Sanford and Son RC headed out to IERC Raceway in San Bernardino, CA for the 2014 Gunsmoke Classic. There was a practice day on Friday, November 14, with three rounds of 5 minute qualifiers on Saturday and 6 minute Triple A-Mains on Sunday. On the mic was Aaron Wilming, and there were 305 entries!
The competition for this round would include Ty Tessmann from Hot Bodies, Steven Hartson, Ashe Deering and Kevin Motter from Associated, Drew Moller from A-Main Hobbies, David Jenson, Brian Sullivan, Colby Poh, Nick Lasley, Jeremy Hase, Shaun Blackwell and Brian McDuffie from TLR, Andrew Smolnik from Hobby Pro USA, Pres Ilog from AKA Racing, Rudy Rico, Eric McNeil and Carlos Arredando from Tekno RC, and Kyosho teammate Cody Turner. Sorry if I missed anyone!
1/8 Scale E Buggy
My Kyosho MP9e TKI had been set up for outdoor running, and I knew the shock oils would be too heavy for indoors. However, I left the car as is for my first practice run on Friday. I was correct about the shock oils, as the car was sliding thru the turns. I went down 5 weight in the front and 2-1/2 weight in the rear, and the car was dialed. I turned up the current limiter on the Tekin RX8 Gen2 ESC, but I needed no other setup changes the entire weekend. I was able to concentrate on breaking in my tires of choice, AKA clay Typos.
There were two heats of 1/8 Scale E Buggy, and I would be in the second heat. Ilog and Sullivan both had very good runs in the first heat, with Sullivan taking the TQ. Sullivan is always fast at his home track, and Pres Ilog’s car was dialed, but I had a perfect run, taking the Q1 TQ by 2 seconds.
In Q2, David Jenson pressed me hard for the entire race, but I had another great run, taking the win. My 2nd round TQ meant I would not have to race the third qualifier, so I was able to head back to the hotel early and get a few extra hours of much needed sleep. I would start on the pole for Sunday’s A-Mains, with Eric McNeil second and Brian Sullivan third.
In A1, I got a great start. McNiel stayed on my bumper for a while, but made a mistake and let Sullivan by. Midway thru the race, Sullivan crashed on the triple, and David Jenson started his charge. Jenson had a good race, but I was able to pull away and beat the clock for a victory lap. In A2, I got another great start, and the car just got better and better as the AKA Typos heated up. I was able to take the win for A2, and was able to sit out the third A-Main. David Jenson had a great race and took second on the podium, with Sullivan in third.
My MP9 TKI3 on AKA rubber and DE wheels, with KO radio and electronics was dialed all weekend. The Tekin T8i motor and RX8 Gen 2 ESC allowed me to weigh in at just 14 grams over the minimum weight, and made the car so nimble thru the infield, it was amazing!
1/8 Scale E Buggy Final Results:
1. Lucas Sanford (Kyosho)
2. David Jenson (TLR)
3. Brian Sullivan (TLR)
Mod Truck
I haven’t raced Mod Truck very much, but when I have, it has never required very many setup changes to get dialed in. It would be different this weekend. I was running a brand new set of AKA Typos on the truck, and the wear was so minimal on the tires that I had to spend most of the day Friday breaking them in. I made about five setup changes, one at a time, and the truck was getting better with each change. By the end of practice on Friday, the truck was pretty good.
In Q1, I made a couple of mistakes, but was able to take the TQ win. In Q2 I tried to push too hard on a wet track, and took 3rd place. In the final qualifier, I placed 2nd to Smolnik, but managed to maintain the overall TQ for the Saturday A-Mains. Smolnik was second, with Blackwell third.
In A1, the truck still didn’t have enough grip, and I had trouble clearing the triple jump in the middle of the track. I made a couple of mistakes, but was able to hang on for the win over Smolnik by only a couple of tenths of a second.
In A2, the truck was a little better, and it was a three way battle between myself, Smolnik and Blackwell for the entire race. I got spun out from behind by the same truck twice, in the same spot on the track, and would fall to fourth place. I was able to close the gap on the leaders, with Smolnik, Blackwell and myself finishing within 2 seconds of each other, in that order.
The AKA Typos had been getting better and better, and by the time A3 started, the truck was pretty locked in. I got a great start and stretched out to a comfortable lead, taking the A3 win, and the overall win for the race. Smolnik finished second on the podium, with Jeremy Hase taking third.
My Kyosho RT6 on AKA clay Typos gradually got better all weekend, and was locked in for the A-Mains. The KO EX-1 KIY radio and servos were amazing as always. My motor of choice was the 6.5 turn Redline Gen2, with the Tekin RSX ESC.
Mod Truck Final Results:
1. Lucas Sanford (Kyosho)
2. Andrew Smolnik (Hobby Pro USA)
3. Jeremy Hase (TLR)
I also raced 2wd Mod Buggy. There were 44 racers in this class. I was able to qualify 1st in the B-Main and had a great run to take the first bump-up spot in the A-Mains. I finished 7th, 10th and 7th in the stacked field in the A-Mains, and I believe I finished 7th overall for the race.
I would like to thank all of my sponsors for making it happen: Sanford and Son RC, Kyosho, KO Propo, AKA, DE Racing, Tekin, TTN Racing and Upgrade RC. Thank you to the track owners Larry and Debbie Cerquettini, race announcer Aaron Wilming, and especially to AKA Racing for sponsoring this great race.
