This year we added a couple of new facilities to the JConcepts Indoor Nationals Series. One of those tracks is Adrenaline RC Raceway in Winchester, Virginia. When you first arrive you’ll notice the main hobby shop building. As you enter through the front door you’re greeted with the retail space and indoor pit area. The shop is clean, each pit space has plenty of outlets and they have ammo boxes to charge your batteries in. When you walk out the side door, you naturally find yourself heading toward the track building. The track is covered by a large dome, to ensure racing in all weather conditions. They have a tire wash station, air compressor, additional pitting in the container under the driver’s stand, a misting system, and more. Outside of their shop they also have a large rock crawling course, a large bashing area, and a drag strip. Check out this 3d Tour of their facility!
The track is on the larger side for a 1:10 scale track and on the smaller side for a 1:8 scale track. The dirt is red clay and traditionally drivers have used Green or Silver Ellipses. We started off on green treaded tires. Either Dirt Web Fronts and Ellipse rears or Ellipse all the way around in the green compound. There was practice 2pm-8pm on Thursday and 8am-3:45pm on Friday. When it came time for seeding a driver tried slicks, and the rest was history. As soon as the blowers started coming out after each run (seeding) we switched to silver compound slicks. Either Smoothie 2.0s or Ellipse’s sanded to slicks would work. The tire wear was extremely low so you could run a set of slicks through seeding, qualifying, and the mains. The groove was set in enough that silver slicks became the faster tire choice. Most drivers used standard inserts, and FDJ green sauce was the sauce of choice. A little bit of extra work with a foam buster on the rear foams did help but was by no means required. For next year, bringing a set of Green Ellipse as well as either Silver Ellipse or Smoothie 2.0s is recommended to cover all of the conditions.
Seeding:
2wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (2), Cole Tollard (3), Lee Setser (4)
4wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Cole Tollard (2), Lee Setser (5)
17.5 Expert 2wd Buggy: Talon Henley (2), Tyler Hooks (3), Nick Reppen (5)
13.5 Expert 4wd Buggy: Tyler Hooks (2), Jacob Hardison (3), Alex Sturgeon (4)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Emerson Sturgeon (1), Will Brinton (2), Tommy Smith (3), Nick Reppen (4), Ben Ellis (5)
40+ 2wd Modified Buggy: Alex Sturgeon (1), Jason Ruona (2), Tommy Smith (3)
13.5 2wd Short Course: Dylan Saville (1)
Qualifying (Best 2 of 3):
13.5 2wd Short Course: Dylan Saville (TQ)
2wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (TQ), Cole Tollard (2), Lee Setser (3)
4wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (TQ), Cole Tollard (2), Lee Setser (4)
13.5 Expert 4wd Buggy: Jacob Hardison (2), Tyler Hooks (3), Alex Sturgeon (5)
17.5 Expert 2wd Buggy: Tyler Hooks (2), Nick Reppen (3), Talon Henley (4), Ben Ellis (5)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Emerson Sturgeon (TQ), Will Brinton (2), Ben Ellis (3), Tommy Smith (4), Nick Reppen (5)
40+ 2wd Buggy: Alex Sturgeon (TQ), Tommy Smith (2), Jason Ruona (3), Rich Clark (5)
Final Results:
2wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Cole Tollard (2), Lee Setser (3)
A1: Dakotah Phend led the way after being the Top Qualifier. Tollard was sitting 2nd trying to follow Phend closely. He didn’t want Phend to getaway. On the second lap, Tollard and Setser got it wrong as they went through that center rhythm chicane. Setser got the worst of it and fell down the leaderboard. Tollard continued his pursuit of Phend. Aaron Kothman was hanging out in 3rd trying to catch up to Tollard. Setser started making his way back up into 4th. Phend was checking out. Meanwhile, the battle was between Kothman and Setser for the 3rd. Setser got caught on the pipe and Kothman got away. Ultimately, the final battle came down to Setser and Evans who took it to the line for 4th. At first, it was unclear who took that position as they got into each other. Ultimately, the race would finish as Phend in 1st, Tollard in 2nd, Kothman in 3rd, and Setser in 4th.
