- The full article was originally published on JConcepts (Racing) -
Season 5 of the JConcepts NCTS is officially underway! The season found a new kick-off location near Detroit, Michigan, at RC One Raceway. This was our first trip to the RC One facility, and we absolutely had a blast. The facility boasted a well-stocked hobby shop and a large well-lit pit area, and the track didn’t leave anything else to be desired. The track is located in Macomb, Michigan, with an abundance of lodging and food options nearby. It is also less than an hour away from the airport. The team officially arrived Thursday afternoon and we were greeted with a record number of NCTS entries!
The track itself offered a technical and sometimes unforgiving high-intensity ride, as lap times were quick, and drivers were extremely close, both on the track and on the clock. This weekend was the introduction of the Pin Swag 4wd front tire option! We released the 2wd Pin Swag late last year. While the series is no longer a spec tire event, we were proud to see the large majority of drivers using JConcepts tires, bodies, and accessories.
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Seeding:
13.5 2wd Short Course: Scotty Ernst (3)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Cameron Shaw (1), Brady Carrico (2), Cody Meiferdt (3)
40+ 2wd Buggy: Brent Thielke (1), Paul Ciccarello – Privateer (2), Brian Bohlman – Privateer (3)
17.5 2wd Buggy: Dustin Fox – Privateer (1), Ethan Hoskins (2), Daniel Chavez – Privateer (3)
13.5 4wd Buggy: Ethan Hoskins (1), Kaiden Voss – Privateer (3)
2wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1)
4wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Spencer Rivkin (2)
Qualifying (Best 2 of 3):
13.5 2wd Short Course: Scotty Ernst (1)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Brady Carrico (1), Brad Hauch (2), Cody Meiferdt (3)
40+ 2wd Buggy: Brent Thielke (1), Paul Ciccarello – Privateer (2), Jason Ruona (3)
17.5 2wd Buggy: Dustin Fox – Privateer (1), Tyler Hooks (3)
13.5 4wd Buggy: Dustin Fox – Privateer (1), Tyler Hooks (2), Daniel Chavez – Privateer (3)
2wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Spencer Rivkin (3)
4wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Spencer Rivkin (3)
Final Results:
4wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Spencer Rivkin (2)
A1: In A1, Dakotah Phend would almost lead the race wire to wire with Spencer Rivkin hot on his heels. An unfortunate incident with upside-down lapped traffic would drop Dakotah down to the 2nd spot in the final minute, with Rivkin taking the win and Aydin Horne close by in 3rd.
A2: A2 would be a tone-to-tone win for Dakotah over Spencer, but Rivkin would charge late in the race to finish within 2 tenths of a second on the final lap. Austin Horne found himself in the 3rd place for the second leg of 4wd Modified Buggy.
A3: A3 would end up being an almost identical run to A2 for the top 2 drivers. Phend led from start to finish, with Rivkin charging less than 3 tenths back at the line. Dreighton Stoub would finish in 3rd in A3, forcing a 3-way tie for third overall. Aydin Horne won the tiebreaker and took 3rd overall ahead of Dreighton Stoub and Austin Horne.
13.5 4wd Buggy: Tyler Hooks (1), Dustin Fox – Privateer (2), Daniel Chavez – Privateer (3)
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13.5 Short Course: Ryder Himanek – Privateer (1), Ryan Hovis – Privateer (2), Scotty Ernst (3)
2wd Modified Buggy: Dakotah Phend (1), Spencer Rivkin (3)
A1: Dakotah Phend set a blistering pace from the TQ position in A1 of 2wd modified and would lead up until his untimely retirement from the main event just after the 3:30 mark of the race. A mistake would cause a DNF for the Phenom. Aydin Horne, who wasn’t far behind, picked up the win with almost a lap-up on the rest of the field. Spencer Rivkin finished 2nd, with Dreighton Stoub less than a second behind, in 3rd.
A2: A-Main #2 was much more straightforward at the front of the field, with Dakotah taking a tone to tone win ahead of Aydin and Spencer, exactly as they had qualified.
A3: The final main event provided the action and intensity the crowd was looking for, with all three top drivers having a chance at the overall going into the show. Dakotah Phend bobbled over the difficult back tabletop section collecting Spencer Rivkin and allowing Aydin Horne to check out on the field. Phend and Rivkin, on a mission, slowly reeled in Horne. Around 45 seconds left to go, Aydin made a mistake on the big triple. This allowed Phend and Rivkin by, with Rivkin sticking an aggressive wheel-to-wheel pass on Phend. Rivkin went from 3rd to 1st in one second! Coming onto the straightaway on the following lap, Spencer went wide, allowing Dakotah to power past him. Spencer then hit the dots at the end of the straight, sending him into the wall and allowing Aydin back into 2nd. This order would hold for the rest of the race, with Phend taking the win and the overall. Horne took 2nd and 2nd overall, and Rivkin finished 3rd and 3rd overall.
17.5 2wd Buggy: Dustin Fox – Privateer (1), Ryder Himanek – Privateer (2), Cameron Shaw (3)
40+ 2wd Buggy: Brent Thielke (1), Jason Ruona (2), Nathan Betley – Privateer (3)
13.5 Stadium Truck: Cameron Shaw (1), Brady Carrico (2), Brad Hauch (3)
A huge thank you goes out to Mike Himanek, his family, and crew for jumping in as a new track for the series and crushing it! The facility was top-notch, and the racing was absolutely intense. Next, we head to Northwest Hobbies for the appropriately named JConcepts Northwest Carpet Nationals. To be in the points, you must attend 2 of the 4 NCTS races. A new requirement in 2023 is that the final round is mandatory if you want to be in the points. The final round of the NCTS5 series will be held at Thunder Road RC in Waite Park, MN. In the meantime, we’re gearing up for the Psycho Nitro Blast later this week!
Winning Products:
- Fuzz Bites
- Pin Swags
- Swaggers
- Mono Wheels
- Finnisher Body
- HF2 Body
- F2 Body
- S2 Body
- 7 in” High Clearance Astro|Turf|Dirt Wing
- Fin Titanium Turnbuckles
- Titanium Screws
