Event: JConcepts Clash
Location: Lake Park – Lutz, FL
Dates: December 7-9th 2007
Race website: www.rcclash.com
Live coverage: www.liverc.com
Photos: www.rcactionpics.com

Winter in Florida – “The Powers Explode”

Bringing the magic back to Lake Park in Tampa, Florida the JConcepts Clash was an event to remember. As promised “The Powers Exploded” and a unique event featuring electric and nitro vehicles competing the same day was launched. With sportsman and expert classes available this event catered to drivers of all skill level.

Friday morning –

Looking around the track Friday morning it just had a “big race” feel to it. Familiar banners bordered the race area and the perfectly groomed track surface gave notice that the Hurricane track crew was out in full force the night before. The track Layout looked promising combining finesse and brute power.

All drivers were on full alert once race announcer Jimmy Babcock and race director Kenny Holmes held the drivers meeting. When announced that the event was live around the world on www.liverc.com. The “race faces” were on!

Early race predictions had Maifield out in front by a mile. However, Lee Martin and Richard Lowe from the UK and California driver Frank Root and local drivers JR Mitch and Jason Ruona showed that it wasn’t going to be that easy for the speedy driver from Chandler, Arizona.

After 2 rounds of qualifying Lee Martin had placed his RC10B4 out front in the 2wd modified class and also in 1/8th buggy with his RC8.

He was followed closely by Ryan Maifield in both classes and JR Mitch in 1/8th buggy. Day-1 also saw Ryan Maifield place his B44 out front with Jason Ruona and Lee Martin following in 2nd and 3rd. JR Mitch, Richard Lowe and Frank Root showed the fast way around the track in the Modified truck class with Mitch showing a slight edge in the overnight standings.

Jason Smith from South Carolina blistered the track in the Expert 1/8th truck class taking the early top position.

Sportsman drivers Jeremy Harris, Andrew Moore, Brian Duncan, Jay Johnson and Trey Cook were all having an early battle for TQ in multiple classes showing their diverse skills in each class.

Saturday –

Lee Martin picked up right where he left off in the 1/10th buggy and 1/8th buggy classes by picking up the quick times in round 3-5 and assuring himself the overall TQ. Ryan Maifield, Jason Ruona and Lee Martin held an epic qualifying battle in round 4 in the 4wd class. Separated by only 8 tenths of a second for most of the qualifier the 3 battled with Ryan Maified winning a close race and also the overall TQ in the 4wd class.

JR Mitch continued his stellar drive in truck modified by taking the overall TQ with Richard Lowe in the 2nd position and Frank Root in 3rd. Jason Smith continued his great qualifying results in the Expert 1/8th truck by putting down another quick run and securing the TQ.

The JConcepts Clash Top Qualifiers were as follows:

2wd limited – Jeremy Harris – RC10B4

2wd modified – Lee Martin – RC10B4

1/10 gas truck – Jay Johnson – GT2

Truck limited – Jeremy Harris – RC10B4

Truck modified – JR Mitch – RC10T4

4wd limited – Andrew Moore – BJ4

4wd modified – Ryan Maifield – B44

Sportsman 1/8 truck – Kyle Knowles – Hot Bodies

Expert 1/8th truck – Jason Smith – Losi

Production Monster Truck – JJ Turk – Revo

Sportsman 1/8th buggy – Trey Cook – Mugen

Expert 1/8th buggy – Lee Martin – RC8

Sunday – Bumping up

Sunday started with the lower mains in electric. As promised the bump-ups in electric were quite exciting and a great compliment to the event. 6 Minute

C-mains followed by 8 minute B-mains provided the perfect avenue for the new electric technology. Bump-up action in nitro was wild as always with 10 minute C-mains and 20 minute B-mains.

2wd limited A-mains -

The first A-main up 2wd limited, Jeremy Harris took advantage of this TQ position and pulled a small lead on Brian Duncan.

Brian Duncan countered early and found himself in the lead but only for a very short time as Jeremy took back the lead and pulled away to the finish.

After a poor start, Andrew Moore used the extended 10 minutes to pull back within 4 seconds of Brian at the end.

2wd limited A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Jeremy Harris
Brian Duncan
Andrew Moore

2wd modified A-mains -

After a small drivers introduction the drivers lined up and they were off. Lee Martin took the early lead followed closely by Ryan Maifield. Approaching the top of the hill, Lee’s car lost a little traction and Maifield slightly nudged him sideways. Maifield took the lead with Martin now in second and Frank Root in 3rd. Frank tried an early overtaking move on Lee that collected both drivers and gave Maifield an even bigger lead. Out front Maifield continued to push as Lee Martin was turning some of the fastest laps of the event to catch. At the end Maifield took a 4 second win over top qualifier Lee Martin with Richard Lowe from the U.K. finishing in the 3rd position.

