12.17.2009

Nicole Johnson Takes 2nd at W.E. Rock's Put Up or Shut Up Shootout, Qualifying for 2010 King Of the Hammers


Nicole Johnson of Johnson Motorsports rounded out the 2009 rockcrawling season with a 2nd place finish at the 8th Annual W.E.ROCK Put Up or Shut Up Shootout (PUSU) over the weekend in Tucson, AZ. As a qualifier event for the 2010 King of the Hammers (KOH) ultimate desert race, PUSU offered one of five potential spots in the highly-anticipated Southern California race put on by HammerKing Productions.

Organizing the oldest continuous rock crawling competition in America, W.E.ROCK continued its tradition of hardcore "run what ya brung" competition where all vehicles compete together on the same courses with no class designations. This year’s format included high-speed dirt sections and multiple bonus options in the rocks, forcing strategy and risk-calculating from all the teams, many of which were specifically vying for a position at KOH. The top five teams not already qualified for the February race would earn their spot among 100 racers from around the world.

But it almost didn’t happen for Johnson Motorsports.

On the way to Tucson, husband and spotter Frank Johnson received a phone call about a work-related emergency, forcing Frank to return to Las Vegas for the weekend. “As owners of a small construction company running a race team, we have to wear many hats and work hard to be successful with all of our obligations,” commented Nicole.

Continuing on the road without Frank, Nicole quickly scrambled for a replacement spotter and was lucky enough to team up with George Poston out of Phoenix, AZ. George, as many within the sport remember, spotted for champion rockcrawler Bruce “BZ” Zeller prior to the team’s retirement in 2007. Within two hours notice, George headed to Tucson, and helped save the weekend for Johnson Motorsports.

Today back in Las Vegas, the husband and wife team have already begun the race preparations and necessary modifications to their rock buggy, as Johnson Motorsports will have marked its third consecutive year racing King of the Hammers in February.

12.15.2009

Losi Sweeps AZ State Championship Series


Round one of the Arizona State Championship Series took place this last weekend at Arizona's newest nitro facility. Losi had a great weekend sweeping both Expert and Intermediate classes. Losi drivers at the event included Autie Bender, Trevor Clement, Mike Friery, Brian Kinwald, Casey Peck and Danny Travino.

Expert Truggy saw Losi's Casey Peck taking the TQ and win with Brian Kinwald in the second spot. Losi teammate Trevor Clement fought a great battle and came from a bad start to finish third. All Losi drivers were running 8IGHT-T 2.0 truggies and Nitrotane Fuel.

In the Expert Buggy class Trevor Clement TQ'd with his 8IGHT 2.0 buggy. In the Main, Casey Peck and Mike Friery took a 1-2 finish. Casey's winning 8IGHT 2.0 buggy was equipped with 450-series green compound Eclipse tires and Nitrotane fuel.

The Intermediate classes were dominated by Losi vehicles as well. In the Buggy class the Nitrotane-powered 8IGHT 2.0 buggy of Autie Bender was able to take the main event win by a full lap over the competition. In Intermediate truggy Danny Travino's 8IGHT-T 2.0 truggy took down the field by 2 laps for a spot on the podium in first place.

Congratulations to the Losi Team!


12.10.2009

French Rally Game Challenge


Two out of four rounds of the Rally Game Challenge have been held in France. Losi driver Nicolas Rodriguez has competed in the rounds one and two with his Team Losi Racing L8IGHT Model Race Roller. So far Nicolas has seen tremendous results with his L8IGHT as he took first place in round one and second place in round two.

Congratulations to Nicolas, and we look forward to hearing of your continued success!


12.08.2009

2009 Spektrum Off-Road Championships



Matt Chambers, Dustin Evans, and Dakotah Phend competed in the 2009 Spektrum Off-Road Championships, hosted by Trackside Hobbies in Milwaukee, WI. With around 200 entries in the race, triple A-mains were only run for the modified 2wd class, leaving the modified truck and 4wd class to a single A-main.

In the Modified 2wd class, Dustin was the Top Qualifier. In the A1 race Dustin took advantage of his TQ by leading for the duration of the race. In A2 Matt finished in 2nd and Dakotah finished in 3rd. In A3 Dustin again led the race with Matt finishing in 3rd and Dakotah taking 4th. With a win in A1 and A3, it sealed the win for Dustin, Team Losi Racing, and Spektrum. Matt would grab the final podium spot in 3rd with Dakotah finishing 4th.

In the single A-main for Modified truck it was Dustin again starting from TQ and claiming the victory with Matt finishing in 3rd and Dakotah in 5th.

