Event: 2010 JConcepts Clash
Date: December 10-12 , 2010
Location: Hurricane R/C Club – Lutz, Florida
Ryan Maifield takes 4 classes, looks dominant at the 4th annual JConcepts Clash. 3Ds take things to a new dimension, Double Dees power the electric class. Joey Perez has the hot hand in the Sportsman Nitro classes.
The 4th Annual JConcepts Clash sponsored by Associated, O.S., Futaba, Cold Fusion, Kalgard, Elite Performance and Good Run Gear was an event to remember. With over 240 entries, the event simply known as the Clash is where “The Powers Explode,” combining the best of the electric and nitro classes on the same day Every year the Clash takes on a new identity with changing and flowing track layouts that put racers on point. Drivers who ace their vehicle set-up, tire choices and driving style adjustments rise to the top early and often at the Clash. Once again some of the nation’s finest drivers converged at the Hurricane R/C Park in Lutz, FL for a winner take all Cash at the Clash 2010 no holds barred event.
Day 1 qualifying – electric
With early morning, wet track conditions, electric started with JR Mitch putting down the fastest runs in 2wd and SCT Open. JR’s B4.1 and SC10 Factory Team were glued to the track with JConcepts Double Dees and held a very early edge in lap-times and speed. Dave Bowser, Daimon Borkowicz and Jader Lopez got things started off quickly in stock buggy, SCT and truck respectively with each getting a TQ in the first round. Paul Sinclair with the X-Factory X-60 took the top spot in Truck Open with a narrow margin over youngster Zack Genova, both running Double Dees. Coming all the way from Arizona, Tanner Denney placed his B44.1 out front in round 1 with a 12 lap run holding a 2 second advantage over Jason Ruona in 2nd. Steven Hartson, from California, running on the new Hybrid tires, took the top spot in round 1 in 1/8th E-buggy with Jason Ruona, running 3ds sitting just .4 of a second behind in 2nd position.
Round 2 saw some changes as Ryan Maifield took the top spot in 2wd Open with an ultra fast run of 11 / 5:01. Chris Cristo took command in the 2wd Stock class taking a TQ run over Jader Lopez. Mike Applegate took round 2 in Stock Truck putting in a solid 10/5:01. JR Mitch again shows the touch in Pro 2 Open SCT with another TQ run over Maifield. Truck Open saw Paul Sinclair again take TQ which meant he was guaranteed at least a top 2 qualifying position. 4wd Open saw Jason Ruona take over and TQ round 2 by 4 seconds over a charging Steven Hartson. Pro 2 Stock SCT saw 10 year old Daimon Borkowicz once again rise to the top, running Double Dees. Pro 4 Open was again dominated by Carl Lebo who now had 2 TQ runs. 1/8th E-buggy was a battle between Hartson and Ruona with Ruona coming out on top with a narrow 3 second faster TQ run.
Day 1 qualifying – nitro
Fresh off a fantastic showing at the Fall Brawl, Maifield consistently looked strong , and took his JConcepts equipped RC8b and RC8T-CE straight to the top of the field in 1/8th buggy and truggy expert. The Sportsman class was all Rick Bender in the buggy class and Joey “Batman” Perez in truggy.
Round 2 started with Maifield picking up where he left off from round 1 with a super quick 12 / 5:06. Testing the new Hybrid tire, Maifield was on rails taking TQ over JR Mitch by 7 seconds in 1/8th Expert buggy. Truggy was oh so similar with Maifield taking TQ again by 7 seconds over Jason
Smith. Sportsman buggy saw Matt Mehring take his XRay buggy to the top of the field with Billy England only 3 seconds behind in 2nd. Sportsman truggy was all Joey “Batman” Perez taking his 2nd consecutive TQ run of the day.
Day 2 qualifying – electric
After 2 rounds of the qualifying the Lake Park track surface had a serious visual groove, but without sunlight and higher temperatures the traction was not there yet so drivers scrambled to find traction. Ryan Maifield put his B4.1 on top of the field taking overall TQ in the 2wd open class with Double Dees all the way around. Maifield took round 3 and 4 in Pro 2 SCT with brilliant runs and the fastest overall time of the weekend in SCT in round 4. With a quicker overall combined time Maifield would sit atop Pro 2 SCT for qualifying. Utilizing the Double Dees combination front and rear, both Maifield and JR Mitch put down the best runs of the weekend in the 2wd classes for AE / JConcepts. Dave Bowser struck hard on day 2 in Pro 2 Stock SCT by taking TQ in round 3 and 4 taking overall TQ. Carl Lebo once again dominated in round 4 of Pro 4 Open with his fastest run of the weekend with 10/5:12.
