Ok, so it's been a month now since the last time I raced, which was at the Surf City Classic at OCRC. Since then I've moved to San Diego and started a new job, so I haven't had much time to work on my cars or race. I even missed the last round of the JBRL at Pegasus :( I'm settled in now though, and will be heading up to Hot Rod the next 2 weekends to practice for, then race the final round of the 2009 JBRL series :)
The last JBRL I ran was the round at Racers Haven in Bakersfield. This was the 1st time I ran there, but I've known about this track since I was in middle school, as the JG Dirt Oval Championships used to be run there back in the late 80's, and I wanted to run that race but never did :( Oh well...
It was hot that day, reaching about 107*F in the afternoon :( The track had this black stuff on it, which I think was roofing tar, slathered in the corners and on the jumps. While you were on this stuff, the bite was high, but get off, and you were in the dust sliding all over the place! To turn fast laps you had to stay on the black stuff! I was able to make all the A mains of the classes I was running :) Stock Buggy, Stock Truck, and Super Stock 4wd :) I ended up finishing 8th in buggy, 7th in truck, and 3rd in 4wd! Woohoo! So, my positions in the points after 7 rounds are: 8th in buggy, 13th in truck, and 9th in 4wd, with all throwouts accounted for.
At the Surf City Classic, I ran Stock Buggy and Truck, while my brother ran Amateur Truck. The track was also a little bigger now, as it was expanded to add more clay to the dirt. The dirt turned a slight shade of red because of the added clay, which was a surprise, as you can't really see that on the LiveRC camera. The layout also featured a wall ride, but it drove more like a really big berm, as you didn't have to go up the wall very far.
My truck was working fairly well, but my buggy was having problems. I broke a ball stud in the right side 0.5* aluminum rear hub carrier during the morning practice, which I couldn't get out, so I had to install my spare carrier. I then broke the left side ball stud during the 1st qualifying round :( I was in the top 3 too :( I was worried about breaking the ball stud again, so I changed the rear camber link geometry to reduce the stress on the ball stud, but the car didn't have the same rear traction as before, and I couldn't turn a fast times. For the main, I went back to my old camber link setting and crossed my fingers that it would hold together for the main, until I could figure out another "fix". It didn't break in the main, but the ball stud backed out of the carrier a little, causing the rear end to feel loose for the last minute of the main. I ended up finishing in 6th, after qualifying 5th.
Stock Truck went much better, as I was in the top 2 for most of qualifying, and qualified 2nd. I had a horrible start in the main, dropping to last. But, I knew if I could turn consistent laps, I'd catch up to the trucks in front of me. Those trucks ended up crashing and I went by and into 3rd place. The lead trucks were way out in front by now, and there was no way I would catch them unless they had a major wreck, which they didn't :( I held on and finished in 3rd :) If I didn't have that rotten start, I could've been battling for the lead!
My brother did really well in Amateur truck, qualifying in 3rd. He ended up battling for 2nd place in the main for a few laps, then finally took the position, when the 2nd place truck got caught up in traffic :) He didn't even know that untill I told him! LOL!
The next race for me will be at Hot Rod Hobbies for the last round of the JBRL coming up in 2 weeks :) After that, I plan to run 4wd Mod for awhile and try out my TC3 at OCRC and West Coast (once they open back up). I also want to pick up an SC10 to race during the 2010 JBRL! Hopefully, Jimmy will add an SCT class for 2010 :)
