--- RACE RECAP, Las Vegas Intl. Off-Road Raceway, Primm, Nevada May 16 -18 ---

The Jammin Pro Buggy Team Finishes the weekend with a TOP TEN!!

5/16 - Friday Practice and Qualifying - Practice went well with the usual tuning and debugging going on. Jammin Jay found some good lines and was able to make time in some sections. The last lap of practice is when the gremlin returned with shifting issues. Without time to fix the problem, the qualifying attempt was going to be a crap shoot. Lady luck did not shine as the Jammin Pro Buggy didn't get a qualifying time.

5/17 -Main Events - Without a qualifying time, Jammin Jay started at the rear of the B main. Quick work put the Jammin 915 Buggy into the hunt for the lead. The high lite of the weekend was watching the 915 Buggy stuff to the inside in the sweeper turn under a pack of three buggies with one trying to shut the door. Being a Pro R/C Driver, it was instinct as Jay sent him spinning off the track!!! Jay picked off all but one car by the end of the main landing him with a second place finish. Our rookie driver didn't even know where the podium was. Once he found it, his interview was the stuff of a past champion. Unlike R/C car racing, the top finishers in the B Main do not bump to the A main. Just a side note... The winner of the B Main was DQ'd the next morning for having Variable Ignition Timing.

5/18 - Practice and Qualifying - Practice and qualifying are combined events of six laps with the low finishing buggies from the prior day grouped together in the first session. The track was very wet and slippery so it was going to be tough to qualify for the A main from the first session. When both sessions finished, Team Jammin qualified 18th which put them in the A main.

5/18 - A Main - "There's a lot of stuff happening on the first lap when you start toward the rear of the pack. Buggies are nerf'in each other, spinning out, bouncing off of each other, and plenty of mud flying." says Jay. Coming from the back is becoming the Jammin Team's claim to fame. By the half way point, Jay worked up to 13th position. With the green flag flying again, Jay put the Jammin 915 Pro Buggy into "Kill" mode and picked off four more competitors and was hunting down 8th place on the white flag. Crossing at the checkered flag with 9th place was cause for celebration considering this being only the fourth race for the rookie team.

 

--- RACE RECAP, Pomona Fairplex April 25-27 ---

For a rookie team, the first race was a learning experience with some very positive high lights to the weekend.

4/25 - Friday Practice & Qualifying - Being a new car/team, the objective was to do some suspension tuning and tire selection. With just a few laps of practice to go, the transmission developed a shifting problem. Further investigation revealed a broken set screw on the shift linkage which in turn took out the third gear syncro. The team quickly jumped into action and removed the engine and trans and hurried it to Anaheim where Joe at JG Transwerks burned the late hours to get the trans back going again. Without the dedication of Joe at JG Transwerks and the crew turning wrenches into early Saturday morning, the Jammin Team would be spectators for the remainder of the weekend. Although the Jammin Pro Buggy missed the qualifying session, everyone was upbeat to still be in the show.

4/26 - Saturday A Main - The Jammin Pro Buggy started 29th on the grid due to not qualifying. Driver Jammin Jay made quick work of four cars at the start and steadily worked his way forward during the 15 lap main to finish 16th overall while posting the 8th fastest time in the main. Opting for the Goodyear Racing Eagle rear tire for the main paid off at the end of the race when the track dried.

4/27 - Sunday Qualifying - With a few more suspension adjustments and a tire change to the Goodyear Wrangler Mud Terrains for the wet qualifying track, the Jammin Pro Buggy posted a time of 20th fastest. With the track being 25% paved, tire selection was key. Although the Goodyear Wrangler Mud Terrains worked great in the wet areas, the team felt that the Goodyear Eagles would payoff in the main. More grooves were added to the tire to help it clean out in the muddy areas of the track. A few more suspension adjustments and the team was ready for the main.

4/27 - Sunday A Main - All the adjustments were paying off as Jammin Jay diced his way past other buggies heading to the front. Passing his way up to 8th place, a loss of power developed on lap 8. When the mandatory yellow flag fell at lap 10, The Jammin Pro Buggy was sitting in the 10th position when the engine died. A simple insignificant timing belt dust cover part worked it's way loose and ran thru the timing belt causing it to skip cogs. The official finish was recorded at 19th place. This first race proved that the team has a fast buggy, a good driver, a dedicated crew, and great support from the sponsors.