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For the past sixth years the JConcepts Clash has been an event enjoyed by racers from across the country and around the world. This year’s event was hosted by the city-owned Flowood Indoor RC Park in Flowood, Mississippi. A volunteer organization lead by Bubba Boggs, the 110 x 80′ track features a hard-packed clay surface with a challenging and flowing layout suited for both 1:10 and 1:8 vehicles.
This year’s event featured a “Clash” between Team Associated Factory Racing star Ryan Maifield and TLR’s Dustin Evans. With both drivers competing in 2WD Modified Buggy, 2WD Modified Short Course and 1:8 Expert Gas Buggy, the spectators were sure to be the biggest winners of the weekend.
Maifield struck the first blow by taking two of the three class TQs; first with his Reedy/LRP-powered Factory Team B4.1 Worlds Edition in 2WD Modified Buggy and then again in 2WD Modified Short Course with his Factory Team SC10, again powered by Reedy batteries and motors with a LRP speed control.
Also taking TQ positions for Team Associated were Brent Thielke in 2WD Modified Truck with his Factory Team T4.1 and in the biggest class of the event, 1:8 eBuggy with his Factory Team RC8.2e, both powered by Reedy and LRP equipment. The final two TQs came from Tanner Denney and his Reedy/LRP-powered Factory Team B44.1 in 4WD Modified Buggy and Dave Duncan in 2WD Stock Truck with his Reedy/LRP-powered Factory Team T4.1.
With all the lower mains finished running on Saturday and the two bump-ups per class decided, Sunday would be all about crowning champions.
First up was Ryan Maifield in 2WD Modified Buggy. He won A1 and A2, going away to win the title.
Next up was 2WD Modified Truck where Brent Thielke dominated A1, but had a hard-fought battle with Tanner Denney for the victory in A2. With a last corner pass on Denney, Thielke took the win in one of the best races of the event.
Fresh off the track with his new big bore shocks, Ryan Maifield was untouchable in 2WD Modified Short Course, crushing the competition each time on the track, and easily took the overall win.
Dave Duncan had a close battle for the main event wins, but with victories in A1 and A2, he brought home the title in 2WD Stock Truck.
Two classes had to go to three mains to decide the champion. In the 4WD Modified Buggy class, both Tanner Denney and Jason Ruona had a victory going in to the third main and were the class of the field. On the first lap, a small bobble by Denney collected both him and Ruona; however, Denney ended up in the pipe while Ruona got out out clean. After that, Ruona was able to cruise and bring home the title.
In the largest class of the weekend, 1:8 eBuggy, both Justin Cranford and Brent Thielke entered the third A Main with a victory. However, with two second-place finishes, Max Flurer still had a shot at the title. A quick start from Flurer and mistakes by Thielke and Cranford allowed Flurer to easily cruise to the win, and with the faster tiebreaker of the class, Flurer got the title.
The main event that spectators looked forward to the most seemed to be the 1:8 Expert Gas Buggy final. Starting from the second grid position, Ryan Maifield was on a mission to complete the event sweep. Making quick work of Evans within the first few laps, Maifield set a blistering pace while in the lead that found him lapping second place by the first pit stop. Not content with just cruising to victory, Maifield continue to break lap time records throughout the 30-minute final, culminating in the fastest lap of the event on his second-to-last lap. A dominating performance by Maifield saw him finish almost five laps ahead of second place with his Sidewinder-fueled, JConcepts-equipped, LRP-powered Factory Team RC8.2.
Team Associated would like to extend a “Thank You” to the host, Flowood Indoor RC Park, composed of Bubba and his crew of volunteers, JConcepts, and Jason Ruona’s group of employees and media staff, and finally to RedRC.net for their continuous event coverage. If you have the opportunity, “The Clash” is definitely a must-attend event in 2013.
