2018 Spring Super Cup Series Rd1 – Report
The JConcepts Super Cup Championship Series has long been the premiere 1/10th off-road racing series in Florida and 2018 marks the 10th year anniversary of this glorious series. Like many years in the past, round 1 of the Spring Super Cup race serves double duty as it kicks off the 2018 racing season and also serves as the award ceremony and banquet event for the 2017 season crowning the top 5’s for both the 2017 Spring and Fall Super Cup Seasons along with many other awards and achievements. Saturday was the start of round 1 of the Spring Super Cup Championship Series hosted by Beachline Raceway. A few jumps were fixed to allow for better take offs and landings making it more consistent for racers to put down fast laps on the grippy surface. With the entry count nearing 240 total entries, the excitement of the Super Cup was definitely in the air.
It was a fantastic race in the 2WD Modified class with 4th place qualifier, Paul Wynn jumping up the grid from 4th to 1st on the 2nd lap. It was an unfortunate bounce roll for class TQ, Billy Easton and 2nd place qualifier Lee Setser, dropping them down the grid early in the race. Lee would bounce back to mount a charge that would take almost 4 minutes and put a nice pass on Paul for the lead. Knowing that he was running short on time, Paul sent it on the double forcing Lee to give up the lead, the two would race to the finish with Paul taking the win by .79 seconds over Lee. Don Tech put on a fantastic last half of the race to move back into 3rd to take the final spot on the podium.
Perhaps the best race of the weekend came in the 4WD Modified race where Daimon Borkowicz was leading the main until the very last lap. With JR Mitch trailing just behind, the final lap set up JR for an amazing pass on the “send it” double that saw JR sky his wheeler and land on the inside of Daimon to take over the lead. With only a few corners left, JR was able to hold off Daimon from overtaking and took a well deserved, amazing win. Daimon finished in a close 2nd with Brett Kingsbury moving up 2 spots from his 5th qualifying position to finish on the box in 3rd.
In 13.5 4WD Buggy and having qualified 3rd overall, Patrick Rossiter Jr. was determined and raised his game in the single 5-minute A-final moving from 3rd to 1st after just 6 laps. After taking over the lead, Rossiter was able to check out and control the gap back to 2nd. Ryan Harris finished 2nd with smooth, consistent driving while Joey Trautman finished strong to take 3rd on the podium.
The battle in 17.5 Expert Stock Buggy is always fierce in Florida. Home to some of the best stock racers in the nation, this weekend saw another great race. Delivering in the A-Main, TJ Bradley took the win on a near flawless effort. Don Tech finished 2nd with Ryan Harris 3rd on his debut Expert Buggy race.
The popular Independent 17.5 2WD Buggy class has taken off from last year. This “Zero” sponsorship class has been doing well and given a place for the non “Pro” stock racers a place to battle. The category saw a very fast and talented Dalton Hashbarger battle back from a poor start to retake the lead along with the win by just 2.25 seconds over class TQ, Hunter Rousseau. Bryan Thomas was in the mix as well making it a 3 car race and while momentarily jumping up to 2nd, would have to settle for 3rd overall with a valiant effort.
Another fast Independent racer, Tracey Proctor, capitalized from his TQ spot in the Independent 17.5 Stadium Truck class. With a slight bobble early in the race, Tracey bounced back to regain the lead and held off a hard-charging Jeff Lynn. Late in the race, Lynn made his way around German Diaz for 2nd with Diaz fighting until the very to reclaim his 2nd place spot but settled for 3rd just .95 seconds back of Lynn.
It was a great weekend for Jeff Lynn as he was also able to finish 2nd in Indy Truck, but also took the win in Independent Stock Short Course. After taking a break from racing, German Diaz also had a terrific weekend placing 3rd in Indy Truck and 2nd in Independent Short Course. Unfortunately having to hit the road before the podium shots, Danny Wight finished 3rd overall.
John Prickett has been the driver to beat in the 40+ class and proved it once again the 40+ Open 2WD A-main. With clutch driving in closing minutes, John emerged victorious out of a 3 car battle for the win. Rebecca Tech had a terrific main showcasing some great driving all weekend to finish 2nd. Billy Bruce moved up from his 5th qualifying spot to finish in 3rd.
In the ever important Super Cup Novice class Anton Bousquet showed a fine performance and win. Chad Neuweiler finished 2nd on the podium with Anton’s son, Jonah Bousquet 3rd overall.
Source: JConcepts [jconcepts.net]
