Battaile Victorious at DNC2013

How did Mike “Ironman” Battaile shake off the theft of his truggy? By dominating with a borrowed one.

Victory at The Dirt Nitro Challenge probably seemed a distant prospect for Mike Battaile when his truggy and a pit bag were stolen just before his departure for Phoenix. Undeterred, Battaile borrowed a friend’s truggy and hit the road. Wednesday’s practice session would be his opportunity to get the new truck’s setup dialed. Wednesday morning, Team FTW set up at the Fear Farm ready to get some laps on Joey “The Dirt” Christensen’s latest masterpiece. The desert skies had other ideas. A soggy round of truggy practice was fit in amidst the intermittent rains, but the snowy hailstones that blanketed the venue after lunch scuttled any hopes of completing the practice sessions.

Truggy qualifiers began Thursday on a wet but drying track sprinkled with wood chips. With each round Battaile found more speed, dialing in the borrowed truggy as he went. At the end of the day he would hold the 40+ truggy TQ and huge momentum going into Saturday’s truggy final.

Saturday dawned, and Battaile would not be denied. Starting on the pole, he never looked back, crossing the finish line 30 minutes later with a commanding lead.

While this win would be the highlight for Battaile, his weekend was far from over. After taking 3rd in 2wd short course, he finished the weekend with another podium finish on Sunday. In the opening eight minutes of the 40+ buggy final,  Battaile fought a pitched battle for the lead with eventual winner Mark Pavidis. Battaile’s chance for victory was dashed when a hard impact destroyed a rear hub; despite the carnage he limped the car home to finish second behind the former world champion.

Mike Battaile used the following FTW Racing Components to win and podium at DNC2013:

FTW00029 Night Fox for Team Losi 8ight 2.0

FTW00035 Diamondback mounted on Traxxas Slash 2wd

FTW prototype truggy body for Team Losi 8ight-T 2.0

 

Don’t Worry About the 8mm

Question: Which Night Fox fits the B4.1 with +8mm chassis, or the B4.2?

Answer: Night Fox for B4.1, part number FTW00002

It’s not as perfect a fit as we would like, but if you’re using Velcro in lieu of body clips to attach it you will be hard-pressed to notice. Check out the pics.

You might be wondering if the Night Fox XL is a better choice. In short, its not. Designed for a B4.1 with a T4.1 chassis, its limousine-esque 19mm stretch makes it way too long to fit the +8mm chassis-equipped cars.

Team FTW Reigns at Texas State Series Round 1

Gulf Coast Raceway has been especially popular of late, due in no small part to its successful bid to host the ROAR Fuel Nats this year. Not that drawing entries to this gem of a facility in Porter, Texas has ever been an issue; but with each event held there serving as a warm up for the Nationals, it’s no surprise that this past weekend’s first round of RC Pro’s Texas State Series was stacked with the region’s fastest and those chasing them. Nearly 250 entries vied for hardware and prizes in Open and Intermediate classes of nitro and electric buggy, nitro truggy, and Pro4 short course.

After Friday practice, competitors prepared themselves mentally and physically for a grueling Saturday. As is the custom for Texas State Series races, the full race program would begin Saturday after the 8:30 driver’s meeting and run straight through until the end if the last A main in wee hours of Sunday morning.

New RC Pro Series director James Manderano kicked things off promptly Saturday morning and masterfully kept the program on pace throughout all three rounds of qualifying and the mains. With the main listing posted, Team FTW was poised for domination with a TQ sweep—Smiley Henn in Pro4, David Joor in E-buggy, and Jason Branham in Nitro Buggy and Truggy.

Pro4 was decided after the conclusion of the A2 main. TQ Brian “Smiley” Henn would not be denied his usual Pro4 victory at GCR. Mike “Ironman” Battaile wheeled his Traxxas machine into the second spot while Isaac Price took an impressive third in his debut with Team FTW.

The Electric buggy battle was also all-FTW, featuring TQ Joor, Henn, Jake Dellinger, and Tyler Hooks. Dellinger took the overall win, followed by Joor, Henn, and Hooks.

Jason Branham’s truggy adventure began with him still assembling his truck while the first qualifier proceeded without him, and ended with him on top of the podium. Battaile qualified third but technical issues prevented him from mounting a challenge to Branham.

Nitro buggy saw Jason Branham in familiar territory, at the front of the pack looking comfortable in his second outing back with Team Xray. Dellinger climbed to within striking distance of Branham and stole the lead twice. Ultimately Branham would prevail, making it two for two in 2013 after his HARC series round one win in January. Roger Ayres’ cruised to third with his new Team Associated ride, Battaile took fourth, and Joor recoved from a disastrous first lap to take the fifth and final podium spot.

Aaron Royston took home one more piece of hardware for Team FTW with his third place finish in the intermediate Electric buggy.

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