Hi all! Sorry for the delay!  Been really busy starting my Freshman year in High School, but I've managed to get out to a couple races.  The RC X Fest was one, which was just a fun filled week of bad luck for me, but you're going to have those!  So last weekend, my parents and I made the 7 hour drive to RJD Hobbies and Raceway for their 6th annual October Bash.  Its one of the most fun races I get to travel to.  The rains had pelted the track Friday, so lets get to it....

FRIDAY- THE DAY OF RAIN

Well, there isn't much to say here, as when we arrived the track was covered in oil dry and kitty litter.  The rain had stopped, but later that night it began to pour.

Saturday- RACE DAY!

When we arrived at the track Saturday morning the track was wet, but the clay had taken the water well.  We started racing at 10am sharp, and every car that came off the track had a little mud on it.  My 801XT was really good off the bat, but the 801X needed some work in practice.  The muddy/but smooth condition seemed to make my buggy twitchy.  I was running AKA SOFT I Beams on both cars in practice, but I chose to go with AKA Gridirons for both cars, to hopefully keep the mud from packing up on the tire.  The gridirons worked well, especially on the buggy.  I did have to run the ride height a little higher to keep off the mud, but both cars were dialed for qualifying.

RND 1

Both cars were working good, but consistency on the not so consistent track was tough.  I ended up third in buggy for the round, and 2nd in truck.

 RND 2

 Again, both cars were handling awesome.  I still wasn't consistent enough to challenge Michael Paige for TQ in truggy, but the buggy was getting there.  Same spots for Rnd two.

 Rnd 3

 This is where it was do or die.  I wanted TQ in at least one class for the weekend, and I got exactly that.  I took a little F/R droop out of the truck for round 3, and it was hooked up.  Thanks to a little coaching from Ryan Lutz the previous week, I was able to keep focused on staying smooth.  I was six seconds faster than Michael Paige, and tq'ed Expert Arena truck overall.  Buggy went well also, but missed TQ by a little less than a second.

Buggy Main:  This was basically a race between me, Michael Paige, and Jim Kvidera.   At the beep, Jim and I broke away from the rest of the pack, and had an amazing battle for the first five minutes.  The car was really good, but after I left the pits at 7:30, the steering servo died.  It was a heartbraker, because we had a good shot at taking the win, but it happens!

Truggy Main:  The Truggy A main was pretty interesting, as Michael Paige and I broke away from the rest of the pack.  I was able to get a half a lap lead on Michael 10 minutes through, but made a couple mistakes.  Michael and I battled for three more laps, before he got out in front of me and ran away.  I had the fastest lap of the race, and came in second. 

Buggy- Tamiya 801X

Motor- WERKS B5

Radio- KO PROPO

SERVOS- KO PROPO

Fuel- Byron Gen 2

Tires- AKA Soft Gridirons 

Truggy- Tamiya 801XT

MOTOR- WERKS B5

RADIO- KO PROPO

SERVOS- KO PROPO

Fuel- BYRON GEN 2

 Tires- AKA Soft Gridirons

It was a great weekend all in all,  and I'd like to thank Michael, Lori, and Darrell Paige for their wonderful hospitality and hard work to get the track ready.  I'd also like to thank my parents, and my sponsors for all their help.

Brad Shearer

Tamiya/ Werks/ AKA/ KO PROPO/ KALGARD/ wwwliverc.com/ www.dirtheaven.com/rjdhobbiesandraceway.com