MurfDogg Motors now for sale at West Coast!

MurfDogg Synergy motors are now for sale at one of the tracks I frequent, West Coast RC Raceway! I guess I need to do some racing out there to represent and get those motors sold :)

Race one or chase one!

Team Losi Racing 22 2wd buggy!

Losi is going to be coming out with a new 2wd buggy! In Losi tradition, it has many new features, not seen on a production 2wd Buggy. Read the press release on Red RC.

If I didn't have so much invested in my AE cars, I might get one of these!

New products from MurfDogg!

MurfDogg Racing is proud to announce a new addition to its race winning line of products:

Ceramic Bearing Sets and Silicon Nitride Diff Ball Sets!

Part # Description Price

CBS-12 - Ceramic Bearing Set for Pan Cars with 1/8" Front Axles $44.99

CBS-13 - Ceramic Bearing Set for Pan Cars with 3/16" Front Axles $44.99

CBS-11 - Ceramic Bearing Set for MurfDogg Synergy Brushless Motors $10.00

CBS-10 - Ceramic Bearing Set for Custom Works Dirt Oval Cars $69.99

CBS-14 - Silicon Nitride Diff Balls - 1/8" for Pan Cars (12) $10.00

CBS-15 - Silicon Nitride Diff and Thrust Balls for Dirt Oval Cars and $15.00
All Team Associated Ball Diffs (12 - 3/32" and 6 - 5/64")

Each Silicon Nitride Ball is precision ground to the tightest tolerances possible, ensuring you the hardest, smoothest, roundest ball you have ever used. You want a SMOOTH Differential, these balls are your answer!

To order contact Matt Murphy on rctech.net by sending a PM to "The MurfDogg" or email him at Dirtoval9@aol.com

New Stuff!

I picked up several new things in the past month since the last JBRL round at Hot Rods! An Orion Twin Spec Charger, Tekin RS speedo, MurfDogg Synergy 17.5 motors, and Wing Tote Pro Roller Hauler Bag.

This charger is awesome! The primary reason I got this charger even though I already have a dual channel charger (Bantam BC8DX) is that this one allows you to adjust the voltage the battery peaks at! So, now I can set it to peak my batteries at 8.44V :) It also has a higher wattage capability when dis-charging, so I can get my batts to the correct storage voltage faster.

I picked up a Tekin RS speedo to go along with my new MurfDogg Synergy 17.5 motor! I wanted to try this combo out in my new B4.1 buggy I finally got around to installing electronics in :) I already uploaded the new Vegas 212 firmware into it along with a setup provided by my motor sponsor, MurfDogg Motors :) If I like the power and feel, I may switch to this speedo in all my cars. But for now, only my buggy has it and my other rides have LRP SXX SS's.

I also picked up a new hauler bag to replace my Team Associated one I've had for over 15 years! While the outer bag was in decent shape, the zipper was broken and the internal cardboard boxes were falling apart. But, what I hated the most about that bag was the fact that to get something out of the bottom box, all the boxes would need to be taken out! I picked the Wing Tote bag over all the other similar ones on the market because of the location of the handle. It's on the wide back side of the bag rather than the top. Which allows me to put my toolbox on top of the bag when hauling it.

On another note, I'm officially listed as a team driver for MurfDogg now :)

2010 JBRL, Round 7 Pegasus and Round 8 Hot Rod Hobbies- Finals!

Round 7, Pegasus

No comment.

Round 8, Hot Rod Hobbies

I struggled with a pushing truck for 2 of the 4 qualifiers. Then a loose one in the other 2. I end up starting 5th in the B main. I was in a good battle for 3rd with Keith Whisler (Product Manager for Losi) driving the new XXX-SCT! But, we crash off the step-off jump and drop to 4th and 5th then continue our battle. Unfortunately for me, my SC10 was really loose, due to a tire change I made for the main, and I couldn't find a place to make a clean pass on Keith. I end up finishing where I started, 5th.



I qualify 3rd in the B Main for Stock Truck after dealing with an overheating motor during qualifying. I also think I had too much push in my truck as during the main I would plow through the sweeper leading onto the straight. I almost lost 2nd place in the last turn on the final lap, when a lapped truck spins out in front of me and I tangle with it!

News:
I talked with Matt Murphy earlier this year about running his motors for this year's JBRL season, but he had some issues with stocking the new motors and getting approval from ROAR, so I put the idea on the back burner, and ran LRP motors instead. Well, he's got that all sorted out now, and he came by and showed me his new motors and let me know that his sponsorship offer was still standing and he wanted to know if I was still interested. I told him I was, but I wanted to think it over. Well, after a week of thinking it over, I emailed him last Friday, and now it's official! I will be running Murfdogg motors in upcoming races! I will be joining current Super Stock drivers Josh Mitchell, Brent Bissbee, Kevin King, and Brent Calvert. As well as Stock drivers Brian Halverson and Chris Wesson. I look forward to working with Matt and all the guys in the upcoming season!

Notes:
-Subrub MX's are really loose on Hot Rod's dry track, as I found out during my main! They were also hard to drive during the Shootout. I had been running M3 Bowties, since I tried them during practice on Friday (since I was running low on tires) and they worked pretty well and lasted a long time.
-I tried running the RTR front tires on my SC10 in rounds 2 and 3 of Int SC qualifying, since at the Shootout my SC10's steering was way too twitchy. These tires worked decent in the infield, but pushed way too much coming onto the straight! I tried moving my battery all the way forward for round 3, but it still pushed. So, for round 4, I went back to my M3 Bowtie fronts, which worked really well. I wish I stayed on them for the main, but they were a little loose, so I changed over the the MX Suburb, which was a mistake.
-My stock truck motor was running hot all weekend! Around 190-200F every run! It also felt down on power. I should have put a heatsink on it right away, instead of changing my boost or gearing. I even went to another motor for the main, a V2 Speed Passion, which alway ran cool in the past (below 160F). But even this motor temped at 190F after my 5 minute main! I hope my new Murfdogg motors run much cooler!
-This was also the 1st time I was running my T4.1 at Hot Rod. It had a small push in it the entire weekend, which I think was slowing my lap times by half a second or so. I plan to re-mount the front shocks all the way in on the tower and arm and maybe change to a silver spring.
-I also switched over to a Tekin RS speedo for my new B4.1 buggy, since Matt suggested that I run that speedo with his motors. If I like it, I may change all my the speedos in my cars over.

