2013 Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout – Report

When people talk about the big races of the year, there are a few that don’t get left out. These big events include events such as the Cactus Classic, the Reedy Race, ROAR Nats, and the one that just passed this weekend in Saugus, CA; the Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout. This year marked the 16th year of this great event and it was one for the books. With a new layout that begged for tight racing the track was more than anyone could ask for. This years layout included a massive triple, a 4 pack that could be could be doubled or tripled into, a high speed dog leg sweeper and a few other tricky obstacles.

In the premier class of 2WD Modified Buggy, Ty Tessmann was a strong contender for the two Team Associated Ryans. As A1 unfolded Ty was able to chase down Team Associated’s Ryan Maifield and hang on his rear bumper but was not able to get by for the win. In A2 the young man had a great start but had a bobble that pushed him to the back of the field. Ty was able to gather things up but would end up in the 5th spot for A2. For A3 he started out running in the 2nd spot and was able to hold the position all the way through the second to last lap. On the final lap Pro-Line Racing team mate Dakota Phend would make a move swapping their spots on the finishing order and this meant Ryan Maifield would take the winning honours in front of Ryan Cavalieri and Ty Tessmann.

In the 4WD Modified Buggy class it was the Ty Tessman show. Ty was able to wrap up both the second and third round of qualifying with round 1 went to Jared Tebo and Maifield taking the honors in round 4. In A1 pole sitter Ty had a bobble on lap 2 that put him back to 5th place. Throughout the race Ty was able to push hard and made his way all the way up to 2nd finishing behind Ryan Maifield and just ahead of Jared Tebo but in A2 and A3 Tessmann would lead from start to finish booking him in as the winner for the 2013 4WD Buggy Champion.

The honours in the Pro4 Short Course class went to TLR driver Dakota Phend this year. Pro-Line Racing team mate Billy Fischer would grab the second spot on the box behind Dakota with David Jenson (TLR) completing the podium.

As the Stadium Truck class fights to make a comeback the class provided some of the best racing of the weekend. In A1 The top 5 drovers were all running within 3 seconds and the battle was intense. A1 would be wrapped up with Maifield and Cavalieri taking the top 2 spots while Dakota Phend would finish a little further down the order. In A2 Cav would take the top spot with Phend finishing a close Second. In A3 Phend stretched out the lead with his TLR 22T being chased down by AE’s Ryan Cavalieri. When it was all said and done it came down to a tie for the top spot on the box and Cav would edge out Phend by less than 2/10th’s of a second for the overall win.

In the 13.5 Stadium Truck Class up and coming driver Wayne Wyrick had an outstanding weekend by taking the TQ and the win in the class.

In the 13.5 Short Course Class Matt Gilbert would take the TQ and the win. In A1 matt got punted on lap 2 and pushed back to the 5th spot. He has able to fight his way back to 3rd. In both A2 and A3 Gilbert was able to take his Truck to the checkers and seal up the overall win in the Expert Stock Short Course truck.

In the 17.5 Short Course Class Tyler Fenster would take the TQ and win A1 and A2 giving him the overall win.

Source: Pro-Line [prolineracing.com]