Silver State Nitro Challenge: Goin' for gold!

Radio Control Car Action, Aug 1998 by Gonzalez, George M

Could it be that the '98 Silver State Nitro Challenge, one of the largest non-sanctioned gas offroad races, has been canceled?" That was the question on my mind as I drove through Death Valley on I-15 at 11:15 p.m. in what seemed like a monsoon. Heavy rain and hazardous wind cut visibility to a few feet on this dark desert highway. In the distance, Las Vegas, NV, lit up the horizon like a beacon. My destination was coming closer, and I knew that the wer to my question lay up ahead.

Before I checked into my hotel, I decided to find the track so I'd have a better idea of what to expect in the morning. As I pulled in to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (a full-scale racing facility), I found the R/C track just off to the left of the motorcycle supercross track; the drivers' stand with the Kosho banners was a dead giveaway.

SILVER STATE NITRO CHALLENGE

At the covered pit area, I found signs of recent activity, but the place was deserted. I drove off toward the left of the pit area and found what appeared to be a track. Yes; there was definitely a track underneat what looked like a thousand gallons of water and mud. I guess my question wouldn't be answered until the morning, but things looked pretty grim.

HIT THE SLOT MACHINES

Saturday. The next morning, a hint of sunshine peeking through nasty-looking gray clouds brought the hope of afternoon racing. As I pulled into the entrance of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I found the gates closed and access to the R/C track denied. "I guess the event was canceled after all," I thought. Back to my hotel to pack.

At the hotel, I ran into fellow racer Doug Hatfield, who gave me the rundown on what was going on. At last, someone with answers!

The event was only delayed. Racers had completed one of the four scheduled qualifiers on Friday, but the track was closed all day Saturday. The plan was to hold one more round of qualifying on Sunday then proceed directly to the Mains. This meant that the drivers only had one more chance to put in their best run. Naturally, this decision was controversial. The racers argued that they used the first round of qualifying (sort of) as a controlled practice heat and that they were counting on three more chances to improve their scores. Even though the arguments were compelling, the time factor overshadowed all arguments. In the end, most racers didn't mind; after all, they were in Las Vegas!

SUNSHINE AT LAST

Sunday. The sun was out for most of Saturday afternoon, and by Sunday morning, the track was in decent shape again. "Decent shape" doesn't describe the condition of some of the racers who stayed up all night walking "the strip," one casino at a time, though.

The final qualifier went without a hitch, and by noon, the Mains had been posted for all to see. Soon afterward, the sound of singing nitro engines filled the air as drivers used the limited time to practice.

QUALIFYING

1/8-scale Buggy. Over 77 racers competed. Team Associated driver Jason Ashton took the TQ honors after crossing the line less than 1/2 second ahead of Team Associated/Team Mugen Seiki driver Travis Amezcua. Amazingly, this was the first time Ashton had raced an 1/8-scale gas off-road vehicle, and he was driving a borrowed Mugen Super Athlete that belongs to his friend and pit man Rocky Hardcastle. Jason is an accomplished 1/10 scale electric driver, so we could hardly consider his qualifying position to be beginners' luck.

Team Kyosho driver Kanai Yuuichi traveled all the way from Japan to compete and qualified in third. Team Associated/Team Muzen Seiki driver Richard Saxton, Team Mugen Seiki driver Doug Vonmosch, Team Kyosho driver Magnus Amilor, Team Kyosho driver Dave Henry and Team Kyosho driver Peter Head finished from fourth to eighth, respectively and were assured a spot on the A-main grid. The remaining two A-main finalists would be determined after the B-main.

lMs-scale Truck. Although only 14 drivers competed, the action was just as exciting as in the other classes. FTD driver Dave Henry, Race Prep/Kyosho driver Mike Dunn and Kyosho driver Greg Waller were the only drivers to turn 11 laps, and they qualified first through third, respectively. Kyosho/FTD driver Derek Furutani, OFNA driver Eddie Payne, Kyosho driver Tim Long, Kyosho driver Eddy Wong and Richard Harding finished fourth through eighth in that order to secure a spot on the drivers' stand during the A-main.

1/10-scale Truck. This was the most popular class and had more than 81 contestants. Team Associated drivers Jimmy Jacobson and Billy Easton and Team Losi driver Jon Anderson all posted fast 10-lap runs to qualify first though third. Mark Pavidis, Team Associated driver Matt Ledger, Richard Saxton and Doug Vonmosh finished fourth through eighth and qualified for the A-main without having to be bumped up from one of the higher Mains.

1/10-scale Buggy. Well, only four guys showed up to compete in this class. If only I had known that the odds of winning were so good, I would have taken along my Traxxas Nitro Buggy. Ron Bechard ended up as TQ and was one lap faster than his nearest competitor, Earl Silva. The other two drivers took a DNS and still made the A-main. Go figure.