2010 JBRL, Round 6, West Coast RC

After a not so good start from the back (that seems to happen to me often), I make my way up to 4th and finish 5th.



I just make it into the A main, and cruise around the track at the back of the pack. The track was loose, but it was only watered 2 races before mine. Traction should have been good, but the dirt dried really fast! My truck also gets nearly stepped on as I try to drive around a pile up on the 1st lap. Why can't marshals wait for traffic on the move (which has the right of way) to go by before getting the stuck car, which is what you're supposed to do anyway! Basic Guide to RC Car Turnmarshaling


Stuff:
-I kept changing tires in both classes, trying to pick the right ones for the conditions. For SC, the track was wet, which was different from club racing, which was only damp to dry, so I used different tires. I should have stayed with the same set as club racing :( For truck, in qualifying it was dry then I thought it would be wet for the main, so I ran different tires from qualifying. Again, I should have stayed on my tires from qualifying :( Next year I guess...
-Don't set your V2 slipper really tight, as it is capable of stripping your idler gear, as I found out.
-I'm having a tough time setting my V2 slipper correctly as my motor is cogging under the high load of setting it via the "wheelie" test. I picked up some new senors for my X12's and some new wires. Hopefully one of these takes care of the problem, otherwise it's back to AE.
-Turned in my best runs in round 1 for both classes. For round 2 in SC I got the tires wrong, and was slipping and sliding my way through the race. I couldn't push at all! Then in Truck, I got the tire choice right and pushed way too hard and crashed too much :(
-I've been sucking at starts all year! I'm way too conservative! I try to freight train the 1st lap, while everyone else sends it in and makes as many passes as possible. I always end up in last place and on my lid. So, for the next JBRL round, I'm sending it in deep! And as Jimmy said at the Shooutout
"incidental contact on the start and opening laps is going to happen". I have been on the receiving end of this too long and will be dishing some out the next round.
-My motors have been running really hot lately. 160 in practice then 170-190 during racing. I think I may have to gear down, going back to an 87 spur again, leaving the boost and pinion the same.

Oh, and here are my brother's races. He did the exact opposite of me as he wasn't chasing tires every round. He just ran the same set every run. He qualified 2nd in Rookie and 4th in Spec SC. Then won Rookie and almost got 2nd in Spec SC, but finished in 4th. Way to go! I should have done what he did and stay on 1 set of tires once racing started :(

2010 Surf City Classic

Stock Truck- With only 1 heat, we all made the A! But, with awards only going to the top 3, the battle was on to qualify high. I ended up starting in 7th, then moved up to 5th after chasing him down and pressuring him into a mistake.


Pro 2- This class was much more difficult to make the A in as a bunch of factory guys were running this class. In fact, I was in the C main after round 1, but stepped it up in round 2 to qualify 6th in the B. I would finish in 5th after being run over on the start and chasing down the 5th place truck and getting by on his mistake.

Here some vids of my brother's mains.

Amateur Stock Buggy- He was able to get the TQ, but a run in with a marshal's leg, allowed 2nd place to sneak by into the lead. He was right behind him though after a mistake, but then bobbled and crashed multiple times on the next lap, dropping him way behind. He would finish in 2nd.


Amateur Stock Truck- He started the A main in 4th and after a few wild opening laps, started to battle for the lead! He closed on the leader every lap, eventually ending up right behind him in the closing minutes of the 10 minute main. The leader made a mistake here and there, but he was not close to take advantage of it. I was coaching him through the race whenever I saw that he was making mistakes and got really into it! He was right behind the leader on the last lap, but no mistakes from the leader or an opportunity to make a pass, left him in 2nd place.

Here are some vids of the Mod mains.

This was an awesome race! Dustin Evans had TQ'd, but Cav was right on his tail the entire race! Finally, in the last minute, Cav put the pressure on and Evans made a small mistake coming onto the straight, allowing Cav to get by and pull away, taking the win!

Again, and awesome race! This time Cav and Tebo battled, with Tebo making a pass in the sweeper on Cav, when he went a little wide during the 1st half of the race.

Random thoughts:
-I had a good time at this race. Unlike the JBRL races, which have turned into hackfests lately.
-I was playing around with my diff and slipper settings and ended up with a really loose diff and slipper, which worked pretty well.
-I was running 5 boost for qualifying, then turned it down to 4 for the 10 minute main.
-The track started out really loose on Friday, but by Sunday, it had blue grooved and traction was insane! Saucing only the rear tires worked really good in round 2, when the groove was forming.
-Saw 2 Novak Kinetics die during the weekend.
-The winner of stock truck was running a 13.5, as they had no other class to put him in.
-I ran a weird tire combo in Pro2. Soft AKA Wishbones up front and MC Suburbs out back. Seemed to work good.

Shootout! Videos!

Here are the videos of some of my races from the Shootout :)



















These are some of the other races that I was able to record.

2010 JBRL, Round 3, Hot Rod Hobbies and Round 4 Pegasus Hobbies

Wow! I haven't done a JBRL update in a while! So, I will just do a quick recap of what I remember from each class at each round. Luckily I have videos though :)

Round 3, Hot Rod Hobbies

I turned 2 fast runs in qualifying for stock truck and 2 slow runs in short course! The key to going fast was clearing the big triple in the middle of the track. It was really impressive to clear it every lap, which I was able to do, thanks to my new SXX-SS and LRP X12 17.5, which I was racing with for the 1st time that weekend :)

I qualified 4th in the A for Stock Truck and almost last in the C for SC! This was the highest up the A I have qualified this year and the lowest in a class! LOL! I ended up in the C, due to the fact that my truck kept blowing over on the bigger jumps on the track and killed my time :( I destroyed the competition in the SC C main and bumped into the B main, where I finished someplace in the middle. In the Stock Truck A, I get caught up in the 1st lap mess and instantly drop to last?!

