Motown Showdown 2014 Race Report

This Race Report comes to us via Eddie Alves.

To download the results from the 2014 Motown Showdown please click here.

Modesto, Calif. (May 18)– The 2014 Motown Showdown returned to Modesto RC Raceway in Modesto, California after the 2013 race was canceled. This year’s Showdown saw a record high 94 entries spread out over nine divisions. The one day event consisted of three six minute qualifying rounds with the top eight drivers locking themselves into the eight minute A Main’s based on qualifying points. The final two starting positions were earned from the first and second place finishers from the B Mains. The top 3 finishers in each division and also the Top Qualifier in each division earned a plaque for their efforts.

A track reconfiguration was completed last week which led to very close and competitive racing throughout the event. Drivers had the opportunity to dial in their cars and truck during a 12 hour open practice session on Friday.

The 2WD Stock Buggy Division led the way with 16 entries. TQ was set by Matt Burdic with Shon Wilcox and John Scott qualifying second and third. Heat race wins went to Matt Burdic (2), Shon Wilcox (2), Jason Smith, and John Scott. After the 8 minute A Main John Scott crossed the finish line first with Wilcox second and Dujuan Moore third. The top three drivers completed 20 laps while fourth place finisher Matt Burdic, Chris “Team” Jones, Ron Bickel all completed 19. They were followed by Branden Mund, Kozo, Jason Smith, and Greg Stephansen. Kozo won the B Main with Mund taking the second and final transfer spot.

The Stock 2WD Short Course Division consisted of 13 different drivers. Matt Murphy won all three of his heats to set TQ. Doug Frid won two heats and Tim Farmer one. This very competitive class saw the closest finish of the night as Kozo took the A Main victory with Chris “Team” Jones finishing second just 1.2 seconds behind Kozo. Doug Frid would take third, Murphy who was involved in a wreck early on finished fourth and Anthony Varner fifth. Finishing sixth was Udo Ricther, followed Casey Nydahl, Tim Farmer, Roy Birchler and Eddie Alves. Alves won the B main earlier with Birchler taking the second transfer spot.

2WD Modified Buggy saw Chris Jarosz take TQ after winning all three of his heats. Local standout Derek Stephansen would also win all three of his heats to qualify second. Jarosz continued his dominance into the A Main as he beat Stephansen by just over 13 seconds. Codey Hughey, Eddie Bernal, and Nathan Henry rounded out the top five as they trailed Jarosz by one lap (21-20). Rounding out the top ten were Mark Pyle, Couver Smith, Marcus Plumlee, Doyle Howell, and Jason Moberly. Smith and Howell took the top honors in the B Main to transfer to the A.

The 4WD Short Course Division had 11 official entries with ten drivers starting the A Main after one driver scratched earlier in the day. Rick Jenkins won all three of his heat races throughout the day but it was Jason Moberly who took TQ honors after winning two of his heats. John Luu would win the final heat. Moberly jumped out to a early race lead and never looked back. Jenkins would hold onto second, Luu third, John Harrison fourth and Kirk Baker fifth. Just missing the top five were Eric Todd, Ray Gong, Bud Beard, John Smith, and Tim Farmer.

It was all Derek Stephansen in the 4WD buggy division. Stephansen earned TQ honors after winning all three of his heats. Jason Smith won two of his heats with Dujuan Moore winning one also. Stephansen would be the only driver to complete 22 laps in the A Main. Doyle Howell finished second, Moore third, Marcus Plumlee fourth, and Ray Gong fifth. Josh Borden, Kirk Baker, Ken Farmer, Rick Jenkins rounded out the top 9 as Jason Smith missed the race and was credited with a tenth place finish.

Matt Murphy won two out of three heats in the 2WD Modified Short Course division to take TQ honors. Udo Richter won the round two heat to earn him a second starting position in the A Main. Murphy jumped out to a very early lead and never looked back. The battle on the track was for second as Marcus Plumlee, Anthony Varner, Udo Richter, and Eddie Alves swapped positions several times. At the end of the race it was Alves taking second, Richter third, Varner fourth and Plumlee fifth. Just missing the top five was Randy Syester and Roy Birchler.

