Guys, I don't even know where to start!  The first round in Monroe was rained out.  So, the new round one became a combination of the Reedsburg rumble and the start of the WNS.  At Reedsburg, the expert buggy a main has been to wet to run the last three years!  This year mother nature again threatened with rain.

Friday....

Dad, Jeff and I arrived around midnight Thursday.  The track was not dry until about 2:30PM Friday.  I got my much needed practice time in, and felt good about my stuff.  We had some things go wrong during practice, but were able to get them fixed before Sat. .

Saturday

I ran Pro buggy, Pro truggy, and electric buggy. 
Buggy -  This was by far the fastest run of the weekend, I was the only driver of all classes to go 10 laps on the high speed track in the first round.  My 801X was rockin with Soft Cityblocks.  In round two, the ruts started appearing.  I thought my 801X was good enough to ensure a tq in the 2nd round also.  I was one second off ten laps with a minute to go.  I busted out a hero lap, half a second faster than anyone else ran the whole weekend.  I took TQ again, but ran a 9 lap 5:00.06! DOH!

Truggy - I had fuel issues earlier in the day, forcing me to make some hard  decisions.  I tq'ed both rounds again, and looked real strong.  Mainly by not making mistakes.

E Buggy - Not much to say about this, I lead from wire to wire in both of my qualifiers and took overall TQ.

Mains ...... and then the RAIN came...... BIG RAIN

E Buggy - I won this by a full lap, my car worked great!

Truggy - It absolutely poured then stopped twenty minutes before my main.  Luckily, the lower main in front of me made it a somewhat wet and tacky track.  At the horn, I was followed closely for the first few minutes, but when people came in to pit, I was able to pull away even more because of my Werks engines.  I was able to pit at 10:30 in the main, and easily pulled away with two lap lead.  I ended up taking overall Tq and the win.

Scotty knew a HUGE rain storm was on the way, so he decided to make the buggy a main seven minutes, and run it no matter what.  Most of us were optimistic whether we wanted to run or not, and we did.  As soon as we rolled out for warm up, it started pouring, IN BUCKETS.  I lead from the get go, but was able to hold off a hard charge from Jeremy Whiting in the middle of the run.  Most guys were scared that the mud accumatating on the car would decrease their fuel mileage.  Most pitted at 5 minutes, when I realized the water puddles ( a few inches deep in some spots!)  were actually keeping the car clean.  We decided to stay out, and it payed off BIG TIME.  I created a good gap, but with 30 seconds to go, my air filter inhaled to much water, and stalled the engine.  We tried to refire the car, as I still had fuel left, to get one more lap in to secure victory, but the glow plug showed no mercy, and I was done for the day.  I took overall TQ with my 801X and still managed to finish 2nd in the brutal buggy main.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgegDx8FuoA

I came away with all three points leads after it was all said in done.  Tune in for round two at MARCCA on July 11th. 
Thanks to my Sponsors, my pit man team of Jeff and my dad, my mom for all of the organizing, and Scotty Ernst for running one heck of an event.

I ran Werks B5 engines, Werks 2013 pipes, Byron 30/9 fuel, Ko Helios radio, Hitec 7955 servos, and AKA tires.

Brad Shearer

Tamiya - Werks - AKA - TKO Bearings - JB Paintwerks - Kalgard

Okay guys.  The three weeks of steady rain is finally past us, or atleast I hope it is.  This weekend withheld the 2010 Northern Hobbies Ground Pounder in Abrams Wi.  This would be my first time hitting the Northern Hobbies track with my Tamiya rides.  So, as we got some practice in Saturday morning, I felt good about my stuff.  I ran Pro truggy, Pro buggy, and Modified Short Course.

Northern is a track known to blow out in a matter of heats.  But, I managed to set Tq in the first round of qualifying in both truggy and buggy on a smoother track.  SC was 4th.  My truck was flying, and no one came within ten seconds of my time.  I had some work to do in buggy yet, tire choice would turn out to be a major factor for me later on.  I ran AKA med. I Beams on my buggy, and narrow City Blocks on my truggy.   Enduro softs for Short Course!

In round two, the track became more blown out, and started to show some deep ruts.  I kept my truggy setup from the last round, but I decided to change my buggy tires.  I went from Medium I beams, to Medium Enduros.  Although I also reset the tq in both classes, my buggy had not gotten much better.  At this point, I held overall Tq in buggy and truggy, but had dropped down to sixth in SC.

Mains-  I'll start with the good.  First up was Short Course.  After stiffening the rear shocks, and a few other minor adjustments, my SCT was flying!  I took off at the tone, passed four trucks in the first turn, and then got by the first place truck three corners later.  We battled wheel to wheel  for a few laps, and then I was able to pull away to take the victory!

