Race report by Tom Erickson

Washtenaw R/C Raceway Winter Series - Round #4
Article written by: Tom Erickson
Photos by: Dave Ferris
Just before Christmas, Saturday, December 20, 2014, at the Washtenaw R/C Raceway the
fourth round of the Winter Series was held. Race entries totaled 95 in 14 classes with the Top
drivers in the area attending. The track was in great condition and temperatures were mild.
Nankin Hobbies offered all participates a raffle ticket for the Secret Santa drawing.
This program is located just south of Ann Arbor, Michigan at the Washtenaw County
Fairgrounds. The heated facility is a 100x52ft track with large driver’s stand and pit area. Our
nine race series allows two drops leading to the series title. In additional to the track and pit
space there is a full-service Trackside hobby shop provided by Nankin Hobbies. See all details
at www.wrcr.biz .
Also there will be an Alzheimer’s benefit Trophy race on December 27th, 2014 with proceeds
going to the Alzheimer’s Association. The Farm council donated the building for this event.
Trophies are provided by Nankin Hobbies.
Our next event will be Round#5 on Saturday January 3rd, 2015 racing on a new layout. Doors
open at 8AM.
2wd Mod Buggy Class:
The 2wd Mod Buggy class has featured the top local drivers and this round was no exception.
The return of Kenny Ferris and Chris Peterson was immediately noticed in qualifying. Kenny
would set the pace with a blistering 15 lap pace in the first round. Then Chris would answer the
call and beat Kenny’s time by only a second. In the third round Kenny replied besting that time
by 3 seconds setting up the Main event. Forrest Remington would capture the third spot on the
grid by just under 2 secs from Conner Stanley. All drivers were exhibiting sub 20 second laps.
At the start of main event Kenny and Chris lead the field through the table step-down without
trouble. That was not true for most of the rest of the pack. Ben Belote would get through
unscathed and cross the line in 3rd place. Chris and Kenny were running clean in the initial laps
and Ben was holding 3rd when Forrest ended his race with a mechanical issue. Kenny made a
mistake letting Chris get by for first place about the same time that Conner caught Ben for third
place. At the end of the 7 minute final Kenny would retake the lead and win his third event
ahead of Chris in second, and Conner in third. Kenny would also record the fastest lap of the
day in this class at 18:735 seconds.
Current 2wd Buggy Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Kenny Ferris 303
2nd
Chris Peterson 297
3rd
Conner Stanley 295
4wd Mod Buggy Class
Some of the closest racing of the day was seen in the 4wd Buggy class with Grand Blanc’s
Bradley Rippee making the long journey to join the group for the first time. Lap times were
exceptionally fast with Chris Peterson setting a new track record with a 17.908 sec in the
second qualifier with 16 laps setting TQ for the event. Forrest Remington would also break into
the 16 lap range during qualifying good enough to start 2nd. Tom Erickson just missed the 16
lap pace but was able to hold off Bradley to start 3rd. In the Main event Bradley would get
caught in the first lap sending him back to last but jump all the way back to 3rd after a mistake
made by Chris. This allowed both Forrest and Tom to take command. Forrest rolled his Team
Durango allowing Tom to take over the lead for a brief two laps until Chris Peterson returned to
the point after dropping back to 5th place. Soon both Brad and Forrest were all over Tom’s
back side to fight for the 2nd position. Tom would hold off both Bradley and Forrest to finish 2nd
behind Chris. Forrest would edge out Brad for third with only a few seconds between them.
With this win Chris moves up very close in points with Forrest and Tom not far behind.
Current 4wd Buggy Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Forrest Remington 299
2nd
Chris Peterson 297
3rd
Tom Erickson 295
Open 2wd Short Course Class
The 2wd Open SCT class is a mix of fast power-plants and consistency. In qualifying Tom
Erickson ran a very consistent qualifying run to set the pace for the event. He recorded a sub
21sec fast lap with a consistency of over 97% missing a 15 lap run by a few seconds. Conner
Stanley was much faster on the straights and would capture the win in the second qualifier but
not good enough to bump Tom off the TQ which would hold in the third round. As the main
event started Conner’s speedy TLR 22SCT 2.0 with 7.5t motor would leap ahead of Tom but get
caught in the tubes sending him back allowing Randy Drapinski to pass into 2nd place. Conner
put down the hammer and started to clock fast laps and got by Randy quickly and set his sights
on Tom. In the end Conner’s Speed and Consistency were the winner taking 1st place with Tom
in second and Randy holding third.
