Race Report
Tebo Takes 5th Consecutive Gas Truck National Title; Associated Still Undefeated In Gas Truck; Maifield Truggy National Champion
Event: ROAR Gas Truck National Championships
Location: The Nitro Pit – Wittmann, AZ
Dates: April 23-27, 2008
Website: www.thenitropit.com
Ryan Maifield, left, and Jared Tebo
This year’s ROAR Gas Truck National Championship was held at the
world-famous Nitro Pit facility just outside of Phoenix, AZ. Attendance was
a bit low for this event; however, most of the top U.S. drivers showed up to
contest the National titles up for grabs.
Team Associated’s Jared Tebo led the field in qualifying, taking the TQ
position in the Gas Truck category. Tebo, the 4-time defending National
Champion, got off to a rough start that gave Associated teammates Ryan
Maifield and Ryan Cavalieri an advantage at the start of the 45-minute main
event.
Tebo's GT2
With a four-second lead just over six minutes into the event, Maifield bobbled and sat upside down long enough to experience a flameout that he could never fully recover from. This handed the lead over to Mike Truhe who was being hounded by the GT2s of Jared Tebo and Ryan Cavalieri. As the wind picked up, the jumps became treacherous for the light vehicles and Cavalieri dropped back while Tebo and Truhe battled for the race lead.
Jared Tebo, winner!
With approximately ten minutes left in the main event, Tebo took over the
lead and held off the hard charging Truhe to claim his fifth consecutive Gas
Truck ROAR National Championship. This continues the streak for Team
Associated as the only manufacturer to win the Gas Truck National
Championships. Tebo has now distanced himself from other 3-time winners
Richard Saxton, Mark Pavidis, and Billy Easton to claim the crown as the
best Gas Truck racer on the planet.
In the highly contested 1:8 Truck category, Team Associated drivers Ryan
Maifield and Ryan Cavalieri just missed out on the TQ position with their
Kyosho ST-RRs. As the race started, TQ man Tebo got a good jump, but by the
first pit stop Maifield had closed up to his back door, setting the stage
for a great event. Electronic problems forced Tebo to retire. Maifield
continued to stretch his lead to a lap and a half over second place
Cavalieri by the end of the 60 minute main event. This marks Maifield’s
second National Championship, complementing his 1:8 Buggy Championship in
2006.
Ryan Maifield, winner!
Congratulations to Jared Tebo on his amazing achievement and to newly crowned 1:8 Truck National Champion Ryan Maifield for proving once again that Team Associated is truly Champions By Design.
Photos courtesy of Aaron Waldron, R/C Car magazine
Maifield's Truggy
1:10 Gas Truck
Position |
Name |
Vehicle |
Engine |
Fuel |
1 |
Jared Tebo (TQ) |
FT GT2 |
O.S. |
O’Donnell |
2 |
Mike Truhe |
TL |
GRP |
Nitrotane |
3 |
Ryan Cavalieri |
FT GT2 |
Orion CRF |
Sidewinder |
4 |
Ryan Maifield |
FT GT2 |
GRP |
O’Donnell |
5 |
Adam Drake |
TL |
GRP |
Nitrotane |
6 |
Ty Tessmann |
FT GT2 |
-- |
-- |
7 |
Jason Ashton |
FT GT2 |
GRP |
Byron’s |
8 |
Adrain Redding |
FT GT2 |
-- |
-- |
9 |
David Logsdon |
-- |
-- |
-- |
10 |
Dylan Rodriguez |
FT GT |
-- |
-- |
|
Products Mentioned |
|
Setup Sheet |