I saw a thread on RCTech.com about another indoor offroad electric track under construction in SoCal :) This track is supposed to be located in Norwalk, just north of OCRC in Huntington Beach. While I think its cool to see another indoor track open, but I think it would more successful if it was located someplace else. Maybe closer to the Riverside/Corona/Temecula area? In the 90's you had SoCal in the OC and MnM in the IE. These tracks were successful for a long time, probably because they were spread out enough that each track had a pool of local racers that attended weekly club races :) Both tracks also had great dirt!
I wish them the best of luck, and I'll probably go check it out if the track opens :) But, it's gonna be tough outdoing OCRC!
Here's the new track's site--> http://www.westcoastrcraceway.com/
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Winner Winner! Chicken Dinner! 2 times!
Race day! Woohoo! I wondered how the turnout would be tonight as the Reedy Truck Race was running out at Hot Rod's and I bet a bunch of the OCRC locals were running that race. Although I had my T4 working well, I was still on the fence about running both Stock Truck and 4wd Mod tonight. The last time I ran two classes, it wasn't much fun, as I was struggling with the B44. As I walked up to the counter to sign up, I thought thought to myself, f*** it! My T4 and B44 are dialed, so the only thing I would need to do is clean tires and charge batteries, no chasing setups, so I signed up for both Stock Truck and 4wd Mod! I only took 1 practice run with each car, just to warmup for racing, as I practiced on Saturday.
Sportsman Stock Truck
Stock truck had a full heat of 11 trucks, despite the Reedy Truck Race running at Hot Rod's! The race director from Hot Rod's (Notch- his screen name on RC Tech, not sure what his real name is) was running the show tonight, since both Robert and Jeremy were racing the Reedy Race. Our race would be up early in the round and the track was going to be wet, as the track crew was being very generous with the water! I would be starting the race mid-pack and wasn't sure what to expect, as I wasn't familiar with most of the drivers. I just wanted to keep it clean for the first few laps and let the order sort itself out, then make a push for the front. I had a great start and moved up to 3rd place off the line! I then moved into 2nd through the hairpin after the step-up jump on the 1st lap. Time to chase down the leader! I was right on his tail and followed him for the next few laps. He then made a mistake :) He took the turn after the double too slow and to the inside, while I took it wider and jumped into the whoops section, setting myself up for the inside of the wagon wheel. I was able to make a clean pass here and took the lead! From that point on I checked out :) I had to slow for traffic a few times and I think I ended up on my lid once or twice, but I never gave up the lead. I won the heat with a 16:19, 1 lap ahead of 2nd place :) Fast lap was a 19.443! :) And had the TQ! :)
The track would be drier for the second round of qualifying. Woohoo! It was a pain to clean all the wet dirt off the tires from the 1st race. This time I would be starting in the back of the pack and had my work cut out for me if I wanted to keep the TQ position. I came across the line in 7th place and passed a few trucks on the 1st lap, crossing the line in 5th for the 2nd lap. I then passed 2 more trucks and took 3rd place. I was in 3rd for a few laps and then took 2nd when the 2nd place truck crashed. Time to chase down the leader! I didn't know who it was or what the truck looked like, until Notch started calling the interval between us and what color the leaders truck was. He was on pace to set a new TQ, so I really had to "Strap it up!" (as Jeremy would put it) to catch him and make a pass, to keep my TQ! It would take me most of the race to catch up, but I was doing it! I was finally on his tail and close enough to make a pass with about a minute left in the race. Going through the S-turn in front of the driver's stand, he went wide and left me a hole to stick the nose of my truck in, and I went for it! We were side by side going into the Surf City Berm and touched wheels! He got the worst of it and flipped off the track :( Sorry dude! I waited for a split second, but since I couldn't see where he went and with the horrible turn marshaling (several times during the race marshals were not paying attention and drivers and Notch had to call for them to get cars), I decided to take off before I lost the lead or got hit, as there were 11 trucks on the track and alot of traffic. I kept my nose clean for the last few laps, secure in knowing that since I was in the lead, there would be no way I would lose the TQ :) I won the heat with a 16:14, beating my TQ time by 5 seconds :)
It was time for the Mains! Cool! I would be starting in the TQ position :) I do know that there is the TQ curse though. Since you start in the front of the pack, if you make a mistake, it will take forever for a marshal to get you, since all the cars behind you block their path. And you can't be too conservative, since the 2nd place car might run into you. You need to get away clean, fast, and make no mistakes for the 1st few turns. No pressure :) The track would also be very wet as we were the 2nd race and the track was well watered during the break. Great! I would end up with dirt clogged tires again :(
My brother was watching the race on LiveRC.com and got this screen capture of me sitting on the pole before the start of the Stock Truck A Main :) Thanks Ran!
Sportsman Stock Truck
Stock truck had a full heat of 11 trucks, despite the Reedy Truck Race running at Hot Rod's! The race director from Hot Rod's (Notch- his screen name on RC Tech, not sure what his real name is) was running the show tonight, since both Robert and Jeremy were racing the Reedy Race. Our race would be up early in the round and the track was going to be wet, as the track crew was being very generous with the water! I would be starting the race mid-pack and wasn't sure what to expect, as I wasn't familiar with most of the drivers. I just wanted to keep it clean for the first few laps and let the order sort itself out, then make a push for the front. I had a great start and moved up to 3rd place off the line! I then moved into 2nd through the hairpin after the step-up jump on the 1st lap. Time to chase down the leader! I was right on his tail and followed him for the next few laps. He then made a mistake :) He took the turn after the double too slow and to the inside, while I took it wider and jumped into the whoops section, setting myself up for the inside of the wagon wheel. I was able to make a clean pass here and took the lead! From that point on I checked out :) I had to slow for traffic a few times and I think I ended up on my lid once or twice, but I never gave up the lead. I won the heat with a 16:19, 1 lap ahead of 2nd place :) Fast lap was a 19.443! :) And had the TQ! :)
The track would be drier for the second round of qualifying. Woohoo! It was a pain to clean all the wet dirt off the tires from the 1st race. This time I would be starting in the back of the pack and had my work cut out for me if I wanted to keep the TQ position. I came across the line in 7th place and passed a few trucks on the 1st lap, crossing the line in 5th for the 2nd lap. I then passed 2 more trucks and took 3rd place. I was in 3rd for a few laps and then took 2nd when the 2nd place truck crashed. Time to chase down the leader! I didn't know who it was or what the truck looked like, until Notch started calling the interval between us and what color the leaders truck was. He was on pace to set a new TQ, so I really had to "Strap it up!" (as Jeremy would put it) to catch him and make a pass, to keep my TQ! It would take me most of the race to catch up, but I was doing it! I was finally on his tail and close enough to make a pass with about a minute left in the race. Going through the S-turn in front of the driver's stand, he went wide and left me a hole to stick the nose of my truck in, and I went for it! We were side by side going into the Surf City Berm and touched wheels! He got the worst of it and flipped off the track :( Sorry dude! I waited for a split second, but since I couldn't see where he went and with the horrible turn marshaling (several times during the race marshals were not paying attention and drivers and Notch had to call for them to get cars), I decided to take off before I lost the lead or got hit, as there were 11 trucks on the track and alot of traffic. I kept my nose clean for the last few laps, secure in knowing that since I was in the lead, there would be no way I would lose the TQ :) I won the heat with a 16:14, beating my TQ time by 5 seconds :)
It was time for the Mains! Cool! I would be starting in the TQ position :) I do know that there is the TQ curse though. Since you start in the front of the pack, if you make a mistake, it will take forever for a marshal to get you, since all the cars behind you block their path. And you can't be too conservative, since the 2nd place car might run into you. You need to get away clean, fast, and make no mistakes for the 1st few turns. No pressure :) The track would also be very wet as we were the 2nd race and the track was well watered during the break. Great! I would end up with dirt clogged tires again :(
My brother was watching the race on LiveRC.com and got this screen capture of me sitting on the pole before the start of the Stock Truck A Main :) Thanks Ran!
