2015 Reedy Race of Champions
OCRC Raceway
Huntington Beach, CA

The Reedy Race of Champions, one of the most prestigious events in the history of electric off road racing. With 30 of the worlds best drivers, 12 heads up heat races, an epic venue and a whole lot of heated battles…Who wouldn’t want to attend, let alone watch. It had been 10 years or more since my last Reedy Race and I honestly had forgotten what to expect. The race is very challenging, only offering the top drivers 3 practice runs in each car, before going into heads up battle. Those that have either raced there before or even locally would have an advantage as to a setup or what to expect from the OCRC track and facility.

Let me first tell you about the track condition… The track utilizes a very rich, dark in color clay. The grip is a bit tricky at first, and changes through the event. First, its loose, tire wear is at a minimum, the grip comes up, tire wear goes up, track becomes grooved, and tire wear extremely high. Then ghost spikes were the ticket. Without actually knowing how many sets of tires you would need and how many you actually had to break in, this would prove to be crucial in your decision making down the stretch. The catch is not the earlier rounds of the race, it’s the later. In the early rounds you can expect that drivers will all have very similar tires. So, say in round 1-3 most drivers will be on a fairly equal playing field in each category running somewhat newer tires, however after 3, rounds 4-6 it’s a crap shoot as to what tires not only will be the fastest, but what tires are the competitors in your heat race on as well. This in the end is the determining factor as to how well you place in your races.

As day one opened up, I had mounted 2 sets of tires for 2wd and 3 sets of tires for 4wd. This was the recommended number of sets from previous year’s participants that had an idea as to how the race would go. As practice for Invite was under way, many drivers used their 1^st and 2^nd runs in each class to break in their tires. In the 3^rd heat, they would be on 2 run tires, and at that time would get an idea as to what their car actually felt like. In my humble opinion, I didn’t think the tires really came in until about the 3^rd run, then after that, they continued to improve run after run, until there was no tread left at all. My day one went well, my 2wd, seems pretty good on the newer tires, as well as my 4wd felt quite good on new tires.. Although those 3 practices can be a bit deceiving, as car setups vary due to traction conditions, I had felt that my chances were pretty good going into the event.

As day two came very early, showing up at the track in the early A.M. hours. I only had one car to worry about.. I prepared my 2wd, and checked out my tires from Impound. We basically were going to run 4 times on Friday. My starting positions for the first day were not great, actually two of them were down right terrible. With a 9^th, 3rd, 8th and a 5^th, they were not that bad, I mean, what was I expecting a bunch of front row starts for the old guy. They were definitely not giving handicaps to the young guys at this race, LOL. Either way, it was fair for everyone and I had to make do with what I was given.

1^st Round 2wd: I felt I needed to find better balance in my car. It had good grip in the front and rear, but I felt the car simply had too much movement. Although I was not 100% happy with my car, I did run competitive laps, only 0.3 off on best lap, but I did manage to run the 2^nd fastest lap in my heat. I was able to finish 7^th in that particular race.

2^nd Round 2wd, I opted for heavier front oil, which I though improved the car. Although it might have felt faster, the car actually was slower. Starting 3^rd this time, getting hit from behind did not help in the early laps. I fell back in the pack and did manage to salvage a 5^th from that race. The lap times in this race were slightly off the previous run.

3^rd round 2wd: This round I left the shock oil and went to a different spring. The speed of the car was back, in the beginning of the race, I was very close, but a car hit me on lap 3 which totally ruined my chances for a good finish. Dropping deep into the pack, I would have to settle for a 9^th Terrible.

4^th Round 2wd: This round, I decided to leave the car the same as round 3.This would prove to be good for me. I had an early lead, and then made a small mistake over the triple, gave up the lead to sit second, which I held all the way to the end of the race. This race I actually race the fastest laps and the car was down right good. I finished 2^nd.

5^th Round 2wd:  This day took a slight turn for the worst in decision making. I had completely slicked out my 1^st set of tires and had to go for the set with only 1 run on them. I had a decent starting position at 6^th and needed to make good on it. Today I was going to try some more flex in the battery strap to see if that would improve my overall grip and speed. The horn had sounded and we were off, I had a good start and stayed clean. I sat in 2^nd for the longest time, but could not make any ground on the leader, and that is where I finished. The car was not its best, as I felt the rear tires were not as good as the previous set. I am afraid; it was unfair to judge the flex, due to the tires not being very good.

6^th Round 2wd: This would be the last run in the 2wd side of the event, and I had a 2 run set of tires. Not the way I wanted to end it, but I would again, try to change the car from what I saw in round 5 to hopefully improve it. I started again in another bad position at 9^th. The race tone sounded and I ran mid pack the whole race. I didn’t really feel like I had improved the car from the previous race with my changes, and a bad start would leave me on a poor 2wd note.

