Frank Root captures JBRL titles 6 & 7
Team Losi Racing took to the JBRL Finals at Hot Rod Hobbies this past weekend with Keith Whisler, Ryan Dunford, Casper Nielsen, and Frank Root all in attendance and Frank sent us this report. Keith and I made it up on Friday afternoon to get in some practice packs and fine tune the setups for this weekend’s track conditions and found that Red BK Bars and Taper Pins were very hooked up on the blue-groove surface for all classes. After sharing this info with Ryan and Casper, the team was ready for qualifying on Saturday morning. This weekend was critical as it was the last chance for each driver to score crucial point towards the 2010 overall championships. The track was the typical high-bite blue groove that Hot Rod has become famous for and the weather was perfect setting up a great weekend of racing.
In the 4wd, I had already wrapped up the championship, so I decided to sit this round out and race 2wd Short Course instead. I had the opportunity to help debut the new XXX-SCT and the truck was awesome all weekend. I was able to take the TQ and Win, and teammates Ryan and Casper finished 3rd and 6th respectively.
The 2wd points battle was a tight one all year, but I was not able to claim first overall coming into the last round. I still raced 2wd Mod and my XXX-CR was amazing all weekend. The setup we developed at Nationals has really been good at just about every track, and HRH was no different. I was able to take the TQ by 4+ seconds! I had a bit of a rough run in the main and finished 4th, while Ryan had a strong run and finished 2nd. After the points were tallied, I finished 2nd in the 2010 overall standings.
The real battle of the weekend was for the 1/8 Electric title. I came into the last round just 1 point rival Steven Hartson. With a TQ and win, I could secure the overall title. After a very tight battle throughout the 4 rounds of qualifying, my 8ight-E 2.0 would take the valuable TQ point by a mere .40 sec! This meant the winner of the 10-minute A-main would also be the overall series champion. The start of the main was clean as I led the field for a few laps, only to make a mistake in the sweeper sending me to the back of the pack. I had to strap it up and really push my buggy, but it was ready for the challenge and fast laps were clicked off as I made it back through the field, and closed on Hartson. With a few minutes to go I made my way into the lead and did not look back taking the TQ and win, and the 2010 Championship which is my 7th overall! Ryan also had a very strong year and finished 3rd in the overall points!
I had a great time this year in the 2010 JBRL. Thanks to Jimmy Babcock and his crew for another great year of racing. I would just like to thank Team Losi Racing, Xcelorin, Spektrum, Upgrade RC, PCH, SCH, Fine Line Designs, Horizonhobby.com, and all Team Losi Racing customers for all off their support throughout the year.
Source: Losi [losi.com] / Images: Aaron Waldron