I got a great start and stayed away from the field! But, there was alot of yelling on the stand during the 1st lap, as a marshal was standing too far in front of the driver's stand, blocking the view of the finish line turn. Everyone was yelling for him to move (including myself). It was the guy in the white shirt in the picture above in front of the driver's stand to the left. He didn't move though, as he didn't realize we were all yelling at him. Finally another marshal ran over and pulled him back toward the stand, clearing the view of the finish line turn. The amazing thing about all this for me was the fact that I could see this going on in front of the stand, out of the corner of my eye as I drove my truck around the track! After all that drama, I checked out and ran away with the lead :) I had to slow for traffic a few times, but I didn't push the issue and looked for enough room to pass or they gave me room to go by :) I think the 2nd place truck got to within a 1/4 straight of me, but made a mistake and wrecked, giving me some breathing room. Another marshal incident occurred, that almost cost me the win :( A truck was on its lid after the double, right behind the marshal in the center of the track. A bunch of people started yelling at him to turn around, but he never did. Two other marshals ran to get his truck as I was about to go over the double. I lucked out because I landed between the marshals feet as they were spread apart enough to get through! Whew! That nearly gave me a heart attack! No other issues occurred (mistakes driving or marshal related, for me anyway) and I won the race with a 16:08, 6 seconds faster than my TQ time! Woohoo! Winner Winner! Chicken Dinner!
Sportsman 4wd Mod
There were two heats of 4wd Mod and I was in heat 1 with 5 others. I was gridded in 3rd position, but 1 car dropped out before the race even started, so I came across the line in 2nd place. While going through the S-turn over the hill, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, that the marshal in front of the stand to the left was standing too far forward, blocking the view of wagon wheel hairpin after the whoops, and I started yelling for him to move. Soon everyone was yelling for him to move and thankfully he did before I reached that turn. Whew! I was in 2nd place and hunting down the leader! I was gaining on him fast, but I didn't even need to make a pass :) I think he crashed out and broke. Next thing I knew 2 more cars, broke and dropped out. I may have even been alone on the track at one point. The marshals were horrible for our race. I think the marshal's were jumping in front of oncoming traffic, causing wrecks and ending a driver's race more than once, as there was alot of grumbling/yelling on the stand. I just concentrated on staying away from the marshal's instead of the other cars, since by this point, there were only 2 other cars left on the track. I won the heat and set the TQ at 17:12. It would only last 5 minutes though, as the top 2 cars in the next heat of 4wd went faster than my time :(
The second round heat race for 4wd Mod would be one of attrition. Cars were dropping out like flies due to crashes and bad turn marshaling :( and I would be one of the casualties this time :( I had a clean start and settled into 2nd place after the 1st few laps, then started reeling in the leader. I could see him about half a straight in front of me. Then I hear a wreak has occurred on the straight and to go low. Next I hear a clear call and figure I can go full speed down the straight. But, apparently the straight was called clear because the marshal picked up the car, but was looking at it, while standing on the straight! I came down the straight at full speed, hitting him, and breaking my front a-arm and shock cap! I was pissed!@ Why was he just standing there on the straight anyway!? My race was now over due to a marshal being where he shouldn't be. I gaining on 1st place too! BOOO! I had to get the car fixed and ready for the main now and my chance at improving my qualifying position was shot :(
My time from the 1st round was still fast enough to seat me in 4th place for the main. While waiting for the race to start, I was talking with the other guys about my last qualifying race where I broke. They said that everyone in that race broke and that I wasn't the only one who broke because of a bad marshal. Who were these guys marshaling our race!@? I hope they weren't the ones marshaling our main!
As we set the grid for the main, the 2nd place qualifier had left the building and we were allowed to move up 1 spot. Nice! I moved up to 3rd before the race even started :) It was then announced that the main would be 7 minutes instead of 5 minutes. Cool! An extra 2 minutes to worry about losing the lead or getting the lead. Depending on what place you're in of course :) We all got a clean start and freight trained around for the 1st few turns. I was running in 3rd for the first few laps, then I think the leader broke and I moved up to 2nd. I was only a few turns behind 1st place and followed him for awhile, until he finally crashed! Woohoo! I moved into the lead! Could I pull off a win again!? I had just won Stock Truck 2 races ago too! That would be too cool if I could pull it off :) The order was me in the lead, Mitch in 2nd, and Jeremy in 3rd. I only held the lead for a few laps though, as I got sideways over the hill in the S-turn (wow alot of action has been happening in this S-turn for me, LOL!) and stuffed it into a pipe, losing the lead to Mitch :( I wasn't too far behind though and pushed to catch back up to him. Mitch crashed again, and I got the lead back! Whoohoo! :) I only kept it a couple of laps though, as I bobbled, allowing Jeremy to get through for 1st. I guess Mitch crashed again, dropping down to 3rd. I was making big time on Jeremy as the other guys were moving out of my way so I could catch him. One guy practically stopped in front of me, but luckily I didn't hit him! Whew! (again) We were the only 2 cars to make an extra lap and I was only half a section behind him! We went over the double and into the whoops and still had cars in front of us. I guess Jeremy got tangled up with some traffic on the outside, because I was able to sneak by to the inside of the wagon wheel hairpin leading to the straight and took the lead! WOOHOO! I got the lead back on the last lap in the last hairpin! WINNER WINNER! CHICKEN DINNER!! for a second time tonight! I couldn't believe it! I pulled it off! I won both Stock Truck and 4wd Mod! WOOHOO!! I was so jazzed! :-) Despite the bad luck I had in the 2nd round, I got my car fixed and pulled off a win in the Main :)
Man! Even though the mains went ok for me, the turn marshaling was horrible tonight. More than once in Truck and 4wd a turn marshal stood in a spot blocking the view of the turn (to the point where every driver on the stand was yelling for him to move, myself included); marshals running in front of oncoming traffic, getting hit by said oncoming cars, ruining your race or breaking your car; and marshals not paying attention to the cars and watching the race, leaving cars on their lid forever, again to the point of people yelling on the stand.
