Story by Darth Vader. Pics by Darth Vader, Chris Clemson, and Zach Wheatcroft. Videos and Editing by Zach Wheatcroft
J Concepts and Outback Raceway of Chico, California got together to create the 1st annual Summer Indoor Nationals from July 31st – August 1st , 2010. R/C Evil Empire was on hand for all of the proceedings. Taking it’s cue from the other J Concepts series races, this one was one to not be missed.
Venue
Outback Raceway is the brainchild of A-Main Hobbies owner Kendall Bennett and marketing director John Taylor. The indoor facility is located in a industrial area of Chico. The track is adjacent to it’s sister business, A-Main Hobbies. The facility is first rate. It features a on-site parts ordering center, snack bar, air conditioned pits, pit tables, electricity, and much more.
Breaking Down The Track
This year’s layout was designed and overseen by Nor Cal Hobbies owner Kevin Jelich. Kevin made the trek from over three hours away to help build the layout. The dirt at Outback Raceway is a solid dark clay. It has very high traction with low tire wear. The track layout? Let’s break that down….
Before you hit the straight-a-way, you must tackle a off-camber landing stadium jump.
From there, you venture down highway 99 to a pair of elevation change doubles and 180’s.
After that, a uphill roller coaster triple into two opposing 180’s and a six pack section.
Tripling was possible….However, most went for a 2-1 combination. It proved to be a much safer journey with a smother transition. You can get a good look in this picture….
This “six pack” section is worth a second look. It’s six small jump in a-row. A few people tried to take them in threes….or even a 4-2 combination. However, none of these methods proved to be the winning ticket. A 2-2-2 technique was the only winning formula. With that being said, many a good run was eaten up by this section. If you got the first two wrong…it would prove to be a long ride through the remaining four obstacles.
Who went?
A good amount of racers showed up at this event. A total of 87 drivers with 149 entries would fill up the five classes. This would consist of 2wd Buggy Open, 4wd Buggy Open, Stadium Truck Open, 2wd Short Course Open, 4wd Short Course Open, and Novice. Some mains were all the way down to the G Main! Seriously……Here’s a few familiar faces in attendance.
Full Factory Team Associated driver Steven Hartson was the man to beat for sure…..Steven and his Dad travel around from Southern California to races around 30 weekends per year!
Marshall Keener, Russ Bright, Derek Stephenson, and the rest of the Stockton/Ripon Valley crew were in the house…
Curtis Door and Dad took a break from 1/8 Off-Road to run 1/10th with the rest of us…
Zach Rogers traveled up to Northern California from Bakersfield
Greg Dennett and his pit buddy Mike Jasany (old school racer from the 90’s) were on hand for a serious run at the tittle. 
Tanner Denny and dad came in from Tempe, Arizona. Tanner is one of the top young racers in the country. Just ask him….he’s not shy to let you know. Over the the corner, you can see J Concepts head honcho Jason Rouna doing his thing….
Joel and Johnathan Hernandez (no relation) came through to represent the Nor Cal Hobbies crew.
Eddie Bernal of Sacramento and Chris Clemson (Marysville) both had a good time.
Jason Sams of R/C Car Action was on hand to cover the event. 
Nick Black of OCRC Raceway, John Taylor (A Main Hobbies, and Kendall Bennett (A Main Hobbies) …..good times.. 
Jack Ingberg and crew were in town from Reno. They brought some good luck from the casino city. 
Qualifying
As with the normal 1/10 Off Road mains format, all classes would fill 10 cars in the mains. However, only 8 cars would qualify for guaranteed spots. The last 2 spots would come from lower main transfer positions. A first or second place in any main would bump you up a main. This didn’t just go for the B Main, but for all mains. It was possible (however unlikely) for someone to bump from the G main to the A Main. All qualifying was done in “rocket round” format. The best single 6 minute run would count toward your main positioning.
In the 2wd Stadium Truck Class, Nathan Lavery of TQ racing would dominate qualifying with a 20 lapper in 6:12. This was good enough to top Randy Pike.
Qualifying in the 2wd class saw a strong group of competitors. However, Stephen Hartson of Team Associated/J Concepts was head and shoulders above the rest. He would post the only 21 lapper of the weekend in 2wd. The cutoff man for the A Main was Kevin Jelich of Nor Cal Hobbies. Eddie Bernal and Jason Rouna would bump from the B Main to compete in the show.
