This is a different perspective to how the weekend went through my eye’s and my camera’s lens. What I get tired of seeing is a short paragraph and a podium pic of the top 3. There is so much more that happens at a race that we don’t get to see and to grow this sport, sharing more of the story is without question …. Thanks for stopping by and please enjoy.

Making the A-Main this weekend was no joke…. in any class. As always, these guys represent the best of the best in this area and on this day. I salute all those who made the A-main this weekend. For those who didn’t… practice and hard work lead to progression and this is what this sport is all about. – Progression. Even if you didn’t make the A main this time… judging from faces, everyone had a great time this weekend and thanks to Scott Brown and the TRCR crew for putting on a great event!

Thanks to Woody Garwood for this picture. Always a delight to see Woody at the track and I know he’s a big part of the magic at TRCR including track builds and PR. Thanks Woody!

Close quarters – Clean racing … it doesn’t get much better than this. No one likes to get hacked. NO ONE!! Here is an awesome example of Scott Keith taking the inside line and making the pass happen. Just because you get passed, you live to fight another day (or corner).

Stock SC getting ready to hit the track. I’m sure these long boats were very tricky in the 5 pack!

Luke Smith doing it right with his B5M. With elevation changes, this section of the track was called the ‘Rocky Mountain Table Top’ and where tenths were lost or found. If you could get through this section of the track, you could make up half a second on the competition if they had bobbles here. It was one of the more difficult sections to hit right. I don’t think I got it good all weekend long.

Schumacher’s Mikey Brown navigating the end of the Rocky Mountain Table Top section. There were a lot of cars shooting straight to the pole and doing the pole dance. Come off this section too fast, would result in a traction roll at the bottom.

Dustin’s 2wd was looking good in the mains. Just a couple of tenths off in practice and quals, Champions are champions for a reason and Dustin was able to step it up in the mains and match the fastest 2 drivers on the the track….. Michael Schoettler and Luke Smith.

Taking TQ by the narrowest of margins, Michael Schoettler was on point in the final 2 rounds of 2wdMod buggy qualifying. The tie-breaker went to Schoettler followed by Luke Smith and Dustin Evans.

Controversial and tricky is what I would call the 5 pack. Personally, I loved it while others hated it. Most racers would double in and triple out and very few would triple in and double out. Tripling in was probably a tenth faster, but it also came with a price.

Clear shot of Kyosho’s Tanner Day’s SC6 doing the mean lean. Congrats to Tanner for finishing 3rd on the podium in Mod SC.

One of the more approachable guys among the pro drivers is Dustin Evans. Here, Dustin is giving advice to a fan and fellow 22 driver, Levi Semler. You could see the twinkle in Levi’s eyes as he spoke with Dustin. Levi did a great job in the novice class taking home 2nd place hardware. Who knows what the future holds… maybe one day it will be Levi giving advice to young drivers at big races.

 
Dustin Evan’s trio. 1st in Mod SC, 2nd in 4wd, and 1st in 2wd. I say it was a stellar weekend.

Pitting behind me was Schumacher’s Mikey Brown. Always positive and fun to be around, he just has to work on his beard swag a bit more as he’s fallen behind the times. The thing needs to be a foot longer to induce beard swag jealousy. Nice Nachos!!

Team Associated’s John Walentia has returned to RC racing with a vengeance. After taking many years off, he’s back in top form and a contender for wins. Who knows where John will be this weekend or the next, but if you see him say HI.

James Johnson with a fresh new paint job on his SC. His rig looked great!

Woody being Woody and doing work! Can’t wait to see the movie.

Another view of the treacherous 5 pack in B/W.

If you’ve ever raced with a great kid, Harley Yoshii is the a classic modern day example of that. Every time I race with him, he keeps getting faster and faster. This year, he made the 2wdMod A-main as well as the 4wdMod A-main. Also he’s got one of the best paint scheme’s I’ve seen in a while. Simple, classy, and stunningly awesome. Go Beautiful Kid!

Luke had the fastest car over 1 lap all weekend. This is his round 1 TQ shot and deservingly so. He’s come a long way and proves that steel sharpens steel as he runs regularly with Michael Schoettler. This dynamic duo are changing the game in the NW and it’s great to see. Watch out for him and Schoettler as they are my pics at the next Reedy Race in January.

When you got it, you got it. Michael Schoettler TQ’d rounds 3 and 4 and won the JConcepts Spring Indoor Nationals earlier in the year. Speed, skill, and composure is what separates this young talent apart from the rest of the field. Future national champion? I think so….

Tacoma R/C Raceway, over time has built up the reputation as the track no pros want to go to. If they have, they don’t want to come back. However, Dustin Evans has proved that the impossible can be done. He’s dethroned the local champs at this year’s Gold Cup in 3 mains with spectacular driving and poise. What I admire about Dustin this weekend was the fact he never gave up. Not once did I feel a sense of, “I’m over over,” like I’ve seen before in other racers. He’s a true champion in my book and a great role model for kids to look up to.

I would like to thank all the racers this weekend for coming out and making it happen. We all share the same passion for racing no matter what level we’re at. It’s great to have events like this to share that experience racing together and build our community as a whole. Thanks to Dustin Evans for attending this year and adding to the magic We look forward to seeing you back in the NW soon!