Two weeks of jam packed racing comes to a close after spending the weekend in West Monroe, Louisiana! The team traveled out there to compete in the 2020 Southern Nationals! (The weekend prior we were in Enfield, CT for the JConcepts Turf Nationals.) This was the first year RaceTime Entertainment put on this particular event as it was previously hosted by a different organization. As always, Dave Leikam and his crew did not disappoint! The track layout was masterminded by Bobby Moore and his RC Track Masters team. The track featured a drop down that was essentially a dirt wall into a 180 turn through a giant cross over section. The track also featured a 6 pack and a double where drivers could catch some big air.
For tires this weekend we experimented with a few options. The team started with green Reflexes and went up to the blue compound later on in seeding. As the weekend progressed they experimented with harder compounds. Ultimately, Maifield decided to use the Stalkers in the mains in the A2 compound while Phend used the Reflexes. The track conditions were relatively dry, a little dusty, but also had a nice groove. As the weekend progressed the track did become bumpy and develop ruts. It was important for drivers to keep the same lines every lap and know their personal limits as the track changed.
Seeding:
Pro Electric Buggy: Top Seed- Spencer Rivkin
Pro Nitro Truck: Top Seed- Jackson Brunson
Pro Nitro Buggy: Top Seed- Ryan Maifield
Qualifying (Best 2 of 3):
Pro Electric Buggy: 1- Ryan Maifield 2- Dakotah Phend 3- Spencer Rivkin
Pro Nitro Buggy: 1- Ryan Maifield 2- Spencer Rivkin 3- Dakotah Phend
Pro Nitro Truck: 1- Ryan Maifield 2- Dakotah Phend
Intermediate Electric Buggy: 1- Kaden Fuller 2- Braxten Culley
Intermediate Nitro Truck: 2- Kaden Fuller
Qualifying went off without a hitch and Ryan Maifield went 9 for 9 TQ’ing all the pro heats!
By time it came to the A-Mains the track had roughened up. The turn into the straight away developed substantial craters, making it almost impossible to drive over them without the car losing some amount of stability. Drivers had two options: either risk it and go over the holes or go around for a less then ideal line. Drivers attempted both options in order to determine the fastest line.
Pro Nitro Buggy: 1- Ryan Maifield 3- Dakotah Phend
The race started with Maifield in the first position, Rivkin behind him, and then Phend, Lutz, and Tebo. They kept their starting positions for the first 2 minutes of the race and then Rivkin got out into the 1st position with Maifield right behind him. However, within the next minute Maifield took back the lead and they continued to battle it out. There was still 25 minutes left in the race, Maifield led while Phend and Rivkin continued to stay in the top 5 right behind him. 21 minutes to go Phend, Lutz, and Rivkin were battling for that 3rd spot. It was about time for the first round of pitstops. Maifield had a 4 second lead on Tebo at this point. Lutz got tripped up by the holes into the straight away. Phend was able to secure that 3rd spot and started to chase down Tebo to close the 3 second gap between them. Maifield had 4.7 seconds on Tebo with 16:45 left in the race. Halfway through Lutz and Rivkin were battling for that 5th spot. Maifield continued to stretch out the lead with 6.6 seconds over Tebo. He was cranking out laps like clockwork. Lutz, Rivkin, and Cavalieri were the main battle on the track, all close together, and fighting for that 5th spot on the podium. Lutz was 3.5 seconds behind Ogden in 4th. Halfway through and Maifield had 5.5 seconds over Tebo in the 2nd. Tebo had 8 seconds over Phend. They were all spacing out, but trying to keep their positions locked in. Maifield then got up to a 7 second lead at 12 minutes to go, inch by inch he was increasing the gap. He came up on traffic but thankfully they all let him by without a problem up over the double. The battle for the podium continued between Lutz and Rivkin. Maifield was up to an 11 second lead with 10 minutes to go. Cavalieri and VanDalen were battling for 7th and 8th. Lutz passed Ogden getting into the 4th spot. Maifield only had a 4 second lead with a little over 5 minutes left to go but he was holding strong not allowing Tebo to get too close. Maifield, Tebo, and Phend went 1,2, and 3 for the majority of the Pro Nitro Buggy Main securing their podium spots. Everyone in the top 5 were cruising with at least a 5 second gap between each other. Maifield pretty much led the entire race, taking the win!