Current Open 2wd SCT Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Randy Drapinski 300
2nd
Zachery Kohler 290
3rd
Conner Stanley 201
2wd Mod Truck Class
The fast truck class was stacked with Stadium Truck drivers from the area. These trucks
navigate the 52x100ft track with ease. Conner Stanley controlled qualifying with 14 lap runs
each round. CJ Boka was close to take second on the starting grid with Dave Ferris just staying
ahead of Mark Thompson to retain the third spot for the start of the A-main. Luck was not on
Dave’s side as he landed a little off and broke leaving third place to Mark. Conner made a
small mistake allowing CJ to get by and they ran nose to tail for much of the main event.
Mark was flying high over both the table step-down and the triple sending caution to the wind.
His Losi XXXT was landing those high flying leaps without concern but it was not enough to gain
the distance to catch the lead pair. Conner would plan his attack around the final turn with 3
laps to go getting by CJ on the outside. CJ made a valiant attempt to catch Conner without
success. Conner would drive his TQ to a win with CJ in second and Mark in third.
Current Mod 2wd Truck Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Conner Stanley 302
2nd
CJ Boka 298
3rd
Mark Thompson 295
4x4 Short Course Class
The powerful 4x4 Short Course class was dominated by Bradley Rippee with his TLR SCTE 2.0
Tekin powered truck running fast enough to get into the low 19 second fast lap. Starting from
his TQ position in the main event he took off and never looked back winning wire to wire. The
battle was on for second place with Matt Lemorie holding the position at the start with Randy
Drapinski in third. Patrick DeGuise took over the third place after a few laps recovering for an
early mishap setting a pace to catch Matt. Matt and Pat would go back and forth seven times
before Matt had a turn of luck sending him into Randy’s targets. Randy would grap 3rd for one
lap and could not hold off Matt to make the position stick. Pat would grab 2nd with a
comfortable margin and Matt would finish 3rd.
Current 4x4 Short Course Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Matt Lemorie 301
2nd
Randy Drapinski 294
3rd
Greg Shelton 292
13.5 Spec Short Course Truck class – Sponsored by Nankin and Duratrax
Going into this forth round of the Winter Series the Spec SCT class has seen three different
winners. With each driver running the same Duratrax 13.5t fixed timing motor and RC King 40c
5000mAH batteries it makes some very close racing. Mistakes can be costly with fractions of
seconds separating each car. Qualifying was a battle between the previous winners; Ben
Belote, Tom Erickson and Conner Stanley. Ben set the pace in the first qualifier forcing the
others to challenge. Tom Erickson would set the TQ in the second round beating the previous
time by 4.5 seconds. In the last round Conner was on a pace to break the 15 lap barrier but a
last lap mishap would stop that causing him to miss the TQ by just over a second securing 2nd
place on the starting grid. With Tom taking the TQ it was up to him to lead the pack around at
the starting tone. He grabbed the tube leading the table step-down forcing him to come up
short. Both Ben and Conner launched off the ramp and passed Tom like he was standing still.
Conner landed just ahead of Tom making a clean pass and Ben would land hard tumbling off
the racing line. Matt Lemorie was clean through all this high flying action and was able to get
ahead of Ben and quickly up on Tom’s bumper. Tom caught another tube allowing Matt Lemorie
to pass into 2nd position and then catching a tube himself losing the position back to Tom.
Conner would stretch the lead out to 7 seconds as Ben rejoined the group setting up a three
way fight for second that quickly turned into a battle for the lead as Conner retired with a
mechanical issue. Ben would drop back with an infield roll over to capture 3rd place at the
finish. Tom would hold off Matt to grab his second victory of the season and the points lead.
Matt finished second only 4.8 seconds back from Tom showing that he wants to be the forth to
take a win in this very close points war.
Current Spec SCT Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Tom Erickson 300
2nd
Ben Belote 299
3rd
Conner Stanley 295
Stock 17.5 Buggy Class
The racing action is close in many classes this season but one driver has come out at the top in
the Stock Buggy class in each round so far. Nat Potter has had to fight to win each round so far
and this round was no different. Going into the last round of qualifying he had the TQ but the
race was not over. Both Patrick DeGuise and Sean Carney were hunting for the top spot on the
starting grid. All three were on a TQ pace with Pat and Nat swapping positions many times with
Sean close behind. This looked like the Main event as Nat flipped his updated B4.1 sending
him back to third and allowing Patrick to capture the TQ by almost 3 seconds. This was Pat’s
chance to take a win away from Nat. At the start Pat got out clean and both Sean and Nat got
tangled up letting Joe Ferris and Jay Johnson by. This was short lived as both Pat and Sean
put it in overdrive. Less than half the race was behind them when Patrick was collected by a
marshal that stepped right into his line allowing Nat to pass for the lead. Sean was left behind
as both Nat and Pat would race hard for the win. Nat held the top spot for his 4th consecutive
win of the season.