Truggy-  Not much to say for this one.  My truck was awesome all day, and I couldn't ask for  more from my pit team.  I lead from wire to wire, even through pit stops.  I ended up taking the win by just under two laps.
Buggy-  I had a tough choice to go into the main with.  I decided to go with AKA Crossbraces for the main.  I also changed the rear springs to the Buggy Yellow/Black spring, from the rear RED truggy spring.  I did this to soften the rear end a little for a now extremely blown out track, and man did it work!  I got nailed in the first turn due to an accordion effect, and came out last of 13 cars!!!!  I eventually worked my way back up, and the car was working excellent.  I took the lead with 8 minutes to go.  With three minutes left, I had a 3/4 lap lead.  I then landed off a double, and my car jerked to a stop.  It appears I had a bad clutch bearing, and me performing a hat trick just wasn't meant to be!  Miraculously, I still took 3rd after being off the track for a total of 2 minutes and 30 seconds! 
Products:
Car: 801X/ 801XT
Engines: Werks B5
Clutch: Tamiya 3 shoe AL.   Buggy- 1.0mm springs  Truggy- 1.1mm
Tires: www.raceaka.com,  Buggy- Medium Crossbrace  Truggy- Medium Narrow Cityblock.
Pipe: Werks 2013
Fuel: Byron 30/9
Glow Plug- OD 97T
Servos: Hitec 7950


This was an awesome race, and a great payout to say the least.  I'd like to thank my Parents/Pitguys, and friends for making it an enjoyable Saturday.  And also my sponsors.

Tamiya/ Team TRF - Werks Engines - AKA Racing Products - TKO Bearings - Liverc.com - JB Paintwerx

Hi guys!  I am very sorry that I am late to post my trip to the Silver State Nitro Challenge.  The 3rd quarter of my Freshman year is near, and I have been running rabid with homework!  So now that I'm all caught up, I look back on that interesting weekend.

Wednesday Night-  We arrived at the LV airport around 7:30.  With that, we proceeded to the hotel, to prepare and get a good night sleep.  Luckily the host hotel has very large countertops, which are great for working on :)!

Thursday-  I really don't know what to think of this day.  The cars seemed to be okay, but I was struggling to find my mojo on the layout. 

Friday-  I really had to work on getting the cars to land  more stable.  With the help of Ryan Lutz and Jimmy Wright, we were able to accomplish just that.  The buggy was good, but the truck was on rails.  I am going to contribute some of this to the new a arms and shafts!  The only real problem I had was not being able to get a clean run in.   Round two of truck was my hero run, running only a few seconds off of some of the a main guys.  Unfortunately I was not able to get it going in the other qualifiers to seed myself high.

Saturday-  This had to be the worst day for me, as my brain struggled to keep certain eyelet screws tightened.  I  lost both my brakes in the first round of qualifying, but yet this was probably my best run yet, as it forced me to run very smooth.  I did well, but was seated way down in the lower mains in Pro.  I got shuffled back in both, and suffered some mechanical issues. 
All in all I had a great time.  Thanks to my parents; my pit dad and good friend Jeff Bartlett, Jimmy Wright, THE LUTZINATOR, and to Rick and Ricky Racer for all the help.

Thanks,

Brad Shearer

TEAM TRF

Well.  If I was asked where my favorite place to race was.  It would be RJD Hobbies and Raceway in Lincoln Illinois.  The greatest people, the greatest facility, and some of the greatest racing! 
This past weekend was the 2nd annual Slashbash.  65 entires for the one day race, and even though a snowstorm raged through the day before, entries were still high.  I managed to win Mod Short Course, Modified Buggy, and finish 2nd in Modified Truck, with Michael Paige winning.

I have the best of times at this track.  I live 9 and a half hours away, but yet my parents and I still find the time to come down here A LOT.

Happy Tamiyaing!

Brad Shearer

Hi everyone!  Brad here.  Yesterday was the last weekend of our 12 race series at www.dirtheaven.com.  I tq'ed Modified Truck, and qualified 4th in Modified Buggy.  I finished 2nd in truck and 5th in buggy.  It all in all was a great practice weekend. 
As for that, I have some exciting news to share.  Due to my father and I not being able to make it to CRCRC  (Semester Exams UGH!)  we will be flying out LV to mix it up at the Silver State Nitro challenge.  My 801 series vehicles are ready to rock, along with a new Werks B5, Ko Propo radio, and AKA tires.

I will be attending the 2nd annual SlashBash at RJD hobbies and raceway this coming weekend, to keep my driving sharp for our trip to the SW!  www.rjdhobbiesandraceway.com.
Check back soon for a full race report!

Brad Shearer

Well, I wasn't able to get a good connection at the track, but this race turned out a-okay!

This race held by Scotty Ernst has been getting bigger every year, and Spektrum came in to make it HUGE!!!!  With drivers like Ryan Cavalieri, Dustin Evans, Matt Chambers, Chad Due, and Dakota Phend attending, it was sure to be a world class event.