2wd modified A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Ryan Maifield
Lee Martin
Richard Lowe

1/10th gas truck A-main -

1/10th gas truck was the Jay Johnson show from start to finish. Jay drove his beautifully prepared GT2 to the TQ position and once the A-main started drove away from the field. Juan Gascot and Jon Faulkner finished in the 2nd and 3rd position respectively.

1/10th gas truck A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Jay Johnson
Juan Gascot
Jon Faulkner

Truck Limited A-main -

TQ Jeremy Harris had the touch all weekend long in the limited classes. Jeremy pulled a terrific start and pulled away from the field. Jeremy finished with a 17 second lead over 2nd place finisher Brian Duncan. Rounding out the top 3 was Jay Johnson finishing in 3rd.

Truck Limited A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Jeremy Harris
Brian Duncan
Jay Johnson

Truck Modified A-main -

JR Mitch held control early, only briefly being challenged by Richard Lowe and Frank Root in the first few corners. As the 10 minute main developed Richard Lowe mounted a charge coming back from an earlier crash, Richard was on a mission. Lap after lap Richard was decreasing the gap between him and JR. JR was smooth and steady and Richard pushed harder. Coming down to the final few laps Richard pulled up to within a few seconds of JR but it was not enough as JR’s great drive was complete and took home the 1st place with Richard Lowe in 2nd and Leon McIntosh rounding out the top 3.

Truck modified A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

JR Mitch
Richard Lowe
Leon McIntosh

4wd Limited A-main -

4wd limited belonged to Andrew Moore and his BJ4. Andrew set the TQ in the first 4 rounds of qualifying and sat the last round out to prepare for the finals. In the A-main Andrew pushed his perfectly prepared BJ4 out front and never looked back. Jon Faulkner and Chris Cristo finished in the 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

4wd Limited A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Andrew Moore
Jon Faulkner
Chris Cristo

4wd Modified A-main –

TQ Ryan Maifield took the hole shot and quickly negotiated the downhill S-turn with precision creating some first lap breathing room. Lee Martin who got involved in a first lap crash regrouped to trail Maifield by only a small margin. Lee turned it on for the next several laps pulling right up on the back of Maifields B44. Maifield responded as only few can with his fastest single laps of the weekend creating space once again. Lee made a small mistake coming down the table top in front of the driver’s stand which gave Maifield all the space he needed to cruise onto his 2nd win of the day. Toward the end of the race Lee’s battery became very soft and Tony Truman and Richard Lowe squeaked by to overtake for 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

4wd Modified A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Ryan Maifield
Tony Truman
Richard Lowe

Sportsman 1/8th truck A-main -

Kyle Knowles and Kawri Brown held a very close battle throughout the 30-minute race with Kawri leading throughout the first half of the race. Kyle put the

pressure on in the later stages of the race and over took Kawri for the lead at the 48 lap mark. Kyle took a well deserved win with Kawri finishing 2nd and Mike Brotherton finishing in 3rd.

Sportsman 1/8th truck – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Kyle Knowles
Kawri Brown
Mike Brotherton

Expert 1/8th truck A-main -

Jason Smith from South Carolina was the man to beat in the expert 1/8th truck class. Jason TQ’ed and led every lap in the main. Local driver Tony Pattishall pushed hard and maintained a consistent distance. In the end Jason took home 1st place with Tony Pattishall taking 2nd and Mike Jones taking 3rd.

Expert 1/8th truck A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Jason Smith
Tony Pattishall
Mike Jones

Production Monster Truck A-main -

TQ JJ Turk was on fire in the Production Monster Truck division. JJ took advantage of an early first turn crash and had a huge gap on the field right from the start. Dave Warr kept pace throughout most of the race but eventually settled into 2nd while Dante Villanueva finished in a well deserved 3rd place.

Production Monster Truck A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

JJ Turk
Dave Warr
Dante Villanueva

Sportsman 1/8th buggy A-main -

Local driver Trey Cook took the TQ and was off and running early on in the A-main. Trey powered to a sizeable lead until an engine flameout which sent him to the pits early. Tony Pattishall took advantage of the flameout and went directly into the lead with Jay Johnson in 3rd. Tony led for several laps until an interference problem sent Tony off track and out of contention. Jay Johnson remained poised and took home 1st place. Trey Cook recovered from the early flameout to finish in 2nd. Rounding out the top 3 was David Kobisk.