Current 2wd Stock Buggy Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Nat Potter 302
2nd
Sean Carney 297
3rd
Joe Ferris 291
Stock 17.5 Truck Class
The Stock Truck class has also only seen one winner so far this season. Uncle Bob has show
his consistency so far this season taking both TQ and Win in each round. Dan and Andy
Dresselhouse have started to challenge Bob more each race. Another factor is CJ Boka who
can always get our in front. Bob started the tone for the day by setting a pace in the first
qualifier that could not be beat. The remaining spots were not solidified until the last qualifier
with CJ edging out Dan for the 2nd position. At the start the top three got off very clean and
smooth with Bob running a very consistent pace. Behind him Dan was closing in on CJ and
eventually passed him to get up to second place. In the closing laps Bob had a few mishaps
and Dan was on one of his most consistent runs and was closing each lap. The lead was down
to less than 5 seconds as they entered the last lap which was too much for Dan to overcome
unless Bob made an error. No errors occurred and Uncle Bob captured his 4th win of the
season. Dan finished 2nd as he has done in almost every round and CJ finished the podium in
3rd. This may be a two horse race for the series with Dan capturing one TQ so far and within
shooting distance.
Current Stock Truck Season Points(1 drop):
1st
Uncle Bob 303
2nd
Dan Dresselhouse 298
3rd
Andy Dresselhouse 292
Stock 17.5 Short Course Truck Class
By far the largest class this season is the Stock SCT Class with more than 14 drivers still able to
complete the series and more than 20 unique entries. In this round there were so many that we
were certain to have a B-main. Pressure was on to qualify well to ensure a spot in the A-main.
Again it was Uncle Bob to set the early TQ pace with Patrick DeGuise, Dan Dresselhouse and
Sean Carney also pressing hard. Dan Dresselhouse came close in the second round after Bob
retired with only 1 second back from the early pace. When the dust settled on the third round
Uncle Bob would set a new TQ with Patrick in second, Sean in third and Dan in fourth. The start
was smooth for Bob and Pat allowing them to check out and get ahead of the pack. Bob
maintained a solid pace with very consistent laps and was never challenged during the 7 minute
main. Dan recovered from an early crash passed Sean Carney and began to pressure Patrick
for the second spot closing to within 2 seconds finishing in 3rd place. Brendan Suriano would
win the B-Main in his first race after moving up from the Novice class.
Current Season Points:
1st
Uncle Bob 303
2nd
Dan Dresselhouse 295
3rd
Sean “007” Carney 294
Stampede Class
The stampede class seems to draw more people every race. This race Sean Carney decided to
join the fun but it was CJ Boka that would take the TQ after qualifying was over. This class has
a few unique rules like reverse being legal and they start in a land rush style. Some of these
Stampedes are tricked out with special paint and added features like LEDs to add to the fun. At
the start of the main event Matt Lemorie popped to a quick lead with main stay Milo Spieth right
behind him. At the bottom of the table step-down Milo would roll his Maximum Destruction
Stampede collecting Ben Belote. CJ avoided the collision and even jumped ahead of Matt as
they cross the start-finish line the first time. On the second lap Matt was able to speed past CJ
with his Lamborghini bodied Stampede to take the lead and never look back. Sean had third
early on but trouble ended his day. Ben was able to get through both Milo, Sean, and Mark
Thompson to get back to his starting position of third. On the sixth lap he passed CJ and they
diced for a few laps with CJ ending up in 2nd at the end. Ben would remain in 3rd for the day
allowing CJ to stay within 2 points of Matt of the overall series.
