Race Team Update – August 2022 Week #3

The third week of August was another successful one for the JConcepts race team! We took several wins and stacked the podium at several events this past weekend which you can read all about in this week’s Race Team Update!

We start this week’s report in Omaha, NE where the HobbyTown USA HobbyPlex (The Plex) is located. This past weekend was Round 4 of their Summer Series which saw nearly 180 entries! The JConcepts team was out in full force at this event so let’s see how they finished up starting with team driver Brandon Kearney. He competed in both the Mod 2wd and 4wd Buggy classes and would lock up 9th overall in 2wd and 7th place in 4wd! His cars used the following JC products:

• Smoothie 2 tires
• Silver compound Ellipse tires
• Lightweight F2 bodies
• Carpet | Astro High-Clearance 7″ Rear Wing
• Mono wheels

Photo credit: MLP racing

Team driver Ethan Delair also competed in these same two classes and qualified 5th in Mod 2wd Buggy and set the TQ in Mod 4wd Buggy! In the mains he would finish 4th in Mod 2wd and in Mod 4wd he has some bad luck as an electronics issue gave a DNF for the main event. But his cars were running fast all weekend and they both used Silver compound Smoothie 2 tires, Carpet | Astro High-Clearance 7″ Rear Wings, Lightweight F2 bodies and Mono wheels!

Fellow team driver Drew Rubenking also competed in these classes and finished 2nd in Mod 4wd Buggy and took the TQ and W in Mod 2wd Buggy! Both vehicles used Silver compound Ellipses sanded to slicks, and joining him on the Mod 2wd Buggy podium were fellow JC drivers Alex Vanderbeek in 2nd and Mason Herrick in 3rd to complete JConcepts podium sweep!

Mason also finished 3rd in Mod 4wd Buggy and both vehicles used a F2 shell, Carpet | Astro High-Clearance 7″ Rear Wings and Silver compound Smoothie 2 tires!

His JC mate Riley Filbert let us know that he finished 8th in Mod 2wd Buggy and took the TQ and win in the Expert 17.5 2wd Buggy class! The win also gave him the series title in the 17.5 class and for this recent round he used Silver compound Ellipses sanded to slicks, Mono wheels, a Pre-Trimmed Carpet | Turf | Dirt, 6.5″ Wing and F2 bodies. Joining him on the Expert podium in 3rd place was his JC teammate Ken Peterson!

Team driver David Fast reports that he finished 10th overall in the 40+ Mod 2wd Buggy class and 7th in 13.5 Stadium Truck! His buggy used Silver compound Smoothie 2 tires while his truck utilized Silver compound Ellipses.

Team driver, and Plex race director, Alex Sturgeon also competed in two different classes this past round. He competed in both the 40+ Mod 2wd and 13.5 4wd Buggy classes and took the TQ and win in both of them! He also used Silver compound Smoothie 2 tires on all of his vehicles.

JC driver Bradley Peterson competed in both the Expert 17.5 2wd and 13.5 4wd Buggy classes at this recent round. In 2wd he would just miss out on the podium as he finished 4th and in the 4wd class he locked up 2nd place! Both cars used F2 lids, Carpet | Astro High-Clearance 6.5″ Rear Wings and sanded down Gold compound Ellipses.

Moving north we head to the Dakota Slidewayz RC Club in Aberdeen, SD and catch up with team driver Joe Zaier Jr. This past weekend he visited this track for their County Fair race event, and he competed in the 1/8 Nitro Buggy class. He would break his car in the finals but was still able to limp across the line to finish 2nd overall while using Blue compound Reflex tires!

Heading east we now venture over to LSRCC (Lake Superior R/C Car Club) in Proctor, MN. This past weekend they hosted Round 4 of the MNRC Series which yielded 167 entries! Team driver Josh Ford competed in both the 1/8 Nitro Buggy and Truggy classes and would take the win in both while using Aqua compound Reflex tires, Bullet wheels, a S15 shell on his buggy and a F2 truck body on his truggy! Joining him on the podium in 2nd place was fellow JConcepts driver Kyle Holmberg!

Continuing even further east we splash down in Gobles, MI where M-40 Raceway RC Track is located. This past weekend they held Round 5 of their Summer points series and team driver Kyle Munson competed in the Pro4 SCT and 1/8 Electric Buggy classes. He would finish 2nd in e buggy and took the TQ and win in Pro4! His bug used Magma tires in the Yellow compound while his truck used a HF2 body, Blue compound Choppers and Hazard rims.

Next, we make a diagonal back to Taylor Park RC Raceway in Yukon, OK for our next report. JC driver Tyler Keel recently competed there for their points series and set the TQ and took the win in the Sprint class while using Green compound Dirt Webs and Ellipses stuffed with Dirt-Tech inserts!

Shooting down to Texas we catch up with JConcepts driver Billy DiCorte Jr. for our next update. He recently went to Thornhill Racing Circuit in Hutto to compete at Round 6 of their championship series in both the 1/8 Electric Buggy and Truggy classes. He would finish 10th in e buggy after some mechanical issues in qualifying, while in the truggy class he would finish in 1st place! His buggy used a Silencer shell, F2I wing and Blue compound Detox tires mounted to Bullet wheels. His winning truggy used a F2 truck body, F2I wing and Blue compound Reflex tires mounted to Bullet rims.

Heading out west we now visit Overlook Raceway in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Recently the Northern New Mexico Remote Control Car Club held the next session of the Border Wars at this location, and team driver Tony Hinojosa was there to compete in two different classes. After the event had completed he would finish 11th in 1/8 Electric Buggy and in the 1/8 Electric Truggy class he would lock up the final podium spot! For this event he started with Green compound Triple Dees before switching over to Blue compound Reflex tires after the temperature increased and the track started to groove up.

Now we fly out to sunny Bakersfield, CA for our next update. Team driver Rob Moots recently raced at Rain-Man’s Hobby and Raceway for the West Coast Dirt Oval Nationals. He competed in both the Mod and 13.5 Sprint classes and finished 3rd in 13.5 and 2nd in the Mod class! He used Smoothie 2 rubber packed with RM2 2.2″ Hard Inserts and Inner Sidewall Support Adaptors.

Our final report comes to us courtesy of Australian team driver Ben Panic. He recently traveled to Sydney to compete at a recent points series put on by the Illawarra Remote Control Off-Road Car Club. He would compete in the Pro 1/8 Nitro Buggy class and after 30 minutes had expired he would lock up 3rd place! For the event he tried Kosmos, Reflex and ReHab tires, but for the finals he went with Blue compound Rehabs.