Well it’s over.
I think I was holding my breath at one point … or I just forgot to breathe LOL

Cav, aka Pudge, ( I didn’t name him that I swear) picked up 2 of the Mod titles and woo-hoo JConcepts driver Ryan Maifield took the 4wd A2 and A3 for the 4wd title. RCav has enough national wins LOL he swept all three last year, however that was not a prelude to the Worlds in Japan.
I am hoping Maifield’s wins now give him the confidence he needs to be comfortable and really take over in NC!
Holy cow he has been on fire these past few weeks!

I just saw a commercial for Verizon wireless, sidebar….
they have a phone where you can take pics, and size them? and then upload to the web? wow- my love affair of the iPhone is being challenged …..

Love ya Maifield!

and you too J-Ro for making it all possible!

The J82 Challenge sponsored by JConcepts has also come to a close, sportsman drivers were invited to participate in the demo class at the Nats in Cali this past week for a chance to win the Grand Prize - an American Express gift card.

Congrats to Brent Calvert for the win in J82!

More news and pics to come.

ok gotta jet I think my hand is cramping up from typing so much on the iPhone.

JConcepts on the move, by J-Ro

Allison graciously dropped Andrew and I off at the OIA airport to begin our trip to the ROAR Modified Nationals.  J82 challenge time folks!  I normally don’t use the word folks but hey I’m on the
airplane and bored.
To rewind back slightly, arriving at the airport, the curbside woman glanced at our baggage and was a bit vauge in response to our request to check in our baggage.  She recommended to go to the “counter” inside where they could better assist us.  30 minutes later we learn our flight was not on schedule and they were either bumping us to a flight tomorrow or offering a direct flight to LAX.  Security was a breeze this time around except taking the shoes on and off.  Why haven’t the Velcro shoes come back into style? They are easier to fasten right? Easier sells right? I wanted those so bad when I was younger. I always thought the sole of the shoe should have been Velcro also.  You could hang them anywhere as long as the other side of the velcro was around.  JConcepts velcro shoes would be dialed!  Maybe this idea is for an older generation?

Side bar - I’m amazed with the patience of some of the parents at the airport.  They just spent the entire week standing on line at Disney World and they come to the airport with fresh tans and Goofy hats (literally) standing in the same lines with their baggage unattended.  Isn’t that a rule? Who cares about rules once your wearing a goofy hat I’m assuming.  The rat maze lines just don’t feel right they have all 180  degree turns, personally I would prefer a chicane, s-turn or sweeper.
The sweeper would definitely be right before it was your turn at the  front of the line.   Last time I went to Disney I could hear the jaws  of the fake bears at the Bear Jamboree clacking louder than the piped
in audio.   I guess they save the latest updates for the Pirates of  the Caribean?  Maybe not.  Technology must not be a factor.

Maybe when things are a classic they don’t need to be updated?  They are just restored.

We are going direct to LA folks!  Maybe I’ll pick up a nifty LA Dodgers hat at the airport.  

We also got bumped up to economy plus which means more leg room.  Personally I’m holding out for economy plus plus which would be extra elbow room.

We travel big at JConcepts carrying parts and accessories to support our loyal team and customers.  2 JConcepts big racing bags weighing in at 49.4 and 49.6 pounds respectively.  Roughly the weight of a small child.  Maybe we can put the bags on our laps and save money on the extra bag charges?  Yeah right, I don’t want to affect Mrs. Cranes beverage service. (Quick Change movie reference)

In tow we are bringing our latest black groove tires, the truck Bar Codes and 2wd and 4wd front Bar Codes, to go along with our already released Bar Codes rear buggy tire.  We are planning on releasing the complete line of Bar Codes in late September early October. We have a  multitude of compounds available to suit the different conditions.
Blue compound for blue groove type conditions and White compound for black groove.  We will also offer a gold compound for indoor racing.  Gold is pretty trick folks!  Look for those for in the winter racing months.

Hope to have some photos tomorrow of some of the guys rigs.  J82 practice should be fun to watch.

So I just purchased a $7.00 turkey sandwich in the airplane.  I’m disappointed they don’t offer combo numbers yet on the plane.  I’ll take the #3 combo with the sun chips for a side.  Oh - add a cookie please and I’ll take a Diet Coke for the drink, I’m watching my weight.

