Race Report: Thumb RC Summer Series - Round Two

Provided by Tom Claerhout, Thumb RC Raceway

Thumb RC Summer Series Round 2 was a Scorcher

The 3rd Annual Thumb RC Summer Series continued on July 23rd at Thumb RC in Gagetown, MI. The event featured 1/8 through 1/18 scale electric classes. For the second time in a row, temperatures were around 90 degrees for the day. The track crew and volunteers had to water two or three times per round. The sunny skies did not help keep the track moist either. The turnout was slightly smaller than round one, but 62 entries still helped fill the grid for the day. There was plenty of great racing on the track.

Youth & Women A Main

The Youth & Women class was the first main of the day. Annabelle and Logan battled for the entire race. Logan led three laps near the halfway mark, but made a few mistakes and allowed Annabelle to retake the lead. Ethan was running in third place for the first three laps but a mechanical issue forced him down to fifth place. Hayley took over third after three laps and took that all the way to the finish. Jill Harding was twenty seconds behind Hayley at the finish in fourth place.

• 1st: Annabelle
• 2nd: Logan Drapinski
• 3rd: Hayley
• 4th: Jill Harding
• 5th: Ethan

2WD Short Course A Main

The 2WD Short Course class had a rather small turnout on the day. This class typically has a full heat of drivers. Josh Salewsky started on the pole and quickly pulled a gap on the field. He led the race from start to finish. Randy came in second and Kevin third another twenty seconds behind. Captain Kirk finished fourth a few laps behind Kevin.

• 1st: Josh Salewsky
• 2nd: Randy Drapinski
• 3rd: Kevin Marcy
• 4th: Captain Kirk

4WD Short Course B Main

Toecutter had the pace to take the top qualifier position in the A main but mechanical problems forced him into the B main after both qualifiers. He started last on the grid but made his way to the front by lap three. He took control of the race and finished twenty four seconds ahead of second place Captain Kirk. Rick Delreal ran in third position for most of the race and took the final step on the podium. Dan Nicol finished fourth. Levi was battling for third place throughout the main event but electrical issues forced him to settle for fifth.

• 1st: Toecutter
• 2nd: Captain Kirk
• 3rd: Rick Delreal
• 4th: Dan Nicol
• 5th: Levi Wilkinson

Stadium Truck A Main

A few new racers joined us in the Stadium Truck class. Austin and Steve Weiland battled for the first few laps of the main but Austin ended up checking out. He had a one lap lead at the finish. Steve finished second and was ten seconds clear of the third place finisher, Randy Drapinski. Josh Salewsky battled for second nearly the entire race but a bad last lap cost him a spot on the podium. Tom Claerhout had a head on collision with a lapper but was still able to nurse the truck home in fifth place.

• 1st: Austin Weiland
• 2nd: Steve Weiland
• 3rd: Randy Drapinski
• 4th: Josh Salewsky
• 5th: Tom Claerhout

1/8 Buggy B Main

The 1/8 Buggy class was yet again one of the biggest classes of the day. Damaine took the lead by the end of the first lap and never looked back. He won the race by a lap over second place. Steve Gonzalez ran a solid second and was six seconds ahead of Scooter at the finish. Dan Nicol took fourth another twenty seconds back. Sven took fifth.

• 1st: Damaine
• 2nd: Steve Gonzalez
• 3rd: Scooter
• 4th: Dan Nicol
• 5th: Sven

2WD Buggy A Main

The 2WD Buggy class was one of the closest finishes of the day. Austin led for the entire race but Josh and Toecutter kept him honest. At the finish Austin had a ten second lead over Josh. Toecutter was another ten seconds behind Josh in third. Steve Weiland ran a lonely race in fourth place and Keith was twenty seconds back in fifth.

• 1st: Austin Weiland
• 2nd: Josh Salewsky
• 3rd: Toecutter
• 4th: Steve Weiland
• 5th: Keith Trottier

4x4 Short Course A Main

The 4x4 Short Course main was the race to watch. Rich was the top qualifier but a rough start relegated him to a seventh place finish. Josh took the lead on the first lap and led the entire way. First through sixth place all finished on the same lap. Toecutter took second and was twelve seconds behind the leader. Brian Trammel was third another three seconds back. Damaine and Wesley were a second apart at the finish for fourth and fifth place finishes. Randy just missed out on getting an award in sixth place.

• 1st: Josh Salewsky
• 2nd: Toecutter
• 3rd: Brian Trammel
• 4th: Damaine
• 5th: Wesley Mix

4WD Buggy A Main

The 4WD Buggy class featured a great battle between Rick and Keith for the win. Keith led for eight laps in the middle of the race but Rick slowly tracked him down. On lap nine Keith made a mistake and Rick found is way past for the win. Damaine took third and finished one lap behind Rick. Jacob Dohrmann was fourth, and Ethan finished fifth.

• 1st: Rick Delreal
• 2nd: Keith Trottier
• 3rd: Damaine
• 4th: Jacob Dohrmann
• 5th: Ethan

Open Mini A Main

The Open Mini class was smaller than normal. Typically there is an A and B main for the class. Mike Royer took advantage of the low turnout and won his first mini race at Thumb RC. At the finish he had a twenty second lead over Sven in second. Jacob Dohrmann finished in third nine seconds behind Sven. They battled for most of the main. Captain Kirk brought his LC Truggy across the finish in fourth despite a grinding diff for the entire main. Brian Trammel took fifth.

• 1st: Mike Royer
  
• 2nd: Sven
• 3rd: Jacob Dohrmann
• 4th: Captain Kirk
• 5th: Brian Trammel

1/8 Buggy A Main

The 1/8 Buggy class is always one of the most competitive classes of the day. Kool-Aid, Keith and Brian all led the race for a few laps. Once the dust settled, it was Kool-Aid taking the win by four seconds over Keith. Brian had a few bad laps toward the end of the race that allowed the leaders to pull out a sizable lead. Wesley took fourth one lap behind Kool-Aid. Levi Wilkinson took fifth in his first race at Thumb RC this year.

• 1st: Kool-Aid
• 2nd: Keith Trottier
• 3rd: Brian Trammel
• 4th: Wesley Mix
• 5th: Levi Wilkinson

A big thank you goes out to all of the drivers for making this race a huge success. The next race at Thumb RC is on August 6th.

Thank you to these great sponsors: JConcepts, Tekin, Blue Fox Gifts, Panther Tires, Hobbywing, Robinson Racing, MIP, Boca Bearings, Castle, Team Associated, Tekno RC, Nankin Hobby, Chinahobbyline.com, Caster Racing.