Southern Nationals Race Report & Vlog With JConcepts

Two weeks of jam packed racing comes to a close after spending the weekend in West Monroe, Louisiana! The team traveled out there to compete in the 2020 Southern Nationals! (The weekend prior we were in Enfield, CT for the JConcepts Turf Nationals.) This was the first year RaceTime Entertainment put on this particular event as it was previously hosted by a different organization. As always, Dave Leikam and his crew did not disappoint! The track layout was masterminded by Bobby Moore and his RC Track Masters team. The track featured a drop down that was essentially a dirt wall into a 180 turn through a giant cross over section. The track also featured a 6 pack and a double where drivers could catch some big air.

For tires this weekend we experimented with a few options. The team started with green Reflexes and went up to the blue compound later on in seeding. As the weekend progressed they experimented with harder compounds. Ultimately, Maifield decided to use the Stalkers in the mains in the A2 compound while Phend used the Reflexes. The track conditions were relatively dry, a little dusty, but also had a nice groove. As the weekend progressed the track did become bumpy and develop ruts. It was important for drivers to keep the same lines every lap and know their personal limits as the track changed.

Pro Nitro Truck: 1- Dakotah Phend 4- Seth VanDalen

The race started with Maifield, Phend, and Cavalieri in the 1, 2, and 3. Early on Phend made a pass on Maifield, but Maifield was still on his tail. Rivkin and Bornhorst were in the 4 and 5 spots, rounding out the top 5. As Phend and Maifield went through the 6 pack they were so close together they almost looked side by side at certain points. However, they were battling hard when they accidentally got together going over the crossover. Maifield got the worst of it with no where to go. They still maintained their 1 and 2 spots though! The leaders started to come up on traffic, and traffic let them by with no problem. Meanwhile Rivkin and VanDalen were still in the top 5 racing hard with 23:15 to go. Phend had a small bobble allowing Maifield to close the gap with now only 6/10ths of a second between them. They both went into pit lane at 7:45 elapsed. Cavalieri took his pit stop after them, keeping his 3rd place spot. Phend got caught up in some lap traffic but continued to maintain his lead. The track was rough, making it challenging for every driver to keep their cars consistent and smooth for the entire race. VanDalen was racing hard, he had started in the 11th spot and made his way up to the 5. Maifield had an unfortunate flame out with 16 to go, but got back out on the track and without hesitation started to race his way up the ranks. Halfway through and it was Phend with 12 seconds on Cavalieri in 2nd, Rivkin in 3rd, VanDalen in the 4th, and Drake in the 5th. Phend had lapped everyone except for the top 5 drivers at 13 minutes to go. Phend was not far off from lapping 3rd place with 8 minutes to go, he was on fire! Maifield got back up in the top 10. Phend had a 22 second lead with 3.5 to go. VanDalen and Rose were battling for that 5th position with 2 minutes to go. VanDalen brought the speed moving into the 4th position with 30 seconds to go! Phend took the overall win!