By Allison

So it’s the day before the electric Nats officially gets under way at Babcock’s Hot Rod Hobbies in Saugus, Ca.
Jason and Andrew are on a plane to Cali right now…. me ? I’m at the gym - literally - I can blog while on the elyptical - love the Precor elyptical - and God bless the iPhone too!

so anyways - I’m on the elyptical and am succumbed to watch Big Brother on the tv in front of me.
ouch - who the heck put this show on the air - again? season 10 !
I’m speechless - seriously.

The JConcepts J82 challenge is about to kick off - someone will win the grand prize! with the help of AmEx the grand prize really is a grand prize! sorry I couldn’t be there. Someone has to stay home and eye up the factory.

There’s a lot going on too - with new bodies coming out- new crawler body - the Stage Killah, and a  new MT for the new Platinum Revo ( I love platinum! so shiny) and our new wheels will be complete next week too - look out world! Ha

I’ve had soooo many requests for these wheels - I am so excited to finally release these- the new, Mono Maxups, the 3311 Rulux 1/2 offset for truggies (and fits the RC8T) and brand new to the JConcepts family - Rulux spokes for the T4 and GT2 with quick change on the rear.
I don’t even race and I am so excited! woo hoo

We’ve also got the Worlds coming up in NC in a matter of weeks - about to start the count down….
we have so much to do - but Maifield has been on such a streak lately! did u see his race at the Manufacturers cup, he was running the soon to be released 302 Cross Hairs; and the Pro class at the Warmup #2 - he’s so awesome - luv ya Ryan!

The worlds starts on my other favorite Ryan’s birthday - my brother in law. see inset pic from his previous b-day - coincidentally it was during last years electric worlds while Jason and everyone was in Japan too…. sorry the pic is so dark, it was a bar after all - and i’m sorry the $500 iphone does not come with a flash.

Hello Apple - can we get a flash added in the next iteration ? 

ugh - Big brother is still on - would someone change the channel already!?! Guess it’s time for the treadmill just so I can see a diff tv!

But everybody looking for our kick ass wheels - email me … what’s 100 or so more emails per day?

What is the deal ? Today I was at a light at the corner of a non- major intersection and there was not one but two people holding signs acting like maniacs and waving signs to get the drivers attention to want to go check our an apartment complex!

Both signs were red and white bit they were actually promoting 2 diff apt complexes!

One guy was acting so crazy it was like he should have been wearing a costume at Disney …maybe he is a sports team mascot for his other job?

This guy was crazy! sorry I couldn’t get a great picture of him but it just made me think - geeeesh
I don’t demeen the job at all but how much money can these people make per hr?

And does that really increase the # of apartments that get rented?

I saw a person on the street holding a sign one time and the front advertised houses or something and the back said “sign spinners” - and this guy could Spin! he treated that sign like it was a frisbee! crazy

These sign spinner/ mascots at least seem more entertained and entertaining than the homeless people that get hired to hold the “going out of business” signs - looks like they are only working for the food money and they don’t want to be there. at least these other people are funny…. I’ll try and get better pictures next time.

written by: Allison, who else here would miss Heath Ledger

As the critics and those with “the trained eye” have said -Heath Ledger’s performance in Batman, The Dark Knight, was amazing. I’ve loved him since his first movie that I remember, interestingly enough titled, A Knight’s Tale.

With Christian Bale as Batman (after his first role as Batman in the 2005 Batman Begins) and Morgan Freeman’s dry yet comforting soul and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the female in the love triangle, this film really had it all. It was everything they said it would be.

I don’t want to give away the movie, that is not my purpose here, if you want to know the details call me or Google it for yourself or go buy a $10 ticket , $6 popcorn and a $4 2-gallon diet coke and sit back and feel the darkness that is The Dark Knight.

Warner Bros. initially created their viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight, developing promotional websites and trailers highlighting screen shots of Heath Ledger as the Joker. After Ledger’s death in January 2008, however, the studio refocused its promotional campaign. 

Before I saw the movie I saw my brother’s friend wearing this shirt:

I did not know what it meant until I saw the movie. In this politically and emotionally charged election year, an image like that could mean anything. And maybe, just maybe, that was the idea. Maybe a fictitious character is better than the real-life options…. but I am  not saying anything. I pay for my $4 per gallon gas once a week like everyone else.

