After 2 awesome indoor season opening races with the Winter Wars mini series, we are finally ready to head outside on the big tracks. Gone are freezing snowy days of Winter as we head into spring and onto the dirt at RC Madness in Enfield CT for Round #1 of the 2013 RC Monster Truck Challenge Crawford Performance Points Series. 22 monsters were on hand to take part in some of the best side by side racing action we've had here. The track design is a new unique layout, inspiried by what the real monster trucks ran in Bloomsburg PA in 2012. The trucks head off the start line side by side and oter a jump right away, then diagonally split from each other to hit second jump. After that there's a hard turn inward towards each other, and then another sharp corner to set up a drag race over 2 sets of cars to the finish. For the first time ever for RC Monster Truck Racing, the RCMTC utilized a Traxxas DTS-1 timing system which was run by an Iphone connected to a TQI transmitter. Racing brackets were organized and ran by the timing system and the drivers loved having their reaction time and elapsed time being recorded. The system would tell us just how close some of the races were. During a race between Maximum Destruction and Excaliber, Max-D ran a quicker time than Excaliber and lost, the DTS-1 timeslip broke it down and it showed us that Excaliber's quicker reaction time on the light is what won the race. Despite 2 minor app crashes, the DTS-1 was a huge help and a fun part to the race.
During racing 6 total rounds were run, with the early Crawford Performance Points lead up for grabs, everyone was going for it. Kyle DeFalco's CPE Maximum Destruction got off to the quick start by defeating newcomer Team New Wave in the round 1 finals. In round #2 it was Dan DeFalco's CPE Grave Digger was dialed in on this course and was able to take the final round win there. Derrick Algieri got going with a new truck Ragin Steel and was able to grab the round #3 final. Racing was close all day long and only getting better as the day went on. Kyle's Hulkster truck was able to grab the round #4 final win, with Grave Digger repeating in Round #5. Digger's 2 final round wins looked promising, but the loss of rear drive in round 6 put the black and green wrecking machine in its Grave. El Diablo rallied late in the day and the round #6 win would go to Derrick in the finals. With no clear cut dominator in today's action, consistency would be the key and our winner did just that. Derrick's new Ragin Steel truck had the most semi final round apperances coupled with a Round #3 Victory would earn him the overall event win, with his rally in El Diablo also grabbing second place. 20 points behind in 3rd place would be Grave Digger, with Max-D and Thumper rounding out the top 5. Check out some pictures and video of all the great action from today.
So it looks like right off the bat we have a really awesome year of outdoor points racing coming our way. Derrick Algieri is off to a fast start by winning first and second place, but with Grave Digger, Maximum Destruction closely behind and season just getting underway for the rest of our field it is anybody's game!! Thanks for being with us for another great day of RC Monster Truck Challenge racing and thanks to the RC Madness staff and all competitors. If you thought we had some tight racing in this round, then get ready because the reaction times and finish line margins will be as close as ever as we go straight line racing in round 2. Don't miss it!!!