Phend and Fuller Win At The Alabama Manufacturer Shootout 13.0

- The full article was originally published on JConcepts (Racing) -

In its 13th year, the Alabama Manufacturer Shootout took place at the local Cullman, AL Agricultural center. Last year, the RaceTime crew experimented with a new format for the AMS and continued with it into the 2022 season.

The Alabama Manufacturer Shootout Race Concept

The main goal is to give drivers more track time and add a twist to the traditional format we’re all used to. The format went something like this: Thursday consisted of three controlled practice sessions. All three sessions were 6-minute heats and the third round counted as a seeding round. They take the top three fastest consecutive lap times from each driver and rank them accordingly in their respective classes. This helps group drivers of similar speed together in qualifying. From there, we completed three full rounds of qualifying which went based off of total laps and times. They took drivers’ best two of three.

On Saturday, drivers would compete in the super pole. The super pole was a 10-minute, main-style event. It would determine the starting grid order in the main events. If a driver won his/her respective super pole he/she would bump directly up to the next main. Ex: B-Main Super Pole winner bumps straight into the A-Main. On Saturday evening we knocked out all of the lower mains, reserving the A-Main features for Sunday. All lower mains were 30 minutes for Nitro and double electric mains. The top three drivers in each lower main would bump up. Sunday we completed the A-Main events which were each 45 minutes and triple electric mains.

For tires, the team started out on Silver ReHabs in the buggy classes and Gold Ellipse in the Truck classes. As the weekend progressed, the track got dusty, and the mains got longer. Drivers were forced to experiment with different tires. In Buggy, many chose to go with a Blue ReHab, to go the distance in the 45-minute main.  In Truck, we made the transition to the Reflex to cut through the dust. We also saw a mainstream debut of the new Razor wing, which will be available to the public soon. It was exclusively available for purchase at AMS. Many Razor Wings made the final podiums.

Qualifying (Best 2 of 3):

Electric Truck: Jonah Wilson (1), Patrick Rossiter (3), Billy Fischer (4)

Intermediate E-Buggy: Patrick Rossiter (1), Coty Ingram (2), Cole Chura (4), Jeremy Reid (5)

Intermediate Nitro Buggy: Coty Ingram (2), Brad Collins (3), Jeremy Reid (5)

Intermediate Nitro Truck: Coty Ingram (1), Drew Williams (2), Cole Chura (5)

Pro E-Buggy: Mason Fuller (1), Dakotah Phend (2), Ryan Maifield (3), Spencer Rivkin (4), Joe Bornhorst (5)

Pro Nitro Buggy: Ryan Maifield (1), Spencer Rivkin (2), Dakotah Phend (3), Joe Bornhorst (4), Mason Fuller (5)

Pro Nitro Truck: Ryan Maifield (1), Dakotah Phend (2), Spencer Rivkin (5)

Sportsman Nitro Truck: David Scott (5)

Super Pole Pro Main Results:

Final Results:

Electric Truck: Jonah Wilson (2), Patrick Rossiter (3), Billy Fischer (4)

Intermediate E-Buggy: Patrick Rossiter (1), Coty Ingram (4)

Intermediate Nitro Buggy: Coty Ingram (1), Drew Williams (4)

Intermediate Nitro Truck: Coty Ingram (1), Cole Chura (3), Drew Williams (4)

Pro E-Buggy: Mason Fuller (1), Ryan Maifield (2), Spencer Rivkin (3), Dakotah Phend (4), Joe Bornhorst (5)

There were triple electric A-Mains for Pro E-Buggy. Mason Fuller won the super pole and started first on the grid. All weekend long, he was winning E-Buggy with quite the lead. Fuller led A1 from start to finish and Maifield held 2nd. The main battle was for the third. Phend and Bornhorst went back and forth. Ultimately, Phend took 3rd, and Bornhorst finished 4th. A2 was a bit more hectic. Mason Fuller and Dakotah Phend were in a battle for the lead. Fuller made an early mistake which allowed Phend to take over on lap two.

Phend led for three laps before Fuller made the pass back into the lead. Fuller pushed hard to create a gap, but ultimately Phend took it back after 4 laps. 9 more laps went by, and in the final minutes of the race Fuller jumped back into the lead and took the early overall win! Mason Fuller sat A3 out, which allowed Maifield to lead the way! Rivkin ran in 2nd, while Phend and Rose battled for third. Ultimately, A3 would conclude with Maifield in 1st, Rivkin in 2nd, and Phend in 3rd!

Pro Nitro Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Ryan Maifield (2), Mason Fuller (4)

After winning the Super Pole Dakotah Phend led the way. Ryan Maifield was right behind him in 2nd looking to make his move, especially after TQ’ing qualifying. He wanted that first-place position back. The duo went nose to the wing for several laps, pushing hard straight from the tone in this 45-minute A-Main event. Meanwhile, in 3rd place, Ryan Cavalieri and Mason Fuller battled. Fuller managed to make a pass on Cavalieri and move into that 3rd spot. He was trying to run away with it and create some breathing room. Phend started to create a gap of his own and wanted to guarantee himself a Nitro Buggy victory. 

About 7 minutes in, Phend made the turn after the straightaway and got caught on the pipe allowing Maifield to move a little closer. Once again, they were moving nose to the wing. Phend and Maifield moved in and out of pit stops with ease. Meanwhile, the battle between Fuller and Cavalieri raged on. Cavalieri was back in the 3rd spot with Fuller too close for comfort. Cavalieri and Fuller went over the back triple into the 180 turns. Fuller took the inside line and then quickly moved to the outside line around the following 180 turns. Cavalieri went wide and then in, allowing Fuller to pass. On the following lap, Cavalieri got a little sideways over the giant center triple, which gave Fuller some space. Meanwhile, Phend continued to lead the way. Spencer Heckert started to make his way up the ranks. It became a battle between Heckert and Fuller for 3rd place. The race concluded with Dakotah Phend, Ryan Maifield, Spencer Heckert, Mason Fuller, and Jared Tebo. 

Pro Nitro Truck: Dakotah Phend (1), Ryan Maifield (2), Joe Bornhorst (3), Spencer Rivkin (4), Tyler Jones (5)

Dakotah Phend led the way once again, after also winning the Nitro Truck Super Pole. Ryan Maifield started in 2nd, on the hunt. Only a couple laps in and Joe Bornhorst was hanging on to 3rd place. Spencer Rivkin was running 4th, and in the battle with Bornhorst for 3rd. About 11 minutes in, Phend went over the double into the 180 on the left side of the track but got caught on the pipe. Maifield got by into the lead. Maifield held the lead for 3 laps until Dakotah made the pass to take it back. From there, the two battled and played a game of cat and mouse as they went in and out of the pits. In the meantime, the battle for 3rd place was heating up. Bornhorst was holding strong in 3rd, but he wasn’t alone on the track. Tebo and Rivkin wanted that 3rd spot. In the first half of the race, Tebo took 3rd from Bornhorst for about 9 laps. Bornhorst glided by Tebo back into 3rd, but this time Rivkin was on his wing. They battled hard exchanging positions about 5 times between the halfway mark and the end. Ultimately, Bornhorst took what he originally wanted and stood 3rd on that podium! 

Sportsman Nitro Buggy: David Scott (4)

Sportsman Nitro Truck: David Scott (4)

Overall, the JConcepts Team was on fire this weekend! It was a true test of confidence, mental resilience, and endurance. We are proud of everyone’s hard work and dedication all weekend long. It was a quick turnaround for most, as we are already at the 2022 Florida Carpet Champs at Beachline in Cocoa, Fl!