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!