The Dark Knight was long, almost 3 hours but it never felt like a 3 hour movie - I just wanted it to keep going!

I love that people can get lost in a story and focus on the big screen for a few hours, its as if everyone in the theater is part of a family that is all entangled in watching the same drama unfold before our eyes.

As far as summer movies go, I’m pretty caught up on them all, we’ve seen just about one movie every weekend for the past few months. That is a ton of movies I realize, but its also a great way to beat the heat for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. I could do a write-up for tons of movies, from What Happens in Vegas with Ashton and Cameron to Iron Man, Hancock, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Wanted (awesome flick), Indiana Jones -Part 4 lol and of course Sex and The City. I saw that on a sneak preview (free tickets!) with my friends before the rest of the world even saw it.

Sometimes watching movies, especially ones like this - not comic book movies - but good guy vs. bad guy - or a movie like Wanted  (with Angelina) it makes me wish I was part of something BIGGER.  I have a proclivity to be caught up in the emotion of the movie… and no, it doesn’t make me want to rob a bank, maybe I just want a little drama in my life. But honestly, we have enough drama dealing with our typical day-to-day activities. Sometimes I want to feel like I am part of something bigger, and then I have to tell myself that I am part of something big. We won’t know how big for many years  now, that’s all. Basically life is what you make it ~ if you want it to be big it will ~ but not by sitting on the couch LOL.

Now obviously Angelina won’t come whizzing by, and pick me up and put me in some high-speed car chase with rapid gun fire, and I am not going to buy an old car that is actually a transformer that was sent to save the earth, but for 2 hours a week, its nice to watch it happen.

by Tim Davis
JC Field Trip Planner

“Hey Andrew, can you tighten my slipper a half turn?” A common question we have all asked or heard at one point or another at a race track. What is so important about this question, here, in this race report, right now? Well, I posed this question to Mr. Moore at the track Friday, from the driver’s stand, across the track, with 10 other cars running, at a moderate level somewhere well below what you would call shouting. And he heard me. Perfectly - from his pit table - another 20 yards from the track. Did I mention this was an electric only event?

What a provocative title to a blog. Electric racing is back, and it is bringing back the old school racers with it. (notice I spelled ’school’ without a ‘k’ in that context) It was not long ago when attending a regional or national event and racing electric meant tons of work, cutting motors, breaking in brushes, cycling batteries, traying batteries, repeaking batteries, blah blah blah. With the brushless and lipo revolution sweeping the nation, I’m here to report that this motor and battery maintenance hassle has ended.

This past weekend the JConcepts team headed down to the second round of the JC/RCSignup.com Super Cup event in Coral Springs. We gathered the troops at the JC factory Friday morning and loaded what Andrew called “a ridiculous amount of RC equipment” into the trailer. It had been a while since I had been to the Factory on a normal business day, and I was pleasantly surprised to see things humming along nicely. I have witnessed the birth of this company from the first B4 body for the ‘03 Worlds, watched the company progress through the various stages of growth, the excitement of the BJ winning the stock nat’s in ‘04(who knew what else was to come after that). The wild growth rate that JConcepts has experienced with the apparel and tire/wheel lines, has forced them to upsize the factory once again. The currently JC facility is spacious, well organized and state of the art in every way.

The ride down to Coral Springs was quite uneventful, the F350 with the cruise set at 80 just chugged along like a 18 double on 7 cells. We made it to the track in great time, thanks to Jason making some excellent traffic decisions. When we pulled into the track, it was instant flashback for me. I grew up racing in south Florida, and Coral Springs was one of the premier tracks for us, where we could always find a deep field of 2-wheel modified. I last raced at Coral Springs in 1994, and 14 years later, nothing had changed. The 2-wheel mod class was as deep as ever. In fact every class at this race was jam packed with talent. 103 entries for a single-day state race - with a gas race in Tampa the same weekend pulling 70 entires on its own - 103 entires is making a statement that people are ready to run electric cars again.

