HPI teams up with NASCAR and R/C Car Action in New Hampshire!

The Mitchell Hobbies trailer, right next to the track	Good level changes!	Bob and Kevin from R/C Car Action view the track	Jake Jarrett watches his dad Dale make a qualifying run
Ray Mitchell talks with Ward Burton, #22	Bill Carpenter with MRO talks to the boys about racing etiquette	Bob coaches Jeb Burton	Ward Burton watches his son go for a spin

During the weekend of July 19-21, HPI Racing teamed up with with Mitchell Hobbies of New Hampshire and Radio Control Car Action magazine to attend the New England 300 race of the NASCAR racing series! Taking place in Loudon, New Hampshire the New England 300 was the 20th race this year for NASCAR fans.

Repairing the track	Tight line on that off-road track	Plenty of spectators	Crews and track workers take a break to watch
Bob works on the track - work that rake!	Micros speed along!	Bob helps out Jake Jarrett	The Micros were a hit with the kids!

HPI, Mitchell Hobbies and R/C Car Action attended the race at the request of Motor Racing Outreach (MRO), and arrived with ten Nitro RS4 RTR 3s and a couple of RS4 Micros to put on a race for the drivers, crews and families of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The Nitro RS4 RTRs were box stock except for a change to our stock car wheels and V-Groove tires. Each one had identical setups, and the Pontiac Trans Am bodies that were installed were painted to resemble the actual Pontiac Firebirds used in the International Race Of Champions (IROC).

Bobby Labonte as turn marshal	The track area got worked	Bobby Labonte with son Tyler	NASCAR families come out to watch
Safety personnel watch the IROC RTR 3 cars run	Racing amongst the motor coaches meant lots of spectators!	NASCAR rookie Ryan Newman runs his pan car	Several NASCAR drivers and crews bring their R/C cars along!

The original plan was to run a full race schedule of two qualifiers and a main event for the IROC series and then also allow anyone who had R/C cars of their own to come down and race in their own class. However, Mother Nature didn’t feel like cooperating and rain fell halfway through the full-size NASCAR Modified series, bringing out the red flag on their race and our qualifying.

Ryan Newman still going at it!	Chase Elliott waits for his turn after dad Bill set pole for the New England 300	Shouldn't all R/C tracks have one of these?	Blue skies and green trees - New England racing!
NASCAR racers and crewmen wait their turn to run	IROC RTR 3	Looking on as the races continue	Plenty of spectators gather around!

On Saturday, the crew decided to just set up a track on an access road in the infield and let the families get some drive time on the cars while the drivers and crews were off for practice and the Winston Cup Happy Hour. All day long, the HPI/Mitchell Hobby/RC Car Action crew had some assistance with the track and cars from some boys with very famous fathers. Jake Jarrett (son of Driver Ned Jarrett), Jeb Burton (Son of Ward Burton), Tommy Baldwin Jr. (Son of Tommy Baldwin Sr., crew chief for the #22 Caterpillar Pontiac Grand Prix of Ward Burton), and Tyler Labonte (son of Bobby Labonte) all came out and gave the crew a hand final prepping the RTR 3s and helping straighten up the off road track from the damage done in the storm the night before.

2nd place Tommy Burton Jr., winner Jeb Burton and 3rd place Tyler Labonte	Tommy, Jeb and Tyler pose a bit for the camera	Jeb Burton and the car he drove to a win	Hold up those fingers!
Tony Stewart (center) sponsors an R/C race in Philadelphia every year	Motor Racing Outreach's trailer for kids and NASCAR families	Packed grandstands	And packed lawn seats!

While doing some fine tuning on some of the 15FE engines of the RTR 3 kits, Troy Lyman from HPI Customer Service took out the Micro cars he brought along and let the boys have at it on the track, which was set up on the access road to the infield. The Micros were a hit, and the boys took turns driving. It wasn’t long before they had brought their dads down to have them take a look at the Micros and soon it was Ward Burton and Bobby Labonte battling it out on the Micro track! Both drivers had a lot of fun with the Micros but quickly handed them back to the more experienced R/C drivers - their sons!

Nice formation in the flyby	Bill Elliot leads the pack down the back straight	Tony Stewart in the Home Depot car	Our man Dale Jr.!
Dale Jr. right behind Bill Elliot	Dale Jr. following the pace car	Leaderboard	Dale Jarrett being chased

Later in the day, with the Nitro RS4 RTR 3 cars running and tuned, the crew expanded the track and fired up the nitro cars. Just like everywhere else, the sound of a 2-stroke engine screaming down the straights brought out a crowd of people. Along with crew members, family, friends, and fans were NASCAR drivers Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliot (who we found out is a very good R/C helicopter pilot), Tony Stewart, John Andretti, Joe Nemechek, Ricky Rudd, Bobby Labonte, Ward Burton, and Matt Kenseth.

Coming in hot!	One of the wrecked cars	Ward Burton passes for the lead	9 laps to go...
	The winning lap!	Ward Burton takes his victory lap backwards!

After a while, we set up a group of five fast drivers to have a little race with the Nitro RTR 3 cars. The kids ran five laps, with Jeb Burton taking first place and Tommy Baldwin Jr. taking second, and Tyler Labonte in third. The kids loved it, and the NASCAR family had a great time watching.

Some drivers and crews did have their own R/C cars as well. Ryan Newman brought out his pan car and Kurt Bush had a nitro car as well. Not to be outdone, Troy Lyman with his modified Nitro RS4 3 and Ray Mitchell, owner of Mitchell Hobbies with his Nitro RS4 3 Type SS, came out to test their skills against the teams.

A 360-degree view of the infield of the track

After the day was over, many of the drivers came up to us and thanked us for putting this on for them and their families. Bill Carpenter of Motor Racing Outreach told us that this was the first time in some time that all the families had hung out together at the track and talked about doing another one of these in the future.

These pictures provided by Mitchell Hobbies
The cars are ready!	Ray Mitchell races Bobby Labonte!	Chase Elliot gets ready for some practice	Bill Elliot takes some pointers from Troy Lyman

HPI wants to thank the NASCAR, the NASCAR community, New Hampshire International Speedway, and Motor Racing Outreach for giving us this opportunity to put this on and for their generous hospitality while we were in New Hampshire!