Racetime Entertainment put on another great event at the Ike Hamilton Event Center in Monroe LA, September 18-20.
The track was what to be expected from these excellent track builders, challenging for all racers but super fun. The event takes place in an air conditioned arena with a dirt floor 190' x 300'. There are over 7 acres under roof so there are plenty of pit areas of your choosing. They created a monster driver's stand that puts your eyes about 22 feet above the main surface but the track is dug in even deeper to give you the ultimate vision of your car. The track always has 7-8 feet of elevation change with some monster jumps.
Friday is practice and seeding day, practice started at 8am and seeding at 2pm. In a race like this I feel Seeding is so important. I spent the majority of the morning dialing in my Reds Racing Motors and trying different AKA Tire selections. I ended up running SSLW Gridiron 2 on all 3 buggies. Seeding went well and I found myself in the A Grouping in all 3 classes. The track was super smooth but as the day went on you could tell it was going to produce some "character" as the weekend went on.
"I personally like it when the tracks get rough, it challenges me to get my buggies set up right and drive to the best of my abilities."
Saturday (Qualification Day)
The day started with my first qual being in Nitro Truggy. My Mugen MBX8T was dialed in and I was able to secure the p2 for the Amains. Nitro Buggy (MBX8WE) was a rocket and I was able to set TQ and put me in the P1 Position for the Amains. Ebuggy (MBX8Eco) felt great but I struggled with my consistency, putting me p4 for the Amains.
Sunday (Mains)
Sunday would see the track become much tougher to drive, lots of holes and tricky areas around the track. This was my type of track and I was excited to get started. A1 in Ebuggy would start the day for me. I drove well and finished 2nd behind Kaden Fuller that drove a almost perfect race. A2 would bring some bad luck and some frustration by me landing me in the 14th spot, a great drive by Braxton Culley would put him on top for A2. In the end I would secure the P3 location on the podium.
P1: Kaden Fuller / P2: Braxton Culley / P3: Spencer Klein / P4: Brad Collins P5:Cade Burnett
The Nitro Truggy 30min main was next up, I felt confident that I would do well in this event. The start went well and I found myself on top early and starting to leave the pack. I made a few mistakes and dropped back to 3. I also relized that I had made a mistake not bumping up my center diff fluid as the longer the race went on the more interesting it made it to clear the crossover jump. We decided to pit at the 8:30 mark to stay out of the pit traffic and try to make up some time. That decision in combination of clipping the landing on the crossover jump would prove to be a big mistake. The corner had to wait for other cars to complete the jump before coming to get me and I would run out of fuel. I was able to drive it back up to 6th just out of a podium spot. Congrats to Kaden Fuller and Aaron Rolston on their finish.
Nitro Buggy was up last, the track had seen many laps since the last time I had driven on it. I made some last minute setup changes and prepared to do battle. My buggy could not have been better, I would have a great start and never look back. David Olson, Kaden Fuller and Braxton Culley would battle the rest of the race giving me a little space to just put laps in. I would finish P1 with the TQ.
P1:Spencer Klein / P2:David Olsen / P3:Kaden Fuller / P4:Braxton Culley / P5:Alex Vaughn
This is a must race event, so much more going on then just the race. You will also see some of the top drivers at this race. So put this one on your Bucket List for 2021 and we will see you there.
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