This past weekend we hit stop number 2 along the JConcepts Indoor National Series, aka INS Tour! We returned to the Hobbytown Hobbyplex in Omaha, Nebraska, for the Summer Edition of the INS13! We were stoked to have an essentially sold-out show this weekend with nearly 300 entries! Due to the high entry count, we opted to run 1 round of qualifying on Friday Night and the other 2 on Saturday.
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If you’re not familiar, the Hobbytown Hobbyplex is a massive facility with one of the most impressive hobby shops we’ve ever seen! When you first enter the facility, you’re inundated with a large inventory of hobby items with everything from RC racing to airplanes to Gundam. When you go downstairs you come upon the pit area and carpet track! There is not a lack of pit space as everyone will have plenty of space to wrench and hang out. They also host carpet on-road and carpet off-road on the track that’s located there as well. From there, you can make your way into the next building ( which is basically connected to the main building) to head out to the dirt track. This is where we raced this weekend. They race 1:10 scale and 1:8 off-road here, along with Dirt Oval. Right now, they are in their 1/10th scale season, so the track was specifically designed for that. In the winter, they will gear their program to 1/8th scale. Another note is that they also have full-size and mini rock crawling courses on the property!
This weekend we started off running silver Smoothie 2s. Historically, we’ve run gold Ellipses, to start, but this year they implemented a new system to blow off the track in between heats. Silver Smoothie 2s with a little bit of sauce were the ticket this weekend. Of course, they were paired with JConcepts Mono Wheels and Dirt-Tech Inserts. Some drivers also experimented with running the hard RM2 foam in the rear.
Qualifying (Best 2 of 3):
13.5 4wd Buggy: Doug Lariviere (TQ), Tyler Hooks (4)
13.5 SCT: Doug Lariviere (2), Brenden Edwards (3), Sam Ford (4)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Emerson Sturgeon (TQ), Owen Vanderbeek (2), Matt Olson (3), Brenden Edwards (4)
17.5 2wd Buggy: Doug Lariviere (TQ), Riley Filbert (3)
40+ 2wd Mod Buggy: Alex Sturgeon (TQ), Allen Horne (2), David Alberico (3), Mack Vanderbeek (4), Chad Karstens (5)
2wd Modified Buggy: Dustin Evans (TQ), Broc Champlin (2), Tom Rinderknecht (4)
4wd Modified Buggy: Broc Champlin (TQ), Dustin Evans (3), Tom Rinderknecht (5)
Final Results:
13.5 4wd Buggy: Doug Lariviere (1), Tyler Hooks (2), Alex Sturgeon (5)
13.5 SCT: Doug Lariviere (2), Brenden Edwards (3), Sam Ford (4)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Owen Vanderbeek (1), TJ Williams (2), Brenden Edwards (3), Talon Henley (4), Daniel Bender (5)
17.5 2wd Buggy: Doug Lariviere (1), Riley Filbert (4), Emerson Sturgeon (5)
40+ 2wd Buggy: Allen Horne (1), Alex Sturgeon (2), David Alberico (3), Chad Karstens (4)
2wd Modified Buggy: Broc Champlin (1), Dustin Evans (2), Tom Rinderknecht (4)
A1: Dustin Evans started on the pole position after taking the overall TQ. Broc Champlin started behind him in 2nd and Aydin Horne in 3rd. The tone went off, and Evans was on the move. Champlin was right there trying to match his pace. Horne made a mistake on lap 4, which allowed Rinderknecht to move up to 3rd. On lap 12, Evans was sending it through the rumble section when his car bobbled over, and Champlin got around into the lead with three laps to go. Champlin held on to the lead for the remainder of the race. The race concluded as Champlin, Evans, and Rinderkencht.
A2: Evans started to create some space early on in the race to pull away from the main pack. On lap three, he caught a little too much traction in the corner before the big triple-double section. Champlin got by into the lead. Horne and Rinderknecht moved up into 2nd and 3rd. The battle for third was tight near the end of the race. At one point, Rinderknecht was in 3rd, and then Cavalieri, and then Setser. When it was all set and done, Cavalieri took 3rd for the round. The race concluded as Champlin, Horne, and Cavalieri.
A3: Champlin wrapped up the win early after taking A1 and A2! Evans started on the pole position and led the race tone to tone. Horne stayed in 2nd the entire race, and Rinderknecht ran in 3rd. It was a quiet race up front, with little action. There were some mix-ups in the middle of the race, but towards the end, most drivers were cruising in their respective positions. The race concluded as Evans, Horne, and Rinderknecht.
4wd Modified Buggy: Broc Champlin (2), Dustin Evans (3), Tom Rinderknecht (5)
A1: Broc Champlin took the TQ in 4wd Modified Buggy and started first on the grid. Aydin Horne, who had been highly competitive in qualifying, started 2nd and Dustin Evans started 3rd. The tone went off, and they were grooving through the first S-Turn. On the first lap, Champling got caught in the pipe early on, which gave Horne and Evans an advantage to move up into 1st and 2nd. Horne took the opportunity and ran for the remainder of the race. Evans and Champlin were in the battle for 2nd. For 6 Laps, Evans was playing defense holding his lines, and now allowing Champlin to pass. On that seventh lap, Evans got caught on the pip, which allowed Champlin back into 2nd. Evans was quickly back in the fight, not willing to give it up that easily. Champlin held it for four laps when snagged that dreaded pipe once again, and Evans got around him. The race concluded as Horne, Evans, and Champlin.
A2: A2 of 4wd Mod Buggy was relatively uneventful. The primary battle was for that first-place position. Champlin was cruising around the track, trying to gain some space from the rest of the pack. He held on to the lead for 7 laps with Horne right on his wing. On that 8th lap, Champlin was going through the rumble section when the car got a little too bouncy, and it opened up a small gap for Horne to squeeze by. Besides that, Dustin Evans cruised around in 3rd for the entire race. The race concluded as Horne, Champlin, and Evans. Horne wrapped up the overall win after A2.
A3: Champlin started on the pole position for the final time of the day. Horne sat this one out after locking up the win early. The tone went off, and Champlin held on to the lead for the entire 5-minute race, never wavering. Evans drove in 2nd place from start to finish also. A3 was a pretty quiet race as it finished with Champlin, Evans, and Lemiuex.
Overall, it was a very successful weekend, and we are stoked with the turnout! We’d like to thank each and every driver who came out to participate! Thank you to Alex and the entire Hobbytown Hobbyplex staff for hosting such a fantastic event! Congratulations to Owen Vanderbeek, Broc Champlin, Doug Lariviere, and Allen Horne on their wins along with the other podium finishers! Up next, we’re heading out to Aubrun RC for the JConcepts Spring Dirt Oval Nationals that got rescheduled for July 14-15! Lastly, thank you to our sponsors who help make these events possible: AMain Hobbies, Hobbywing, Sunpadow, 1Up Racing, Whitz, Team Associated, Reedy, Tekin, Schumacher, and ProTek RC.
Winning Products:
F2 Body
S2 Body
Pre-Cut 7″in Carpet| Dirt | Astro Wing
Smoothie 2s
Mono Wheels
Dirt- Tech Inserts
RM2 Hard Foam
Fin Titanium Turnbuckles
Radial Bearings
Titanium Screws