4th Annual JConcepts 1/8th Spring Nationals

JConcepts headed to Nebraska for the 4th annual JConcepts 1/8th Spring Nationals at the HobbyPlex in Omaha. The fabulous indoor track was once again filled with the Alex Sturgeon creation to challenge all drivers. The flowing fun layout was definitely busy to keep everyone on their toes, and going consistently fast with no mistakes would be a challenge. Naming the track with product placement was a nice addition, as Alex called the entire event from the booth repeatedly calling out the sponsors for each section.
The format was Friday practice. With heavy rain on Thursday night and Friday morning, being inside was awesome. More rain on Saturday followed by 3 rounds of qualifying, racing never missed a beat thanks to the HobbyPlex racing circuit. Sunday would be main day to cap off the event.

Getting into Saturday’s qualifiers there were many drivers on a quick pace to try to claim the TQ. In 1/8th Buggy, Nick Gibson would claim the first round with a sleeper run that no one noticed until the end when he sat on top. Taylor Timmerman would take the 2nd round, and Kendal Welch would take the 3rd . Three drivers, from three different states and they would be looking for tie breakers just to get a TQ. Nick Gibson would claim P1 in the 45 minute main event on Sunday with strong runs all day.

Kendal Welch would get his own TQ in the Pro 4 class battling with Josh Ford. The pair of JConcepts equipped trucks would have the front covered come Sunday.

Josh Ford not to be outdone would get the TQ in Nitro Truggy with his JC / Mugen. Josh would also be towards the front in E-Buggy, and be a very busy driver on Sunday with triple A’s in electric, and two 45 minute nitro mains would be on the drivers stand a total of 8 times with roughly 2 hours and 40 minutes of racing. Wow.

In the battle of the youngsters, 12 year old Jason Hills would get the TQ in E-Truggy with 2 wins.

First up is the E-Buggy, from the tone, Barry Pettit was looking to get in front of A1, and by the 3rd turn was in control. Barry started to distance himself throughout the main. One bobble, and his lead was gone as Jason Hills was laying down fast laps to move into position. Jason moved into the lead for a few laps, but Pettit would regain the lead, and hold on till the finish. A2 was the same, with Pettit moving into the front on the 1st lap, this time controlling the entire race to wrap up the overall win. Jason Hills would again move into 2nd, and hold it at races end. With Pettit out, A3 would decide the rest of the podium, the mid-pack starting position would collect Hills, and it was a new race up front. In the end it would be Barry Pettit with the overall win, Jason Hills in 2nd, and TQ Lars Johnson in 3rd.

In the E-Truggy battle of the youngsters, 12 year old Jason Hills drove wire to wire with his JConcepts equipped RC8T, followed by even younger Mason Fuller. Andrew Crocco would round out the podium.

Pro 4 would be a battle of Minnesota between TQ Kendal Welch, and Josh Ford. The two would battle throughout A1 with Welch holding on over Ford. In A2 Josh Ford would have a mechanical early on leaving Welch out front on cruise control. On the last lap Welch’s truck would roll to a stop, dropping him down the order, and forcing A3 to decide the class. In the final main, Kendal took over where he left off with the quick and consistent laps. Jason Hills, after a strong finish in A2 from the 5th starting position was moving up to 2nd place, and putting pressure on Welch. A small bobble from Hills, and Kendal kept his laps consistent to take the win with JConcepts Pressure Points, and the overall ahead of Jason Hills. Jason running Bar Codes, would podium in 3rd, behind Steve Folle in 2nd.

Truggy would have TQ Josh Ford with his JConcepts equipped Mugen in P1. At the tone, Josh was in control in the beginning of the race. After a few pit stops had cycled through, there was an issue with Josh’s truck, and young Seth VanDalen was putting pressure on Ford. After battling back and forth, Seth gained control of the lead. A length pit stop by Ford dropped him back in the field. VanDalen was running good laps in the front, and holding on to control of the race. Seth VanDalen would take the win, followed by Devin Mcgee, and Josh Ford would battle back with a hard drive to take the final podium spot.

The final 1/8th Buggy main would close the day. Nick Gibson would be at the front of the 12 car field, with many drivers looking to take the win. At the tone Nick put down the lap he needed to get control of the main. A bottle neck collected the field, and it took several laps to get the drivers squared away. Early in the main, Barry Pettit looked to be the strongest challenger being back as far as 10th place, and established himself in the 2nd position matching laps with Nick. After the first pit stops, trouble for Pettit would drop him out of the race, and Gibson was in a comfortable position laying down fast laps with no pressure. As the race unfolded, the faster cars moved their way to the front, and Kendal Welch was into the second spot keeping Gibson honest. Seth VanDalen moved himself into 3rd, with a battle with Josh Ford. Winding down on the clock, Gibson was trying to put Welch a lap down, but running identical lap times Kendal wasn’t having it. Ford was trying to get around the young VanDalen, but he was driving a good clean race, and holding his own. In the end, it was Nick Gibson with the win, Kendal Welch in 2nd. Seth VanDalen taking his second podium of the day in 3rd, followed by Josh Ford.

The 4th Annual JConcepts 1/8th Nationals were a picture perfect event. Nice weather inside, comfortable temperatures, a great race track. Prizes from the sponsors given out during the day on Sunday took up the gap between each main event to keep a quick day of racing for the ones with a long drive home. An awesome group of racers under the direction of the HobbyPlex’s Alex Sturgeon for a well run event. Awards and photos with Ms. Plex and the day was finished.

From JConcepts, thanks to the racers, families, and crew on hand for the great weekend of racing.

Winning Products:
3048-02 Hybrids Green compound
3045-02 Hybrids Elevated Truck Green compound
3049-02 Pressure Points Green compound SCT
3044-02 Bar Codes Green compound SCT
3302 Mono Wheel
3334 Elevated Truck Mono Wheel
3352 Hazard TLR Wheel
3344 Hazard AE Wheel
0120 Punisher Wing
0060-1 Punisher Truck body
0221 Mugen Eco body
0256 AE Silencer body
0222 Hi-Flow SCT body