He finished sixth the last time this race was indoors, however, and didn’t have the best time at the Reedy Race. I think he edges current World Champion Jared Tebo for the final step on the box out of sheer determination.
These odds aren’t official, of course, and are solely based on my rather unscientific gut feeling of how this race will go. How well will my picks hold up this weekend? We’re only a few days from finding out!
8/20/2014
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