-Need to get better at race starts from the middle. I always get screwed! Or qualify higher up!

-Ran different tires every round for stock truck. Used orange bar codes, new orange bar codes, then blue bar codes for the main, as it was already night time and the track temperature had dropped a ton.

Round 4, Pegasus

I got a horrible run in round 1 in SC, then a decent one in round 2, but was only able to qualify in the "BQ" position, otherwise known as "You would've made the A if we weren't running bump-ups" position. I ran away with the lead on the start of the B main, and easily bumped into the A, where I made up a few positions on the start. I was running around in 8th I think, then get "passed" in the next to last corner on the last lap.

In Stock Truck I put in a fast run in round 1, where I almost took the TQ, if it wasn't for a tangle on the last lap that cost me some time. In round 2, the track was dry and got much faster, but I wasn't able to throw down a fast time and dropped down to 6th in the A main. Of course in the A main, I drop to last on the 1st lap, then end up finishing in 8th again :(

-The track was much better than I remember last year. Much smoother and got faster when it dried some.

-Need new rear tires for each run to go fast! :( When's the next indoor race again?

Shootout! Main Event Day!

Woohoo!!! Triple A Mains! I was stoked to make the A Main in Stock Truck at a race of the caliber of the Hot Rod Hobbies Off Road Shootout :)

In A1 I wasn't expecting much as I was starting from 8th, just hoping for a big wreck so I can move up! Instead I got caught up in a pile up after the 1st jump section. I cruised around in 10th waiting for a car to break. It was the same story in A2. For A3, I changed to white compound fronts and upped my boost. But, the biggest change was in my head as I was determined to drive more aggressively rather than conservatively. I wasn't out to run into somebody, but if I saw a chance to make a pass, I was going for it! I had enough of finishing dead last! I was able to make a few passes on the start, but fell back after clipping the pipe coming up the staircase to the straight. Oh well, I still made the A, but I was hoping for a finish higher than 10th. Next year :)

I kinda blew off my SC main, as I was starting 5th in the B. But after talking to David Orner about my handling problems, he suggested some setup changes that I tried during morning practice that made my SC10 a bit easier to drive, which allowed me to push harder. I was able to take 3rd place but lost it during the last minute of the race! But, I took it back when he wrecked in the closing seconds. I was able to hold on and finish in 3rd :)

Videos coming soon!

Notes:
-Brought a towel this year to dunk in my ice chest. It made the heat bearable when putting the cold, wet towel on my head.
-SC Suburb MX's wear out fast on the dry track! They were going bald in 3-4 runs. I switched to soft Wishbone's in the rear of my SC10 for my main and after 2 runs, they still look good! I also saw that Maifield was running some sort of SC JConcepts bar type tire.
-Was trying out some different o-rings in my shocks and they didn't last as long as I hoped and started leaking on the second day of qualifying, but I was too tired to rebuild them. Can't wait for the new V2 shocks, which look super easy to rebuild!
-Thinking of going to 1 run tires for next year, as all my best runs were on new tires. :(
-I've been running a super low gear and high boost for a few races now and have found a side affect of that I don't like. Too much drag brake!! At first I thought it was the motor itself, but I think the small pinion and large spur gears aren't helping any. The drag brake is causing the steering to be too twitchy and making the truck turn in too fast. I'm going to gear up and use a smaller spur and larger pinion for my next race and re-set the boost to a lower level. Also try some negative steering expo, to settle the steering feel around center.
-I freaking forgot to actually watch the Mod mains, because I was busy with running my own main! LOL! I only watched the Mod mains if I was the turn marshal for them, waiting to go on the driver's stand to run my own main, or after going through tech for my brother's main. I did get some on video though.
-Running triple A mains on Sunday is fun! There were about 10-12 races before someone's race was up, since all the guys in my group made and A! My friend's son made the A for Stock Buggy and my brother made the Rookie A. Which made the day go really fast.

Shootout! Resort, Round 3 and 4

I'm sitting here resting for the 1st time this weekend, as my cars are ready for Main Event day and there is no work to do. Ah!!!

So, for the resort I made both A qualifiers for SC and Truck! :) But, I got murdered in the SC A qualifier, as I was only in there due to 2 guys getting DQ'd for being underweight. In both rounds, I just ran around the track trying to stay clean and get out of the way of the top qualifiers. I think I was 29th and 35th for rounds 3&4! Oh well.

Truck was a complete opposite! I started up front in my heat, the B qualifier, but I was actually 9th the the class, or 9th in the A. I was able to put in good runs in rounds 3&4 finishing 5th and 8th!

I hung around to see the qual points to check if I made the A in truck and I did! 8th qualifier at the Shootout in Stock Truck! Woohoo! I'm 5th in the B in SC, so whatever. LOL!

Looking forward to running the triple A Mains and 1 B main tomorrow :) Then watching the A's for the mod classes and hopefully getting some video.

Also, my bro finally showed up to race today and ran his two qualifiers and qualified 5th in the A for Rookie! So, he will be running triple A mains too :)

Shootout! Round 2

I finished 3rd in my SC heat, improving my time by a lap, but finished lower in the round :( 18th to be exact.

In Truck I finished 4th in my heat and 13th in the round. Not good! I got hung up once and tangled once. Hopefully I'm still in the A qualifier, but I won't know till I get to the track and check the resort...

Shootout! Round 1 Results

I didn't do so well in SC. Got hung up twice and marshaled twice :( Finished 5th in my heat and 16th in the round :(

Complete opposite in Truck! I was really nervous and my hand was twitchy, but I pushed on and finished 2nd in the heat and 5th in the round! One more top 10 round finish and I'm in the A! (Using point system for qualifying)

Well, gotta start gluing tires for tomorrow...

Shootout! Practice

I was able to get 4 runs in on each car yesterday in the mind numbing heat (115F!). Broke 2 fans and a speedo in my T4, and burned through a new set of MX Suburbs on the SC10. Decided to ditch the fan for a heatsink, as on my last T4 run, which I ran for almost 15 min, with the broken fan, must have killed the BEC in the speedo, since the fan was locked up. Luckily, the shop had an MK3 SXX SS, so I bought one and installed it last night when I should've been resting :(

I can get around the track pretty well, as I didn't need to be marshaled much during practice. But, I can't run tight to the pipes (keep taking the hairpins in the middle of the track too wide) and jump into the pit before the step-up. Which feels faster through that jump section, if you can land it.

