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Lutzinator's race report

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Published on Monday, 18 March 2013 19:39

Written by BSI Editor

2013 Cactus Classic



Monday March 18, 2013

Mains have come and gone at the Cactus Classic and what a long week it was. Kudos to the track owners and crew who put together an awesome track layout and some of the most consistent traction there has ever been. For me it was a bit of a disappointing week but there were some moments of good that can be taken away from it all.

In 2WD SC my Durango DESC210R was a pretty solid top performer all week long. Running in the mid motor configuration on this high traction track I believe was a good advantage. I found just before the end of the mains what my biggest problem was of the week and that was I was running way to much Caster. This allowed the truck to not have enough steering but once I figured it out come A3 the truck turned much better and I feel with a slightly revised set-up that I could have finished even higher. As it was I would take a solid 3rd in both A1 and A2 to take the final podium spot come photo time on a podium full of Ryan’s.

In 4WD SC I was a bit disappointed with my final result. This is a class I usually can do very well in and I showed good speed early in the week but come the qualifiers and mains I just began making to many mistakes and it cost me dearly. In Q1 I would finish 4th after early mistakes put me back. In Q2 I would finish even lower at 5th I think due to mistakes throughout. In Q3 I finally put it together again and was leading from early on as I took the lead on lap 1 and would hold the lead until about 2 laps to go when my wheel nut came off. So I had to settle for 5th overall where that Q3 incident cost me the final podium spot.

In 2WD Buggy I was qualified 5th into the B-main. My car was pretty solid after putting on Travis’s set-up and in the B-main they decided to put a huge ramp in the middle of the straight away for some ‘fun’. Some drivers chose to have fun with it and launch their cars 20 feet in the air. Some drivers still tried to make a race of it. Because I had a solid start I decided to make a race of it and I would move up to 2nd and then battle for the lead and take it about halfway through. I then extended out my lead and took the B-main win. I did my ‘victory’ lap and tried to hit the ramp but only did so halfway sending my car into a crazy barrel roll that ended pretty cool with the crowd enjoying it! I feel I’m starting to get the hand of 2wd. I’m getting more comfortable every time out.

In 4WD buggy the B-main was a different story for me. I qualified 12th overall and at the start tailed Hupo for a couple laps before I made some mistakes and fell back. At this point I decided to have some fun and just drive super hard and aggressive and enjoy the track time. I really feel like I have the potential to run at the top in 4WD mod and will be sure to put in some time in this class in preparation for the Nats and Worlds this year!

Overall it was a great event and well run. I look forward to coming back next year and doing it all over again. It was great to have a strong Durango presence at this race as we are now infiltrating the podium in multiple classes and i’m sure it’s just going to get better all the time!

-Lutzinator