I ran Modified 4wd, Mod Truck, and Mod Short Course.  QUAL POINTS- Best 2 out of 4

Qualifying-  My trk was running strong, but the driver had some work to do on throttle control.  Mod 4wd went well, putting in a 7th place finish for the 1st round.  Note: Some of the Losi guys had broken in their heats.   The first run in Mod Short Course went well, but running the stock tires didn't provide  any traction what so ever, but I made the best of it.

 I would end up being CQ of mod trk :(, however I did have a great race with Paul Sinclair from X Factory.  In Modified 4wd, I would be placed 3rd on the starting grid, behind Dustin Richards, and Liverc's own Bq Brandon Rohde!  As the two started to battle in front of me, I slowly moved in.  I proved to be catching them to slowly, and ran out of time.

Short Course- Well,  I ended up having some back luck  in qualifying.  Fortunately, a local from my home track (Troy Konitzer), let me run a set of Proline Bow Ties for the main.  So I must thank him for that.  It turns out I had qualified 5th for the B main.  I knew I had a top 3 truck and could bump to the a easily, but at the start I was rear ended and shuffled to the back of the pack.   I made it all the way back up to the lead with one minute to go.  So I moved on to the A main to finish 4th.

Thanks to my sponsors and everyone that helped me this weekend.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Zac Rose, Jim Neubert, Curt and Cole Cayemberg, Troy Konitzer.

Tamiya ~ AKA ~ KO PROPO ~ JBPAINTWERX ~ WERKS ~ KALGARD ~ TKO ~Liverc

Hi all.   This past week contained the Thanksgiving shootout held by Dirtheaven Raceway.  It was a great race with 65 entries.  Classes included Mod-Buggy/Truck- Stock- Buggy/ Truck, and finally Mod and Stock Short Course.

I ran modified truck.  This was a huge preparation day for me, because the 2009 Spektrum Offroad championships are this weekend coming.  My T4 was looking good in practice, and after softening the front springs just a touch, we headed into qualifying. 
1st Round-  A smooth run, which is what I was looking for.  But,  I missed tq by 4 seconds, giving it to Zac Rose for the round. 
2nd round-  I knew I'd have to step it up for the last run, but just wasn't patient enough for lap traffic.  I started 2nd for the main.

A - MAIN -  At the start of the tone, Zac and I took off.  We didn't check out right away, but we had a decent amount of space to battle it out.   On the fourth lap, I jumped over Zac coming into a 180.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get back to the gas fast enough to keep him from rear ending me.  My car was sent upside down.  Zac ran away with the main, but I took second.  A good prep for next week.

Check back here soon.  If the connection is good at our hotel+track, I will try and give everyone an update every round on December 4th, 5th, and 6th.   Please visit LIVERC.com for more!

www.dirtheaven.com

Hello everyone!  I hope things are well.  The nitro season here is now over with, and the snow has started to fall.  I am running Modified truck this year piloting an Associated T4.  I WILL be attending the 2009 Spektrum Offroad championships held by the one and only Scotty Ernst on the first week in December.  Then in January, I will be going to Colombus OOOOOHHHHIIIOOOOOO for the Midwest Nitro championships.   I have an exciting few months ahead of me! Check back here soon!  Keep Tamiyaing!

Sincerely, Brad Shearer

TAMIYA-AKA-WERKS-KO PROPO-KALGARD-TKO-LIVERC.COM

Hi all! Sorry for the delay!  Been really busy starting my Freshman year in High School, but I've managed to get out to a couple races.  The RC X Fest was one, which was just a fun filled week of bad luck for me, but you're going to have those!  So last weekend, my parents and I made the 7 hour drive to RJD Hobbies and Raceway for their 6th annual October Bash.  Its one of the most fun races I get to travel to.  The rains had pelted the track Friday, so lets get to it....

FRIDAY- THE DAY OF RAIN

Well, there isn't much to say here, as when we arrived the track was covered in oil dry and kitty litter.  The rain had stopped, but later that night it began to pour.

Saturday- RACE DAY!

When we arrived at the track Saturday morning the track was wet, but the clay had taken the water well.  We started racing at 10am sharp, and every car that came off the track had a little mud on it.  My 801XT was really good off the bat, but the 801X needed some work in practice.  The muddy/but smooth condition seemed to make my buggy twitchy.  I was running AKA SOFT I Beams on both cars in practice, but I chose to go with AKA Gridirons for both cars, to hopefully keep the mud from packing up on the tire.  The gridirons worked well, especially on the buggy.  I did have to run the ride height a little higher to keep off the mud, but both cars were dialed for qualifying.

RND 1

Both cars were working good, but consistency on the not so consistent track was tough.  I ended up third in buggy for the round, and 2nd in truck.