Despite the horrible marshals, I had a great night racing! (in the mains anyway) TQ and win for the 1st race for my T4! Come from behind win on the last lap of the race in 4wd Mod! When is the next race again? I can't wait! :)
Saturday, October 25, 2008
T4 Practice Day
I've been wanting to shakedown my new T4 for a few weeks now, but haven't been able to on a race day. I had a free day today, so off to OCRC I went! I just wanted to make sure everything in the truck was working correctly and set it up to my liking.
For run #1, I moved my battery to the middle position. The 1st time I ran it, I had the battery in the back position, and felt it was pushing too much. It felt much better now :) The scoring system wasn't calling out lap times as you drove today, but you could check the laptop on the driver's stand or the monitors in the pits and see your laps :) It also showed your fast laps and average lap. I was turning laps in the low 20's and high 19's. That would be my baseline for the rest of my practice runs.
For run #2, I changed my front springs to Green from Silver. The Green springs are one step softer than the Silver's and should give me a little more steering. Ah, that was more like it! My T4 was starting to feel more like my T3 now :) Since I was happy with the handling now, I decided to try the "jump" line from the step-up jump again. This is where you jump off the step-up into the other lane, bypassing the 2 of the 3 humps in the hairpin, pull a 180, the head for the double. I was able to make it this time! Unlike last Sunday, where I kept endoing. I guess my truck isn't as nose heavy off this jump as my 4wd, as I was able to pull this line off consistently with my truck. After time was up (I time my practice runs to keep my motor from overheating) I headed back to the pits and checked out my lap times. Nice!! Mostly high 19's with the fastest being a 19.58!
For run #3, I tried changing the rear roll center, by lowering the ball stud. This is supposed to "square up" the rear end better off the corner. I wanted to try this to see if it would make it easier to get on the gas coming out turns. Hmmm.. My truck felt ok, but not as nimble as before, and my lap times proved it. They slowed to low to mid 20's now. To see if this was a fluke, I kept my settings the same for run#4, and got the same results. So, before I went home, I cleaned up my now "seasoned" T4, washed the tires, and raised my rear ball stud back to the original height.
I also put 2 runs on my B44, to make sure driving my stock truck wouldn't mess up my "feel" for driving 4wd mod. Now that I have my T4 working to my liking and I'm used to the B44, switching back and forth between the two isn't so dramatic as before :) I was also trying out a new setting on the B44. I tried lowering the rear ball stud on it as well, and didn't like on here either and ended up changing it back after taking my runs. Hmmmm... maybe I can race both 4wd Mod and Stock Truck tomorrow :) OH! Good luck to those of you running the Reedy Truck Race out at Hot Rod's! I would've run this race too, but my T4 wasn't quite ready. No matter. I plan on racing as many of the big local races next year anyway :)
For run #1, I moved my battery to the middle position. The 1st time I ran it, I had the battery in the back position, and felt it was pushing too much. It felt much better now :) The scoring system wasn't calling out lap times as you drove today, but you could check the laptop on the driver's stand or the monitors in the pits and see your laps :) It also showed your fast laps and average lap. I was turning laps in the low 20's and high 19's. That would be my baseline for the rest of my practice runs.
For run #2, I changed my front springs to Green from Silver. The Green springs are one step softer than the Silver's and should give me a little more steering. Ah, that was more like it! My T4 was starting to feel more like my T3 now :) Since I was happy with the handling now, I decided to try the "jump" line from the step-up jump again. This is where you jump off the step-up into the other lane, bypassing the 2 of the 3 humps in the hairpin, pull a 180, the head for the double. I was able to make it this time! Unlike last Sunday, where I kept endoing. I guess my truck isn't as nose heavy off this jump as my 4wd, as I was able to pull this line off consistently with my truck. After time was up (I time my practice runs to keep my motor from overheating) I headed back to the pits and checked out my lap times. Nice!! Mostly high 19's with the fastest being a 19.58!
For run #3, I tried changing the rear roll center, by lowering the ball stud. This is supposed to "square up" the rear end better off the corner. I wanted to try this to see if it would make it easier to get on the gas coming out turns. Hmmm.. My truck felt ok, but not as nimble as before, and my lap times proved it. They slowed to low to mid 20's now. To see if this was a fluke, I kept my settings the same for run#4, and got the same results. So, before I went home, I cleaned up my now "seasoned" T4, washed the tires, and raised my rear ball stud back to the original height.
I also put 2 runs on my B44, to make sure driving my stock truck wouldn't mess up my "feel" for driving 4wd mod. Now that I have my T4 working to my liking and I'm used to the B44, switching back and forth between the two isn't so dramatic as before :) I was also trying out a new setting on the B44. I tried lowering the rear ball stud on it as well, and didn't like on here either and ended up changing it back after taking my runs. Hmmmm... maybe I can race both 4wd Mod and Stock Truck tomorrow :) OH! Good luck to those of you running the Reedy Truck Race out at Hot Rod's! I would've run this race too, but my T4 wasn't quite ready. No matter. I plan on racing as many of the big local races next year anyway :)
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday Night Racing! Part 2
As I said in my last post, I arrived at the track 15 or so minutes before the 1st round, so I wasn't able to practice at all. I would have to get used to the track conditions during the 1st round of the night.
The track crew has just watered the track and I was running in race 3, so I stuck with my Holeshots that I was running on Sunday. I wanted to take as many warm up laps as I could to get some feel for the track conditions before racing started. Man! It was dry, slick, and dusty out there already! And the track was just watered 15 minutes ago! I would have to be really easy on the gas for this heat.. I started the race in 5th, but was able to pass 2 cars going through the whoops and wagon wheel, moving up to 3rd by the end of the 1st lap :) It took me a few laps to get my rhythm, then I started chasing down 2nd place, until I lost control of my car! I ran over to the marshal that picked it up to see if the ESC plug had popped out of the receiver again like on Sunday, it didn't, but I pushed on the plug with my finger anyway, and the receiver LED turned back on and I had control again. I put my car back on the track to get some practice, since there was no way I was going to turn a good time this heat. It was still super slick out there and I would have to make a tire change if the track was going to stay dry. I still managed to finish in 5th with a 14:06.
