In this edition of the JConcepts Friday5 we talk to Nevada team driver, Randy Tanaka!
1. When did you get your start with RC cars? Did you bash your RC cars at first or jumped right into the RC racing scene once you found out about it?
Got my start in RC in the late 80’s with a Tamiya Grasshopper. Just a kid playing with his car everywhere, the neighborhood, the beach, backyard, so I guess bashing before it was called bashing.
2. What are some of your goals for this year and what do you think you can bring or add to the racing team?
My goals are mostly driven around making the hobby more fun for everyone, myself included. While it is awesome to do well at a big race I like tinkering more and sharing with the fellow racers at the track that are looking to get more consistent or make their cars suit their driving style.
3. In your opinion, what needs to be done to make RC more “mainstream” and get more people involved?
That is a tough question. As far as getting new people involved if there was a way to remove some of the complexity around the hobby. To get it to where a new person can just show up and practice staying on the race line v.s. worrying about springs, pills, tire prep, etc. Perhaps a box stock class where the track owns and maintains all of the cars and the individuals just show up and race.
4. JConcepts is well known for its tires and bodies, but in your opinion what tool or accessory is a must have on race day that other drivers might overlook?
For me the new Tool Boxes are something that is used often every race day. They are better designed than fishing boxes so parts stay put in their respective areas. All of the storage containers are utilized every race day, but the Tool Boxes is the one most often used.
5. Besides RC cars, what other hobbies are you into?
I like to mountain bike in the Summer and design stuff in 3D CAD and 3D print them when I am not playing with my cars. The capability of home 3D printers these days is amazing, and it is fun to make unnecessary RC accessories and share them with my fellow racers.