Three different divisions raced at this event: 19-turn Spec, Open Modified and Invitational Modified. All three classes were Touring Car only. 19-turn Spec racers must race a 19-turn hand-out motor. Open Mod and Invitational were permitted to run any type of I.F.M.A.R.-approved modified motor. To add a twist this year, Invitational drivers were required to use only five-cell battery packs. Open Mod drivers were permitted to choose between a six or five cell battery pack. Five cells are typically used to run a lower weight car. Most of the drivers in Open Mod went with the five-cell choice because it tended to allow the cars better handling and to be easier on the tires.

If you’d like a complete breakdown of the R.R.O.C. rules, you can find them at Tamiyausa.com

The race ran from Thursday morning through Sunday evening. There were eight rounds of controlled practice, and four rounds of qualifying for the Open Mod and Spec drivers. Invitational drivers received the same eight rounds of controlled practice but had to race in what has been dubbed the “Reedy Race Format.” This is eight rounds of heads-up racing for points, based on the finishing position in each race. The 32 entrants are shuffled about to race each other at various points over the race weekend. The bottom line is: The driver that wins the most wins overall. It’s a tooth-and-nail fight to the finish each and every race for these drivers.

This year’s Reedy Race saw nearly the entire Invitational and most of the Open Modified classes chose brushless systems to power its cars. Speeds at the end of the straight away were more than 50 mph all weekend. 

In the 19-turn division, seven of the 10 A-Main finalists were equipped with Novak GTX speed controls. Corey Lewis took home the coveted first place trophy with the help of his Novak GTX followed by fellow Novak user T.J. Bradly. We would also like to point out that the 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th and 10th place drivers: Dave Bowser, Jeff Brown, Brad Johnson, Jason Ertrachter and Weylin Rose respectively, all used a Novak GTX to power their cars into the A-Main. Thanks, guys!

Open Mod Sedan saw a total of three Novak-equipped vehicles. Rod “Zilla” Canare used a Novak GTB/Velociti 3.5R combo to finish on the podium at the 3rd position. Randy Caster used the old-faithful GTX and a brushed motor to finish 9th, while bad luck put Bobby Flack and his GTB-powered car into 10th.

Now on to the big guns: Invitational. Nine of the 32 drivers in Invitational used a Novak GTB to run their brushless-powered cars. Craig Dresher came very close to putting his Associated TC5 on top in one of its first outings as a production vehicle. But some bad luck – to put it mildly – cost him dearly. He was still able to finish in an extremely respectable 2nd place behind 2004 World Champion Marc Rheinard. First through 10th place drivers were from outside of the US. The highest finishing American driver was the carpet specialist Mike Blackstock. Mike used a GTB with Velociti 3.5R to bring home the 11th spot.

After the dust settled and the sun went down, I believe that everyone could agree that it was an unforgettable Reedy Race of Champions. We can only hope that next year’s new venue will be able to contain this herd of the world’s fastest R/C drivers. 

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