I looked over my car in the pits to try and figure out why my receiver shut down again. The only change I made before this started happening was I lengthened my antenna tube so that the antenna wire wasn't sticking out. So, I shortened it again, so that a little bit of the wire was sticking back out and secured it with a cap. Hopefully this stops my shutdown problem for the 2nd heat. During the break between rounds, Jeremy announced that because the air conditioner was running, it was drying out the track very fast. In order to keep track conditions consistent, the track would be run dry and swept between rounds. This prompted me to change my tires over to Panther Bobcats/Switch 2.0's for the 2nd round. I would also apply Buggy Grip to the tires, as this would provide even more traction for the dry track conditions.
I would be starting in the 4th position this time and needed to get to the front to turn a fast time, since I basically broke in round 1. I got a good start and was able to pass 2 cars in the leap of faith jump section and crossed the line in 2nd at the end of the 1st lap. I wasn't too far behind the leader and started looking for a place to pass. A few laps later I saw an opening for a pass going through the whoops and dove for the inside of the wagon wheel. I made the pass clean and went into the lead! He was still right with me though, so I kept my line really tight when he was close to keep the door shut, leaving no place for him to make a pass. The battle was on now! He would catch up to me, then attempt a pass and/or crash. He even tried to jump over me when I was downsiding the double, but he landed hard and bounced and I was able to hold onto 1st! I bobbled a few times, but nothing bad enough for me to lose the lead. I was close to setting a new TQ, but I won the race with a 17:14, 3 seconds behind. My Panther tires were also hooked up on the dry track! I had good steering and bite out of the turns :)
For the mains the track would be dry and swept again. It was also beginning to develop a blue groove on the racing line. I started the main in 2nd, but I got a bit sideways after going over the double off the straight and dropped down to 3rd. Thankfully I was able to save it and only lose 1 place, unlike on Sunday when the same thing happened and I got stuck on a pipe and the whole field went by. The running order was Matt in 1st, Mitch in 2nd, and me in 3rd. Matt checked out though and was gone! The race would be for 2nd between Mitch and myself, just like in the 2nd round. I followed Mitch for a few laps, until he made a mistake (I think he flipped in the whoops, but I'm not sure) and I moved into 2nd. I could see Matt about 2 straights in front of me, but I didn't think I could catch him unless he had a major crash, so I settled into a rhythm and held second place. I did just that and finished in 2nd with a 17:11 :) I also turned my fastest lap so far, a 17.991 :) Hopefully I can get that down to a mid 17, with a few small changes to the cars rear roll center I plan on making before the next race.
I may head out to Hot Rod's on Saturday to check out some of the racing at the Reedy Truck race or go to OCRC and get some practice in with my T4 and work on the setup. We'll see how I feel when I wake up Saturday morning :)
The track crew has just watered the track and I was running in race 3, so I stuck with my Holeshots that I was running on Sunday. I wanted to take as many warm up laps as I could to get some feel for the track conditions before racing started. Man! It was dry, slick, and dusty out there already! And the track was just watered 15 minutes ago! I would have to be really easy on the gas for this heat.. I started the race in 5th, but was able to pass 2 cars going through the whoops and wagon wheel, moving up to 3rd by the end of the 1st lap :) It took me a few laps to get my rhythm, then I started chasing down 2nd place, until I lost control of my car! I ran over to the marshal that picked it up to see if the ESC plug had popped out of the receiver again like on Sunday, it didn't, but I pushed on the plug with my finger anyway, and the receiver LED turned back on and I had control again. I put my car back on the track to get some practice, since there was no way I was going to turn a good time this heat. It was still super slick out there and I would have to make a tire change if the track was going to stay dry. I still managed to finish in 5th with a 14:06.
I looked over my car in the pits to try and figure out why my receiver shut down again. The only change I made before this started happening was I lengthened my antenna tube so that the antenna wire wasn't sticking out. So, I shortened it again, so that a little bit of the wire was sticking back out and secured it with a cap. Hopefully this stops my shutdown problem for the 2nd heat. During the break between rounds, Jeremy announced that because the air conditioner was running, it was drying out the track very fast. In order to keep track conditions consistent, the track would be run dry and swept between rounds. This prompted me to change my tires over to Panther Bobcats/Switch 2.0's for the 2nd round. I would also apply Buggy Grip to the tires, as this would provide even more traction for the dry track conditions.
I would be starting in the 4th position this time and needed to get to the front to turn a fast time, since I basically broke in round 1. I got a good start and was able to pass 2 cars in the leap of faith jump section and crossed the line in 2nd at the end of the 1st lap. I wasn't too far behind the leader and started looking for a place to pass. A few laps later I saw an opening for a pass going through the whoops and dove for the inside of the wagon wheel. I made the pass clean and went into the lead! He was still right with me though, so I kept my line really tight when he was close to keep the door shut, leaving no place for him to make a pass. The battle was on now! He would catch up to me, then attempt a pass and/or crash. He even tried to jump over me when I was downsiding the double, but he landed hard and bounced and I was able to hold onto 1st! I bobbled a few times, but nothing bad enough for me to lose the lead. I was close to setting a new TQ, but I won the race with a 17:14, 3 seconds behind. My Panther tires were also hooked up on the dry track! I had good steering and bite out of the turns :)
For the mains the track would be dry and swept again. It was also beginning to develop a blue groove on the racing line. I started the main in 2nd, but I got a bit sideways after going over the double off the straight and dropped down to 3rd. Thankfully I was able to save it and only lose 1 place, unlike on Sunday when the same thing happened and I got stuck on a pipe and the whole field went by. The running order was Matt in 1st, Mitch in 2nd, and me in 3rd. Matt checked out though and was gone! The race would be for 2nd between Mitch and myself, just like in the 2nd round. I followed Mitch for a few laps, until he made a mistake (I think he flipped in the whoops, but I'm not sure) and I moved into 2nd. I could see Matt about 2 straights in front of me, but I didn't think I could catch him unless he had a major crash, so I settled into a rhythm and held second place. I did just that and finished in 2nd with a 17:11 :) I also turned my fastest lap so far, a 17.991 :) Hopefully I can get that down to a mid 17, with a few small changes to the cars rear roll center I plan on making before the next race.
