This past weekend we kicked off the JConcepts Indoor National Series in Omaha, Nebraska! We went up to the HobbyTown Hobbyplex where the JConcepts Winter Indoor Nationals took place! This was the 1st race of the series. The HobbyTown Hobbyplex is a huge facility that features a giant hobby shop, carpet racing, off road racing, and rock crawling!
We set up on Thursday and went straight into practice Thursday evening. There was one round of seeding, 3 rounds of qualifying, and the main event! It was a snow filled weekend with negative temps but the racing was heated! The track featured an 8 pack along the back stretch, a quad in the middle, a long front straightaway, and a step up! All of the drivers really enjoyed the fun layout!
The tire choice of the weekend was gold Ellipse. For this track, the ideal tire situation was broken in treads. If you’re not familiar the Ellipse, it is a web style tire that is designed for smooth high grip tracks. The tire provides drivers with a lot of forward bite! The gold compound is a soft compound designed for indoor and outdoor clay tracks.
Qualifying (Best 2 of 3):
13.5 4wd Buggy: Kaden Fuller- TQ, Nate Sutherland-3
13.5 SCT: Stevie Slover- TQ, Tim Davis-5
13.5 Stadium Track: Kyle Holmberg- TQ, Alex Vanderbeek- 2
17.5 2wd Expert Buggy: Kaden Fuller-TQ, Kyle Gannon-3
2wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend- TQ, Tom Rinderknecht- 2, Ryan Maifield- 3, Blake Champlin-4
40+ 2wd Modified Buggy: Alex Sturgeon- TQ, Kyle Gannon-3, Mack Vanderbeek- 5
4wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend- TQ, Tom Rinderknecht- 2, Ryan Maifield- 3, Seth VanDalen- 4
Mini Truggy: Alex Sturgeon-TQ
Mains:
13.5 4wd Buggy: Kaden Fuller-1 , Nate Sutherland-2,
13.5 SCT: Stevie Slover-1
13.5 Stadium Truck: Alex Vanderbeek-TQ, Kyle Holmberg-2
17.5 2wd Expert Buggy: Kaden Fuller-1, Kyle Gannon-3, Kyle Holmberg- 5
2wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend-1, Ryan Maifield-2, Tom Rinderknecht- 4, Blake Champlin- 5
A1:
• All of the drivers made it through the grueling 8 pack without a problem right out of the gate.
• Rinderknecht was looking for a place to slide by Phend early on.
• Phend was trying to put space on Rinderknecht and Maifield who were battling behind him .
• Maifield was looking for a space to make a pass as he kept it on a tight inside line.
• Maifield moved up to the 2nd place spot.
• Champlin was creeping up on Maifield looking for a battle.
• Phend was still leading but Maifield wasn’t too far behind. Maifield was trying to make up time while playing defense with Champlin.
• Fuller and Rinderknecht were battling for that final 5th place position in the last few seconds of the race.
• Fuller sends it hoping to hit the loop right before Rinderknecht.
• The race finished with Phend in 1, Maifield in 2, Horne in 3, Champlin in 4, and Rinderknecht in 5.
A2:
• Early on in the race Phend was leading, Horne in 2nd, Rinderknecht in 3rd, Setser in 4th, and Champlin in 5th.
• Horne was trying to make up time on Phend, but Phend was still in the lead.
• Champlin and Setser were battling switching positions back and forth.
• Phend was playing defense, maintaining the lead and trying to keep Horne behind him.
• Phend and Horne were coming up on lap traffic, Phend had a small bobble allowing Horne to gain a little more time. They were close!
• Down to the wire Phend pushed it across the line!
• The race finished with Phend in 1st, Horne in 2nd, Rinderknecht in 3rd, Champlin in 4th, and Setser in 5th.
A3:
• This race was for the final podium spots as Phend had already secured the win.
• Maifield and Rinderknecht were battling early on for that 1st place spot.
• Maifield squeezed through a tight turn to move up into 1st place. Rinderknecht was still keeping on him in 2nd.
• Horne was on Rinderknecht’s tail, they were all so close.
• Champlin moves up into 2nd place after the top group had a little bobble.
• The top 3 with a minute to go were Maifield, Champlin, and Rinderknecht.
• Fuller and Horne were battling for the 3rd place spot, after Rinderknecht had a small bobble. But he still was in the fight!
• The race finished with Maifield in 1st, Fuller in 2nd, Rinderknecht in 3rd, Champlin in 4th and Maiorana in 5th.
40+ 2wd Modified Buggy: Mack Vanerbeek- 3, Alex Sturgeon-4, Ken Peterson-5
4wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend- TQ, Ryan Maifield-3, Seth VanDalen-4, Tom Rinderknecht-5
A1:
• Dakotah Phend started off leading.
• VanDalen and Horne were battling for that 3rd place spot.
• Horne began to close in on Rinderknecht who was currently in 2nd place.
• Fuller was moving up into the 4th place spot, meanwhile Horne and Rinderknecht were battling in the 2 and 3 spots.
• VanDalen battled with Fuller and made the pass into 4th place.
• Meanwhile, Dakotah had been leading the whole race.
• The race finished with Phend in 1st, Horne on 2nd, Rinderknecht in 3rd, Seth VanDalen in 4th, and Fuller in 5th.
A2:
• Early on Maifield squeezed by Rinderknecht into the 2nd place spot.
• Horne was making up time getting into the 3rd spot, rying to catch up to Maifield.
• Suddenly, VanDalen moved up into the 3 and Horne moved up into 2nd.
• There was a battle for 4th between Rinderknecht, Maifield, and Setser.
• Setser moved up into 4th place after that battle.
• Meanwhile Phend, Horne, and VanDalen were maintaining the top 3.
• Maifield and Champlin were on Setser’s tail trying to out jump him over the 8 pack.
• Champlin moved into that 4th spot, in the last 15 seconds Maifield moved into the 4th spot.
• The race finished Phend in 1st, Horne in 2nd, VanDalen in 3rd, and Maifield in 4th and Setser in 5th.
A3:
• This was the final race to determine the final 2 podium spots.
• Phend had already secured the win.
• Maifield took over the lead in the first 15 seconds of the race.
• VanDalen and Horne were battling for that 2nd spot.
• VanDalen was 0.2 behind Maifield, and then all the sudden Horne moved up into that 2 spot.
• Maifield was holding strong trying to pull away from Horne.
• Meanwhile Champlin was in 4th and Fuller in 5th.
• The race finished with Maifield in 1st, Horne in 2md, VanDalen in 3rd, Champlin in 4th, and Setser in 5th.
Mini Truggy: Alex Sturgeon- TQ
Overall, the team had a successful weekend and worked together! Congratulations to Dakotah Phend on a perfect weekend! He TQ all three rounds of qualifying in both 2wd & 4wd modified buggy as well as won all the mains! If you missed the races or simply want to re-watch them, go check out the livestream saved on our YouTube channel and Facebook page. Matt Olsen from MOD did a phenomenal job with the live race coverage complete with interviews and a moving camera to follow all the battles on the track. Next for the team is round 2 of the JConcepts Super Cup Series that will take place at SS Hobbies & Raceway. After that, we will be at Thunder Alley Raceway for the Dirt Nitro Challenge! We look forward to seeing everyone trackside soon!