Current Stampede Class Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Matt Lemorie 301
2nd
CJ Boka 299
3rd
Ben Belote 296
Powder Puff Class
Some very familiar names are making their mark in the powderpuff class. Ferris, Massel,
Dresselhouse, and Thompson all showing that their just as good as the boys!! Joe Ferris has
been dominating this class so far this year but Rachel Maatta and McKenzie Massel are really
starting to add pressure to her. Add Amada Dresselhouse to the mix and you have some
serious competition. Kymm Thompson and Chana Buckley also showed that their skills have
improved too. Fast lap times are starting to get closer each round. In qualifying both Amanda
and Rachel drove their new SC10s well pressing hard for the best starting position. McKenzie
was in the mix as well with a rental Slash but it was Joe driving a rental Slash again grabbed the
TQ this round. McKenzie was 2nd, Rachel 3rd, and Amanda 4th to set the grid for the start.
When the tone sounded Joe took off with McKenzie and the rest in full force. The Rental Slash
was a little slippery for McKenzie as she slid out around the first lap dropping back to last place.
This allowed Joe and Rachel to build up a large lead with Amanda in third. An apparent
transmission issue ended Amanda’s run for the podium leaving the last spot available for Kymm,
Chana, and McKenzie. Mckenzie would come out on top with a 3rd place finish. Joe continues
her domination and the Powder Puff trophy!
Current Powder Puff Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Joe Ferris 303
2nd
McKenzie Massel 297
3rd
Kymm Thompson 292
Novice Class
With the winner of the last race moving up to Stock SCT class there was again another chance
for a new winner of the Novice class this round. Eleven entries in this class meant that
qualifying was very tough for everyone....except Jaxon Boister. Jaxon was able to weave
between wrecked cars and jump the triple almost making 12 laps in five minutes. At the start of
the main event Jaxon was not able to hold the lead slipping back to 3rd place. Collin Campbell
started from 2nd place and avoided the early trouble and took the early lead. Jason Jeppesen
started in third and was able to stay near the lead pack crossing the line in 4th place. Starting
4th on the grid was Evan Rushbrook who stayed clear of early mishaps and crossed the line in
2nd place. As the opening laps started to unfold Jaxon first passed Evan to take over 2nd place
by avoid further crashes. Behind him Hunter Suriano, last races 2nd place finisher, move up
into the 4th spot passing Jason. Jaxon closed in on Collin and passed him for the lead as the
lead pack started to catch the back of the pack to start lapping slower cars. Jason then started
to make some moves and got around Hunter and then met up with Jaxon as he struggled with
lapped traffic eventually passing him and Evan to take over third place as Collin started to gap
the others. All of these drivers were on the same lap! By the start of the last lap Evan had
regained 2nd place ahead of Jason. Jaxon was in 4th with Hunter close behind. The race is
never over until you cross the finish line. Collin was able to maintain his lead on the last lap
winning with a 12 second advantage over 2nd place. The order would nearly flip flop behind
Collin with Hunter passing Jaxon, Jason, and Evan to capture 2nd place. Evan would loose
only one place and finish 3rd to round off the podium for the day. Mark Rushbrook, who was
back as far as 7th place was waiting for his moment and jumped ahead of both Jaxon and
Jason and finished 4th only 0.34 seconds behind Evan leaving 5th for Jason and 6th for Jaxon.
Jaxon had the fastest lap and Hunter was the most consistent. Amazing racing in the Novice
class! A new winner is crowned with Collin Campbell and Hunter takes over the points lead.
Current Novice Class Season Points (1 drop):
1st
Hunter Suriano 295
2nd
Jason Jeppesen 292
3rd
Evan Rushbrook 288
The organizers at the Washtenaw R/C Raceway would like to thank everyone for attending. All
points are calculated with 1 drop. We will calculate the points with both drops after the 6th
round. We also would like to thank our sponsors:
Team Associated – www.teamassociated.com
Nankin Hobbies – www.nankinhobby.com
Boca Bearings – www.bocabearings.com
B-Fast – www.bfastrc.com
RPM Products – www.rpmrcproducts.com
BlueFoxSigns – www.bluefoxgifts.com
Tekin – www.teamteakin.com
Novak R/C – www.teamnovak.com
Panther Tires – www.panthertires.com
Duratrax – www.duratrax.com
Tower Hobbies – www.towerhobbies.com
Robinson Racing – www.robinsonracing.com
Pro-Line – www.prolineracing.com
J-Concepts – www.jconcepts.net
Parma --- www.parmapse.com
Hitec/Airtronics – www.hitecrcd.com and www.airtronics.net
Max Amps – www.maxamps.com
Castle Creations – www.castlecreations.com
RC Driver – www.rcdriver.com
And a special thanks to:
Live RC - www.liverc.com
Washtenaw Farm Council - www.washtenawfarmcouncil.org