In the 4-Wheel class the single A-main go for it all type of racing caused a collision of 6-8 cars on the backstraight. However, Matt was able to finish the race in 4th and Dakotah in 5th.

Dakotah also competed in the 1/10 Modified Short Course A-Main. Dakotah took second place in the A-Main with his Losi Strike, powered by an Xcelorin Brushless Motor and ESC.

Dakotah, Dustin and Matt were all using Losi Pink BK Bars rears and Pink Taper fronts on their Team Losi Racing XXX-CRs, XXXT-CRs, and XXX-4s. All vehicles were powered by Xcelorin Brushless Motors and ESCs and Losi lipos.

Xcelorin is 2009 ROAR Electric 1/8 Champion


Over Thanksgiving weekend the First Annual ROAR 2009 Electric 1/8 Championships were held at Revelation Raceway. The drivers competed in a tough race, running triple A-mains for the ROAR Pro Buggy Class.

Five drivers in the A-Main were using 1/8-scale Xcelorin Brushless Motors and ESCs in their buggies. Once the dust settled Xcelorin driver Jeremy Kortz achieved the overall win, giving Xcelorin its first-ever ROAR Electric 1/8 Championship title. Jeremy Kortz was running an Xcelorin ESC and 1700Kv brushless motor in his buggy.

Adam Drake also ran in the Pro Truggy Class with his Electric 8ight-T 2.0 powered with an Xcelorin speed control and 1700Kv motor and Spektrum's DX3R radio system. Adam was the Top Qualifier in all three rounds, and took the overall TQ in the Pro Truggy class. In the main Adam Drake put on a great performance, making no mistakes in the A-main to take the victory.

Electric 1/8 Buggy Championships
Driver / Chassis / Electrics
1. Jeremy Kortz / / Xcelorin
5. Todd Hodge / 8IGHT 2.0 / Xcelorin
7. Kevin Gahan / 8IGHT 2.0 / Xcelorin
8. Adam Drake / 8IGHT 2.0 / Xcelorin
13. Matt Castellano / 8IGHT 2.0 / Xcelorin

2009 Nitro Indoor State Championships


The 2009 Nitro Indoor State Championship was hosted by Leisure Hours raceway in Joliet, Illinois. Several drivers attended the event including Losi drivers Kevin Wilson, Mike Marshel and Chuck Berg as well as Team Horizon drivers Jason Hudson and Sonny Ochoa.

In the Expert Truggy class Sonny Ochoa charged his way from his third place qualifying position to take the win in the 30 minute a-main with his 8IGHT-T 2.0 Truggy Race Roller.

In Expert Buggy class Team Losi Racing vehicles occupied 4 out of the top 5 qualifying positions. Kevin Wilson took the lead in the A-Main and went on to win the 30 minute a-main with fellow team driver Chuck Berg finishing in third place. Both Kevin and Chuck were competing with 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy Race Rollers and Nitrotane fuel.

5th Annual Toys for Tots


Thunder Alley hosted the Fifth Annual Toys for Tots event December 5-6. The event drew nearly 200 racers to compete in 1/8 Buggy and 1/8 Truggy classes. Losi drivers Adam Drake, Levi Jackson, Randy Nolen, Colby Poh, Shane Preuyschat, Matt Screffler and Mike Truhe all competed at the event.

In the 1/8 Expert Buggy class Losi driver Adam Drake took second place in the A-Main with his 8IGHT 2.0 Buggy Race Roller. In the 1/8 Expert Truggy class Adam took the win in the A-Main with his 8IGHT-T 2.0 Truggy Race Roller. Adam competed with Losi 450-series 1/8 Buggy tires, Losi 480-series 1/8 Truggy tires and Nitrotane Fuel in both classes.

Congratulations to the entire Losi team for their performance at the event.

Expert 1/8 Buggy A Main
Name / Chassis / Fuel / Tires
2 ADAM DRAKE / 8IGHT 2.0 / Nitrotane / Losi
4 LEVI JACKSON / 8IGHT 2.0 / / Losi
5 MIKE TRUHE / 8IGHT 2.0 / Nitrotane / Losi
10 MATT SCHREFFLER / 8IGHT 2.0 / Nitrotane / Losi
13 COLBY POH / 8IGHT 2.0

Expert 1/8 Truggy A Main
Name / Chassis / Fuel / Tires
1 ADAM DRAKE / 8IGHT-T 2.0 / Nitrotane / Losi
4 MATT SCHREFFLER / 8IGHT-T 2.0 / Nitrotane
6 RANDY NOLEN / 8IGHT-T 2.0 / Nitrotane / Losi
9 SHANE PREUYSCHAT / 8IGHT-T 2.0 / Nitrotane / Losi