Sportsman 1/8th buggy A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Jay Johnson
Trey Cook
David Kobisk

Expert 1/8th buggy A-main -

Lee Martin took a quick lead out front with Ryan Maifield in 2nd. Lee and Ryan were very close for many laps until Maifield made a small mistake giving Lee some breathing room. Maifield put on a charge closing in on Lee and just then Lee encountered a flameout sending him into the pits early. Ryan Maifield picked up the lead and continued to push his RC8 to the limit while increasing the lead. JR Mitch picked up the 2nd position and was just cruising as he pulled away from the rest of the field. After a rough start Jason Smith pulled through the pack and picked up the 3rd position.

Expert 1/8th buggy A-main – 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Ryan Maifield
JR Mitch
Jason Smith

Like J-Ro, this is my first blog entry, and I sort of hate to keep harping on the ‘07 Clash, but damn, it was realllly good. Allison and J have covered many of the interesting points of the race, so basically this entire post is going to be about my own personal performance. Seriously. I mean what is really more important?

Lets start with practice. Track was awesome, layout was fun, my car didn’t break. Qualifier #1. I my car was, to quote Ryan M. “A full-on hurt-box”. Qualifiers 2-4, see description of qualifier #1. I finally ran non-IFMAR champ Andy Moore’s* car in the Q5 and the main. Awesome. Thanks Andy.

The Magic just lost to the Bucks as I type this….ughhh…

I rolled into Tampa on Wednesday afternoon after a grueling day in the office** to find a spirited group of Englishmen in the JC pit area. These guys know how to go on holiday like nobody’s business. We had a couple of really great nights out on the town and met some really interesting people. Rachel the equestrian, Amy J the real estate agent/fashion consultant, Jill the bartender, Mike the bouncer, Bill Sullivan of the Clearwater PD, Jack and Seth at the department of corrections(thanks guys!) and I can’t wait to meet Judge Nathaniel Johnson on Feb 23rd 2008. I’ll bet he is a real fun guy also.***

I learned the following things over the course of the event:

Ryan Maifield is apparently a pretty decent driver.
Lee Martin is absolutely ace. A top man indeed.
They speak English in England.
JC tires are Brilliant!
Frank Root has the ability to impersonate BK, Elvis, and the Fonz without a wardrobe change.
Tons of rear-seat room in the back of a Jaguar S-Type.
Allison is like a human PDA.
Her parents could run a concession stand with two coolers and an average size grill and feed 5,000 people an hour.
JR Mitch is still fast. duh..
Girls(women?) who ride horses have incredible muscle tone in the lower body.
CA glue apparently has a shelf life.
Long electric mains are the future of racing.
Muhammad is the most popular name in the world.
You can’t get a better rate at a hotel after 4am.
The Hurricane track crew is first rate – Joey, Raptor, Mike, Dave and the guys – Thanks!
Diet MD is the most refreshing beverage ever. Running a close second: diet Heineken.
I still don’t care for Red Bull, no matter how attractive the girl giving it to me for free may be.
Jimmy Babcock is the best race director.
I met a cute black quarterhorse gelding named Lucky. And his rider Rachel.
The Team Associated RC8 is possibly the best 1/8 buggy ever.
Waitressing is hard work. Tip accordingly.

.
I still say the best part of this event was the international attendance. I was great to see the track at Lake Park once again hosting a world-class international race. It has been a long time since the glory days of the WinterChamps, and it felt like old times to be out there again. I hope we can all be there again next year, and add even more new people, make even more new friends, and especially have more good times.

See you all in 2008!

Tim.

*The Andy Moore I refer to is not an IFMAR WC.
** Actually, I have never had a grueling day in an office in my life.
***No one in our party was assaulted, arrested, imprisoned, or charged with any crimes.

Weekend to remember – December 7-9^th 2007

My first blog entry……gee what am I going to talk about…….well DURR the Clash.

Last week was a total blur for me. After months of preparation the race came and went and all I can say is, what a terrific time. It got so busy on Sunday morning that I didn’t have a chance to get my vehicles prepared for the finals so I sat them out and let the others enjoy the 10 minute A-final.

My BJ4 Worlds Edition was total Magic from the first qualifier to the 5^th qualifier. I’m totally pumped about the track and racing I wish I didn’t have to work I would go down and work on my driving so I could beat up on Maifield and Lee Martin next year….:)

I was looking through all the photos on www.rcactionpics.com and I’m just disappointed that it had to end so soon. BTW – Greg Rojna really out did himself with the photos they are terrific. {Shameless plug} Man those Rulux wheels, Hi-Flow and Scoopless bodies look good!Haaaaaa.