Hopefully, today goes better! Put in some clean runs and watch the other classes and maybe get some video :)

Shootout! 1st practice runs

OMG! It just hit 115F in my pit!

Got a few practice runs in, 1 on the SC10 and 2 on the T4. The T4 feels pretty good, just a touch too much steering. The SC10 on the other hand feels like a bus! Leaning way too much and steering is too twitchy. Going to stand the front shocks up more on both trucks, and lower the rear ride height and add a rear swaybar to the SC10. Also, my fan broke on the T4, shooting my motor temp up to 187F! I think I may have to switch over to a heatsink.

Shootout! HOT HOT HOT!!!

Right now it's 111 in my pit and climbing! :( Right now is supposed to be controlled practice, but the track is fairly empty. Last year there were a ton of people here already with timed practice running all day. I guess everybody is showing up tomorrow morning?

Shootout! Finally here!

Took me 3hrs 13min to get here from SD! It's stupid hot! Gotta unload and hit the track!

Shootout! Getting Closer!

Only 50 minutes till I can leave work, then I'm finally free and can concentrate on the Shootout!

Shootout! Layout video

Found a video of the new layout on YouTube!

It shows Chad Bradley cleaning up in the 4wd Unlimited SC class during the club race last night on the wet track. It shows him jumping into the step-up to triple section! I wonder if you can clear those triple combos in stock? Maybe on the dry blue-grooved track :)

Today is also the 1st day of practice on the dry track! Last year I was already at the track gluing up tires, then I hit the track in the afternoon. Oh well...

I packed up all my RC gear last night, so I'm pretty much ready to go!

Shootout! Layout pics!

Thanks to desertracerdad on rctech.net for uploading pics of the Shootout layout! The layout looks super fast with a bunch of air time, due to the 2 rhythm jump sections. The 1st one in the middle of the track looks to be a step-up to triple, while the one on the backside is a table-triple-double!!! Which leads to a double, then roller, and then you go uphill, then downhill through the sweeper onto the straight! Looks fun! Can't wait till I get there Thursday!

Shootout! Opening day

Today is the 1st official day of the 2010 Hot Rod Hobbies Off-Road Shootout!

Last year I was there on this day (as I was not working at the time)! However, I didn't get any track time, as the track was still being soaked to pack the dirt! It finally opened late in the afternoon for club racing on the wet track (which I did not run). I did however get to study the layout and I took a short video of it, which ended up on the Hot Rod Hobbies website! I also secured a pit spot for the week.

This year I'm here at work :( I opted to only take Thursday and Friday off, to minimize the impact on work, and save a little money on the hotel :) But, I lose getting a nice pit space on the on-road side of the track.

I've done as much prep work as I can do at home. Still have 3 sets of tires to glue up (which I will do at the track). Gonna pack up all the racing gear tonight, then tomorrow night pack up some food/drinks, my clothes, and load up my car, so that I'm ready to head up to Hot Rod Thursday morning!

Shootout! Prep

So, last week I spent getting everything ready for the Shootout!

Tire order placed, check.

Time off from work, check.

Hotel booked, check.

Mount tires for practice and Friday qualifiers, check.

Clean T4, change over to hot weather blue groove settings, rebuild shocks, weigh in race trim, check.

Clean SC10, change over to hot weather blue groove settings, rebuild shocks, weigh in race trim, check.

The SC10 was under-weight by a ton! I had to add 70g to get up to the class minimum of 2098g, then added an extra 14g to make sure I don't go under when I change to different sets of tires. I also installed some of the new orange slipper pads from the FTSC10 in both my SC10 and T4. FYI, AE didn't change the part number for this, so look up the current one, if you want to get them. I also still need to mount up the tires for Saturday and Sunday, but I can take care of that between qualifiers at the track.

I will sign-up when I get to the track since Jimmy announced at the last JBRL round that he will be taking entries up until 1hr before the start of the race, and that nobody will be turned away :)

Shootout!

Woohoo!! The Shootout is in a week!

Really old RC pics!

Forgot I had these pics from early on in my RC racing adventure so I thought I'd post them now :)

My 1st car, Tamiya Super Champ!

My 1st pit table!

The Super Champ after cleaning

Mine and my cousin's gold pan 6-gear tranny RC10's!

Mine is the "Skoal Bandit"

My gold pan RC10 converted to a graphite chassis sprint car with my race plaques on my pit box that I built in wood shop

My "Sprint" car RC10 with all my trophies and race plaques at the time

My pit at home. I ran a different motor for practice, each round of qualifying, and the main! I would do all the motor maintenance at home and change motors after each run while at the track. I would also tear the car down and clean all the bearings between race days. Gotta love the sealed bearings and brushless motors now!

My bro's RC10 sprint car conversion. Check out the short shocks for the rear and 6 pack of red 1400 Sanyo SCR cells waiting to be built :)

More Saturday racing!

OCRC Raceway just announced that beginning July 10th, they will start holding races on Saturday night at 6pm! It's about time!

New SC10 body and parts!

I got my custom painted JConcepts Truth body back from my painter during round 1 of the JBRL at West Coast, but I didn't get around to cutting it out and mounting it until a few weeks ago. I also installed a new SXX SS and LRP X12 10.5! While installing the SXX, I decided to to make a custom battery strap as my carbon fiber one doesn't allow you to install the battery with the plugs/wires towards the front, which is how I like to mount my batteries. I cut one out of .100in thick polycarbonate sheet, to practice fabricating it and test the fit. I plan to make more from black G10 fiberglass and maybe carbon fiber!

New JConcepts Truth body!