The track was in excellent shape, an amazingly fun layout with no step downs, X-jumps, flaming rings of fire, or windmill obstacles. Just a nice flowing layout with nice singles, doubles, elevation changes, rollers, off camber sections, etc.  We used to call these offroad tracks, and it was nice to see one again. Qualifying got off on Saturday morning on a damp and tacky track. The JC team ran a few different tires, PW and I ran Goosebumps on the J-82’s and 2-wheels, while Andrew and Jason ran Double Dee’s on everything. The JC tires were so dialed, we nearly completely sold out of the stock that we brought to the race. The morning track with Goosebumps was so much fun with the J-82. It was full punch, crazy traction, and roosting the length of the straighaway.  Did I mention this was an offroad race?

One cool thing about this race was the number of fast young guys out of Ocala. They come to these races in full force, and are super competitive. For the last few years, Electric offroad has been dominated for the most part in the U.S. by “The Ryans”, referring to Cavalieri and Maifield. After this weekend, It seems to me like in Florida, we are about to have “The Zach’s” I have raced with these young guys a few years ago in Ocala at the NewRed indoor track, and knew they could drive an RC car, but to see the improvement in all the Ocala young guns is impressive. The Ocala RC scene is turning out rc drivers like UNC turns out power forwards. I can’t wait to race mod with all of these guys.

So many of these race reports spend lengthy amounts of page space attempting to recount the small events that make up and exciting race, “Joe took off, Joe checked out, Joe bobbled, Mike got by,Mike/Joe wins!” I’m not going to provide that for you here, I’m going to give credit to the Coral Springs crew for putting on a great race. It should be awesome to have the 2nd Annual JConcepts Clash there in December - www.rcclash.com . And I’m going to give credit to Zach Genova and Zach Mote for laying it down in the stock classes. These guys can wheel a car…I’m looking forward to seeing them in Mod. It was great to have such a strong contingency of  J82’s - people that drove them were impressed, and we sold all the conversion kits we brought to these test-drivers. We took tons of pictures and video, and full race results are available on www.rcsignup.com . See everyone at the next one!

JC Rock Rash

23 entries for the first meet - great turn out!

Great location!

Written by: Paul Wynn

I must admit that I really never saw myself doing anything like this; R/C Rock Crawling?? I mean driving an r/c car at a snail’s pace on a bunch of rocks…come on!!!
Well, all I can say is, WOW! My first crawling event (well gtg) competing and hosting was simply amazing! This truly is a social event that is about having fun, and it really brought me back to my grass roots of r/c.

Several times Jason and I tried planning a road trip to attend one of these gtg/comps just to observe, but work and our race schedules have been so hectic it seemed impossible. So after several failed attempts I decided to host our very own gtg here locally. After many e-mails/phone calls with Scattman aka Matthew Tiller and Speedracer19 aka Donnie Jackson; we at JConcepts were set to host our very own Rock Crawl event!

With internet guru Andrew Moore (non world champion) and the rest of the JC crew we promoted the event via the forums. Not knowing what to expect regarding entries we were pleasantly surprised with one of the larger gtg’s in Florida; an unexpected 23 entries!

By 10:30am we had our drivers meeting and were ready to hit the rocks. Starting with course 1 of 3 (supposedly the easy course) everyone lined up their rigs. By the 2nd gate everyone quickly realized there was nothing easy about course 1. Regardless, everyone gave it their best shot, and not 1 person complained. At this point I realized right away everyone was here to have fun! Something like this would have certainly become a problem at any race, off-road or on-road.

Mid way through Course 2 the “pizza guy” aka Robin Carrasco (on-road racer) from Pasta Vino came by to check things out. Robin’s pizza is famous amongst the JC crew and now others got a chance to experience some of the best pizza around. Damn good pizza Robin, thanks again!!!

Course 3 turned out to be what I would consider extremely advanced. This was a great opportunity for Scattman and Speedracer19 to show off their rigs. Course 3 provided us with the quote of the day “you either have a dig or wish you did”. Wonder how many digs were sold on Monday…LOL

Thanks again to everyone that attended and gave us a chance to host our first Crawling Event!

Event: Hot Rod Hobbies Offroad Shootout
Location: Hot Rod Hobbies – Saugus, CA
Dates: June 27–29, 2008
Website: www.hotrodhobbies.com
Vehicle Class: Electric Offroad

The Hot Rod Hobbies Shootout has quickly become one of the most prestigious electric off-road racing events in the U.S.
Hosted by Jimmy Babcock’s Hot Rod Hobbies in Saugus, California, the event draws top U.S. and international drivers and racing teams for a week of intense competition.

