This past weekend the team attended one of the oldest races in the country. It was the 34th annual CRCRC Midwest Championships at the Ohio RC Factory. A race that started in 1987 still attracts some of the fastest drivers in the country. The track is located in the rural town of Jeffersonville, Ohio about one hour outside of the state’s capitol. The track has a pretty solid setup between, a spacious pit area, a hobby shop, a concession stand, and a dedicated tire sanding station. The team arrived and set up on Wednesday to start their first day of practice and maximize their track time. Thursday we moved into controlled practice and seeding. To round off the weekend we had qualifying Friday and Saturday and finished with the main events on Sunday.
The tire choice of the weekend for all vehicles was the Silver Ellipse. Drivers were sanding them down and using tire sauce to achieve the perfect amount of grip. If you’re not familiar, the ellipse is a web style tire that was designed specifically for high grip indoor and outdoor tracks. It provides massive surface area and allows drivers to experience smoother steering. Silver is the super soft clay compound ideal for a fresh slippery indoor surface.
Seeding:
40+ 2wd Buggy: Brian Dunbar (1) Troy Weber (3)
4wd Mod SCT: Seth VanDalen (1)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Kyle Holmberg (2) Justin Green (8)
Mod 2wd Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Seth VanDalen (2), Cole Tollard (4), Lee Setser (6), Spencer Rivkin (8), Austin Wick (10)
17.5 2wd Buggy: Matthew Gonzales (1), Aj Marasco (2), Doug Larivieve (5), Brandon Marsh (10)
13.5 SCT: Russ Bryant (2), Jeff Todd (7)
Modified Stadium Truck: Dakotah Phend (1), Cole Tollard (4), Spencer Rivkin (5)
Mod 4wd Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Tom Rinderknecht (3), Lee Setter (4), Cole Tollard (5), Blake Champlin (6), Spencer Rivkin (7)
13.5 4wd Buggy: Matthew Gonzales (2), Kyle Holmberg (5), Doug Larivieve (7), Logan Wendling (10)
Qual Points (Best 2 of 4):
40+ 2wd Buggy: Brian Dunbar (1), Troy Weber (4)
4wd Mod SCT: Seth VanDalen (1)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Kyle Holmberg (2), Justin Green (3)
Mod 2wd Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Spencer Rivkin (3), Cole Tollard (4), Blake Champlin (5), Seth VanDalen (7), Tom Rinderknecht (8), Austin Wick (9)
17.5 2wd Buggy: Matthew Gonzales (1), Brandon Marsh (2), Aj Marasco (4), Doug Larivieve (6)
13.5 SCT: Russ Bryant (1), Jeff Todd (8)
Modified Stadium Truck: Dakotah Phend (1), Cole Tollard (3), Spencer Rivkin (5), Jason Grimes (10)
Mod 4wd Buggy: Tom Rinderknecht (1), Dakotah Phend (2), Spencer Rivking (3), Cole Tollard (5), Seth VanDalen (7)
13.5 4wd Buggy: Matthew Gonzales (1), Doug Larivieve (5), AJ Marasco (8), Kyle Holmberg (9)
Mains:
40+ 2wd Buggy: Brian Dunbar (1), Troy Weber (5), Jason Grimes (10)
Mod 4wd SCT: Seth VanDalen (1)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Kyle Holmberg (1), Justin Green (4), Colin Miles (8)
2wd Mod Buggy: Spencer Rivkin (1), Dakotah Phend (3), Cole Tollard (4), Tom Rinderknecht (6), Blake Champli (7), Seth VanDalen (9), Austin Wick (10)
A1:
Dakotah Phend started in that first position after being the top qualifier.
Rivkin made a pass on Phend about 3 minutes into the race.
They were battling for that first position.
Cole Tollard was in the 3rd position hanging on to Phend and Rivkin.
The gap between Rivkin and Phend lengthened with 1 minute to go.
Phend was catching up to Rivkin, they were drag racing down the front straight away when they got too close together and Phend got the worst of it.
Phend still was hanging on and hunting down Rivkin for that first place position.
The race finished off Rivkin (1), Phend (2), Tollard (3) as the top three.
