Race Report by Andrew Moore
Round 1: The Inaugural round of the JConcepts/RCSignup.com SuperCup opened with sunny skies and a manicured track, both good indicators of what was to come. Combined with some fresh rules, the conditions helped boost the entry count to 84 for the weekend. Round 1 was a little damp still from the over night dew on the track, and traction was down slightly. Double Dees proved to be the ticket as Jason Ruona TQ’d the first round in all 3 classes (2wd, 4wd, and J82). As the first official race weekend for the J82 classes, entries looked promising with 10 and the rest evenly distributed between the classes
Round 2: As the sun started to warm the track, traction started to come around and lap times began to drop…in a hurry. The quick laps from the first round 2wd mod, 26’s were smashed with consistent 24’s, and low 23’s in 4wd. Both J and PW gambled and ran Bar Codes in the second round, but it paid off big with Jason TQ’ing both 2wd and 4wd once again and Paul slotting in 3rd for 2wd. J82 became a battle as the lap times dropped into the 24’s, making it easy for several drivers to eclipse the original TQ. Although the time was beat, the man was not, and Ruona reaffirmed his TQ spot.
Round 3: With ample time to bake, the track was more than ready to set another TQ time for Round 3. The Daytona crew did a great job of keeping the track in shape with constant attention. This set the stage for more blistering lap times and the possibility of new TQ’s. The 22 second range was reached in 4wd mod, and Paul put in the fastest run of the weekend for J82, relegating Ruona to 2nd on the grid. Bar Codes were no longer a gamble and proved themselves are the tire to have, and it showed in the lap times. JConcepts tires ended up on point for: 2wd stock, 2wd mod, 4wd mod, J82 stock, and the J82 outlaw classes. Quite the impressive showing.
Mains: (format: Single A’s, 6 minutes in length) As late afternoon approached, the mains began to start. The track started to show some signs of wear, and a keen eye was kept on the dust level.
The “”Zach and Zach show””proved to be a tight battle with Zach Genova making the final pass stick over TQ holder Zach Mote, taking the win for JConcepts in Stock Buggy. Stock truck was another hotly contested main, as Zach Genova proved his Stock Buggy win to be no fluke, taking down another TQ (Mark Burt) in the process. Due to a prior engagement, J Ro wasn’t able to attend the mains, handing the 4wd win to Ryan Eckert. TQ Ruona was absent from the 2wd mod main as well, allowing the field to battle it out for top honors. JR Mitch took the early lead, but bobbled and collected Wynn in the process. The resulting collision took both cars out of the race, enabling Trey Cook and Ryan Eckert to fight for the remaining 5+ minutes. Ryan was able to pass and hold off Trey in the closing stages to complete a double for the weekend. J82 wrapped up the main event program, with a the top 3 in Outlaw finishing just 8 seconds apart. J82 Stock was dominated by Tim Kowal throughout qualifying, and he completed the weekend with a convincing main even win.”
Products Used/Notable Happenings: The debut weekend of blue compound Bar Codes proved to be a huge success, producing some of the fastest runs of the weekend and set blistering laps in the process. JConcepts equipped drivers TQ’d 5 of the 7 classes and took home the hardware in 4 of the 7. The new format for the series brought some Nitro drivers out of “electric retirement” adding to the competition level. The J82 had a strong showing as far as entries and lap times, nearing that of 4wd mod. Obviously electric off-road is alive and well here in Florida, with the next SuperCup Round at Coral Spring sure to be big.