Friday5 With Team Driver Billy Hayden

In this edition of the JConcepts Friday5 we talk to California team driver, Billy Hayden!

1. When you first got into RC racing, what pro driver did you look up to and why? Or maybe there was a local/regional driver that you followed?

I always had a lot of respect for what the pros could do and how they could extract the most out of their equipment, but growing up in South-Western Pennsylvania my exposure to premier events was limited. The local racer I looked up to as I grew in the hobby was Matt Stoltz. Matt is responsible for getting me into RC racing and was always willing to go above and beyond to help me out. Conveniently, we graduated from the same school district (although 6 years apart) and lived in the same town which led to plenty of rides to the track before I had my driver’s license. Matt not only helped me grow in the hobby, but also grow in the field of engineering and design which has led me to where I am today. He was always pretty darn quick around the track as well!

2. If you had to guess where the 1/10 off-road electric scene is ten years from now, would you expect to see more dirt, carpet, or turf tracks and why?

I’d expect to see the current trend towards more “on-road” style carpet and turf tracks to continue. I don’t anticipate dirt and clay tracks disappearing all-together anytime soon though! There is still a lot of widespread interest and desire to run on good old fashioned dirt and clay. I’ve experienced having a carpet track and a dirt track as my home track over my years in racing, and there is definitely a place for both, but its hard to beat the convenience of a carpet or turf track.

3. In your opinion, what classes have you noticed that seem to be in a decline? And how would you try to resolve this so there is more participation?

I’ll stick to the 10th scale off-road side of things for this question. There seems to have been a steady decline in participation for the truck classes (Short Course and Stadium Truck) over the last five or so years. Now, I may be a bit controversial in saying that I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. We have new classes emerging that take place of these entry-level friendly classes such as 21.5 2wd buggy, or any form of sportsman/intermediate buggy classes at the club racing level of competition. These classes make the transition to the bread-and-butter classes such as Expert 17.5 2wd, Expert 13.5 4wd, and the Modified Buggy classes far easier than if you were to start with a 4wd Short Course truck.

4. In your opinion, when heading to the track what is the JConcepts product that is a must have on race day and why?

The obvious answer to this question is tires! You can’t get very far around the track without the right set of JConcepts rubber mounted up to your car. Aside from the obvious, a good set of setup tools is a must for optimum car performance come race day. The Aluminum Ride Height and Camber Gauges provide repeatable and precise setup checks before every run.

5. Name one thing people might be surprised to know about you.

Growing up in the greater Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) area, I played ice hockey and have spent a lot of time fishing for bass and trout on local streams, rivers, and lakes. RC racing may be a big part of my life now in California, but I still like to escape it all to be outdoors enjoying nature with close friends.