Round One: Dallas, Texas

Racing

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First up were the HPI Truck class racers - with the jumps provided by the HTRLRC club, the trucks could get some air underneath their tires between negotiating the infield. With four racers in the class, the spread of total laps was pretty wide, and it was Nicholas Haberberg that took the TQ spot for the main events at the end of qualifying.

Rally class was next, with father and son team Timm and Ivan Wooley running with Tim Barklage. Tim had trouble with his car in a couple of the early races and Timm Wooley was able to walk away with a hefty points lead after the first 3 rounds. (Remember, Rally class uses 4 heads-up races instead of 3 qualifiers. Each race counts towards the point total.) All the spectators still had fun teasing Timm for beating up on his son in the races, however, and Ivan had fun with the jumps, as always!

Next class to run was the Micro class, both Stock and Pro (modified). The Micro Stock class is meant for the younger and less experienced racers, which is why it is limited to the stock Micro motor and 4 AA batteries, but that didn't matter to the racers - they still had a good time! Richie Taney looked like the racer to beat in this class, we would have to see what would happen in the main event.

In Micro Pro Michael Collins made his first HPI Challenge appearance since the '02 World Finals in Japan (Timm Wooley was also there), battling with Howard Mahute to see who would take away the TQ spot. In the end Howard secured the pole, but Mike and a slew of other drivers were right behind. This was actually a hotly contested class! Four of the six racers were capable of winning this class, that's how tight it was.

The Electric Sport class was another set of close racing - Concours Challenge Runnner-Up Tommy Dang was always looking fast in his qualifying races but Danny Beachamp (who walked away with multiple wins in Florida last year) looked strong as well! In the end Tommy Dang secured TQ, with Danny and other drivers close behind.

In Electric Pro Danny Beachamp didn't have much luck during qualifying - electronic troubles or other issues kept creeping up, preventing him from getting a good run in. Michael Collins, however, looked very strong in this class, trying to make a run in 4 different classes! With his wife Melissa watching on (and running in Electric Sport herself) Michael solidified the pole position for the A Main.

Nitro Stock was a surprisingly small class, however there was still plenty of rivalry going on! Trailer pit buddies Charles Poltes and Edward Beachamp had a lively set of qualifying rounds together, with Timm Wooley and Kaven Mitchell putting in their two cent's worth in, but it was Edward who secured the top spot for the 5-minute A Main.

Nitro Modified, as usual, was our biggest class at this race, with 29 racers. With Michael Collins, Danny and Edward Beachamp, Timm Wooley and a host of other fast racers in this class, we knew it would be interesting! Mike, having learned from his experience in Japan, used the Escudo body to full effect, allowing it to help him take the pole position. Local racers Chris Cook, John Gant and others were sure to make it interesting as well, we'd have to see what excitement the 10-minute A Main would bring!

In Super Nitro class Michael Clark held onto TQ spot after some hard charges from Howard Mahute and Timm Wooley, but there was plenty of action going on behind them in the jostling for qualifying positions - Mike Wallace, Jerry Russell, Juan Blaylock and David Hall all qualified very close together and promised to make it an interesting A Main event!

The Savage class was the last to race but kept the crowd interested with their big-air jumps and clambering over the track barriers. I'm sure many people watching were amazed at the durability of the Savage running into 4-inch high wood boards and each other out on the track! Although Michael Collins was in this race also, he must have been concentrating on his cars - Tim Sass ended up with the TQ position for the A Main event. Racers Bryan Ketterer, Brandon Zachry and Richard Sherman all qualified close together, ensuring an interesting and fun race!

Check back soon for final results and more racing pictures!

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See the HTRLRC web site for more!