In this edition of the JConcepts Friday5 we talk to Texas team driver, Reggie Tongue!
1. How did you learn about the RC car racing scene? What class did you participate in to begin with and why?
Through RC magazines. I wasn’t able to afford a serious RC car so I benched raced through the magazines. I first just bashed with a Tamiya Frog for a few years. When I got drafted I walked into a Hobbytown in Overland Park, KS, and came out with a RC10GT. I took it up to Real RC Raceway owned by Steve Hale, and jumped into the Expert class. Guess my ego was too big to run in the Sportsman class. Got my butt kicked every weekend and it was awesome! Then I marshaled for the 1/8 nitro buggies and it was love at first sight!
2. Sometimes having a good RC race comes down to a driver’s mentality. Since you were a former professional athlete that played in the NFL, are their some mental tips you learned while playing football that you still apply today in RC? If so what are some mental tips you can share with others RC drivers?
Being an athlete you have to be mentally tough, and I learned that everything in life is 90% mental. Also positive energy is a 1000x more powerful than negative. Words are very powerful, especially the ones you say to yourself! So I learned to visualize what I wanted to be, and I focused on things that make me feel good. Before my NFL games I would sit on the toilet in the bathroom and see myself making plays over and over. In RC before a race I see myself on the podium, usually in the center of the podium. You know, that number one spot!
3. From your experience what is the easiest AND hardest maintenance task on your RC cars?
Easiest, would be clutch maintenance. I actually enjoy working on my clutch for some weird reason. Hardest, would be building kits. I know its not “maintenance” but I hate building kits from scratch. Everything else is cake compared to building kits.
4. Which JConcepts product, in your opinion, is a must-have on race day when going to the track and why?
I think the number one thing would be the Tire Break-In Drill Adaptor Kit. With most of the tracks that I race at out here in Texas, they are indoor or covered, which usually requires you to sauce your tire to be competitive. There’s no better tool to sauce and smoke it into the tires like this tool.
5. Besides RC cars, what other hobbies are you into?
I’m into zombie movies, Kung Fu, and Building Legos with the kids.