Every year Jimmy Babcock and the crew at Hot Rod Hobbies in Saugus, California gear up for one the biggest electric off-road races of the season; the Hot Rod Shootout. Routinely drawing over 300 entries and racers from multiple nations "The Shootout" has solidified itself as of the "must attend" races each year for factory pros and weekend warriors alike. Team HB was once again on hand to do battle with the best in the World, and this year marked the unveiling of the newest car in the HB arsenal; our two wheel drive secret weapon, the D2.

Open practice was run on Wednesday, with controlled practice beginning on Thursday leading into the race weekend. All of the big names materialized on Wednesday morning to be sure they got the most possible run time on the exciting Hot Rod Hobbies circuit.

Racers were greeted with sunny skies and unusually comfortable temperatures throughout most of the weekend. Thankfully the HRH crew had negotiated with mother-nature and secured temperatures in the high 80s through Saturday which was a welcome change from the triple digit weeks in years past. The track itself was a work of art, with brilliant green Astroturf in the center sections surrounded by a flawless racing surface whose layout flowed perfectly. This was, without a doubt, one of the most fun tracks I've ever raced on.

HB was well represented with our big name drivers attending, as well as members of our infantry division representing the west coast, and beyond. Below is a list of our team that was in attendance:

Travis Amezcua- California
Jesse Robbers- Ohio
Adam Skelding- Sheffield, UK
Ty Tessman- Alberta, Canada
Roman Gastelum- Colorado
Zach Gastelum- Colorado
Dustin Fedosa- Alberta, Canada
Jeremy Hase- California
Cody Turner- California
Jeremy Felles- California

2wd Modified
As mentioned previously we decided to unveil our new 2wd buggy at this event and oh what an unveiling it was. Travis, Jesse, and Adam were piloting the car at this event and by the end of the first set of practice runs we knew we had a contender on our hands. Saturday's qualifying saw Travis Amezcua put together two blistering runs in the last two rounds to put his HB D2 into the 7th spot on the starting grid for the A-main. This had the pits in a frenzy as making the main in his first outing with the car was a huge accomplishment. Travis drove brilliantly in all three of his A-finals as well, and when the fat lady sang found him-self in 4th position, just off the podium. We would like to congratulate Travis on a job well done, as well as Adam Skelding (the D2 designer) for producing such a competitive racing machine. We will have more updates on the progress of the D2 in the coming months.

4wd Modified
The 4wd class was extremely competitive and, as has been the trend recently, was the biggest mod class of the weekend reaching all the way down to an E final. Travis was on his game once again in this class and drove like a man possessed in qualifying, taking TQ for the 4th round of qualifying and 3rd overall on the starting grid. Up and coming HB driver (and the dude writing this report) Jeremy Felles put in his best effort of the season and found himself in the 8th position on the A-main grid. The 4wd A-main events were chock full of action and Travis was right in the thick of it. He battled closely for the wins in the first and third mains and in the end pushed his way to the # 2 position overall. His teammate Jeremy fought hard as well and in the end maintained his 8th place finishing position. HB would like to congratulate both of these drivers on their awesome performances as well as the rest of the team that competed with their D4 WCE vehicles.

4wd Super Stock Class
Just below the mod classes are the highly contested Super Stock classes. Participants in these classes must choose between a 10.5 Brushless motor or 19 turn brushed equivalent. This race ended in complete domination by HB's Jeremy Felles, whom piloted his D4 to a TQ in the first three rounds followed by a flawless victory in the first two rounds of the mains. Not only did Jeremy rock the competition, but he clearly impressed the trophy girls with his fantastic build and attire. Zach Gastelum also put in an excellent run in the Super Stock class finishing in the 9th position at the end of the mains. Zach is one of our strongest up and coming racers and we would like to thank him very much for his excellent work and continued results.

We would also like to congratulate our HB representatives Ty Tessman and Dustin Fedosa from Canada both of whom ran the gas truck class. Ty had an impressive battle with Brent Thielke of Team Associated for the lead up until the 20minute mark when a ball stud in his steering went the way of the mullet. This moved Dustin Fedosa into second while Ty got his vehicle repaired and back onto the track to finish 3rd. Kudos to our teammates from the North, not only for their great work in the electric classes, but to their podium finishes in gas truck as well.

With another race in the books HB leaves another track with another win and a slew of fantastic finishes. Thank you to Hot Rod Hobbies for the great race facility, and we can't wait to see everyone out there again in July for the Roar Electric Off-Road Nationals.

Until next time...