The Open Stadium Truck Division had a low number of entries but provided some excellent racing. Team Jones took two of the three heat race wins with Branden Mund taking a heat win also. Jones and Mund seemed to have the two dominate trucks but it was Anthony Varner who took the win after Mund and Jones wrecked in the first part of the race. Casey Nydahl finished fourth.

The 40+ class was open to drivers 40 years of age and older. The class consisted of Open 2WD Short Course Trucks. Greg Stephansen swept qualifying winning all three heats to earn TQ. Stephansen would also cruise to the A Main victory with John Harrison finishing second, Doug Frid third, Kirk Maxey fourth, and Randy Syester fifth. Roy Birchler and Stan Barrios rounded out sixth and seventh.

The Novice Division was led by Ry Smith who won two of the three heats with Justin Johnson taking a third heat victory. Johnson and Smith would battle it out for the victory in the A Main with Johnson holding off Smith for the win. Ty Jones finished third, Randy Rodenberg fourth, and Rodney Rodenberg fifth. Finishing sixth was Rob Philips followed by Ed Alves, Gary Holderbein, and Cameron Rodenberg finishing ninth.

A very large raffle was held prior to the start of the A Main’s. Those who purchased tickets had the opportunity to win tools, t-shirts, hats, gift certificates, motors, parts, a transponder, and a Team Associated B5 buggy just to name a few, all courtesy of the 2014 Motown Showdown sponsors.

A huge thank you to John Smith, Rob Philips, Chris Jones, Aaron Castor, Roy Birchler, Doug Frid, Ray Gong, John Harrison, Ode, and Pickle for their hard work tearing down the hold track and reconfiguring the new one prior to the event.

Thanks to John Harrison & Doug Frid for continuing track prep throughout the weekend to keep the racing surface smooth and fast for the racers. Thanks to all the racers and all the marshals for sweeping after every race.

Thanks to Randy Syester for the wood work on the plaques and the camera work throughout the day (over 400 pictures at modestorc.com).

Thanks to Ruben Benitez for taking over race director and announcing duties for this event.

Thank you to Funwork and Pickle for letting us racers use their facility.

Thanks to all the racers that attended and made this years showdown the best one yet.

Modesto RC is getting ready to host RC Nights 2014.

For the 5th year MRCR will again be hosting its RC Nights series. This will be a 8 race series with the best 5 out of 8 races counting towards the overall points championship. This means you will have 3 throw out races. Points will be given to racers each round determined by their results. Awards for 1st – 5th will be given on the final series race, which will be a double points final.

MRCR has plans to install some more lights again this year which will help out a lot, so come on out and enjoy some RC racing under the lights in Modesto.

Dates:
•   May 31st
•   June 14th, 28th
•   July 12th, 26th
•   August 2nd, 16th, 23rd
Times:
•   Gates open at 3:30PM
•   Racing at 5:30PM
Classes:
•   Stock Buggy (17.5NR)
•   Mod Buggy
•   Stock SCT (17.5NR)
•   Mod SCT
•   4WD Buggy
•   4WD SCT
•   Mod Truck (Stadium Truck)
•   Vintage
•   Novice
•   Kids Class
Fees:
•   First Entry $15
•   Second Entry$10
•   Third Entry$5
•   Novice/Kids $10
Check out the Modesto RC Website at www.modestorc.com

Thanks to the 2014 Motown Showdown Sponsors which include the following:

RCInsider        http://www.rcinsider.com
Airtronics       http://www.airtronics.net
JConcepts        http://www.jconcepts.net
Team Associated  http://www.teamassociated.com
DE Racing        http://www.deracing.net
Team Tekin       http://www.teamtekin.com
Boca Bearing     http://www.bocabearings.com
Castle Creations http://www.castlecreations.com
Hobbywing        http://www.falconsekido.com/
Mylaps           http://www.mylaps.com
Tenshock         http://www.tenshock.com
B-Fast           http://www.bfastrc.com
Mccaul Apparel    http://www.mccaulapparel.com
Panther          http://panthertires.com
Hobbico          http://www.hobbico.com
Exotek Racing    http://www.exotekracing.com

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Posted by at May 19, 2014
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