I may head out to Hot Rod's on Saturday to check out some of the racing at the Reedy Truck race or go to OCRC and get some practice in with my T4 and work on the setup. We'll see how I feel when I wake up Saturday morning :)
Wednesday Night Racing!
I decided to give racing at OCRC on a Wednesday night a try because of the following conditions:
1) My boss was out of town.
2) Thus, I was able to leave work about an hour early.
3) I haven't worked on my B44 since I raced Sunday and all my equipment was packed and ready to go racing!
It took me double the amount of time to get to the track on Wednesday vs Sunday (over 2 grueling hours in traffic vs 1 hour of cruising on Sunday) I got home from work, changed clothes, took my dog out for a little bit, then packed my gear into the car and hit the road at 4:40 pm. Didn't get to the track until 6:45pm :( Only had enough time to unload my gear and set up my pit, then racing started. No practice for me!
Full race recap to follow later, as its late and I'm beat!
1) My boss was out of town.
2) Thus, I was able to leave work about an hour early.
3) I haven't worked on my B44 since I raced Sunday and all my equipment was packed and ready to go racing!
It took me double the amount of time to get to the track on Wednesday vs Sunday (over 2 grueling hours in traffic vs 1 hour of cruising on Sunday) I got home from work, changed clothes, took my dog out for a little bit, then packed my gear into the car and hit the road at 4:40 pm. Didn't get to the track until 6:45pm :( Only had enough time to unload my gear and set up my pit, then racing started. No practice for me!
Full race recap to follow later, as its late and I'm beat!
Monday, October 20, 2008
New Stuff
I've been looking at some RC Rock Crawler videos on YouTube lately and they look like alot of fun! These things can climb over just about anything! The pics above are of the Losi Mini-Rock Crawler. It's a 1/18 scale RTR kit with a 2.4 GHz radio! This looks like the perfect crawler to drive over stuff around the house, in the yard, at the park, or the beach. And since it's 1/18 scale instead of 1/10, it should be easier to take with you someplace and crawl over some stuff :) Check it out here--> http://www.losi.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=LOSB0222
Reedy is coming out with a new LiPo battery in November. The big news is its 35C rating! This is the highest C-rating of any LiPo battery I've seen on the market! What this should translate into is more punch from the battery, resulting in more power for clearing those big jumps :) Check it out here--> http://www.rc10.com/reedy/new/batteries_35clipo.htmSunday, October 19, 2008
Back In the Fight!
I was back to racing Sportsman 4wd Mod after taking a weekend off to visit my bother in San Diego (trying to talk him into coming out and taping some races and maybe try his hand at racing! hehehe) I wanted to try some new tires that I mounted up during practice tonight. A set on Proline M3 Inside Job's and Panther soft Bobcats and Switch 2.0's.
I tried the Inside Job's for my 1st practice run. Wow! I didn't feel comfortable at all :( It felt like I haven't raced in forever (even though it's only been 2 weeks since I last ran) and I wasn't driving smooth at all. I was also trying some different lines through the "leap of faith" jump section. I tried to clear the entire section, landing at the top of the step-up jump. I think I just barely made it once, and quit trying it after casing my car (landing on the chassis at the top of the downside jump) so hard that the ESC receiver plug popped out of the receiver, shutting off my car. I'd probably have a better chance of clearing this jump if I ran my 6.5 instead of my 8.5, but I feel its too risky. I also tried a line I saw Jeremy using on LiveRC. He was jumping from the step-up to the next lane, bypassing 2 of the 3 humps in the hairpin, then pulling a 180 and heading to the double. I could make it, but couldn't do it consistently. Anyway, the Inside Job's felt a little loose in the higher speed turns, probably due to the flat body of the tire. For my second practice run I tried the Panther Bobcats/Switches and concentrated on driving a clean consistent line. The Panthers felt ok, but without any lap times, I couldn't tell if either set of tires was faster than the other. I guess I'll head out for practice on Saturday to do more testing. I need to setup my T4 too anyways. For tonight's racing I'll run my trusty Holeshots, since that worked out well the last time I raced :)
It would be a crowed track in 4wd Mod, as there were 9 cars in the heat! I would be starting last for heat 1 :( We had a clean start with no wrecks, but after 1 lap was in the books, the wrecks started. I kept my nose clean and moved up to 5th by lap 2, but I was running with 2 other cars for 4th! We swapped positions a few times and it was fun racing so close with the other cars. The top 3 cars weren't that far away either, so we all had a chance at the win! Towards the end of the race, the top cars tangled, slowing each other down, and I was able to take 4th place, only 0.478 seconds out of 3rd, with a 16:04.
For heat 2, I spaced out watching the Super Stock Truck heat before ours, and didn't even realize my race was up until Jeremy announced that 4wd Mod was on the track! LOL! I ran to my pit, grabbed my car, and raced to the driver's stand. I was only able to take 2-3 warmup laps before we lined up for the start. I would be starting on the pole this heat and wanted to make the best of it and turn a fast time. I got a clean start, but 2nd was right on my tail! I landed long on the double and bounced a little wide, and lost the lead :( Fortunately I was right on his tail! I followed the leader for the entire race. Jeremy announced that we were both on a pace faster than the current TQ, so I thought it would be smart to just stay behind him. I had the opportunity to make a pass for the lead a few times, but I couldn't get along side far enough, so I backed off rather than risk a tangle, slowing us both down. Early in the race, there was a big crash on the straight, while we were in the infield! I heard a loud crash, some yelling, and Jeremy yelling into the microphone to go low on the straight! After all the commotion, Jeremy said the wreck was so bad, that had this been F1, somebody would've been killed! It was good for us though, as we now had a 10 second lead on 3rd :) I turned my fastest run on this layout so far, finishing in 2nd with a 17:07, just 1 second behind the leader :-)
For the main I qualified in 2nd for the A, for the 2nd race in a row! Woohoo! But my run of clean starts would end :( After going over the double leading to the scoring line, I got loose in the turn and stuffed it into the pipe. I tried to get off the pipe while the entire field went by :( The marshal finally got me going again and I was dead last :( Nuts!!! After the first 4 laps the field sorted itself out and I was running mid pack in 5th place. I spent the rest of the race fighting for position while trying to keep clean. I did have one bad crash though. I flipped my car in the "wagon wheel" leading to the sweeper onto the straight and got tangled with some other cars. When the marshal sorted the cars out, she picked up my car and held it in the air, while she got the other cars going. Great! :( Please put my car down! lol! I really had to make up some time now, to get back in the fight! I was running 6th, but I wasn't too far from the rest of the field. Toward the end of the race, the cars in front of me started making mistakes or taking each other out! I passed a bunch of cars, but had no idea what position I was in, since I didn't know if I was passing these cars for position or if I was lapping them. I just made sure I didn't crash while they did :) Jeremy announced that time had expired and the race was over. He announced the top 3. 1st- Mitch Stratford, 2nd- Alex Alvarez, 3rd- Rod Angelito! COOL! I finished in 3rd with a 16:07! Woohoo! I guess those cars I passed were for position :) When I checked the race results, it turns out almost everyone finished with 16 laps, only the winner went 17.