I’m ready for RC Clash 08 already. I’m going to race in the mains next year I promise. 10 minute mains are definitely the way to go in electric along with brushless and Lipo. I’m totally sold on it.

I really like the way the track turned out and how the race banners looked around the track. I must say it was quite professional looking. The Hurricane track crew really worked hard and the track surface and condition was superb.

Jimmy Babcock handled things extremely well and I think we started a new trend with Tim Davis handling A-final driver introductions. Kenny Holmes kept all the nitro guys in line and things started and ended in a timely manner. I must say thanks to everyone involved in the event especially Allison who really had her hands full the entire time leading up. Ryan Maifield and Lee Martin were incredibly fast the entire weekend.

Hal and Daneen ran our concession stand and the food was great especially the #1 combo, grilled cheese and Diet Mountain Dew.

{Shameless plug} The JConcepts Racing Tires were dialed all weekend. The team raced and used production versions and compounds of all the tires and our release on some of the tires should be this week.

Wednesday night was so much fun. Our group “bumped” into crazy-A and she ran us crazy throughout Tampa looking for the most hopping bar available. What a trip this girl was, Crazy-A was either in real estate or fashion design……maybe it was both. I can’t remember.

R/C Glossary terms – Hurting – Completely hopeless, an irreconcilable difference between driver and anything.

Used in sentence – This car is so freaking Hurting it must have like 60 belts because it has no power what-so-ever.

Jason’s Fav 5 –

MJ lighting up Stackhouse – http://youtube.com/watch?v=gUMHZbvnMAA

Lone Wolf McQuade – http://youtube.com/watch?v=VhMD0-nym5U

Curb Your Enthusiasm (Pretaaaayy Good) – http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rp4pJ-mEmE4

Bigfoot – http://youtube.com/watch?v=2ggPQG6wIEA

Flip it – http://youtube.com/watch?v=AjzJjlbKINw

Well, I feel as if I haven’t slept in a week, my feet hurt, every muscle in my body hurts, even my cheeks and any muscle that is required for laughing and smiling! There was no shortage of fun, socializing or drinking at this race

But all that aside, the race was fabulous ( and yes, I can say Fabulous because I am a girl !)

We ended each day by around 7 pm leaving plenty of time for dinner and entertaining…. not much could top our first night there, which was Wednesday night for most people in my entourage…. but each night was enjoyable and we all got to talk to someone new. Meeting you all was great, chatting with the English guys is different than the USA guys, we were able to compare vocab words and the use of the language, amongst other things.

I know the restaurants in the US serve more food than we really need but it is so funny to hear a foreigner say that! It was mentioned by more than one person….. and we didn’t even take them to the Cheesecake Factory! The food portions there could serve 3! They did not complain about the size of our alcoholic beverages though – or at least not until the morning after! As I also took on the role of Entertainment Director, it became very important to have plenty of Advil on hand in the morning!

We dined at Bahama Breeze on Wednesday when we all arrived in town, it was a new experience for some. Bahama Breeze was also one of my “digs” in college as well, however in college I would go home from Bahama Breeze alone, but on the eve of the First Annual Clash I went home with 10 guys.

We spent one night of the weekend at the Tampa Ale House not far from the track. Now while this was not one of the more eventful evenings, it is definitely better than eating fast food and wrenching on RC cars until the wee hours. The Tampa Ale House has quite a soft spot in my heart.

My girlfriends and I spent every Thursday night there my senior year in College …. My office was just down from the Tampa Ale House, I can not count the number of Happy Hours we spent there…

This is just a sampling of the happenings off the track, overall Tampa is a fabulous city and we had a great time … I just need to get a lot more sleep before the 2nd Annual Clash

Cheers! Allison

Call for Entries!

Calling all race photos, paint jobs on JConcepts bodies, main videos, and practice videos featuring your JConcepts products! Submit your still photos (jpgs, gifs) or videos in useable format to JConcepts, at info@jconcepts.net for a chance to win!

Will consider all media. Send us your exciting, unusual, cutting edge, or behind the scenes images from the track and JConcepts R/C related photography or videos! We are searching for 5 great images or media pieces. 5 winners will be selected from all entries.

Winner receives a free, clear body of their choice. Videos and photos will be featured or displayed on JConcepts web sites.

All entries should feature JConcepts products and have a title and brief description of what is featured in the photo or video. Please include your name, mailing address, email address, and the track that is featured if applicable, on all entries.

For videos or larger format files, please mail entries to:

JConcepts, Inc.
15360 CR 565A, Suite C
Groveland, FL 34736
Attn: Media Director, Call for Entries

Before submitting media related items to JConcepts you must first agree to the downloadable PDF Likeness Agreement, sorry couldn’t post it here please view and Download it from our new site under the In Detail Section.

