Race Team Update – June 2020 Week #1

We are halfway through the year and the JConcepts team keeps running strong. See where the team has been competing at in this week’s Race Team Update!

Let’s start this week’s report down at the 2020 Beat The Heat Race at PCRC Raceway in Bolivar, MO. We had several drivers in attendance so let’s check in on a few of them.

Driver Braxten Culley and his younger brother Jentsen both attended this race. Braxten reports that he took the TQ and win in the Mod 4wd Buggy class, and another win in the Mod 2wd Buggy class! Both cars were using JConcepts Nessi tires in the rear and Swaggers in the front.

Joining Braxten on the Mod 4wd Buggy podium in 3rd place was teammate Matthew Pyle. He also competed in the Mod 2wd Buggy class and finished a solid 4th. He said this was his first big race running modified and he also used the lethal combo of JConcepts Nessi tires in the rear and Swaggers in the front on both of his rides.

Braxten’s younger brother Jentsen also had a good weekend. He was able to bring home the TQ & win in the Novice class using Pin Downs in the rear and Swaggers in the front. Good job team, keep up the good work!

Staying in the Midwest let’s head over to Omaha, NE to check out the opening round of the HobbyTown HobbyPlex Summer Series. We had numerous JConcepts drivers in attendance as the Plex saw an impressive 174 entries! Starting in the Mod 4wd Buggy class it was a podium sweep for the JCon crew! Team driver Alex Vanderbeek took the win and was joined by teammates Mason Fuller (2nd) and Tom Rinderknecht (3rd). Alex and Tom ran JConcepts Ellipses in the rear with Dirt Webs in front and all in the Silver compound. Mason ran the same tread patterns but opted to use our Gold compound instead.

Going over to the Mod 2wd Buggy class, once again it was Alex who finished on top for the day! Mason joined him on the podium in 3rd place and both drivers used the same tire combo as the 4wd class.

In the 17.5 2wd Buggy class, JConcepts once again brought out the broom for a podium sweep! Bradley Peterson took home the win followed by Ken Peterson (2nd) and Nate Sutherland (3rd). Brad said he used a F2 body, a Aero S-Type 7″ Rear Wing, Aero Lower Front Wing, and Gold compound Ellipses in the rear with Dirt Webs in the front. Ken said he used the same tire setup as Brad except for in the Silver compound. Nate reports he used Ellipses on all four corners in the Silver compound too.

Next up is the 13.5 4wd Buggy class with some more JC drivers filling up the podium. This time Ken was able to take home the win using Silver compound Ellipses in both the front and rear. Joining him on the podium in 2nd place was Nate who ran Silver compound Ellipses once again.

In the 13.5 Stadium Truck class, this time it was Nate who would climb to the top and once again he was using Silver compound Ellipses. Joining him on the podium in 3rd place was teammate Brian Cox who also ran Ellipses but in the Gold compound instead.

Finally, let’s not forget the old guys! In the 40+ Mod 2wd Buggy class it was another team sweep as race director Alex Sturgeon took the win and was joined on the podium by JC mates Mack Vanderbeek (2nd) and Kyle Gannon (3rd). Alex said for the single 8 minute main he opted to use Gold compound Ellipses in the rear with Dirt Webs in the front. Nice results team!!

Now let’s head down to Hazard, KY let’s check in with JConcepts driver Miss Bella. She attended Dixon’s RC Raceway for the first time in months due to the pandemic, and she finished third in the 1/8 Electric Truggy class. She reports that Relexes in the Green compound were the hot ticket.

Next, let’s head out West to check in with team driver Joseph Levin. He raced at Coyote Hobbies Indoor RC Raceway in Victorville, CA for their 10th Annual Mid Summer Shootout. He took home the win in the 13.5 Stadium Truck class while using JConcepts Octagons in the Gold compound! He also used the same tire setup in Expert 13.5 4wd Buggy, set the TQ, and finished 3rd for the day.

Joining him at this race was teammate Doug Lariviere. He was able to take the TQ and win in the Expert 17.5 2wd Buggy class and a solid 2nd place in Expert 13.5 4wd Buggy! He reports that for all of his rides he sanded his JConcepts Ellipses to slicks and opted for the Silver compound.

Finally, two of our younger drivers also had great results at this race. Brothers Chase and Levi Raymond competed in several classes and they were both able to take home some hardware! The dynamic duo ran JConcepts Octagons in the Silver Compound along with F2 bodies. Awesome driving team!

A little closer to the coastline JConcepts driver Jesse Granat checks in to report on his recent racing at the Roadrunners R/C Club in Camarillo, CA. He said on Friday and Sunday club racing he was able to take the TQ and win both times with his B74 wheeler! His winning car was decked out in a JConcepts F2 body, Aero S-Type 7″ Rear Wing, Dirt Webs in the Orange 2 compound in the front and Ellipses in the Red 2 compound in the rear.

Staying out west let’s head up the coast to check out Tri-Cities RC Raceway in Pasco, WA. Team driver Brian Phillips reports that in Mod 4wd Buggy he set the TQ and finished 3rd overall with his Tekno ride. He was using a JConcepts F2 body and Green compound Double Dees. In Mod 2wd Buggy his Associated B6.2 started 2nd on the grid for the final race and he was able to capture the win! He reports that he used Green compound Sprinters in both the front and rear. Finally, he also competed in 1/8 Electric Buggy and qualified in 6th place for the main and made his way up to 4th overall. He said his Tekno car was using our Green compound ReHab tires. Way to bring it Brian!

Heading back to the East let’s check in on team drivers Tony and Diego Hinojosa in Colorado. Last weekend they both attended the 8th Annual Spring Fling at RAM Off-Road Park in Colorado Springs. This was an unique event since it took place at a full scale off-road park that was spread out over an impressive 98 acres! So they went there earlier in the week to break in their new ATVs. Friday they dialed their cars in during practice and on Saturday they completed two rounds of qualifying before some rain storms made it their way. On Sunday the sun was shining for the mains. Diego qualified 4th overall in the Pro4 Short Course Truck class and after competing in a AA format he would finish overall in 4th place. Tony competed in the 1/8 Nitro Truggy class and started in 6th place for the 30 minute A Main, and after the dust had settled he finished where he began the long main. Diego’s Tekno SCT410.3 was equipped with a JConcepts 1979 Ford F-250 SCT body, Hazard wheels and Double Dees tires. Tony reported that he was using a JConcepts Finnisher body, Bullet wheels, and Reflex tires! No matter what the results were, this looked like a killer event!

Heading down to Yukon, OK let’s check in with team driver Tyler Keel. Tyler reports that he attended Round 2 of the Taylor Park R/C Raceway point series and was able to take home the double TQ and win in both the Outlaw Sprint and Midwest Modified classes! Both oval cars were using Green compound Dirt Webs and Ellipse tires with Dirt Tech foam inserts inside.

Heading up to Richfield, WI let’s check in with team driver Cole Tollard. He reports that he attended the season opener for the Trackside Hobbies & Raceway’s outdoor track, the Deuce. The Summer Shakedown Series event was a hit with 70 drivers and 83 entries on the outdoor off-road track. He said he took the TQ and win in the 1/8 Nitro Buggy class and Blue and Red 2 compound Reflexes was the tire of his choice.

The final stop on the JConcepts race tour is with JC driver Chris Rakus who competed last weekend at Bullet Town R/C in Milan, TN. He competed in both the 1/8 Nitro and Electric buggy classes and was happy to report he won in both classes! For the finals he used the JConcepts Blockers in the Green compound.