I had a good time racing! I felt I was driving well in traffic and turning in fast qualifying runs. The key to my fast runs though is starting in front. For both of my 17 lap runs, I started the heat in 1st or 2nd and ran away from the field. I wonder if I can turn 17 laps, starting in the back? I also need to stop landing the double long. The car usually bounces, causing me to lose some time. I bet my faster laps occur when I downside the double. I guess I'll have to wait until a practice day to find out...
I tried the Inside Job's for my 1st practice run. Wow! I didn't feel comfortable at all :( It felt like I haven't raced in forever (even though it's only been 2 weeks since I last ran) and I wasn't driving smooth at all. I was also trying some different lines through the "leap of faith" jump section. I tried to clear the entire section, landing at the top of the step-up jump. I think I just barely made it once, and quit trying it after casing my car (landing on the chassis at the top of the downside jump) so hard that the ESC receiver plug popped out of the receiver, shutting off my car. I'd probably have a better chance of clearing this jump if I ran my 6.5 instead of my 8.5, but I feel its too risky. I also tried a line I saw Jeremy using on LiveRC. He was jumping from the step-up to the next lane, bypassing 2 of the 3 humps in the hairpin, then pulling a 180 and heading to the double. I could make it, but couldn't do it consistently. Anyway, the Inside Job's felt a little loose in the higher speed turns, probably due to the flat body of the tire. For my second practice run I tried the Panther Bobcats/Switches and concentrated on driving a clean consistent line. The Panthers felt ok, but without any lap times, I couldn't tell if either set of tires was faster than the other. I guess I'll head out for practice on Saturday to do more testing. I need to setup my T4 too anyways. For tonight's racing I'll run my trusty Holeshots, since that worked out well the last time I raced :)
It would be a crowed track in 4wd Mod, as there were 9 cars in the heat! I would be starting last for heat 1 :( We had a clean start with no wrecks, but after 1 lap was in the books, the wrecks started. I kept my nose clean and moved up to 5th by lap 2, but I was running with 2 other cars for 4th! We swapped positions a few times and it was fun racing so close with the other cars. The top 3 cars weren't that far away either, so we all had a chance at the win! Towards the end of the race, the top cars tangled, slowing each other down, and I was able to take 4th place, only 0.478 seconds out of 3rd, with a 16:04.
For heat 2, I spaced out watching the Super Stock Truck heat before ours, and didn't even realize my race was up until Jeremy announced that 4wd Mod was on the track! LOL! I ran to my pit, grabbed my car, and raced to the driver's stand. I was only able to take 2-3 warmup laps before we lined up for the start. I would be starting on the pole this heat and wanted to make the best of it and turn a fast time. I got a clean start, but 2nd was right on my tail! I landed long on the double and bounced a little wide, and lost the lead :( Fortunately I was right on his tail! I followed the leader for the entire race. Jeremy announced that we were both on a pace faster than the current TQ, so I thought it would be smart to just stay behind him. I had the opportunity to make a pass for the lead a few times, but I couldn't get along side far enough, so I backed off rather than risk a tangle, slowing us both down. Early in the race, there was a big crash on the straight, while we were in the infield! I heard a loud crash, some yelling, and Jeremy yelling into the microphone to go low on the straight! After all the commotion, Jeremy said the wreck was so bad, that had this been F1, somebody would've been killed! It was good for us though, as we now had a 10 second lead on 3rd :) I turned my fastest run on this layout so far, finishing in 2nd with a 17:07, just 1 second behind the leader :-)
For the main I qualified in 2nd for the A, for the 2nd race in a row! Woohoo! But my run of clean starts would end :( After going over the double leading to the scoring line, I got loose in the turn and stuffed it into the pipe. I tried to get off the pipe while the entire field went by :( The marshal finally got me going again and I was dead last :( Nuts!!! After the first 4 laps the field sorted itself out and I was running mid pack in 5th place. I spent the rest of the race fighting for position while trying to keep clean. I did have one bad crash though. I flipped my car in the "wagon wheel" leading to the sweeper onto the straight and got tangled with some other cars. When the marshal sorted the cars out, she picked up my car and held it in the air, while she got the other cars going. Great! :( Please put my car down! lol! I really had to make up some time now, to get back in the fight! I was running 6th, but I wasn't too far from the rest of the field. Toward the end of the race, the cars in front of me started making mistakes or taking each other out! I passed a bunch of cars, but had no idea what position I was in, since I didn't know if I was passing these cars for position or if I was lapping them. I just made sure I didn't crash while they did :) Jeremy announced that time had expired and the race was over. He announced the top 3. 1st- Mitch Stratford, 2nd- Alex Alvarez, 3rd- Rod Angelito! COOL! I finished in 3rd with a 16:07! Woohoo! I guess those cars I passed were for position :) When I checked the race results, it turns out almost everyone finished with 16 laps, only the winner went 17.
I had a good time racing! I felt I was driving well in traffic and turning in fast qualifying runs. The key to my fast runs though is starting in front. For both of my 17 lap runs, I started the heat in 1st or 2nd and ran away from the field. I wonder if I can turn 17 laps, starting in the back? I also need to stop landing the double long. The car usually bounces, causing me to lose some time. I bet my faster laps occur when I downside the double. I guess I'll have to wait until a practice day to find out...
Sunday, October 5, 2008
How Am I Doing That?!
Tonight would be my first try on the new layout at OCRC. While the course is still the same, it is now run clockwise and a new series of obstacles were added, making the layout a completely different animal! I also finished installing all the electronics in my T4 and put my T3 body on it. I wanted to get a few shakedown runs on it and make sure everything was working correctly.
