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The 2008 RC Pro-Series South Division series was kicked off this past weekend at HX Raceway in Bossier City, LA. HX Raceway is a top-notch facility which has hosted numerous national and regional events such as RC Pro-Series, Futaba Nitro Challenge, and the CEN Nitro Invasion. The HX Crew is also well known for their hard work in making sure that events run smoothly and for track layouts that encourage good heads-up racing.
The Team: Josh Wheeler, Jason Branham, Rocco Margiotta, Jimmy Matsler, Mike McCreary, Roger Ayers, Hunter Kindsey, Tanner Hagler, and Jake Dillinger. |
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Friday Practice:
Due to heavy rain and thunderstorms moving through Louisiana the previous week, the track was heavily soaked and we were unable to get any practice in. With sunshine in the forecast for the weekend, we were sure we could get the track dried out enough to maybe get in a tank or two before qualifying.
Saturday Qualifying:
Buggy:
With no practice due to the track conditions, the team headed straight into qualifying and with the new 808 on hand everyone was eager to see just what the new car could do. Josh Wheeler would lead the pack with his qualifier up first, and would show everyone just how impressive the new buggy was going to be; he would also set the pace to beat by taking top qualifying honors for the first round with Jason Branham only 3 seconds behind in 2nd and Rocco Margiotta setting the 4th fastest pace. All three cars looked really smooth and easy to drive so there was not much set-up change to be made. |
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The second round saw similar results but this time it was Jason setting the fastest pace and taking TQ honors for the second round and also setting the new fastest time of the day with Josh a few seconds behind in 3rd for the round. Rocco had motor issues in the second round which caused him to retire early.
With the track changing all day (for the better) we headed into last and final round and now it was night time and the moisture had come up to the track surface so traction was now at a premium. The last round was re-sorted which matched the fastest drivers into one heat race and TQ was also coming down to the wire between Josh and Jason. Josh would go on to run some of the fastest lap times of the day and also running the fastest heat time of the day to take TQ honors for the main with Jason qualifying 2nd and Rocco 5th heading into the main. |
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Truggy:
Truggy qualifying began the same way as buggy qualifying with limited practice but with the level of competition there it was going to be a battle between XRAY and Losi factory driver Quincy Hughes.
The first round belonged to Quincy Hughes (Losi) taking TQ honors just seconds ahead of Josh 2nd and Jason 3rd.
In the second round Jason put down an almost flawless run to set the time to beat over Quincy and Josh, who may have had the fastest run but lapped traffic at the end cost him the chance at TQ.
So again the final round of qualifying was going to determine the overall Top Qualifier between Jason, Quincy and Josh. Josh had problems at the start, leaving the battle to Jason and Quincy. The lead swapped positions just about every lap until Jason snagged a corner on the last lap to give the overall TQ to Quincy. |
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Sunday Mains:
Truggy Main:
The truggy main lead off with Rocco getting the holeshot and leading the first few minutes of the race. With Josh close behind, Rocco seemed to be driving very well and soon would battle with Josh allowing Jason, who had a rough start, to catch up and join the battle. Jason eventually took the lead and soon after Josh ran into problems causing him to retire. Rocco soon ran into problems as well and ended his race but Jason continued to drive smoothly and wound end up winning the 45min final.
Truggy final:
1. Jason Branham â“ XRAY XT8
2. Derek Guidry
3. Reggie Tounge
4. Justin Cranford
5. Jimmy Matsler â“ XRAY XT8
6. Rocco Margiotta â“ XRAY XT8
7. Hunter Kindsey â“ XRAY XT8
8. Trevor Turner
9. Adam Joiner
10. Quincy Hughes
11. Josh Wheeler â“ XRAY XT8
12. Brian Chassaniol |
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Buggy Main:
The Buggy main lead off with Josh running some impressive lap times once again, but Jason and Kyle Skidmore (Associated factory driver) were not letting him stretch his lead too much. Jason had to pit a lap before Josh and Kyle but flamed out while getting fueled. Josh at this point had established a good lead over Kyle but Jason was coming on strong and caught Kyle once again to take the 2nd spot back only to have his receiver fail and fall back once again. Josh went on to win the 45min final making the new 808 buggy look very impressive doing so.
Buggy Final:
1. Josh Wheeler â“ XRAY XB808
2. Kyle Skidmore
3. Brian Chassaniol
4. Jason Branham â“ XRAY XB808
5. Roger Ayers â“ XRAY XB8EC
6. Derek Guidry
7. Tommy Tang
8. Quincy Hughes
9. Kraig Kreuger
10. Mike McCreary
11. Rocco Margiotta â“ XRAY XB808
12. Tom Robertson |
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