My custom battery strap

2010 JBRL, Round 2, OCRC

I headed out to OCRC the Friday before the JBRL race to learn the layout and get some practice in. I also ran the club race to get some motor temps and lap times. The layout that was in for the JBRL was really fast with wide lanes. I was on the gas a bunch! My truck felt fast during qualifying and I missed TQ by 2 seconds. In the main however, Bill Koch had changed his setup a bit and was now on pace! He qualified in the back, but had made it into the top 3! I was running in 3rd right behind him for the last minute or so of the race. I was right on his tail on the last lap, but he drove a good line, leaving no place for me to pass, and I had to settle for 3rd. After that good run, I felt good going into the JBRL race! My T4 felt dialed, so all I had to to was put in a good run to hopefully make it into the A!

It was a busy night for me! Along with racing, I was mounting up, gluing, then balancing, 2 sets of Panther SC Switches that I picked up in the hobby shop. One set of clay compound for a damp surface and a set of Super Softs in case the dirt dried out like at West Coast. I was working on them in between my races, as I wanted them ready to try on my SC10 during the morning practice for the JBRL the next day. I figured these tires would be the hot ticket, and wanted to try them out before racing on them. I managed to finish up the clay compound tires, and I mounted them on the SC10 for morning practice.


Intermediate SC
During practice I ran the Panther SC Switches in clay compound and they felt good, so I went with them for qualifying. Unfortunately, I was in the 1st heat again and would be running on a wet, not damp, track. I put in a good run, finishing 2nd , I think. But, I dropped to 4th after the other heat of Int SC ran. I was still in the A, and that's all that really mattered. In round 2, the track was much faster, and more people put in good runs. Thus, I dropped to 9th in the A! At least I was still in the "show" and wouldn't need to bump in, like I did at Round 1.

For the main, I decided to gamble, and try my Super Soft SC Switches, as our main would be the last one before watering, thus the track would be the driest. I needed some sort of advantage to move up, and I was hoping the softer tires would give me the edge! However, the tires didn't work out and I got a bit sideways on the 1st lap, and I dropped to last. Another issue showed up during the race, which was I think my slipper was overheating. I didn't have the punch I needed to clear the big center jump, during the last 1-2 minutes of the race. I could hear it slipping up on the driver's stand! This didn't show up during qualifying, as the heats were shortened to 4 minutes to save time, due to the high number of entries. Well, at least I think my slipper was overheating. I could've just gotten lazy with my approach, as I was running last anyway. LOL! I ended up finishing where I started, 9th, and am currently 6th in the points.


Stock Truck
Things were not going as well as I had hoped :( I blew out in round 1 when the track was damp and had max traction :( because I was talking to a friend and ended up missing the end of one of the races before mine! Thus, I was still standing on the ramp during warm up, since I thought my race was the next one, not the one currently on the track! When I realized it was my race, I ran up the ramp and ended up standing in a spot really far from where I normally stand! This messed up my timing, and I basically needed to re-learn the track, which killed my lap times! I was qualified in the C main out of 5 heats!

For round 2, I went up to stand early and kept track of which race was running! But, this time the track was drier and much slower. The winners of the heats before mine were at least 5-10 seconds slower than round 1! I was screwed! I was leading the heat, and on pace to make the A main, but I caught slower traffic during the last few laps of the race. They weren't letting me by, and I was too busy driving and concentrating on not getting tangled up to yell out and ask to go by :( My pace slowed :( I won the heat, but my time wasn't fast enough to make the A. I ended up qualifying 4th for the B! :(

In the main I had a decent start and moved up to 3rd. But, on the 1st lap I clipped a pipe while avoiding a spun out truck. This dropped me down to 5th, but a wheelie and resulting back flip, a lap or so latter really killed my chances of finishing in the top 3 :( I then over-drove my car, making more mistakes :( I would move up a few spots, make a mistake, then drop back again. I ended up finishing in 7th and dropping to 10th in the points :(


Ran was racing with me again. He made both his A mains! He was able to bump into the A in Spec SC and was 2nd qualifier in Rookie. In his Rookie main, he was part of a few pile ups, but came out ok. He was running around in 3rd and closing on 2nd, when he hit him in the back! All was good though, as he left the car by and chased him down again. But, mistakes kept him from moving back up to 2nd. Then he gets blasted by a green truck in the closing laps! A lap or so later he gets hits a pipe and ends up upside down, allowing the 4th and 5th place cars to catch up and pass him. He end up finishing 5th, and is 3rd in the points. In his SC main, he moved up a bunch of spots on the 1st few laps, but mistakes dropped him back down. He did have some good racing going on at least :) He finishes in 9th and is 7th in the ponts.

On to the next round at Hot Rods this weekend! The weather is looking good, sunny and mild temperatures :) I plan to be there early Saturday for practice and racing on the dry track, then crash at the hotel, and back bright and early for round 3! See you there!

Randoms
-Can't use the 1st round to settle in. At this round the 1st round was the "rocket round". If you didn't put in your good run then, you were screwed. At round 1, the 3rd round was the "rocket round", which is when I put in my good run. Thus, I made the A!
-Almost 30 heats and a 1 day race equaled 4 minute qualifiers. All racing was completed around 9-9:30pm.
-Kept 2nd guessing my tire choice. Track was pretty consistent though.
-Keep chatting to a minimum before races.
-Going to rebuild entire suspension and transmission on the T4 before next round at Hot Rod
-Picked up 2 SXX SS's and and an X12 17.5 and 10.5 for my cars. Want to buy some SPX's?
-Picked up some AKA Wishbone's for the sSC10 to use on Hot Rods blue groove track. Hope these or my Panther Switches work!


Videos

2010 JBRL Round 1, West Coast RC

Last weekend was round 1 of the 2010 JBRL season! I had planned to come out to West Coast RC to race Friday night and save a pit space, but bad traffic leaving San Diego caused me to turn around and go home, since I probably wouldn't have arrived until 5pm :( Instead, I left for the track early the next morning, getting there about 45 minutes before opening, only to find a line at the tracks door. The door opened right on time and we all filed in to grab a spot and get on the track. Luckily, we were all able to find some tables next to each other. After setting up my pit, I took some warm up runs, as I already learned the layout in the previous week's club racing. The track was really loose though, because the dirt was really dry. I decided to change tires from Suburbs to Switches and try them out, just in case the track stayed dry. The Switches hooked up much better! They were now my backup tires for dry dirt for the weekend.