 RND 2

 Again, both cars were handling awesome.  I still wasn't consistent enough to challenge Michael Paige for TQ in truggy, but the buggy was getting there.  Same spots for Rnd two.

 Rnd 3

 This is where it was do or die.  I wanted TQ in at least one class for the weekend, and I got exactly that.  I took a little F/R droop out of the truck for round 3, and it was hooked up.  Thanks to a little coaching from Ryan Lutz the previous week, I was able to keep focused on staying smooth.  I was six seconds faster than Michael Paige, and tq'ed Expert Arena truck overall.  Buggy went well also, but missed TQ by a little less than a second.

Buggy Main:  This was basically a race between me, Michael Paige, and Jim Kvidera.   At the beep, Jim and I broke away from the rest of the pack, and had an amazing battle for the first five minutes.  The car was really good, but after I left the pits at 7:30, the steering servo died.  It was a heartbraker, because we had a good shot at taking the win, but it happens!

Truggy Main:  The Truggy A main was pretty interesting, as Michael Paige and I broke away from the rest of the pack.  I was able to get a half a lap lead on Michael 10 minutes through, but made a couple mistakes.  Michael and I battled for three more laps, before he got out in front of me and ran away.  I had the fastest lap of the race, and came in second. 

Buggy- Tamiya 801X

Motor- WERKS B5

Radio- KO PROPO

SERVOS- KO PROPO

Fuel- Byron Gen 2

Tires- AKA Soft Gridirons 

Truggy- Tamiya 801XT

MOTOR- WERKS B5

RADIO- KO PROPO

SERVOS- KO PROPO

Fuel- BYRON GEN 2

 Tires- AKA Soft Gridirons

It was a great weekend all in all,  and I'd like to thank Michael, Lori, and Darrell Paige for their wonderful hospitality and hard work to get the track ready.  I'd also like to thank my parents, and my sponsors for all their help.

Brad Shearer

Tamiya/ Werks/ AKA/ KO PROPO/ KALGARD/ wwwliverc.com/ www.dirtheaven.com/rjdhobbiesandraceway.com

Hi all! So the new buggy is built, the new engines are broken in, and we are ready to go racing!  Last Friday, we traveled to the town of Reedsburg, to race under one of the coolest announcers ever, Scotty Ernst. 

 Friday Practice- Ryan Lutz's Nationals setup- Diffs 7-5-7

Hitting the track for the first time, I was surprised at how well the 801X handled the high speed sections of the track.  I knew I was one of the fastest threw the high speed sections right off the bat, but I felt like the buggy needed to "jump" off the line quicker.  We changed the diff setup to 5-7-3.  The car was much better, and I felt good going into tommorow

Saturday- Race day 

Well, as I rolled out for warmup in my first qualifier, I knew that every change I needed to make for the rest of the day was going to be regarding tires.  The car was working good with AKA Medium I beams all the way around.  I ended up taking round 1 TQ by six seconds over 2nd.   The car felt good, and the new Werks B5 engine was running strong

2nd Qual.

 I decided to change tires for the second round, and that was a bad mistake.  I went with AKA Citybeams, and the car grabbed a lot of ruts.  I missed my TQ time  by four seconds, but my closest competitor, Jason Mayer, was nipping at my heels, falling just one second short of my round 1 TQ time.  I would stay TQ for the second round.

Third Qualifier 

I knew that AKA I Beams were going to work good, but I still felt like I needed more forward bite.  So for the third round,  I went with AKA medium crossbraces in front, and AKA medium I beams in back.   The car was excellent, the best it had been all weekend.   Jason Mayer and I were neck an neck the whole qualifier, learning how to race each other clean, but also putting down a blistering pace.   I ended up beating my Tq time from the first round by three seconds, but Jason got the better of me, out running me by a half a second.

The main-  Starting 2nd

GO GO GO!  We were off, into the first turn.  Jason had to check up, so I went to the outside to make a pass, but ended up getting caught in a rut, and my car flew off the track.  I restarted in last, but by the five minute mark, I had quickly worked my way back to second, right behind Jason.  We battled until the end, leaving about six feet between me and him when it was all said and done.  I took second, but Jason drove one heck of a race, not crashing when I put pressure on him, and racing me clean when we were side by side.   The new buggy worked great, and I was very pleased with it.

The next race for me will be Dirtheaven Hobby and Raceway's 8th annual Cornroast, which we will have some of the top pros attending.  LUTZ, MAIFIELD, STOUGH, and KINWALD just to name a few.  I start school two days after, and then take Thursday and Friday off to travel to the RC X Fest in Cambridge Minnesota.  Check back here in the next few weeks.

Sincerely,

Brad Shearer

Tamiya - AKA - WERKS - liverc.com - Kalgard