FAST LAPS
EXPERT TRUCK
With two of the three rounds of qualifying used to determine the starting order for Sunday’s main events,
each round on the continually changing track was critical. Team Durango’s Ryan Lutz got his weekend
started with a bang by setting the first round TQ in Expert Truck by 1.5 seconds over Las Vegas local Dylan
Rodriguez of the A Main Hobbies/Pro Tek R/C team. It was a sign of things to come as Lutz eventually
wrapped up TQ honors in all four classes he entered. Defending champion Jared Tebo improved on his
ninth-place finish in round one to beat Lutz by over three seconds in round two, setting up a showdown
between the two for the final round on Sunday—which was won by Team Kyosho’s former champion Cody
King. Lutz finished second in the final round and beat Tebo on points to start up front for the 45-minute
A-main.
;e roughly 10-foot advantage Lutz earned with his qualifying performance was all he needed on
Sunday as he led all but a half of a lap on his way to a nine-second cushion over the field and the biggest
win of his RC career. “It feels great – I’ve been wanting a big race win,” Lutz told me in an interview after
receiving his trophy. “I’ve had my chances where I’ve led by good margins and bad luck always strikes.
Today I was able to have good luck for once, and it felt great to take away a big win at a big race.” Runner-up Jared Tebo, however, did not have it so easy. An early mistake on the first lap dropped Tebo out of the
top five and he spent the entire race in a scramble to recover, finally reentering the top three on lap 57
of the 79 that were completed before time ran out. While Tebo was busy picking o; drivers one by one,
Team Losi Racing’s nitro frontman Adam Drake had nailed the start from eighth on the grid and ran second
behind Lutz for over half the race and it wasn’t until lap 49 that he was passed by his perennial rival, Team
Associated driver Ryan Cavalieri. It was just eight laps later that Cavalieri fell victim to the Tebo train.
VEHICLE
1. Ryan Lutz Team Durango
2. Jared Tebo Kyosho
3. Ryan Cavalieri Team Associated
4. Adam Drake Team Losi Racing
5. Drew Moller Kyosho
6. Jeremy Kortz Agama
7. Dylan Rodriguez Kyosho
8. Cody King Kyosho
9. Billy Fischer Team Losi Racing
10. Josh Wheeler XRAY
11. Kyle Johnson Team Losi Racing
12. Carson Wernimont Team Durango
13. Mark Pavidis Team Losi Racing
14. Mike Truhe Team Losi Racing
RESULTS
ENGINE
Alpha
Team Orion
Team Orion
Novarossi
Team Orion
Werks
O.S.
Team Orion
Novarossi
O.S.
Team Orion
Reedy
O.S.
TOP
FUEL
Byrons
Sidewinder
Sidewinder
Nitrotane
Byrons
Werks
Sidewinder
Byrons
Nitrotane
O’Donnell
Nitrotane
Byrons
Sidewinder
Nitrotane
RADIO
Futaba
KO Propo
Airtronics
Spektrum
KO Propo
Airtronics
Futaba
KO Propo
Spektrum
Futaba
Spektrum
Futaba
Futaba
Spektrum
TIRES
AKA
AKA
AKA
Pro-Line
Pro-Line
VP Pro
Pro-Line
Pro-Line
Pro-Line
AKA
JConcepts
AKA
AKA
Pro-Line
For all but just a few seconds of
the 45-minute final, this was
the only view each of Ryan
Lutz’s 13 competitors had of his
Team Durango truck.
