The 2nd Annual Las Vegas Off-Road Carpet Championships was held over March 24th – 26th, 2017 at 702 Raceway. The event gathered many of the fast local drivers from around the area with a few big names in the industry such as AE/JConcepts’ Kody Numendahl, AE/JConcepts’ team manager Brent Thielke and as well as the Champlin Race team including Broc, Blake, and Chris Champlin. Also making the trip from Oregon was AE’s Travis Harker and Yokomo’s Brad Borneill adding to the level of talent at this year’s Carpet Championships.
The layout was a great mix of flat style road-racing turns along with technical off-road jumps that made for great racing and a lot of opportunities for drivers to pass by capitalizing on each other’s mistakes. The grip was high which also made car setup crucial to success.
Thanks to 702 R/C Raceway and Hobby for providing the photos for this write-up.
Novice
Sportsman 17.5 2wd Buggy
Expert 17.5 2wd Buggy
13.5 Stadium Truck
Showing great speed in the 13.5 Stadium Truck class was AE/JConcepts’ Blake Champlin. Blake would go on to take the overall along with the TQ by winning all 3 mains. Finishing 2nd on the podium was Beanie, who finished with a 2nd and 3rd. Lyle Parsons would find his way to 3rd on the podium, but also with a 2nd and 3rd, but would lose the tie-breaker to Beanie.
Sportsman SCT Modified
Expert SCT Modified
Sportsman 2wd Modified
40+ 2wd Modified
The 40+ 2wd Modified class saw the King of 40+, Brent Thielke, go head to head with AE/JConcepts’ own Chris Champlin. For a minute, it looked as if Chris going to dethrone Thielke in 40+ as he was able to win A1. Only awakening the beast, Brent Thielke came alive to win A2 and A3 to capture the overall and retain his title. Chris would finish 2nd and Oscar Spratley would finish 3rd in all three mains to lock up 3rd on the podium.
4wd Modified
Taking another class win from the 2017 Carpet Championship was AE/JConcepts’ Brent Thielke, but this time doing it in the highly contested 4wd modified class. With solid driving all weekend long, BT finished 2nd in A1 behind 4wd Reedy Open winner, AE/JConcepts’ Broc Champlin. Once again, BT would come alive and take his driving up a notch to win A2 and A3 and take the overall from young Broc, who was able to finish with a happy 2nd. Dj would round out the podium with three 3rd place finishes.
Expert 2wd Modified
In the 2wd Modified class, it was AE/JConcepts’ Kody Numedahl striking first by winning A1 over 1st place qualifier, Broc Champlin. The two drivers would push themselves and rise above the field in A2, but this time it was Champlin taking A2 and Numendahl 2nd. In exciting fashion, the overall was decided in A3 and from the tone, Champlin would lead from start to finish to claim the overall. Numendahl would finish 2nd and with Thielke making another appearance on the podium in 3rd.