JConcepts Clash – Where The Powers Explode – www.rcclash.com

Don’t Miss This Nitro and Electric Race Event – December 7-9th 2007

We are holding a race in Tampa, December 7-9, at a track that was very popular in the ‘90s when the Winter Champs was held there on an annual basis. Our company president and internationally respected R/C driver Jason Ruona, is looking to revive the spirit of the great Winter Champs with a new race called the JConcepts Clash. World renowned racers came to this track to compete, stars were born and this became known as the race to debut a new product.

The JConcepts Clash is a dream race event for off-road drivers and the latest technology. R/C is a great sport for individuals and families, similar to other sports, the jumps and the competition can be fierce!

Racers of all skill level are invited to participate where “The Powers Explode” at Lake Park in Tampa, FL – December 7-9th 2007. The host R/C track is located at Lake Park, 17302 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Lutz, FL, in the Carrollwood area.

The Hurricane R/C Club has the facility and the history. All the greats have raced at Lake Park – come witness their skills! The JConcepts Clash will be broadcast live on www.liverc.com and with Race Director Jimmy Babcock this is a can’t miss event.

See recent videos of this infamous track on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/jconceptsracing

This 1st Annual Event is limited to 300 entries and will feature Electric and Nitro on the same weekend. Simply watch in amazement as Ryan Maifield, IFMAR World and ROAR National Championship Top Qualifier, hits the track.

Not only is the facility at Lake Park one of the best, but in a city like Tampa – there is so much more to love!

We are expecting 200+ racers from the UK and Canada and from at least 15 states around the US. This event will be featuring both nitro and electric vehicles. The event is free and open to the public. We are inviting all the local schools to come out and watch the race; we love to get new people involved in the sport and witness the action firsthand. We have a dedicated web site for this event, please visit it here: www.rcclash.com. Photos and video samples can by supplied upon request.

R/C racers can start young, often around 9 or 10 years of age, and many drivers stay a hobbyist and enthusiast in to their 40s and 50s, unlike other sports, age is not a factor here!

There are many races held around the US, state races, regional races and national level events are held at varying tracks around the country. The Nationals are held once a year, per class, and the host track will rotate each time. There are also world championships held every 2 years, these have been held in such places as Florida, California, South Africa, Italy, Finland, the UK, and most recently, in September in Japan.

View the dedicated RC Clash web site at www.rcclash.com for all the details. The JConcepts Clash – don’t miss it!

12/02/07

Do you name your cars ? I don’t mean your RC cars, I mean your real cars. But if you do name your RC cars I would like to hear about that too…….
If you don’t name them, do you feel cars, or specifically your car, is gender specific? Do you say “he’s quick” or “she needs a bath” when talking about your daily driver?

We went out with TCD the other night, J and I rode in his new VW. In the parking lot, TCD spotted a car that was the smaller version of his car, and proceeded to park near what he referred to as his car’s “little sister. ” It wasn’t until we approached him with his own comment, that he realize what he had said.

When I was younger, my first car was a male, it was a sporty coupe, had to be a male. My mom’s car that I learned to drive on, to my friends and I, was also a male, maybe because it was often loaded down with girls on the way to the beach…. but it’s not the destination that makes a car have a gender. It may not even be the type of vehicle that makes the owner think …. boy… or …. girl.

And we all know cars are not delivered by storks, even though, for most of us, RC cars are like our babies.

It is the owner that decides the gender of a car, my first car was named Bob. It was a great car, but that was high school…. the car I had in college, it didn’t have an official name, but basically I called it a lemon, sometimes lemonade, nonetheless, you get the idea….

I think it is interesting that most guys refer to their cars as females – does this sound like you ? do you fee like your RC cars have a gender? if so, do you find that you impart the same gender on your real car and your RC cars? are they all boys or all girls? Are the big ones the boys and the small ones the girls?

Cars are all so very different, and yet all the same, both real cars and RC cars, they all perform the same function, and yet they manage to take on a personality, a bit of life is breathed in to each car as it takes to the road, or to the track. So while cars are built and manufactured in to a repetitious, yet unique model that only differs with the VIN number and the package equipment, I love my car and it is my “baby” — I am just glad I don’t have to breast feed it!

~ Ali

People are checking in, entries still coming, planes are landing with RC Racers on board, hotels are booked, the RC Clash has finally arrived!

After months and months and months of not only prepping and making arrangements, as well as the anticipation – the moment has arrived.

Ok, well tomorrow is the big day, maybe I can finally get some sleep now that the hard part is over?!?! 

Tonight should be a fun night of entertaining and then its on to the real stuff!