Pro Nitro Truck: 1- Dakotah Phend 4- Seth VanDalen
The race started with Maifield, Phend, and Cavalieri in the 1, 2, and 3. Early on Phend made a pass on Maifield, but Maifield was still on his tail. Rivkin and Bornhorst were in the 4 and 5 spots, rounding out the top 5. As Phend and Maifield went through the 6 pack they were so close together they almost looked side by side at certain points. However, they were battling hard when they accidentally got together going over the crossover. Maifield got the worst of it with no where to go. They still maintained their 1 and 2 spots though! The leaders started to come up on traffic, and traffic let them by with no problem. Meanwhile Rivkin and VanDalen were still in the top 5 racing hard with 23:15 to go. Phend had a small bobble allowing Maifield to close the gap with now only 6/10ths of a second between them. They both went into pit lane at 7:45 elapsed. Cavalieri took his pit stop after them, keeping his 3rd place spot. Phend got caught up in some lap traffic but continued to maintain his lead. The track was rough, making it challenging for every driver to keep their cars consistent and smooth for the entire race. VanDalen was racing hard, he had started in the 11th spot and made his way up to the 5. Maifield had an unfortunate flame out with 16 to go, but got back out on the track and without hesitation started to race his way up the ranks. Halfway through and it was Phend with 12 seconds on Cavalieri in 2nd, Rivkin in 3rd, VanDalen in the 4th, and Drake in the 5th. Phend had lapped everyone except for the top 5 drivers at 13 minutes to go. Phend was not far off from lapping 3rd place with 8 minutes to go, he was on fire! Maifield got back up in the top 10. Phend had a 22 second lead with 3.5 to go. VanDalen and Rose were battling for that 5th position with 2 minutes to go. VanDalen brought the speed moving into the 4th position with 30 seconds to go! Phend took the overall win!
Pro Electric Buggy: 1- Ryan Maifield 2- Dakotah Phend 5- Spencer Rivkin
Pro-Ebuggy A1:
The race started with the top 5 being Maifield, Phend, Rivkin, Bornhorst, and Tebo who all had great qualifying performances. Early in the race Phend made a pass on Maifield and the battle had begun. On the rough turn into the straightaway, Phend took the inside line while Maifield took the outside line avoiding the potholes. Phend barely kissed the pipe, Maifield got by at 8 minutes to go. They were both still battling for that #1 spot. Maifield was blazing around the track though widening the gap between them. The top 5 in A1 was Maifield, Phend, Bornhorst, Rivkin, and Rose.
Pro-Ebuggy A2:
From the start of the race everyone was running tight and close together. It started out with Maifield, Phend, Tebo, Lutz, and Rose as your top 5. Maifield and Phend were running close, battling hard like they had been all weekend. Maifield had a small bobble, Phend got by, but Maifield was still in the top 3 fighting. Phend was starting to pick up the pace putting down some quick laps and potentially trying to increase his place on the podium. Rose took the inside line and made a pass on Lutz. The Agama guys were battling it out. Lutz got back in the 2nd position and then Rose took it back once again. It was a battle back and forth between them. The A2 finished with your top 5 being Phend, Cavalieri, Bornhorst, Tebo, and Lutz. Maifield put down some hot laps during A1 securing the win in Pro E-buggy with teammates Phend and Rivkin joining him on the podium!
Intermediate Electric Buggy: 1- Kaden Fuller 2- Braxten Culley 5- Cade Burnette
Intermediate Nitro Buggy: 3- Kaden Fuller 4- Braxten Culley
Intermediate Nitro Truck: 1- Kaden Fuller 5- Cade Burnette
Electric Truck: 4- Miss Bella Rogers
Sportsman Nitro Buggy: 4- Joel Rodriguez
Overall, it was an incredible weekend with a beautiful facility, a fun track layout, and awesome performances! Maifield had a stellar weekend winning every heat of qualifying and 2 mains. Kaden Fuller also brought his A-game winning 2 of the 3 intermediate classes, and even then he still took 3rd in the Intermediate Nitro Buggy main! The team worked together, supported each other, and ultimately produced great results! We can’t wait to see everyone trackside again soon!
Winning Products:
Stalker Tires
Reflex Tires
Mono Wheels
Dirt Tech Inserts
S15 Body
Finnisher Body
F2i Wing