This race was a points series over the 2011 year. You were required to attend 2 of the 17 races across the country plus the finals to be in it for the points. After my first two rounds I was 5th in points for buggy and 7th in points for truggy. So now comes the RC Pro National final race held at an awesome clay track called Gulf Coast Raceway/Mikes Hobby shop in Porter, Tx. We ran qual-points with the best 3 of 5 rounds.
Starting with the 811t, I started out in the first qualifier putting up the fastest laps but could not keep from making mistakes, which put me second overall for round 1. The second qualifier was a lot of the same as the first putting me 3rd for round 2. There was one specific double that kept making me flip over needing to be marshaled almost every lap. So I received a tip to add some antisquat to the truck which ended up making the difference. The 3rd and 4th qualifier things started to come together for me, I was running crazy fast laps and I was the only one to throw up a sub 30 second lap in my class. I TQ'd both of those rounds. The fifth round was just as good as the 3rd and 4th but a local guy just ran faster than me, putting me second for round 5.
After all qual-points were calculated I ended up with TQ for truggy. So here came the A-Main, I knew that I had to get a clean start and get out in front fast which ended up being exactly what happend. I led all 81 laps of the race and put 3 laps on the field. My 811t and my novarossi btts couldn't have run any smoother. In the national points I missed being National Champion by 5 points, I ended up 2nd in national points.
Now on to my 811 buggy. All I can say is WOW, this car is amazing. I TQ'd the first 3 rounds of qualifying. Which meant for the next 2 rounds I could test things. Which obviously meant I wasn't touching anything on the car, but I would mess around with tires. In qualifiers 4 and 5 I came into pit around the halfway mark to change tires. I was able to test out 4 different tires during the last two qualifying rounds. After all of that I decided to stay with the tires that got me the TQ in the first place. Now on to the A-Main. I have a several local guys that I compete with on a regular basis that were qualified 2-5, so I knew once again I needed to get out front and stay out front fast. The guy who qualified 3rd and myself got out front with lots of room. We battled for the first 7 minutes for the race, but I eventually got out front because I was staying very consistent. From that point on I never let go of the lead and turned 82 laps and winning by 2 laps. The 811 and the novarossi +4c team were amazing. With the TQ and the win I knew that would put me high in the points. After all points were tallied I became the National Champion in buggy for my class!
I would like to thank Serpent for the wonderful product that they produce. I look forward to winning a lot more races with my 811 lineup!!!
Till next time.
Jason Beam