My first practice run would be with my B44. I was running my Holeshots this time, as I felt comfortable driving the car now, and wanted to give these tires another try. When I first tried them, the car felt really twitchy, but I wondered how they'd feel now that I'm used to the car. That didn't really matter though, as I needed to learn the new layout first! It was a little weird the 1st few laps, running the track backwards, but that went away quick. The hard part would be getting the speed and timing right for the "leap of faith" jump in the middle of the track and the big double following that. There were also some small humps in both the hairpins now, which really slowed those turns down, compared to the old layout, with no humps in the same hairpins. I had no problem clearing the "leap of faith" jump, but I had a little trouble with the step-up jump right after the landing. Go into this jump too fast and you overshoot the hairpin or endo and land on your lid. I also had a problem lining this jump up, as I kept land too far to the right, almost hitting the pipe! I even landed out of the lane a few times :( I was also clearing the big double easily, but again I had the line up wrong. Now I was going too far to the left, landing out of the lane on the blue astroturf! The next new obstacle were the "wagon wheel" humps leading to the straightway. I was going a bit too fast through them and either going too wide for the hairpin or endoing again and landing on my lid :( The last problem I was having was with the jump leading into the turn onto the straightaway. Go too wide, and the rear end donkey kicks and you end up on your lid again. It was best to hit this jump in the middle, keeping the turn onto the straight tight.
For my next practice run, I would try out my T4 for the 1st time! I spent some time setting the slipper and headed out for some laps. LOL! Wow! Where did my punch go?! Hahaha! It seemed really slow compared to my 4wd. I was having alot of trouble with the "leap of faith" and double jumps. It was really hard to clear them! My slipper was probably too loose and I didn't have much rear bite due to my nearly bald Holeshots! I also endoed off the the"leap of faith" jump a few times, taking some nasty hits! At least nothing broke :) The track was then closed for watering and I pulled my T4 off the track. I think I'll need a practice day again to iron out all the bugs and dial in the setup. I would concentrate on my 4wd for the rest of the night.
While I was waiting for the track to dry, I noticed that Steve Hartson had the new Futaba 4PK 2.4 gHz radio. I'm thinking of getting this radio, since I like the fact that it is a native 2.4 gHz radio, with no separate module with an antenna sticking out of it. I've tried the 3PK radio before, and didn't like how the trigger felt. The throw was too long and the spring too stiff, compared to my M8. Anyway, I asked Steve if I could try his 4PK, and he let me hold it. How he setup the trigger felt alot like my M8! Nice! I also liked the fact that it runs on a 5-cell NiMH pack, so the radio was also really light! Felt like nothing when I was holding it. I gotta pick one of there bad boys up and sell off my Spektrum module and receivers. I would keep my M8 though, as I use it to race VRC (http://www.virtualrc.com/). A little while later, I noticed Steve out on the track. Steve's a Factory driver for AE, so I thought I'd watch him for a bit, and pick up some tips. I noticed that he was lining up to the middle or right side of the big double allowing him to hit the 1st jump of the "wagon wheel" with some speed, doubling into it, instead of rolling in. It looked faster and smoother than rolling in. I would try this line during my next practice run.
This practice run went much better than 1st run. I got the timing down for the "leap of faith"and the big double (using the line I saw Steve running). For the "leap of faith" I was taking the Surf City Berm turn tight, then punching the throttle at the base of the jump. I was also hitting the jump in the middle or to the left, thus landing in the middle of the lane in front of the step-up. Hitting this jump this way also solved my problem with the step-up, as I was rolling it and landing right in the hairpin now :) Taking the big double in the middle to right solved my landing on the astroturf problem and made it eaiser to clear the double. The lane was a little smoother here allowing me punch the throttle near the base of the jump, clear it easily, and do the double into the "wagon wheel". I spent the rest of the run perfecting my line and going a little faster. By the end of the run I was feeling good, and looking forward to racing.
I would be starting the 1st heat in the 2nd position. I got a really clean start and I was right behind the leader. I followed him for the first few laps looking for a place to make a pass, but I didn't need too. He endoed off the step-up jump and I took the hairpin tight, taking the lead! A few laps later, Jeremy announced that I was leading and on a TQ pace! WTF?! I was winning and setting a new TQ?! HOW AM I DOING THAT?! LOL! Now I had to drive smooth with my hands and knees shaking! Great! I was doing ok though, staying on my TQ pace! I only made one mistake the entire race, taking the jump into the turn leading onto the straight too wide, and donkey kicked myself onto my lid :( The marshal got me going again pretty quick and I didn't lose too much time. The race soon ended and I won! Jeremy announced that I had set a new TQ with a 17:12! WooHoo!! :-)
For heat 2, I would be starting next to last. The start went ok, but I made a few bobbles the 1st 2 laps and was running in last place. Luckily, I wasn't too far behind and still in the fight! During the next lap, 3rd and 4th took each other out going over the "leap of faith" jump, and I moved into 3rd. The 2nd place car was not too far ahead and I caught him pretty quick. Over the next few laps we battled for 2nd! He was driving really well, leaving me no place to make a clean pass. I even bumped into him in the "wagon wheel" hairpin twice, but I let him go both times, so he could take 2nd place back. Finally while going over the big double, he went too far over to the left, landing on the pipe, and crashed! I went over the big double clean and into 2nd place! I then tried to catch 1st place, but he was long gone. I finished the race in 2nd with a 16:11. Unfortunately, I lost the TQ to the winner of the other heat of 4wd, Patrick See, who went 17:10, 2 seconds faster than my time :(
For the A main :), I would be starting in 2nd place out of 7 cars. The start was clean and we freight trained around for the 1st lap. Patrick took control of 1st place. He must've had a good lead, since I couldn't tell where he was or I was concentrating really hard on driving clean and not making any mistakes. It was probably the second thing, since I know I was driving a little slower to make sure I wouldn't crash, because I wanted to keep 2nd! I made a few bobbles here and there, but they didn't cost me too much time. I was having so much fun that I started tweaking my car in the air over the big jumps! LOL! I'd turn the front wheels to make the car lean one way, then turn it back before landing to flatten the chassis out for landing. I only did that a few times, then quit when I almost crashed! :) I kept my nose clean for the remainder of the race and finished the A in 2nd! What a 180 from last weekend! I went from qualifying mid-pack in the B last week, to almost TQ'ing and placing 2nd in the A main :-) I did switch to running Holeshots in the front and rear this weekend, compared to the Taper Pins and Square Fuzzies I ran last weekend. I also feel like I was driving alot better this weekend too :)
I won't be racing next weekend, as I'll be visiting my brother in San Diego. So I'll be heading out to OCRC in 2 weeks to dial in my T4 setup and try some new tires on my B44, but I'll probably be racing 4wd Mod for awhile, because it's so much fun! :)
My first practice run would be with my B44. I was running my Holeshots this time, as I felt comfortable driving the car now, and wanted to give these tires another try. When I first tried them, the car felt really twitchy, but I wondered how they'd feel now that I'm used to the car. That didn't really matter though, as I needed to learn the new layout first! It was a little weird the 1st few laps, running the track backwards, but that went away quick. The hard part would be getting the speed and timing right for the "leap of faith" jump in the middle of the track and the big double following that. There were also some small humps in both the hairpins now, which really slowed those turns down, compared to the old layout, with no humps in the same hairpins. I had no problem clearing the "leap of faith" jump, but I had a little trouble with the step-up jump right after the landing. Go into this jump too fast and you overshoot the hairpin or endo and land on your lid. I also had a problem lining this jump up, as I kept land too far to the right, almost hitting the pipe! I even landed out of the lane a few times :( I was also clearing the big double easily, but again I had the line up wrong. Now I was going too far to the left, landing out of the lane on the blue astroturf! The next new obstacle were the "wagon wheel" humps leading to the straightway. I was going a bit too fast through them and either going too wide for the hairpin or endoing again and landing on my lid :( The last problem I was having was with the jump leading into the turn onto the straightaway. Go too wide, and the rear end donkey kicks and you end up on your lid again. It was best to hit this jump in the middle, keeping the turn onto the straight tight.