Stock Truck was the biggest class of the event, with 4 heats! It would be a challenge to make the A main at this race. For round 1, I ran my Suburbs, since the track was watered less than 10 heats before my race. Unfortunately, the track wasn't holding water very well, drying out fairly quickly. The track was looser than during club racing and my lap times were about a second slower! I drove conservatively, to keep from crashing, and ended up finishing 4th. I ended up qualifying in the B after all 4 heats had run! Not good :( For round 2, I changed over to my Switches for more grip, since the track was really dry in the afternoon. That helped a bunch, as I was able to drive more aggressively, but I only improved my time by 1 second, due to getting tangled with lapped traffic a few times. After passing them cleanly, they would try to pass me back and I'd get tied up with them :( Those incidents cost me a 12 lap run and a shot at the A main.

The track was flooded overnight in hopes of it not drying out so fast for day 2 of the JBRL season opener. The track would also be watered more often during round 3 of qualifying. In watching the races leading up to mine, TQ times were being re-set almost every race! My brother's race was earlier than mine, and he told me that traction was good! I had my Switches on the truck, but with the track holding moisture and being so fast, I decided to change back to my Suburbs, in hopes of max grip and a chance of getting in the A! During my race, I was in 3rd place, but my pace would seat me 5th in the A! My previous fast time was only good enough to seat me 5th or 6th in the B main right now, so I had to keep it on its wheels, and finish this run to make it in. I kept it together and finished 3rd with a time fast enough to seat me 5th in the A! After all the heats of Stock Truck had run, I dropped down to 7th, but at least I was still in the show :)

For the mains, the track would only be watered at the start of each series of mains. So only before the C's, then B's, and finally A's. Thus, the track was dry again by the time my main had come up. Again, my brother's main was a few before mine, and he told me that the track was really loose, so I had him cahnge my tires back to Switches, as I had the Suburbs on my truck right before my race! He made the change for me while I was waiting up on the stand right before my main. (Thanks!) I took my warm up and my truck felt good, hopefully I would be able to move up! I got caught up in a pile up on the start and dropped to dead last :( I raced around in the back fighting for position and ended up finishing where I started, 7th.

The other class I raced to kill time (there were 30 heats per round!) was Intermediate Short Course. In this class, basically anything goes, but you need to run SC tires/wheels, and a 10.5 or slower motor. Any aftermarket SC parts are ok. In this class I was qualified last in the A or 1st in the B after each round. I had a tough time in the round 1, finishing 7th, but settled into a groove for the other 2 qualifying rounds, winning 1 qualifier, and finishing second in the other. I ended up being the "BQ" missing the A by a second I think.

In the B main, I got off to a clean start, and had the lead for the 1st few laps. But, I got sideways in the last hairpin before the straight, allowing the 2nd place truck who was following close behind, to get by. I tucked in behind, but a roll for me, gave him about a straightaway lead. I might lose my bump to the A! :( But, luck was on my side, as he spun out at the end of the straight a few laps later, allowing me to get by for the lead. I ran away with the lead after that, as more mistakes, by the guys in 2nd and 3rd allowed me to pull away. In the closing seconds of the race, I caught some lapped traffic, but decided not to try and pass them, as the race was almost over, and I had a good lead. In fact, I coasted down the straight and slowed on the way to the line waiting for time to run out. I crossed the line and took the win and bump into the A main!

Starting last in the A, I was hoping for a wreck to move up. Some pile ups and retirements in front of me allowed me to move up to 6th, where I ran for most of the race, but some mistakes on my part in the closing minute, dropped me to 8th. At least I didn't finish last and I still made the A!

My brother was also racing his 1st JBRL race! He ran his truck in Rookie Stock, and his new RTR SC10 in Spec Short Course. He managed to TQ Rookie, beating out 2 other "fast" rookie drivers and he also made the A for Spec SC! Not bad for his 1st JBRL! In fact, after 2 rounds of qualifying, he was the only 1 of our group that had made an A main! Justin who was also pitting with us, wasn't able to make the A in the classes he was running (Int. SC, Stock Buggy, and SS 4wd), but he was in a postion to bump into the A in all his classes. I took the bump from him in Int. SC, as he finished in 2nd behind me (sorry dude!), and he had no luck in Buggy, but he dominated the SS 4wd B main, to bump into the A :) Unfortunately, on an attempt to false start by another driver in the A (to help another driver that was having a mechanical problem), Justin hit his parked car on the grid and broke :( That sucked!

My brother and I were able to get some vids of some of our mains. Check them out!

JBRL Round 1 this weekend!

Round 1 of the 2010 Electric JBRL series is this weekend!

I will be out at the track Friday for practice/racing and saving a pit for myself for the weekend. Unfortunately, I will not be able to save a pit for any of my friends not racing Friday night, since only people racing Friday can save a pit for Sat/Sun. Sorry!

New West Coast Offroad Hours!

West Coast has changed their weekend offroad racing start times! These new hours should make for getting home at a more reasonable hour.

Saturday- open 10am, racing at 6pm!
Sunday- open 10am, racing at 1pm!

:)

