Maifield’s DNC report
Report from
DNC 2022
Another long but successful week at The Dirt Nitro Challenge is complete. After the drive home with the Arizona crew and some time to clean up, it’s back to preparing for the next event. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Mugen and JConcepts pit area over the weekend to visit, hangout or cook-out with our team. Also, thanks to family, friends, racers, and competitors who called, texted or reached out after the weekend.
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Practice was shortened because of rain but we were able to get a 7 minute session in each class, so we all got a decent feel for the track. I seeded in the A group of E-buggy and the B group of nitro buggy and truggy. During qualifying, Mike Truhe and I worked on some setup changes which helped the Mugen MBX8-Eco and I was able to TQ the overall in E-buggy.
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The Nitro buggy and truck classes were very difficult with a full field of the best racers in 1/8th off-road. It was nice to have the latest Protek Samurai RM engines for both vehicles to get the grunt necessary to attack the track in dry and wet conditions. With some wrenching and tuning with Mike Truhe and Adam Drake, the MBX8-R and MBX8-T felt good with a variety of JConcepts tires such as the Reflex, Stalkers, and the new Recon tires.
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After late qualifying was over, I was able to start 3rd in buggy and 3rd in truggy. After a day of rebuilding vehicles, charging ProTek batteries and mounting fresh JC tires, we were ready for the first A-main on Saturday night. Taking off first in E-buggy, things felt good, I saw some of the quicker drivers moving up fast and I was trying to get a good rhythm to be prepared for a battle. We chose a blue compound for the final and the tire I felt most comfortable on in qualifying but maintaining the lead was very difficult. The fresh water on the abrasive surface didn’t suit my setting and I fell back to finish 13th after a crash and battle fest of a single A-main. Congratulations to David Ronnefalk on the victory.
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The truggy main came next and I was able to make a better adjustment on tire and went back to Reflex. Everything felt good but the surface still had a lot of abrasion and there was a lot of initial steering and large holes and bumps we hadn’t seen in qualifying. I stayed in the race and found myself in the lead while still getting used to the track. I got some momentum halfway through the race and built a lead that I took to the finish line for the victory. Congrats to Ty Tessmann on a great 2nd place and Jared Tebo 3rd.
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The 1/8th Pro Nitro buggy main was the last race of the weekend. I couldn’t have asked for a better setting and a great working MBX8-R during the final. The JConcepts Reflex were the tire of choice and the Samurai engine stayed lit for the entire race as I got nice pit stops from Truhe and Adam Drake. I was able to take the lead and continue a great battle with Joe Bornhorst throughout the beginning stages of the main event. After I got a little breathing room, I was able to experiment with a few different lines on the track to make consistent laps and hold on to an edge. Getting through traffic while maintaining the race lines was the challenge during the mid to late stages. Joe, Ty, Dakotah, David, Mason were all putting on charges and pushing the pace back up. For the last part of the race, I tried to keep pushing and finding any lost time possible whether it was on the track or smooth pit stops. I was able to make the extra lap, have some fun driving around the dirt cushion without and pressure and cross the finish for the victory. Congrats to Joe Bornhorst on the well deserved TQ and 2nd place and Ty Tessmann on the comeback to 3rd.
_________
Thanks to all the support from my sponsors, before, during and after these events. Thanks to The Dirt crew, Joey Christensen and the entire staff on a record turnout and epic event. Thanks to my pit guy all weekend Mike Truhe and to Adam Drake stepping in and also helping when needed. Shout out as always to the JConcepts team, Jason, Paul, and Hannah on the trackside support and media coverage.
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Look for a complete race report on the JConcepts social pages covering the event and YouTube uploads featuring full length main event videos and race Vlog.
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Next event, The Desert Classic.
_________
Mugen Seiki
JConcepts
Yokomo
Hobbywing
ProTek RC
VP Fuel
Flash Point
RM2
Hobby Action
A-Main Hobbies
Drakein
Stick-It 1
_________
Practice was shortened because of rain but we were able to get a 7 minute session in each class, so we all got a decent feel for the track. I seeded in the A group of E-buggy and the B group of nitro buggy and truggy. During qualifying, Mike Truhe and I worked on some setup changes which helped the Mugen MBX8-Eco and I was able to TQ the overall in E-buggy.
_________
The Nitro buggy and truck classes were very difficult with a full field of the best racers in 1/8th off-road. It was nice to have the latest Protek Samurai RM engines for both vehicles to get the grunt necessary to attack the track in dry and wet conditions. With some wrenching and tuning with Mike Truhe and Adam Drake, the MBX8-R and MBX8-T felt good with a variety of JConcepts tires such as the Reflex, Stalkers, and the new Recon tires.
_________
After late qualifying was over, I was able to start 3rd in buggy and 3rd in truggy. After a day of rebuilding vehicles, charging ProTek batteries and mounting fresh JC tires, we were ready for the first A-main on Saturday night. Taking off first in E-buggy, things felt good, I saw some of the quicker drivers moving up fast and I was trying to get a good rhythm to be prepared for a battle. We chose a blue compound for the final and the tire I felt most comfortable on in qualifying but maintaining the lead was very difficult. The fresh water on the abrasive surface didn’t suit my setting and I fell back to finish 13th after a crash and battle fest of a single A-main. Congratulations to David Ronnefalk on the victory.
_________
The truggy main came next and I was able to make a better adjustment on tire and went back to Reflex. Everything felt good but the surface still had a lot of abrasion and there was a lot of initial steering and large holes and bumps we hadn’t seen in qualifying. I stayed in the race and found myself in the lead while still getting used to the track. I got some momentum halfway through the race and built a lead that I took to the finish line for the victory. Congrats to Ty Tessmann on a great 2nd place and Jared Tebo 3rd.
_________
The 1/8th Pro Nitro buggy main was the last race of the weekend. I couldn’t have asked for a better setting and a great working MBX8-R during the final. The JConcepts Reflex were the tire of choice and the Samurai engine stayed lit for the entire race as I got nice pit stops from Truhe and Adam Drake. I was able to take the lead and continue a great battle with Joe Bornhorst throughout the beginning stages of the main event. After I got a little breathing room, I was able to experiment with a few different lines on the track to make consistent laps and hold on to an edge. Getting through traffic while maintaining the race lines was the challenge during the mid to late stages. Joe, Ty, Dakotah, David, Mason were all putting on charges and pushing the pace back up. For the last part of the race, I tried to keep pushing and finding any lost time possible whether it was on the track or smooth pit stops. I was able to make the extra lap, have some fun driving around the dirt cushion without and pressure and cross the finish for the victory. Congrats to Joe Bornhorst on the well deserved TQ and 2nd place and Ty Tessmann on the comeback to 3rd.
_________
Thanks to all the support from my sponsors, before, during and after these events. Thanks to The Dirt crew, Joey Christensen and the entire staff on a record turnout and epic event. Thanks to my pit guy all weekend Mike Truhe and to Adam Drake stepping in and also helping when needed. Shout out as always to the JConcepts team, Jason, Paul, and Hannah on the trackside support and media coverage.
_________
Look for a complete race report on the JConcepts social pages covering the event and YouTube uploads featuring full length main event videos and race Vlog.
_________
Next event, The Desert Classic.
_________
Mugen Seiki
JConcepts
Yokomo
Hobbywing
ProTek RC
VP Fuel
Flash Point
RM2
Hobby Action
A-Main Hobbies
Drakein
Stick-It 1