Why not kick off the new year in style with awesomeness, fun, racing, and hanging out with your buds…… YES please! On January 3rd, 2015, Fourseason’s Raceway in Olypmia, Washington hosted the 2nd annual e1D ‘Hang Over’ race and this year’s event definitely lived up to all the hype.  If you haven’t read last year’s race write-up… have a read here to catch up on this unique race event.

Building upon last year’s success with entries numbers up 30+, a better track design that’s uber challenging, and mix in higher level of competition, the e1D Hang Over race was a complete success in all areas. On top of all that, what makes the Hang Over race unique from other races is the ‘Champion’s Cup’ race at the very end. Not only do all racers get to run 3 quals and single 8 minute mains to decide class champions, but after all the A-mains are finished the top 2 winners in each class will throw down in a 30 lap stagger started race. The handicap is calculated by taking the class winner’s top 15 lap avg. and multiplying it by 30 to give us the spread. The idea of this exciting format is to potentially allow the elite 2 from all the different classes to all battle on the last lap. Although, with each driver having their own strategy and incidents on the racetrack, makes it impossible to predict who’s going to win the race. This year’s race was AWESOME in all caps! Please check out the video down below.

The 2015 Hang Over track was extremely technical and very risky, but in stock form……. smooth and rhythmic. For the modified classes, it was a completely different beast. This track had 2 faces. One face was nice and friendly, the other was vicious and felt like it could bite you at any time. The box jump after the sweeper was a challenge for all that dared to clear it. Come up short and you will pay a hefty price of a guaranteed crash and if you’re lucky you didn’t break. However, if you just stick to the simple on and off, it was very smooth and relaxed. The drop offs invited rolls and the double double section was rhythmic and a delight. Although, the mod guys would quad the double double section which required extreme precision and focus. Otherwise, crashing would be inevitable.  With many areas of the track being high risk with high penalty, this was one of the harder tracks to master and those who did….. would absolutely shine.

Here are the top 3 results from each class below, but congratulations to all. There was great racing displayed in all classes all weekend.

Rookie

1st place – [TQ] Brayden Walker
2nd place – Nathan Anderson
3rd place – DAVID

17.5 2wd Stock Buggy

1st place – [TQ] Tino Fortunato
2nd place – Justin Lowe
3rd place – Zack Morgan

17.5 Stock Truck

1st place – [TQ] Nathan Bernal
2nd place – Shane Borden
3rd place – Evan Overmars

17.5 2wd Pro Stock Buggy

1st place – [TQ] Shane Borden
2nd place – Jared Cozzocrea
3rd place – Evan Overmars

Open Short Course

1st place – [TQ] Jason Gainey
2nd place – Terry Schulz
3rd place – Tino Fortunato

4wd Modified Buggy

1st place – [TQ] Michael Schoettler
2nd place – John Walentia
3rd place – Thomas Tran

2wd Modified Buggy

Team Associated/JConcepts’ NW ace, Michael Schoettler was in attendance making a rare appearance away from his home track, TRCR. For those who doubted his ability to travel well and perform were all silenced as he took every round of qualifying against a very competitive field of 2wd mod drivers.

As the A-main started, Schoettler’s precision would allow him to slowly increase his gap from 2nd place qualifier and AE teammate, Luke Smith as Smith made an a few minor bobbles early and dropped back to 5th. Never giving up, Smith would defy all logic and string together magical laps and would charge his way back to 2nd. Half way through the race, a rare mistake by Schoettler would cost him his cushion and put Smith within a second. Smith would close that gap and battle Schoettler for the lead. Inside, outside, Schoettler would defend his position and never allow Smith enough room to pass. The two would eventually tangle, but Smith would give the position back and continued where they left off. With no time left on the clock, Schoettler would cross the line only .7 seconds ahead of Smith. Meanwhile, Team Associated’s Nathan Bernal would finish strong and exactly where he qualified, 3rd place.

1st place – [TQ] Michael Schoettler
2nd place – Luke Smith
3rd place – Nathan Bernal

The 2015 Champion’s Cup Finalists

The video below shows the epic finish of the most exciting race so far in the new year. 10 drivers, 5 different classes, 30 laps to battle, staggered starts, and a photo finish. What a great race! Thanks to all that had part in putting together this event. Huge thanks to Jason Gainey of e1D for organizing the event. Many thanks to the track crew at 4Seasons for an exciting track, Mikey Brown for his excellent RD services, and to Gary Brown for a great place to race. Enjoy the video. Also you can check out some more videos at livestream.

Champion’s Cup Results

1st place – Nathan Bernal [Stock Truck]
2nd place – Luke Smith [2wdMod]
3rd place – Michael Schoettler [2wdMod]

Congratulations to Nathan Bernal for taking the win in the 2015 Champion’s Cup race! The 2014’s US stock truck national champion made his way to the pacific NW from sunny California and did it again. By utilizing his stagger to his advantage and keeping the competition behind him, Bernal would fend off a hard charging Luke Smith on the last lap, on the last set of jumps, on the last corner just before the finish line. What an exciting show. Bernal will have his name forever engraved in the Champion’s Cup trophy as the 2015 Champion!

Can’t wait for next year. Here are a few highlight photos from the weekend.