XB8 wins at CRCRC Midwest Nitro Championship, Ohio
Jan. 17, 2018
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Race report by Mark Sousa
Well the 2018 season is off with the CRCRC Midwest Nitro Championship and I can say this was a pretty tough this year for us in the beginning of the weekend. We were debuting the new XB818 car this weekend on proline tires all weekend. We had one seeding round on Friday both Buggy and Truggy were working awesome and I was able to seed 1st in truck and 2nd in buggy.
First round of qualifying came around for truck we decided to run M3 Holeshots and they were very good with our setup. I was able to have a clean run and was able to TQ the first round for truck. Round 2 we decided to make a little setup change to help the truck have a little more grip as the track was at a very cold temperature of 43 degrees F.
The round start off to well I had a screw come out in warm up from the servo arm. But my dad ran back to the pits and put another screw and was able to make the first lap. After that I was very happy with the change we decided to make and the truck was much faster and more precise around the track and was able to get another TQ. Round 3 was no different we continued to make the truck better for the track and won the round and start on pole for the 30 minute final. Round 4 I wanted to run some different tires since I had a round to spare, They werenâ™t as fast as the holeshots and a few mistakes put me to second after having a close battle with serpents Austin Woodyard.
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In the main I had a good start and was battling with Austin in the early going. About 10 minutes in i made a small mistake in a turn and the Marshall hit my flywheel and shut off the truck which put made out of contention. I had a good battle at the end of the race with Teknos Mike Legue for second but just ran out of time and finished 3rd behind Mike legue and Austin woodyard
In Pro buggy I was able to TQ the first round by a second over Austin woodyard and felt that the car was getting better for the track. Round 2 was a little more of a struggle we changed to a different tire and it made the car very edgy so we ended up 3rd. Round 3 was a little bit better but a few mistakes with Lap traffic just costed me the TQ. Round
4 was the best the car has felt all weekend but again a little too many mistakes on my own that put me out of TQ contention which I would start 2nd on the grid behind Austin woodyard and Ralph krumme behind me in 3rd.
In Main my car was really good and we made a gamble to have M4 Suburbs that we decided to run and the car had a ton of forward grip and the car felt exactly how I wanted it to feel like. I made a pass on Austin during the first lap and was able to run a smooth race with Ralph Krumme behind we had some good battles for the lead but by the end I was able to open up a comfortable lead to take the win with Ralph Krumme in second and Cole Kasten in third. Thanks to my family for the support that they give and the team work together to get this done. Also want to thank Mr. Woodyard for helping my dad In pits. Also good Job to Alex Vaughn for winning pro buggy B-Main. Thanks to Curt Schlichter for the awesome track and thanks to all my sponsors for what they have done for me. Next Stop #DNC2018
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Nitro Buggy Podium:
1. Mark Sousa - XRAY XB8
2. Ralph Krumme
3. Cole Kasten
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Nitro Truggy Podium:
1. Austin Woodyard
2. Mike Legue 3. Mark Sousa - XRAY XT8
