In this edition of the JConcepts Friday5 we talk to Oklahoma team driver, Tyler Keel!
1. When and how did you get started in RC? Was there a driver that you looked up to or a local hot shoe that mentored you?
I got started pretty young because my dad would always buy me the Radio Shack grade cars and I’d drive them until the wheels fell off. I got my first hobby grade car after seeing an RCCA magazine randomly. Found out there was a place local that raced them and was hooked day 1. I had a lot of help initially from David Alford and Billy Caldwell. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be where I am in the hobby today, and I still get to race with them nearly every weekend.
2. Dirt Oval has really grown in popularity over the past few years. In your opinion what is the main cause of this increase of left turn drivers?
Dirt Oval is much easier to get into for the average hobbyist. Conversion kits are relatively cheap and usually people have a 2wd buggy or an old SC laying around that needs new life. I think the fact that it’s left turns only is something that takes pressure of people hitting “the right setup” or picking “the right tire”. You generally just throw it down and punch it, people seem to enjoy the simpler form of racing. I also think scale realism (as close as we can get obviously) really allows people to connect their racing with the real thing, just like people did with SC trucks years back.
3. From your experience what is the easiest AND hardest maintenance task on your RC cars?
Easiest maintenance would be just keeping the car clean. A clean car performs so much better, just take 2-3 minutes after a race and get all the dirt/dust off of it. Hardest would have to be fit and finish (for me) because I’m a perfectionist, so anything that doesn’t look or feel right I have to take it all back apart and make sure it’s perfect. Making sure everything is free and not bound up so I know the car is working at it’s full potential.
4. In your opinion, when heading to the track what is the JConcepts product that is a must have on race day and why?
TIRES! The tread patterns and compounds that JConcepts offers are second to none and give us drivers so much of an advantage. If your tire package is good, you’re set.
5. You are obviously highly skilled when it comes to RC cars, but what is one skill or hidden talent that folks might be surprised to find out about you?
I don’t talk about it much because I stopped playing a handful of years back due to injury but I played high level baseball as a kid and eventually got a baseball scholarship out of high school. I pitched for 4 years at Bacone College in Muskogee, OK. We played in the toughest region in the NAIA and were over .500 all 4 years including a 2008 record of 41-14 and ranked as high as #15 nationally. I ended my career in college with a 4-1 record and a 3.75 ERA. I also received recognition as a NAIA Academic All-American in 2009.