A2:
Phend started off leading the race with Stoub behind him and Rivkin rounding off your top 3.
A small bobble occurred with the top 3 drivers after they went over the triple. Stoub, Rivkin, and Phend were the new top 3.
They were all running close together, Phend and Rivkin battling hard for that second place position.
Phend caught up to Stoub and was all over his back end with 1:30 left in the race.
Phend had a small traction roll allowing Rivkin to get into that second place spot. But it was still a close battle between the top 3.
Tollard was able to slip into that 3rd place position with less than a minute left.
A2 finished with Stoub (1), Rivkin (2), Tollard (3) as your top 3.
A3:
1 minute into the race Stoub, Rivkin, and Horne surged into the top 3 positions.
Rivkin was able to make a pass on Horne and Stoub recovered that first place spot.
Phend chased down Stoub and made a clean pass. He took over that 3rd place spot.
It was a battle between Stoub, Phend, and Horne for 2nd and 3rd place.
They were all neck and neck with 15 seconds left. It was literally anyone’s race.
A3 finished with Rivkin (1), Horne (2), Stoub (3) as the top 3.
The fastest lap of all three A-Mains was 17.02 set by Spencer Rivkin.
17.5 2wd Buggy: Matthew Gonzales (1), AJ Marasco (2), Doug Larivieve (3), Brandon Marsh (4)
13.5 SCT: Russ Bryant (1), Jeff Todd (8)
Modified Stadium Truck: Dakotah Phend (1), Cole Tollard (2), Spencer Rivkin (5), Jason Grimes (10)
Mod 4wd Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Spencer Rivkin (2), Tom Rinderknecht (3), Cole Tollard (6), Seth VanDalen (10)
A1:
Tom Rinderknecht started in lead after having 4 great rounds of qualifying.
Phend and Rivkin were right on Rinderknecht’s wing battling straight from the beginning.
After a small bobble from Rinderknecht, Rivkin and Phend slid out in front.
Quickly after that, the top 3 became Phend, Rinderknecht, and Tollard.
Horne snuck up into that 3rd place spot.
The track was not making it easy for anyone but everyone was driving their hearts out.
Rivkin chased down the top 3 drivers and took over the 2nd place position.
The race ended with Phend (1), Rivkin (2), and Tollard (3) as your top 3.
A2:
The first 2 minutes of the race Rinderknecht, Phend, and Rivkin held the top 3 positions and were tightly knit together.
Phend was looking for a hole to make a clean pass on Rinderknecht. After going over the back stretch Phend made a pass on Rinderknecht taking over the race line.
Rivkin was able to make a pass on Rinderknecht taking that 2nd place spot.
Rinderknecht was driving hard to take back his position.
A2 finished with Phend (1), Rivkin (2), Rinderknecht (3) as your top 3.
A3:
Phend had already secured the overall win. A3 would determine who got the final two podium spots.
30 seconds into the race the top 3 were Rinderknecht, Rivkin, and Evans.
Tollard was able to get into that 3rd place spot and begin to chase down Rivkin. Cavalieri was on Tollard’s tail applying pressure.
Horne and Cavalieri were battling hard as they moved into the 3rd and 4th place positions.
With a minute left in the race Cavalieri moved up further into the 2nd place spot.
The race finished with Rindeknecht (1), Horne (2), Cavalieri (3) as your top 3.
The fastest lap of all three A-Mains was 16.62 set by Dreighton Stoub.
13.5 4wd Buggy: Matthew Gonzales (1), Aj Marasco (6), Kyle Holmberg (7), Doug Larivieve (8)
Overall, it was a weekend filled with phenomenal results from the team as they drove hard to earn their spots on the podium! Everyone had a good time, raced hard, and worked together. As we say goodbye to Ohio for now, we will see you in Alabama this weekend for the Southern Indoor Championship Race!
Winning Products:
Ellipses
Mono Wheels
Carpet Astro High-Clearance 7” Rear Wing
B6.2 Front Wing
Carpet Astro High-Clearance Rear Wing
S2 Body
F2 Body
Finnisher Truck Body
Silverado SCT Body