The 4wd class would provide some serious excitement. Through 3 rounds, it appeared that Team Associated’s Steven Hartson would take the TQ by a large margin. He held a 6-7 second TQ over Team Kyosho’s Tyler Vik. In the 4th and final round of qualifying, Vik would throw down a last minute run to take the TQ honors by 3 whole seconds. Aaron Biner a.k.a. Darth Vader would bring up the 8th spot. Cody Turner of Team Associated and Curtis Door would bump from the B Main.
4wd Short Course had a bit of a small turnout. Of the seven trucks, Jerry Ugalino of the Nor Cal Hobbies crew would TQ the class by a just a couple tenths over A Main Hobbies C.E.O. Kendall Bennett.
2wd short course featured the most competitive class of the weekend. The top 4 consisting of Tyler Vik (Team Kyosho), Tanner Denny (Team Associated), Jason Rouna (Team Associated), and Aaron Biner (Team Kyosho) would separate themselves by just three seconds! This would provide for a serious A main. Sawyer Bruer would bring up the 8th spot. Cody Hughie, and Eddie Bernal bumped their way from the B Main into the show!
A Mains
All of the mains consisted one single 8 minute run. This allowed the pack to sort itself out during the extended time. A couple of the mains needed this length to determine a winner. This was especially true in the 4wd open main.
In the Novice class, a nice group of beginner drivers battled it out for the title. In the end it was Andy Armond of Southern California taking the checkered flag. Nathan Bernal, and Marshall Lopez would round out the top 3. Here are the results and podium:
The 4wd Short Course class featured a battle of Jerry Ugalino (TQ) and A Main/Outback owner Kendall Bennett. In the end, Bennett would take the checkered by less than 3 seconds!
Short Course featured an array of sponsored drivers. Most of which normally race buggy classes on a regular basis. This didn’t prove to be much of a transition for the top competitors. On the start, TQ Tyler Vik blew the first set of jumps. This knocked the TQ back to the middle of the pack. This allowed Jason Rouna, Tanner Denny, and Aaron Biner (a.k.a The Evil Lord Darth Vader) to the 1-2-3 positions. From here, a battle ensued. Eventually, Biner would crash. This left a two way battle between Denny and Rouna.After a few more laps, Tanner Denny would crash as well. In the end, Jason Rouna of J Concepts would take the win in his own event! He truly outlasted his toughest competitors. Here’s some pics, a video of the main, and results.
A Main lineup…
Jason Rouna chased by Tanner Denny….
Jason Rouna through the six pack…
Rouna chases down Tanner Denny
Short Course Open A Main
The Stadium Stadium Truck Open class was a open and shut win from TQ Racing’s Nathan Lavery. For a little while, Team Tekin’s randy Pike made a effort to keep pace. Eventually, it was Lavery’s consistent race speed that won the race.Here’s the podium, results, pics, and video…enjoy!
Truck Open A Main
In the 4wd Open class, Tyler Vik of Team Kyosho would jump out to the lead. Stephen Hartson and Tanner Denny would follow in tow. Eventually, Hartson would make a error on the six pack section. This allowed Vik to stretch his lead. Denny would take over 2nd. Eventually, Denny would make an aggressive move at the end of the straight. This would cause Vik to crash, thus giving up the lead to the young phenom (Denny). From there, Hartson would move into second. Eventually, Hartson would make a hard charge at the youngster. Yet again, Hartson would crash in the six pack. This allowed Vik into 2nd. Eventually, Steven Hartson would come charging back. After a minor bobble, Denny would lose the lead to his AE teammate. The order would go Hartson, Denny, Vik 1-2-3. What a race. Here are some pics, the main video, and results.
Three way battle with Vik in 1st, Hartson in 2nd, and Denny in 3rd.
Vik gets chased by Tannery Denny
Tyler Vik and Hartson battling it out.
4wd Open – A Main
The 2wd Open class was a run away victory for TQ Steven Hartson. Sticking to tradition, this is a true drivers class. Hartson proved his dominance with a wire to wire victory over his AE teammate Tanner Denny. Up and comer Zach Rogers would follow in 3rd. Here are the results, podium, pics, and a video of the Hartson dominance.
Hartson with the wheel turn in mid jump…
2wd Main lineup…
2wd Open A Main
Full results of the 2010 J Concepts Summer Indoor Nationals can be found here.
Analysis
The 2010 J Concepts Summer Indoor Nationals was a great success. The event went off without a hitch. Everyone in attendance had a great time. It was already announced that the 2011 event would return to Outback Raceway….I can’t wait!