A2: Phend was looking to check out and wrap it up in this A2 race. He tried to pull away as quickly as he could. Tollard was following his lead also trying to pull away from Setser and Evans. Once again, those two were battling for that final podium spot. Setser made up some time and found himself on Tollard’s bumper for 2nd. No one was safe though with Kothman making his way up to the fight from 4th. Setser got caught on the wagon wheel pipe. Kothman moved into 3rd. Evans was back in the fight, Kothman got a little squirrely through the rhythm section, and Evans was now in 3rd. Tollard was holding strong for that 2nd place finish. Phend was able to check out and take another win which locked in the overall! Tollard took 2nd and Evans finished 3rd.
A3: The final race would dictate who would take those remaining two podium spots. Tollard led the way with Setser and Evans behind him. It was an Associated freight train but Tollard was looking to pull away. Evans made the pass into 2nd, but Setser was in the fight to take it back. Evans fell back, Setesr was in 2nd, and Kothman was too close for comfort. Caught on the pipe, and Kothman got stuck on Setser but the two got out of it with Kothman in 2nd. Quickly after Setser took back his 2nd place spot. Meanwhile, Tollard was gone! They were on the final lap, Kothman was trying to squeeze by Setser in any opportunity he could find. Setser was able to pull away down the front straight and lock in 2nd for the round.
17.5 Expert 2wd Buggy: Talon Henley (2), Tyler Hooks (3)
4wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Lee Setser (3)
A1: Dakotah Phend led the way with Tollard in 2nd, Evans in 3rd, and Setser in 4th. They remained in their starting positions for the first several laps. Tollard got it wrong over the center table top which allowed Evans and Setser to get by into 2nd and 3rd. Kothman and Tollard moved into 3rd and 4th. Evans got caught in the center double-double which allowed Kothman and Tollard to move up into 2nd and 3rd. Setser shortly after moved into 4th. Meanwhile, Tollard and Kothman came over that front double less than a second apart from each other. Tollard is trying to hang on to that 2nd place position he took over. He was able to hang on for that final lap! The race concluded with Phend in 1st, Tollard in 2nd, Kothman in 3rd, and Setser in 4th.
A2: Phend was hoping to lock it up one more time and this time in A2 of 4wd Modified Buggy. Into the first lap, Tollard got caught on that dreaded chicane pipe before the front double. Evans and Setser got by into 2nd and 3rd. Halfway into the race, Evans got caught up in the same place which allowed Setser to get right on his wing and in the battle for 2nd. The race finished as such, Phend in 1st for the early win, Evans in 2nd, and Setser in 3rd.
A3: Once again, these drivers would be battling for that final podium spot. Tollard tried to make a push for it but so did the rest of the pack. Evans was all over Tollard’s rear bumper and Setser wasn’t far behind. The three of them were moving in a perfect line around the track. Evans made his way up to the lead, and Tollard fell back to 2nd. Setser and Tollard engaged in the ultimate battle for the final 60 seconds. Setser went for the pass before the front double, bumped Tollard, and got by for 2nd. Tollard wasn’t going to let him take it that easily. Tollard was all over the back bumper of Setser. Through the back double-double, Tollard bumped Setser, but it wasn’t enough to get by. The battle continued to the final tone. Evans took the win, Setser took 2nd, and Tollard finished 3rd.
13.5 Expert 4wd Buggy: Jacob Hardison (2), Tyler Hooks (3)
40+ 2wd Buggy: Alex Sturgeon (1), Jason Ruona (2), Tommy Smith (3)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Will Brinton (1), Talon Henley (2), Emerson Sturgeon (3)
13.5 Short Course: Dylan Saville (1), Joe Eastridge (3)
Overall, we had a beautiful weekend at the JConcepts Spring Indoor Nationals! The weather was gorgeous, the program went smooth, and the team celebrated some victories! A huge thank you to Seth, Amy, and Jacob Hardison for hosting us at their track! Thank you to MOD Media for the live coverage and all of our series sponsors! We look forward to seeing everyone at the next one in Omaha Nebraska the Hobbytown Hobbyplex! The dates for that event are July 8-10, 2022.
Winning Products:
Smoothie 2s
Green or Silver Ellipse
Dirt-Tech Inserts
Mono Wheels
P2 Body
F2 Body
7 in. Carpet|Turf Wing
Hazard Wheels
Medium Glue