As 2wd had come to an end, I felt that starting position was key, but also the way you approached the heat race mentally would prove to be even more critical. Crashes were of plenty, as the layout of the track was actually as difficult as it was easy. Cars colliding into one another were common occurrences. I think if I were to do this portion over again, I would have most definitely taken strides in other directions, mostly with the way I drove the races. I think more of a survival mentality would have been better than a fearless one. Either way this section of the event was over, I was hovering between 12th-15th position. It was not a bad day, but to be honest, it could have been way better, if a few things had fallen in my favor.

It was now time for 4wd. With so much hype around our new 4wd and so many people wanting to see it. It made it very challenging for me to actually prepare this car for the Race. Having the car was one thing, but to keep it under wraps, before we could actually let the cat out of the bag was another. With having to actually work on the car, it would make it next to impossible to have run the car at OCRC without people getting a glimpse of it. It was going to have to be a throw down sort of show down in the 4wd class. Having never driven it at OCRC, would prove to be a bit of a challenge. In Florida, the grip level of the tracks is not only higher, but the car behaves a bit more nervous. It would seem, it would just work better at OCRC, but that was actually quite the opposite.

1^st Round 4wd: In this race I would actually start 4^th. The race was actually a bit frustrating. I found myself in a situation where the car simply had more body roll than expected. This body roll led to a car that was a bit nervous at high speed, and easily bottoming on the double on the right side. This race would prove as my initial base run with the car, and something I would ultimately build upon as the race progressed. Although I finished 7^th in this race and was in need of about 0.5 per lap. I was fully aware of what I needed to do to improve my next race. The car was in need of heavier shock oil front and rear.

2^nd Round 4wd:  After making the shock oil adjustment, the car immediately showed response. Although my starting position in this race was 8^th, I was getting very accustomed to starting in the back. The speed had increased 0.3-0.5 per lap, and was a good sign of moving in the right direction. I still felt like more stability could be useful especially when accelerating in a straight line. This race I had some mistakes as a driver, which would ultimately net me another 7^th.

3rd Round 4wd:  This was a new day, and the car had undergone more changes. I wanted to try a stiffer front spring to see if I could increase the response, without upsetting the balance. This run though would offer no real improvements for me. I was still 0.3 out of running 19 second lap times, which you needed to be running. Although I was not faster, it did seem easier.

4th Round 4wd:  In this round, I was looking for more rear stability, so I opted to go up in sway bar and remove some rear droop travel. The good news was, I started 2^nd on the grid. I was hoping to turn this into a good finish. This race put me over the hump and set things in motion… I not only ran in to the 19’s, but I also managed to go 15 laps.. It was an improvement and a nice step forward, netting me my best finish in 4wd so far a 4^th.. With the car now turning more competitive lap times, I was looking to be at my peak for the 5^th round.

5^th Round 4wd: This round was my best chance to shine not only as a driver, but to show what my car was capable of. I had made steady improvements as well as my driving was also improving. With a front row start and a car that was handling well, it was for sure time for a win.. The horn sounded, I pulled off to an early lead with a nice gap, I increased the gap, in fact I was down right getting it done. I thought, wow, this is great, my car is really awesome and I have a huge lead…..Well, I came up short on the triple, only to see my lead cut in half. I was positive, but things were unraveling quickly. I over shot the double on the right, car bounced a little, I picked up the throttle too soon to defend the line, and rolled the car. My front row start, with a huge lead came crashing down on me. I felt terrible, but none the less I had to keep plugging forward. Sadly my 1^st became another 7^th..  Absolutely terrible.

6^th Round 4wd:  With a car that was handling pretty good, and my driving which had been questionable at times, great in others, I simply was not sure what I would get in this last one. I decided to throw in the gear diffs and see what it would do. Starting 6^th on the grid, I really had nothing to loose. The race headed off, and the car actually drove very similar to the way it did before, I ran mid pack mostly, as all the drivers were pretty close. I did manage some really good laps, similar to my round 4 times, I think I netted a 5^th or 6^th in this race.

As the race drew to a close, it was tough, frustrating, fun, exciting and everything in between. The most important thing, I made some new friends, helped out our team and customers and was able to run competitive for the most part. I finished 15^th overall in a very stacked field. Had I been able to prepare more with my cars, I am certain the results would be slightly different. Was a top 10 possible, yes it was, but I would have needed a different strategy to do so. The Reedy race, is a great race, but its not about all out speed, or the guy that runs the fastest 5 minute time. Its about the guy that keeps his head straight, stays out of trouble, and is always where he needs to be at the end of the 5 minutes. I was able to improve my cars each and every race, putting me more and more in contention, which is always a very rewarding feeling. Racing in general is very tough, and there can only be one winner. Ryan Maifield, ran a great race and quite frankly, he deserved to win. Congrats to him. I also want to say thanks to all my sponsors, Serpent, LRP, Reedy, Protek R/C, A-Main Hobbies, Airtronics, Proline, Arrowmax, PT Racing Oils, Hitec Servos and RC addiction.  Without you guys, I would not be able to enjoy the hobby.

Billy Easton
Team Serpent