Last weekend Hobby Action RC Raceway in Chandler, AZ hosted the 4th Annual Kinwald Klassic. This race is dedicated to remembering the late, legendary RC pro driver Brian Kinwald, and a portion of the entry fees are donated in his name to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
There were also some raffles and other fund raisers taking place, and at the end of the event the track was able to present the local chapter with a check for $13,000!
The race event itself kicked off shortly after 10am on Friday as drivers got settled in and started to turn laps on the track. The layout was the same one used for the IFMAR 1:10 Off-Road Electric Worlds that Hobby Action had hosted just over a month ago.
Practice ran till just past 9pm that night, and then many drivers continued the festivities by attending a local bowling alley.
Brian was an avid bowler, and as part of the Kinwald Klassic racers competed in a bowling event that included awards too.
On Saturday the drivers made their way back to the track, and then got ready for three rounds of qualifying. This event used a “rocket round” format which meant that a driver’s best run was used for their final qualifying position. So essentially a driver had two rounds they could throw out. So even if a driver had TQed the opening two rounds of qualifying there was a still a chance someone else could best their times in the final round. The top 10 drivers were automatically entered in the A Main and the winner or the B Main would also join them as a bump-up for a total of 11 racers.
There were 195 entries in total competing in 9 different classes which included a Vintage 2wd Buggy or Stadium Truck class. The vehicles in this special class could either run a brushless 17.5T or brushed 27T motor, and it had to be a vehicle released in 1995 or earlier.
Needless to say there were quite a few nice looking retro race rides at this event, especially when it was time for the concourse award on Sunday.
All 9 classes ran a AAA format and normally if a driver won the opening two mains they would capture the title and sit out A3. However, this event used a different AAA format since all three mains counted so a driver had to excel in all of the mains to capture a class title. Another unique aspect of this race was that the AAA mains used a JConcepts Dirt Invert Format. What that meant is for A1 the cars lined up based on the qualifying order. For A2 the cars lined up in reverse order based on their finishing position in A1! Then in A3 they did this again which meant if you won A2 you started at the back of the pack for A3. Along with the concourse award and door prizes, Sunday was also main day with lots of racing action. Let’s see how the team performed starting with the premiere class, Mod 2wd Buggy.
Team driver Matthew Gonzales was able to snag the top qualifying position in this class with the fastest run of the weekend in the 3rd and final round of qualifying! In A1 he started on the pole and raced on to take the tone to tone win! In A2 he started in the back, but by the 1st lap he had moved up to 4th place. By lap 9 he was able to take over the lead for good! In A3 he once again started in the pack of the pack, and this time he would cross the loop in 7th place on the opening lap. By lap three he moved up to 4th place and by lap five he was in the lead once again. He would continue to lead the field for the rest of A3 and crossed the start line before the tone sounded to earn the victory lap and his first title of the event!
Team products used:
- 4018 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 2wd front buggy tire
- 4019 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 4wd front buggy tire
- 0475 – F2 body for the AE B6.4
- 0181 – Aero S-Type 7″ Rear Wing
- 0160 – Narrow Aero Front Wing For B6.x Gullwing Front Arm
Matthew also competed in the Mod 4wd Buggy class, and once again he secured the top qualifier position with the only 17 lap run in the 3rd and final round of qualifying! Starting on the pole for A1 he would take the win which moved him to the pack of the pack for A2. On the opening lap he moved up 3rd place and then took over the lead by lap six. Two laps later he would find himself back in 2nd place and he stayed there for several more laps. Then on lap 12 he would regain the lead again and cross the finish line with nearly a three second lead! In A3 he would start in the final position and by the time he crossed the start line he had moved up to 3rd place already. By lap two he would jump to the lead and stay there on his way to another class title!
Team products used:
- 4018 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 2wd front buggy tire
- 4019 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 4wd front buggy tire
- 0499 – P2 body for the AE B74.2
- 8130 – RM2 2.2″ Hard 2wd/4wd buggy front inserts
- 0181 – Aero S-Type 7″ Rear Wing
Also competing at this event was his tire teammate Jake Thayer in the Expert 17.5 2wd Buggy class. Jake would set the fastest time in qualifying in round two to claim the TQ for this class. Starting in first place for A1 he would leave no doubt as he would lead the field from start to finish, and he also collected the bonus lap to put all the other drivers down by one lap! In A2 he started in the back, and he slowly worked his way towards the front as he put down consistent, fast laps. By lap 10 he would take over the lead for good as he collected another win! He still had one more main to compete in and on the opening lap he would cross the line in 10th place. By lap two he would move to the 7th spot and then 6th place by lap four. He would continue to stay in that position till a mistake on lap eight dropped him back to 8th place. For the rest of the main he would battle with the middle of the pack, and when time expired he would cross the line in 9th place. After the points were tallied for the three mains he would tie fellow JConcepts driver Chase Raymond with 11 points. After the tie breakers were applied Jake would secure the win for the weekend!
Team products used:
- 4018 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 2wd front buggy tire
- 4019 – Silver compound Smoothie 2 4wd front buggy tire
- 0475 – F2 body for the AE B6.4
- 3347 – Mono 2wd front buggy wheels
- 3348 – Mono 2wd/4wd rear buggy wheels
- 8130 – RM2 2.2″ Hard 2wd/4wd buggy front inserts
- 0197 – Carpet | Astro High-Clearance 6.5″ Rear Wing
Photo credits: Hobby Action RC Raceway, Almond McClain