Friday5 With Team Driver Lee Conley Jr.

In this edition of the JConcepts Friday5 we talk to Illinois team driver, Lee Conley Jr.!

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?

When I started racing we didn’t have social media or even the internet so if you were not at the big races the only way to hear about other racers was RC Car Action Magazine LOL. I think we all followed and looked up to Brian Kinwald back then and I honestly feel Ryan Maifield has taken over that spot in today’s RC world, but outside of those legends my personal favorite pro driver was/is Matt Ledger. I still to this day believe if just a few things went differently back then, Matt would have ended up being a world champion. Matt definitely set the bar in our region for sure and did well on the national and world level. I always looked forward to seeing Kyle Reed, John Koonce and Al Horne race as well. All those guys were so helpful and just awesome to watch.

2. 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 feel that short course is on a decline which is odd because at one point the short course truck saved RC in my opinion. I feel some strict tire rules would help that class. So if a new guy or even an experienced racer wanted to race that class he would know he only had one option for a tire to help reduce the cost. I feel one spec option tire from each manufacturer would help any class as the tire game can be overwhelming for some, especially new guys.

3. If you have been racing for awhile, what would you say is the number one technology advancement in RC to date AND why?

The advances in technology in this hobby is absolutely astonishing. Imagine one of these young pro drivers being on say channel brown then qualifying 10th for the A Main at a JConcepts INS race and the top 9 were all on 27mhz and no other channels were available so he would have to borrow a 75mhz system from someone LOL! Oh by the way you have to turn that com on your motor before the main too. The speed of today’s servos is unbelievable. Give some of today’s pros a S148 steering servo and see how they like that LOL! Everything from batteries to tire foam has came a very long ways for sure. In all honesty it’s much easier today than it was when I started 39 years ago. Especially with the set up sheets and endless information available online.

4. To date what is your favorite JConcepts product of all time and why?

I know this is going to be a very unpopular answer because JConcepts has so many great products but the wheels and bodies are still my favorite (the white wheels only; not the slower yellow wheels). They are durable, look sharp and I like how the wheels come in a 4 pack. JConcepts is always coming out with products to help us, like the old tire Bro Codes for example, and now the Smoothie 2. Jason and the team never stop trying to make things better from tools to tires. JConcepts not only makes great products, but they have really helped keep the RC racing alive the last 15+ years. It would be hard to imagine what the hobby would look like without the JConcepts promotion side of things.

5. What other hobbies are you into besides RC cars?

For pretty much my whole life if I wasn’t racing RC cars I was racing full size cars. Dirt oval is what my grandpa and my dad both raced and I always helped my dad until I was old enough to race myself. The older I get the more I like to travel (especially to the Philippines) so I’ve really scaled back on the full size racing. I now sponsor a couple cars to stay involved.