Chris Cristo once again took his X-Factory X6 to the top spot in rounds 3 and 4 sewing up the TQ for the weekend. Jader Lopez found some consistency in Truck Stock class which brought him a 2nd and 3rd for the last 2 rounds and overall TQ. Zack Genova took round 3 and Leon McIntosh took round 4 in Truck Open but Paul Sinclair was never far behind and with his consistency took TQ. Jason Ruona locked-up TQ in 4wd open with a round 3 TQ and a 2nd in round 4. Steven Hartson emerged from the pack and took round 3 and 4 in 1/8th electric with a blistering run on a slightly sunny track surface in round 4 with 13/ 5:22.
Day 2 qualifying – nitro
Maifield dropped the hammer on Day 2 with amazing runs all day in 1/8th Buggy and Truggy Expert. Putting TQ out of reach in round 3 Ryan Maifield went 12/5:00 nearly missing the first 13 lapper of the weekend. Billy Easton also went quick taking 2nd for the round with JR Mitch taking 3rd. In 1/8th Truggy Expert Maifield again rose to the top of the field improving his finishing time once again sewing up another TQ. Joey “Batman” Perez shifted into another gear in round 3 with an 11/5:11 taking his first TQ of the weekend in Sportsman buggy. Perez looking to go perfect on Day 2 took round 3 of Sportsman Truggy with 11/5:03. Pete “The Greek” finished 2nd in the round substantially improving his positioning heading into round 4.
Round 4 saw Maifield looking to lay down the fastest run of the weekend with the RC8b glued to the track with JConcepts new 3Ds. Maifield put on a clinic taking a blistering TQ of 13/5:20. Finishing in 2nd was Andrew Smolnik with Billy Easton in 3rd. Round 4 in 1/8th Expert Truggy was the JR Mitch show laying down a quick 12/5:12, his best run of the weekend in Truggy. The man simply known around Florida as “Batman” was on a roll, finishing off a perfect day by TQing round 4 in Sportsman buggy and Truggy.
Day 3 Mains / Wrap-up –
Sunday morning began with warmer temperatures and sunny weather which opened the mood in the pits with drivers getting ready for B and A mains. Kenny Holmes had the B-mains rocking with 20 minute races and drivers bumping up into the A-mains. With about 5 minutes left in the Expert buggy B-main the weather started to roll in. Finishing off the B-main was a little wet and as the rains continued to fall racers battled for the bump positions. As the rain continued to fall, racers scrambled for cover. After continued rain, the race management crew and the Hurricane track crew agreed that the track was too damaged to continue. Quick math made the decision easy, it was impossible to prepare the track and race both electric and nitro during the day-light hours.
The top 10 were given their awards with the winners also receiving over $2000 in combined cash payout. Big winners, Ryan Maifield, Joey “Batman” Perez, Steven Hartson, Paul Sinclair, Dave Bowser, Jader Lopez and Carl Lebo posed with their well deserved earnings in the awards presentation.
A special thank you goes out to the Hurricane R/C Club, Kenny “Scarecrow” Holmes and the participating racers on another successful Clash event.
Top 3 results based on qualifying:
2wd Stock –
1st – Chris Cristo
2nd – Jader Lopez
3rd – Dave Bowser
Truck Stock –
1st – Jader Lopez
2nd – Mike Applegate
3rd – Chris Cristo
2wd Open –
1st – Ryan Maifield
2nd – JR Mitch
3rd – Jason Ruona
Truck Open –
1st – Paul Sinclair
2nd – Zack Genova
3rd – Leon McIntosh
4wd Open –
1st – Jason Ruona
2nd – Steven Hartson
3rd – Tanner Denney
Pro 2 Stock –
1st – Dave Bowser
2nd – Daimon Borkowicz
3rd – Dave Duncan
Pro 2 Open –
1st – Ryan Maifield
2nd – JR Mitch
3rd – Brian Kinwald
Pro 4 Open –
1st – Carl Lebo
2nd – Rick Bender
3rd – Mark Valeo
1/8th E-buggy –
1st – Steven Hartson
2nd – Jason Ruona
3rd – Kai Goff
1/8th Buggy Expert –
1st – Ryan Maifield
2nd – Billy Easton
3rd – Andrew Smolnik
1/8th Buggy Sportsman –
1st – Joey “Batman” Perez
2nd – Matt Mehring
3rd – Billy England
1/8th Truck Expert –
1st – Ryan Maifield
2nd – JR Mitch
3rd – Jason Smith
1/8th Truck Sportsman –
1st – Joey “Batman” Perez
2nd – Walter Cruz
3rd – David Warr