CRC Raceway in Rome, NY was the place to be on Sunday. With their famous Meltdown race fast approaching (March 11, 2012), I felt it was about time to get my 2wd SC10 out on their carpet offroad track. This was my first time all season (They run January-March on the carpet offroad).

I entered the 2wd Pro-Lite class because I was running a 17.5 motor. Their elite Pro2 class has switched to running 13.5 motors this year and I didn’t want to get in their way.

Joining me at CRC was Team Soup teammate, Jarodd “The Stig” Goedel. He’s been racing here every Sunday since January. Jarodd was running Pro2 and Pro4 (4wd Short Course).

I basically took my sc10 from Motorama, dusted it off, and threw it on the carpet without any setup change. I did swap tires though. CRC requires that you run a kit tire (no aftermarket), so I put on some stock SC10 tires. After a few minutes of practice my motor was running a tad warm (I didn’t have a temp gauge handy), so I dropped 2 teeth on the pinion. After the first heat the truck then came off with the motor at around 107 degrees.

I won both heats and was sitting TQ (after my round 2 run) until race 2 of the class, where 2 other racers jumped ahead of me. I started 3rd in the main. The SC10 handled great and I could make every part of the track (more than I can say a year ago, when I was running a junk servo at the 2nd Annual Meltdown). For this tight track, a fast servo really helps. In the main I had transponder issues and missed a few laps, so the results say I finished last. I’m not sure where I really should have been had I counted every time (not first, but definitely was not last).

Jarodd took TQ in both classes and started on the pole in Pro2 and Pro4 classes with his Team Associated trucks. The 4wd’s are a beast on the indoor carpet, so much power. Jarodd was able to take the win in that class.

The last race of the day, Pro2 A-Main was exciting to watch. Again, Jarodd taking TQ and starting out front. Half way through the race Jarodd was in the lead, followed closely by Frank Calandra Jr. (of Calandra Racing Concepts) and Jim Mehaffy (of JMC Carbon Products). They were bumper to bumper around the track fighting for position. Mehaffy got caught up in lap traffic and ended up falling back a little and finishing 3rd. The race between Frank and Jarodd was tight all the way to the wire. Jarodd managed to keep the lead, and take the win despite Frank’s final charge on the last lap. Frank finished 2nd, less than 2 seconds behind Jarodd. Great race!

Remember guys, CRC broadcasts on LiveRC.com anytime they race. Be sure to catch the action Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons!

I didn’t bring my camera, so I apologize for the lack of photos in this post. To give you an idea of the track layout, here is a short video following our friend Dave Stisser around the track during a heat.