Five Wins at the Lonestar Nitro Challenge

Friday, Jun 1, 2018 at 12:00am UTC

Thornhill Racing Circuit in Hutto, TX hosted the 5th Annual Lonestar Nitro Challenge over Memorial Day weekend. The race put on by world-famous Joey Christiansen and The Dirt, which always means an amazing layout and race atmosphere. With some of the fastest drivers in the South in attendance, Team Associated drivers were on hand to compete for the titles in both Pro and Expert classes. In qualifying, the tone was set early with Team Associated driver Quincy Hughes taking TQ honors in both 40+ E-Buggy and E-Truggy. This was followed up by AE's Brian Rohde taking the overall TQ for Expert Nitro Buggy. Showing no signs of stopping, AE's own Jake Dellinger took TQ honors in both Pro Nitro Buggy and Pro Electric Buggy, making it an overall count of five classes worth of Top Qualifying efforts.

With the track conditions changing throughout the day, the surface would end up being a polished groove for mains day. Mains were run in Double-A format, meaning that each main would be crucial in the overall for each driver. In 40+ E-Buggy and E-Truggy, Quincy Hughes took the victory in both A1 and A2, securing the overall title for each class. Quincy Hughes said, "My Reedy electronics were super smooth and very fast. I had many comments on how fast the truggy was. All in all, in was a great weekend. Can't wait till the next race."

In Expert E-Buggy, Brian Rohde started second overall. In A1 he was able to quickly get around the TQ and start to pull away. After making a few mistakes he wound up in a battle with two minutes to go. With less than a minute left on the clock, Rohde got around the leader and took the victory in A1.

In A2, it was more of the same for Rohde as he had to battle back from early mistakes. With AE Teammate Austin Bauer in the lead late in A2, Rohde took advantage of some late mistakes to take the win in A2 and the overall victory.

In Expert Nitro buggy, the main was set for a 30-minute showdown between the south's most up-and-coming drivers. With a solid start from the TQ position, Rohde battled with the lead pack until the halfway point of the race. Rohde commented, "After my second pit stop I had regained the lead and just drive off into the sunset to take the win by 14 seconds and my second win of the weekend." Rohde was followed up by AE Teammate Brian Beck on the podium, who finished fifth.

Pro E-Buggy was filled with the fastest drivers in the region, and taking the TQ spot was AE's own Jake Dellinger. Starting fourth on the grid was new AE driver Austin Jeffries. In A1 of the Double-A format, the top three drivers separated themselves from the field and began to battle for the entire 10-minute main. After a late race mistake by Dellinger, the victory was taken by Tekno's Tyler Hooks following by Austin Jeffries in second and Jake Dellinger in third. With the overall title up for grabs between the three in A2, there was no margin for error. Early on in A2 it was the Dellinger-and-Jeffries show. The two AE teammates battled out front for the entirety of the main, with Jeffries holding off a late charge from Dellinger and taking the overall victory, making it a 1-2 finish for the Team Associated drivers.

In Pro Nitro Buggy, Jake Dellinger was again able to start out front with the talented field behind him. The 45-minute A Main was sure to be one to watch, with the entire field having the speed to win. From the start, Dellinger was able to distance himself from the lead pack and not look back. AE Teammate Austin Jeffries ran third for a majority of the race before a late race charge by Ethan Lefebvre and finished sixth overall. Dellinger used his TQ spot to his advantage and took the victory by 14 seconds.

Products used
#80935 RC8B3.1 Nitro Team Kit
#80936 RC8B3.1e Team Kit
#80937 RC8T3.1 Nitro Team Kit
#27007 Reedy Blackbox 850R 1:8 ESC
#27405 Reedy Sonic 866 Competition 1:8 Buggy Motor
#27407 Reedy Sonic 877 Competition 1:8 Truggy Motor
#27327 Reedy Zappers SG 5200mah 110c 15.2V 4S LP
#27328 Reedy Zappers SG 6400mah 110c 15.2V 4S HC
#27313 Reedy LiPo Pro TX/RX 2400mah 7.4V Flat

Thanks to Tyler Keel for this report.

Team Associated - Champions by Design


Pictures