For my next practice run, I would try out my T4 for the 1st time! I spent some time setting the slipper and headed out for some laps. LOL! Wow! Where did my punch go?! Hahaha! It seemed really slow compared to my 4wd. I was having alot of trouble with the "leap of faith" and double jumps. It was really hard to clear them! My slipper was probably too loose and I didn't have much rear bite due to my nearly bald Holeshots! I also endoed off the the"leap of faith" jump a few times, taking some nasty hits! At least nothing broke :) The track was then closed for watering and I pulled my T4 off the track. I think I'll need a practice day again to iron out all the bugs and dial in the setup. I would concentrate on my 4wd for the rest of the night.
While I was waiting for the track to dry, I noticed that Steve Hartson had the new Futaba 4PK 2.4 gHz radio. I'm thinking of getting this radio, since I like the fact that it is a native 2.4 gHz radio, with no separate module with an antenna sticking out of it. I've tried the 3PK radio before, and didn't like how the trigger felt. The throw was too long and the spring too stiff, compared to my M8. Anyway, I asked Steve if I could try his 4PK, and he let me hold it. How he setup the trigger felt alot like my M8! Nice! I also liked the fact that it runs on a 5-cell NiMH pack, so the radio was also really light! Felt like nothing when I was holding it. I gotta pick one of there bad boys up and sell off my Spektrum module and receivers. I would keep my M8 though, as I use it to race VRC (http://www.virtualrc.com/). A little while later, I noticed Steve out on the track. Steve's a Factory driver for AE, so I thought I'd watch him for a bit, and pick up some tips. I noticed that he was lining up to the middle or right side of the big double allowing him to hit the 1st jump of the "wagon wheel" with some speed, doubling into it, instead of rolling in. It looked faster and smoother than rolling in. I would try this line during my next practice run.
This practice run went much better than 1st run. I got the timing down for the "leap of faith"and the big double (using the line I saw Steve running). For the "leap of faith" I was taking the Surf City Berm turn tight, then punching the throttle at the base of the jump. I was also hitting the jump in the middle or to the left, thus landing in the middle of the lane in front of the step-up. Hitting this jump this way also solved my problem with the step-up, as I was rolling it and landing right in the hairpin now :) Taking the big double in the middle to right solved my landing on the astroturf problem and made it eaiser to clear the double. The lane was a little smoother here allowing me punch the throttle near the base of the jump, clear it easily, and do the double into the "wagon wheel". I spent the rest of the run perfecting my line and going a little faster. By the end of the run I was feeling good, and looking forward to racing.
I would be starting the 1st heat in the 2nd position. I got a really clean start and I was right behind the leader. I followed him for the first few laps looking for a place to make a pass, but I didn't need too. He endoed off the step-up jump and I took the hairpin tight, taking the lead! A few laps later, Jeremy announced that I was leading and on a TQ pace! WTF?! I was winning and setting a new TQ?! HOW AM I DOING THAT?! LOL! Now I had to drive smooth with my hands and knees shaking! Great! I was doing ok though, staying on my TQ pace! I only made one mistake the entire race, taking the jump into the turn leading onto the straight too wide, and donkey kicked myself onto my lid :( The marshal got me going again pretty quick and I didn't lose too much time. The race soon ended and I won! Jeremy announced that I had set a new TQ with a 17:12! WooHoo!! :-)
For heat 2, I would be starting next to last. The start went ok, but I made a few bobbles the 1st 2 laps and was running in last place. Luckily, I wasn't too far behind and still in the fight! During the next lap, 3rd and 4th took each other out going over the "leap of faith" jump, and I moved into 3rd. The 2nd place car was not too far ahead and I caught him pretty quick. Over the next few laps we battled for 2nd! He was driving really well, leaving me no place to make a clean pass. I even bumped into him in the "wagon wheel" hairpin twice, but I let him go both times, so he could take 2nd place back. Finally while going over the big double, he went too far over to the left, landing on the pipe, and crashed! I went over the big double clean and into 2nd place! I then tried to catch 1st place, but he was long gone. I finished the race in 2nd with a 16:11. Unfortunately, I lost the TQ to the winner of the other heat of 4wd, Patrick See, who went 17:10, 2 seconds faster than my time :(
For the A main :), I would be starting in 2nd place out of 7 cars. The start was clean and we freight trained around for the 1st lap. Patrick took control of 1st place. He must've had a good lead, since I couldn't tell where he was or I was concentrating really hard on driving clean and not making any mistakes. It was probably the second thing, since I know I was driving a little slower to make sure I wouldn't crash, because I wanted to keep 2nd! I made a few bobbles here and there, but they didn't cost me too much time. I was having so much fun that I started tweaking my car in the air over the big jumps! LOL! I'd turn the front wheels to make the car lean one way, then turn it back before landing to flatten the chassis out for landing. I only did that a few times, then quit when I almost crashed! :) I kept my nose clean for the remainder of the race and finished the A in 2nd! What a 180 from last weekend! I went from qualifying mid-pack in the B last week, to almost TQ'ing and placing 2nd in the A main :-) I did switch to running Holeshots in the front and rear this weekend, compared to the Taper Pins and Square Fuzzies I ran last weekend. I also feel like I was driving alot better this weekend too :)
I won't be racing next weekend, as I'll be visiting my brother in San Diego. So I'll be heading out to OCRC in 2 weeks to dial in my T4 setup and try some new tires on my B44, but I'll probably be racing 4wd Mod for awhile, because it's so much fun! :)
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
YouTube Video
Found a video on YouTube of my 1st heat of 4wd Mod from last Sunday at OCRC! It follows someone else (Kevin King I think), but you can see my car running around the track. You can even hear me called in 3rd and 4th place a few times and see me tumble off the track and lose 3rd place :(
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