- Team Durango DEX410 - Ryan Lutz - JC Summer Indoor Shootout Rd #2 - 03.07.2011 -

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Next up was 4wd buggy. This main was 10 minutes long and I was nearly positive I had zero shot at making 10 minutes. This was my first race weekend with the DEX410 and it was a bit of a learning curve to say the least. I had practiced with it twice before and I had a gremlin in it that we just couldn’t figure out. With the over the top help from Randy Pike from Tekin we were finally able to figure out what it was after changing out and trying just about everything. It was a trying time and things just weren’t going my way in practice or qualifying at this event either. Luckily I was able to make the A so I knew at least if I drove clean and smooth I could have a shot. At the start I stayed clean but a lap or two in someone tubed it and I got into them sending me to the back of the pack. I was dead last in 10th and actually content there for the early going as I didn’t do any practice laps because I wanted to make sure I would finish the race on battery. (I wasn’t able to test runtime due to the gremlin and so many other things that would take forever to go over.) Anyways I was attempting to drive super smooth. I had done one major change before the main and that was to shorten my camberlinks all the way around to give the car more camber-gain and I also just gave it more camber overall. This seemed to be really good. A few laps in and I started to find a groove. I slowly started moving through the pack and eventually found myself in 3rd. Tyler Vik and Steven Hartson were ahead of me and battling and I inched closer until it was a 3 way battle. Then Hartson broke out or something and it was down to me and Vik. I was running right behind him and with like 30 seconds to go coming over the front hump under the announcers stand the car shut down. Turns out I melted the wire off the motor and it shorted. Such was my luck but to come out and be competitive the first time really racing the car and with all the issues I have had thus far was very promising. It felt really good in the main and I’m looking forward to the Hot Rod Shootout this upcoming week and 6 min quals and mains! I think I can do well. Just got to get in the electric frame of mind!

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