West Coast RC Supercross, Round 4- Finals, *LIVE FROM THE TRACK!*

*LIVE FROM THE TRACK!*
-Not as many people here as last Sunday. I was even able to park close!
-Tried driving from the end of the stand farthest from the ramp. Felt too wierd, so I moved back to my normal spot for the 2nd run with my T4.
-Ha! 1/8 controlled practice is running right now and there's only 1 car on the track. What a waste.
-Motor temps are good so far on both the T4 and SC10.
-Finished 3rd run on T4. Felt ok. Motor temp was 163F.
-Nice somebody remembered to water the track this time, so it won't turn into a dust bowl again.
-Missed SC practice session, because I thought only 4wd SC as up, not all SC trucks. At least I already put in 4 runs with my T4 :)
-WTF?! It just got really cold in here all of a sudden...
-Hungry now. Waiting for the free food or lunch truck.
-Got 2 free hot dogs and somes fries from the lunch truck.
-Controlled practice is over for me. I think I'll gear down 1 tooth in each truck for racing since both felt soft on acceleration.
-Thinking of trying 20deg timing again, with P6 on the SPX, just to see if that will cool the motor down. Not today though, next race...
-Wooohoo! Only 15 heats today, so I should be home around midnight, hopefully.
-Just finished 6th in Stock Truck with a 10:05. Lots of fast guys tonight. Motor temped at 173.5F. Going to gear down to a 25.
-Broke a front arm on the SC10 for round 1 of Mod SC. Yay! Fun!
-Broke on 1st lap while in 2nd place in Round 2 of Stock Truck, and just finished 5th in Mod SC after battling with Jeff Kulp. Qualified 8th in both classes. At least I made the A for Mod SC, as Stock Truck only has 1 heat tonite.
-Lost a titanium ball stud out on the track when my T4 broke :( No spare 30deg caster blocks in my pit box or the shop, so I guess I'm switching to 25deg.. Maybe I'll go faster?
-Bill Koch (the truck I hit when I broke because he was parked on the straight) was able to find a 30deg caster block, so I could fix my truck for the main. Thanx Bill!
-Finished 7th in Stock Truck and 4th in Mod SC. Watching big air contest and waiting to see where I will finish in the points....
-Back home now. Ended up 4th in the points for Stock Truck and have no idea how I did in Mod SC... boo!
-Points have been posted. Lost 3rd in Stock Truck by 1pt! :( Finished 9th in Mod SC while only running 2 races...

West Coast RC Supercross, Round 3, 22 heats!?!?

Round 3 of the West Coast Supercross Series was EPIC! 22 heats on a Sunday night, with a start time of 3pm! That's more heats than some JBRL races, which start at 9am! It would be a long night...

I brought out the SC10 for some Mod SC racing along with my T4, to fight some of the boredom. With limited practice time and a new track to learn, I wanted to get some runs in on the "super" layout :) Up first was the T4. I was experimenting with timing and gearing again, running the lowest ratio I had, 87:16, and went out for a 6 minute run. The track wasn't as difficult as the last layout, and the jumps were easy to clear, just needed to get the timing down. When the practice timer went off, I pulled off the track and temped the Murfdogg... 206°F!! I guess I should go back to 10° timing and change the gearing again...

Next was the SC10 with it's LRP 8.5, that I was using at OCRC. Whoaa!! Too much motor! I was over-jumping everything and blew over a few times :( I ended up popping a camber link after a bad landing and pulled it off to change motors. I went to my 10.5, which is the motor limit for the JBRL races anyway... It was way easier to drive :) I was way more consistent too. Not much motor would be needed, since the straight was on the short side... I was also trying a new camber link location on the rear of the SC10, using 1-A with 1 washer. This would give me more camber gain, so that the rear tire wouldn't roll under the wheel so much, breaking the rear loose in medium to high speed corners. It's also supposed to lessen the chassis roll, which is good for this high CG truck. I guess it worked since I felt like I was pushing in the lower speed turns now. I changed over from red front springs to golds, hoping to get a tick more steering.

I spent the controlled practice runs learning the track and dialing in my gearing on both trucks. I think I ended up with a 75:24 ratio for the T4 and 81:21 for the SC10 for round 1 of qualifying. Which took 3hrs!! Lots of time to clean tires...

Round 1 in Stock Truck was a gift! :) I started on the pole due to random number assignments and heads up start qualifying. I ran away from the field, taking the win and setting the TQ (which only lasted 7 minutes, lol). I dropped down to 3rd qualifier when Bisbee and Koch went faster than my time in heat 2 of Stock Truck. Mod SC was also a gift, as I started on the pole again :) I only lead for a lap though, giving up the lead when I landed short in the rhythm jump section and ended up on my roof. A quick marshal job almost saved me, except for the fact that he flipped me over facing the wrong way! :( I had to spin around and jump some pipes to get going again, now in the back of the field.. I was able to catch back up though, eventually finishing in 4th. I would be qualified in 7th, after all 3 heats of Mod SC were run.

Round 2 (3hrs later) would be tough. After the gift of starting up front in round 1, it was time to pay up, by starting last in both classes this time around. In Stock Truck, I would be stuck in the back of the pack. I did get to race Ran for a few laps, which was fun, but got hacked in the back of the pack and couldn't break away. I end up finishing 6th, and dropping to 5th in the A Main. I had a much better run in Mod SC though :) I hung back on the start, and slowly picked off a truck or 2 at a time, eventually working my way up to 3rd :) I even caught the 2nd place truck in the closing laps and passed him! Even though, I still dropped to 9th in the A Main. Not too bad I guess, since this class would be going up to a C main!

The Stock Truck Main was a mess! (for me anyway) Starting 5th and on the inside, due to the Supercross staggered starting grid, I crossed my fingers, hoping I could make it out without getting tangled up. I did anyway, and came out of the the mess in last place. I should have committed to going to the outside of the turn on the start, to miss the pile up. At least I wouldn't have turned right into the pile up, if I was already thinking of going to the outside. After getting stuck on a pipe a lap later, the field disappeared off in the distance :( and I cruised around in the back, hoping somebody would crash or break, allowing me to catch back up. I end up in 9th. My Murfdogg 17.5 still felt fast though :) Throwout score again... My Mod SC Main went better, as I was able to get a cleaner start. I didn't get hit, but I did get stuck on a pipe :( I battled in the back of the pack, not being able to move up very much. I think I ended up in 8th, but didn't check the race results, as I wanted to go home, as it was almost 1am, and I still had an hour 20 minute drive back to San Diego :(

NOTES:
-22 heats = 3hrs per round = home at 2:30am :( Bring on Saturday night offroad racing!
-No water between rounds + late races since I made both A Mains for my classes = slick dry track for the mains! Should have changed to a pin tire instead of bar tire in Stock Truck for the main...
-Going to move the SC10's front upper shock mount to the inner hole to get more steering. If need more steering, add 1 washer under rear ball studs.
-They need to put chairs out on the track in the marshal spots which block the view of the turns on the onroad side of the track.
-Ran was a good sport willing to come out and race and hang out with me till the end, since I made both A mains. He had tough time in qualifying, finishing in the back of the pack each round. He qualified 2nd in the B main and didn't even realize he finished 3rd! lol!
-Ran was also so bored from running 1 class and not needing to do much work on his truck that he shot vids of my SC races and Stock Truck A Main :) using the video mode on his digital still camera. I also shot his main for him. See the vids below:











Round 4 of the Supercross Finals, is up this Sunday. Will I be able to move past Brian Halverson for 2nd in Stock Truck? Can I at least hold on to 3rd? Will I get any Race Bucks? Stay tuned!!!

