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
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)