Last Friday night…. I remember getting off from work and making my way to the track to help kick off the annual 5 race winter series held at Top Gear Raceway in Clackamas, Oregon. There were questions to whether it was going to happen or not, but I was happy to hear things got ironed out and the 1st race of the JConcepts Winter Champs was held on December 27th, 2013! I was very excited for the series as it brought some of the best racers together on a Friday night to do some good ol’ fashion battlin’.

As I walked in the door the…… place had an energy that I haven’t witnessed in a long time at Top Gear. It was like walking into an amphitheater and the concert just about to start. Unfortunately, the first thing I was told by the track owner was, “Sorry Thomas, there’s no spots left and we’re working on it!” Initially, I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing. No spots meant a lot of people. A lot of people equals good right? Even if you can’t race? Hmmmm…..without a place to pit and less than 2 hours before the start of the race at 7pm….these were tall tale signs that this night was going to be a long night filled with all kinds of epic racing!

After I found a make-shift pit spot, I instantly put my pack on charge and made my tire choices for the evening knowing that was going to be the most crucial decision for my racing. After that, time to check out what’s happening on the track.

The layout is very technical yet challenging enough to reward driver skill, car setup, and race craft. Some track layout are simple enough that it allows all the drivers to drive at almost the same pace. This…..this here… isn’t one of those kind of tracks. This one is really challenging and the separation of talent and skill definitely shows. It’s the kind of track that makes you feel good when you get a good run in because it really pushes you to drive better.

As qualifying started, it gave me a chance to wonder the track to shoot a few pictures and catch up with old friends. I think this is what makes and keeps RC special. It’s the moments where you can walk around the track and say hi to familiar faces, but also acquaint yourself to new friends. More or less, it’s the community…whether you’re fast or still learning, you’re a part of it. You are one of us and that to me, is a beautiful thing.

Qualifying Results.

As the track evolved and traction going up throughout the night, it would be Kyosho and Team Orion’s Andy DiBrino taking top honors in the 2nd round of qualifying in 2wd modified. Running the new AKA “Typo’s”, Andy’s car was definitely on point and was the car to catch all evening. In stock buggy, Chocco Ferrell would show the speed and reset the TQ time by almost 4 seconds earning him the pole position in the main.

A-Main Results.

2wd Stock: 
With the top 7 cars all with fast laps in the 17 second range, stock buggy proved to be a battle of consistency. All of the drivers were capable of putting down the fast laps, but it would be a question of who could do it the cleanest and Chocco Ferrell would rise to the challenge. Ferrell would lead from the start, but after a few laps 3rd place qualifier Tony Bailey, would eventually make his way around Troy McKune to take over 2nd. While on the move Tony capitalized on the leader’s mistake and inherited the lead on lap 7. However, the  following lap was some of the worst luck I’ve seen happen to a guy just trying to get through lap traffic…..ever! And here I thought I had some of the crappiest luck during racing! It was cruel and unreal to see ….yet somewhat awesome at the same time. After taking the lead back from Tony’s ‘mishap’, Chocco would go on to finish with a comfortable, relaxed margin. Could it be the start of ………dominance? Can’t wait till the next race to find out!

1.) Ferrell, Chocco          21     6:08.863     17.537
2.) McKune, Troy           21     6:18.678      17.719
3.) Bailey, Tony               21     6:33.953      17.346
4.) Norton, Lance           20     6:00.497     17.277
5.) Boehringer, Sven      19     6:06.706     17.890
6.) Steidtmann, Mike     19     6:16.869      17.677
7.) Patterson, Devin       19     6:23.542     17.774
8.) Crouse, Ken                   5     1:25.281      18.423

2wd Mod: The start of the race was clean. Everyone had the same idea ……. to roll out cautiously and let the race develop. Actually…..just watch the video!

1.) DiBrino, Andy          23     6:10.425     15.749
2.) Ferrell, CJ                  22     6:05.159     15.581
3.) Dunlap, Shaun          22     6:05.222     15.742
4.) Pillars, Joe                 22     6:10.309     15.851
5.) Day, Tanner              22     6:12.218     15.761
6.) Davies, Tom              21     6:04.038     15.974
7.) Seim, Roger               21     6:06.887     16.305
8.) Rasheed, Derek       20     6:02.802     16.267

Rookie Class: 
It would be Bo Dominguez shining in a class that was C-Main deep. He won every round of qualifying and also the main event. Congrats to Bo and the rookie class as these guys represent the future of our sport. Great driving guys!

1.) Dominguez, Bo      14     5:05.546     21.390
2.) Utz, Erik                  14     5:12.149      21.664
3.) Aldous, Maclain   14     5:14.146      20.937
4.) Evans, Hunter       13     5:05.481     22.822
5.) Jackson, Max         10     5:01.191     26.617
6.) Boeckel, Nick           9     3:42.255     24.448
7.) Lawson, Brandon    9     3:48.485     20.710

Pro-4 ShortCourse

1.) Brown, Shaun                 21     6:07.624     16.852
2.) Borneill, Bradley          20     6:14.342      18.247
3.) Kizer, Kenny                   19     6:12.993      18.009
4.) Lawson, Bruce                18     6:05.035     19.139
5.) Bennett, Clark                18     6:18.227      19.329
6.) Woolley, Gene                17     6:19.502     19.179
7.) Stevens, Alexander      16     6:06.495     21.476

Pro-Lite ShortCourse
1.) Ferrell, Chocco                   19     6:08.292     18.401
2.) Root, Kenny                         19     6:13.012     18.582
3.) Aldous, Steve                       17     6:11.033     20.349
4.) Day, Jason                             16     6:01.442     20.086
5.) Maynard, Marc Andre      16     6:15.995     21.044
6.) Rosander, Jeremy              15     5:25.143     18.848
7.) Huber, Diego                           0        0.000

Stock Truck
1.) Hille, Mo                       21     6:13.877     18.008
2.) McKune, Troy           20     6:05.098     18.064
3.) Norton, Lance            20     6:09.651     17.745
4.) Dunlap, Jim                 19     6:07.669     18.636
5.) Boehringer, Sven      19     6:08.930     18.636
6.) Beard, Justin              19     6:16.812     18.479
7.) Bailey, Tony               18     6:28.318     18.236
8.) Root, Kenny               17     6:01.651     18.574

4wd Mod
1.) Tran, Thomas         23     6:00.660     15.428
2.) Rasheed, Derek      23     6:04.395     15.634
3.) Seim, Roger             23     6:14.842      15.783
4.) Begeot, Ron             21     6:14.208      16.743
5.) Beard, Justin           20     6:05.539     16.713
6.) Leighan, Jack          20     6:08.872     16.501
7.) Foote, Brandon         0        0.000

Thanks to all that participated. The 1st race in the series was a lot of fun and filled with great battles and excitement. The turnout was awesome for a Friday night race with almost 90 entries. I think it would be awesome if we could hit 100 entries somewhere down the line. Thanks for reading and enjoy some photos while you’re here!