West Coast RC Supercross, Round 2

Last Sunday was round 2 of the West Coast Supercross Series! I came out early to get more practice runs in before controlled practice started, limiting your runs. Thankfully, I was able to put in about 4 runs before controlled practice started at 11:30am.

I used these runs to adjust my gearing for my Murfdogg with its new rotor. I started at a 75:24 ratio, but the motor kept running hot! It always came off at 195-205°F after a 6 min run. I dropped the gear 2 teeth every run until I was at 84:18 and a motor temp of 226°F!! with only 1 practice run to go! I was about to switch back to my Orion motor, having pulled the Murfdogg from the truck, but realized I could just turn the timing back down to 10°. Doh! I reset the timing and reinstalled the Murf just in time for the last controlled practice session of the day. I left the gearing at 84:18, to see if the timing change would make any difference in the motor temp. I temped in at 150°F!!! Wow! That timing change made a huge difference! For round 1 I geared back up to 84:20, aiming for a temp of 170-180°F.

There were some heavy hitters in Stock Truck this week! Kevin Smith and Robert Drew were now running, both are super fast! Along with the fast guys from last week, Bill Koch and Brian Halverson. I didn't have the greatest run but, I did turn a 19.937 lap! Too bad the leaders turned 19.5 :( I was running in 4th, pulling in Bill Koch in 3rd. I caught him, but crashed, just as I got close enough to try a pass :( He pulled away again, and I ended up in 4th.

In round 2, I had to start in the back of the grid. I took it easy on the start, but some yellow truck didn't, nailing the gas and spinning out right in front of me! I had no place to go and ran into him. Then, while trying to get going again, this yellow truck hits me a few more times, since he is all over the place, and can't hold his line!@ WTF! dude! I have a super long 1st lap, and try way too hard to make up the time I lose at the start, crashing at least 3 times, and making a bunch of bobbles, finishing 7th. I couldn't improve on my time from round 1, but at least only 1 guy goes faster than my time, so I end up 5th on the grid for the A main.

When we grid up for the main, I see a new truck at the back of the grid. The black truck with pink wheels of Brandon Feige. Where did he come from? He didn't run any of the qualifiers... I would end up racing him for 3rd though! I get an awesome start again, as the top cars weren't ready for the start, and I was! This has happened to me a few times at West Coast, but I've learned my lesson, and now ignore all commotion going on once I'm gridded up for the start. I move up to 3rd, then 2nd, by the end of the 1st lap! I only stay there for 2 laps though, as while going through the quads, I have to double-double, while the 2 trucks behind me do the quad! A bobble in the next corner and just like that I'm down to 4th! :( I stay close enough to Brandon and trade back 3rd with him a few times, but we tangle up a few times too, losing ground on the leaders. By halfway into the race, I make it back up to 3rd, but a bunch of mistakes in the closing laps, allows 2 trucks to pass me, and I end up in 5th on the last lap! :( Doh! I was over driving again, trying to pull away from 4th and catch Bill, as I had to finish in front of him to take the lead in the points. Bill takes the win and 100 points. Brian finishes in 2nd and was the TQ, so he also gets 100 points. I finish 5th with 96 points (hopefully my throwout score). So after 2 rounds the top 3 in points are Bill-200, Brian-198, and me with 196.

Observations:
-Holy crap everyone was fast this weekend. Last week lap times were 20-21s, this time 19.5-18.9!!! My fastest lap was 19.822.
-A Thunder Power 40c 5000mah lipo blew up in some guys car that was pitting next to me! Pouring out white magic smoke and making a huge cloud. The guy said it was already damaged, but he kept using it, since it was still working.... Tsktsktsk
-Controlled practice was a waste! 1hr between runs, and some sessions had only a few cars out on the track, while others were packed! I still think a que system would work better.
-For round 3, I'm going back to 20° timing! I found a 87 spur in my extra parts at home. So, I will be starting at 87:17, the lowest ratio I have! If that runs over 170°, I guess I'll be going back to 10° timing.
-Theme for me for the night was over driving :( With all the fast guys in the race, I had to do something to cut my laps times. I was sending it ddddeeepppp into the turn at the end of the straight, not letting off until I was entering the short chute. Last week I was slowing down entering this turn. I think everyone figured this out though, as by the mains, almost everyone was turning sub 20 sec laps. While I did cut my lap times, I ended up crashing more, since I was trying so hard, which killed my race times :( Too bad we don't qualify using fastest laps... I need to find a happy medium between turning fast laps and driving conservative enough to not wreck.
-Kevin has rotten luck again! :( He puffed an SMC pack in round 1 then broke his steering servo in round 2 :( He had just bought 2 new Racers Edge 40C 5000mah packs to replace his puffed SMC and didn't feel like spending more money on a new servo, when he had a perfectly good one at home, so he sat out his main. He also got robbed in the big air contest! He almost pulled off a back flip, getting the biggest crowd reaction, until another guy just went really big and long, which the crowd seemed to liked better. My question is, why didn't anyone else try a back flip? It should be easy'ish with a 4wd car. Also, what happened to a whip? It's really easy, as all you do is turn the front wheels. The trick is to flatten the car back out for the landing. Which is key to pulling off a trick anyway, otherwise you're just wrecking :)

So, on to Round 3 of the Supercross Series! And from the looks of the track, it will be "super" with a true supercross layout put in for the last 2 rounds. I can't wait to get to the track on Sunday, and get some practice laps in! And oh ya, this time I will try and save you a pit spot next to the fence Kevin :)