This past weekend the RC Pro Series made it’s Northeast Division Round 2 stop at our local track, CRC Raceway in Rome, NY. This was the 7th year they’ve hosted this race here, and my first time going. Team Soup driver Jarodd Goedel has been racing this event since they started having it at CRC.

What is the RC Pro Series?

RC Pro is dedicated to promoting remote control vehicle racing across the United States and Canada. Going into our 11th year, the name RC Pro has become synonymous with “grass roots” racing.  We welcome racers from the novice beginner to traveling professionals and our race program provides a level playing field for all by incorporating classes for different levels of competition.  Our mission is to provide a safe, fun and professional environment where people can enjoy family and friends.

On the drive up, it was raining almost the entire way. It seems this happens every year during Pro Series weekend, where there is a call for rain, or it’s actually raining and it scares away entries. CRC always manages to get it in though. When we got there on Saturday it was overcast and drizzly. It ended up sprinkling here and there through the day, but nothing serious. Actually.. it made the track AWESOME. They didn’t have to water all day. It was just enough moisture to keep the track wet (it wasn’t a constant drizzle, it just did it on a couple occasions).

Total there were 144 entries across all classes. In addition to the Pro Series classes, CRC also ran one of their normal “house” classes, 13.5 2wd Short Course. They were going to run E-Truggy as well but didn’t get enough entries.

They had a pretty good turnout, with a few bigger name drivers like Billy Fischer, Anthony Mazzara, Paul Ciccarello, Mark Smyka, Daniel Yachnin, Jerome Treignier, along with a few others. We also had the local pros in the house like Frank Calandra Jr., Mark Calandra, Tom Firsching, John Firsching, Brian Wynn, and more. We grabbed interviews with a few of them, and you’ll be able to read those shortly. Keep an eye out.

So the Pro Series was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (June 8-10, 2012). Friday was practice for those who’d already signed up. I was not there for this due to work, and I’d already been on the new layout twice since they built it. They added a new wooden kicker jump they called “The Woody” for this race though. It launched the trucks into the air as if they were space-bound. Coming from a basher background, that jump really catered to the need for big air for me personally. You really had to be careful though, because you could WAY overdo it.

CRC ran a tight show all day Saturday, pushing through the heats without much delay. We got in all 4 rounds of qualifying (with 15 heats per round) and we were done by around 6pm. Not bad at all! There was a re-sort after round 2.

The mains were run on Sunday, starting around 9 AM. They ran triple A mains for the Pro Series Electric classes (E-Buggy & 4wd SCT) and spread them out so they had enough charge time. The 1/8 Pro Buggy class ended around 4:30. Overall it was a fun and tiring weekend. We could not have had more perfect weather for it. Sunday was pretty hot and sunny, but the track held together nice. It was taking on rubber by the end.

For those that stayed home they could have watched the whole event unfold on LiveRC. I love LiveRC.com. As a person with a smartphone, it is REALLY helpful at bigger races, being able to log on and see LIVE what heat we are in and see the heat listings to know when I am up next. I can’t say enough good things about what they are doing for our sport/hobby.

There was a lot of exciting action in 4WD Short course class through the day. It was a very close battle all day between John Firsching, Brian Wynn, Zack Barry, and Cruz Zachary. Barry ended up with the win overall in the Triple A mains, with Firsching in 2nd, Wynn in 3rd, and Zachary in 4th.

Pro Buggy and Truggy classes were exciting to watch as well. Billy Fischer edged out fellow TLR driver Anthony Mazzara, taking the top 2 spots in both classes.

So, the 2nd big race for us this year is in the books (1st was Motorama). Next up, we’ll probably be at the Short Course Nationals, and then the Intergalactic Short Course Championships.

See Page 2 for Results, and Page 3 for Photos and links.