This year’s race served as an unofficial warm-up for the upcoming ROAR 1/10 Electric Offroad National Championships which will also be held at Hot Rod Hobbies in August. With a dry, black-groove–type surface, racers were challenged by the fast, yet technical layout. Throughout practice, the triple jump along the back side of the track proved to be the most difficult jump on the track and had the potential to shape the outcome of the event.

As qualifying started, drivers Ryan Cavalieri and Ryan Maifield propelled themselves to the top of the standings in the three modified classes. Joining them at the top of the standings was Jared Tebo. With a TQ in each of the three classes these three drivers were poised to battle it out for the overall victories in the prestigious modified classes. Ryan Maifield tested and raced the unreleased 3017 JConcepts Bar Code 2wd front tire and 3020 4wd front Bar Code in white and orange compound. Maifield’s qualifying times were impressive as were the performance of the Bar Codes as Ryan layed down several TQ runs between the 2 popular classes.

As anticipated, the trio of Maifield, Cavalieri and Tebo battled it out for the top spots in the modified classes as the main events began. Maifield took advantage of his TQ position in the modified truck class and won the first and second main events, leaving A3 to decide the remainder of the podium. Maifield topped off his winning T4 truck with the new JConcepts Illuzion - Hi-Flow body.

1. Ryan Maifield
2. Ryan Cavalieri
3 Jared Tebo
TQ - Ryan Maifield

In 2WD, TQ Cavalieri piloted his B4 to the top spot in A1; however, in A2 he was challenged heavily by the B4 of Maifield who eventually took the win in A2. This set the stage for a classic Ryan vs. Ryan battle in A3 with Tebo having an outside chance at the victory. At the tone, the three competitors dropped the rest of the field behind and set a blistering pace not wanting anything to do with the other seven A-main finalists. With only a few laps remaining, a small bobble by Cavalieri over the triple jump gave Maifield the opportunity to slip by and take the overall victory. Maifield topped off his winning B4 buggy with the JConcepts Illuzion - Hi-Flow body and 6.5″ high downforce rear wing.

1. Ryan Maifield
2. Ryan Cavalieri
3. Jared Tebo
TQ - Ryan Cavalieri

Not to be left out in the TQ party, reigning 4WD World Champion Jared Tebo started from the pole with his B44. A rough start to A1 found Tebo shuffled to the middle of the pack from which he could never recover. B44 teammate Cavalieri found himself in the lead and never looked back, taking the A1 victory. For A2, again the trio of Tebo, Cavalieri and Maifield found their way to the front and battled it out for the A2 victory. These three drivers were setting a blistering pace and with less than two laps left in the race Tebo had to retire. With Cavalieri out in front by a few seconds over Maifield, Pudge was able to back down the pace a bit and take the overall victory.
By the virtue of winning the first 2 mains Cavalieri was able to sit out A3. Maifield jumped into the early lead with Gardner and Amezcua in 2nd and 3rd. The battle was for 2nd as Gardner, Amezcua and Tebo switched positions numerous times while Maifield just crusied on to the A3 victory. TQ Jared Tebo and 3rd place finisher Ryan Maifeld chose to top off their ultra quick B44’s while racing and debuting the new Illuzion - B44 - Scoopless body. Ryan Maifield’s A3 victory came using the new JConcepts 3020 Bar Code 4wd front tire.

1. Ryan Cavalieri
2. Travis Amezcua
3. Ryan Maifield
TQ - Jared Tebo

Photos and report courtesy - Brent Thielke - Team Associated

Products in focus -

0062 - Illuzion - T4 Hi-Flow body
0050 - Illuzion - B4 Hi-Flow body
0061 - Illuzion - B44 Scoopless body
0051 - Illuzion - B44 Hi-Flow body
0027 - Illuzion - GT2 body
0117 - Illuzion - 6.5″ HD rear wing
0108 - Illuzion - 7″ HD rear wing
3016 - Bar Codes - 2wd rear tire
3017 - Bar Codes - 2wd front tire
3020 - Bar Codes - 4wd front tire