JConcepts puts on a show at the 2016 Summer Shootout held at the Gateway RC Club in Lake City Florida. With a newly revamped R/C off road racing complex in North Florida, the Gateway RC Club did an outstanding job doing a complete overhaul on this facility. In just under two weeks they were able to build a completely new driver stand, bring in 30 loads of fresh clay, Bobby Moore with Track Masters came in and put in a killer layout with some really good racing lines and on May 21st and 22nd drivers from all over the southeast emerged to do battle at the 2016 Summer Shootout.
With the threat of rain on Friday, the track officials opted to keep the track covered for the entire day. So with only about 2 hours of open practice late in the afternoon, most everyone just decided to call it a day and start fresh Saturday morning.
Saturday morning practice opened up and it was a mad dash to get what little track time you could, but it was shaping up to be a fantastic day of racing. With just over 150 entries, JConcepts drivers would set the early pace.
First up: Pro eBuggy Serpent/JConcepts driver Griffin Hanna would take the overall TQ in round 1 just edging out Mugen/JConcepts driver Cole Ogden by 1 second, Tekno/JConcepts driver John Bernard would finish 3rd for the round. For Round 2, Mugen/JConcepts driver John McGinty would take the overall TQ and in Round 3 JConcepts once again took the TQ spot with Griffin Hanna, John McGinty in second and Cole Ogden rounding out the top three. This would also be how they would sit on the grid for the double A Mains on Sunday.
Pro Nitro buggy was one of the most competitive classes with Mugen/JConcepts driver Cole Ogden dominating the class taking the overall TQ in round 1 and round 3 to secure the overall TQ. JConcepts would end up with 5 drivers in the top 10 with John McGinty starting 3rd, Griffin Hanna 4th, Jimbo Kvidera 6th, and Peyton McDonald 9th.
In the 40+ Nitro Buggy class, Team Associated/ JConcepts driver Jeff Keeton would TQ the second round of qualifying and Xray/JConcepts driver Aaron Sikes would finish 2nd.
Sunday with the weather looking good and everyone feeling fresh, it was set up to be some great racing. All Electric classes would run double A-Mains and the nitro classes would run 35-minute mains. The last race of the day would go to the top 10 drivers in the Pro Nitro Buggy A-Main where they would have a 10-minute Dash for Cash with $200.00 on line.
Pro eBuggy A1 had Mugen/JConcepts driver Cole Ogden checked out early and took the win by 12 seconds over fellow Mugen/JConcepts driver John McGinty. Serpent/JConcepts driver Griffin Hanna would finish 4th and Tekno/JConcepts driver John Bernard would end up 5th. A2 would be a really tight battle between Cole Ogden, John McGinty, and your TQ, Griffin Hanna. Hanna would jump out to an early lead followed by McGinty and Ogden and with a late mistake by Hanna, McGinty would take the win, Ogden would finish second and Hanna rounding out the top 3.
Pro eBuggy
1st Cole Ogden
2nd John McGinty
3rd Griffin Hanna (TQ)
Pro Nitro Buggy was no contest as Mugen/JConcepts driver Cole Ogden checked out and took the win by 3 laps over Eddy Cordoba and Mugen/JConcepts driver John McGinty would finish 3rd.
Pro Nitro Buggy
1st Cole Ogden (TQ)
2nd Eddy Cordoba
3rd John McGinty
40+ Nitro Buggy A-Main Team Associated/JConcepts driver Jeff Keeton would take the early lead and win the race by a lap on the field followed by JConcepts driver Aaron Sikes in 2nd.
40+ Nitro Buggy
1st Jeff Keeton
2nd Aaron Sikes
3rd Gene Hickerson
Nitro Buggy Dash for Cash was by far the best race of the day. With an inverted start the fastest drivers would have their hands full trying to make their way through traffic. However, it was the top three fastest drivers of the weekend that ended up putting on a show. After the 10 minute main, JConcepts once again swept the podium and Cole Ogden would take the win and $200.00 with John McGinty in 2nd and Griffin Hanna finishing 3rd.
Dash For Cash
1st Cole Ogden
2nd John McGinty
3rd Griffin Hanna
Thanks to the crew at Gateway RC Club for a great event and to all the hard work Brian Lewis, Lance MacDonald and their crew put into the track leading up to the event. We look forward to the next race at Gateway RC Club!
Thanks to Jeff Keeton for the photos and report