Cavalieri and Team Associated Sweep the Modified Offroad Nationals
August 12, 2006
Event Name: ROAR Modified Offroad Nationals
Event Location: Planet R/C, Indianapolis, IN
Made famous in the racing world by the Indy 500 in Indianapolis, Indiana and Planet R/C Raceway played host for the 2006 ROAR Offroad Modified Nationals. Drivers from across the nation planned for months to attend this IFMAR World Championship qualifying event.
For the second year in a row, the major manufacturers agreed to use only a select group of tires for the event, and for the second year in a row, the agreement went off without a problem. With the unique track surface at Planet R/C, some drivers reported using less than three pairs of tires for the entire event and thus saving hundreds of dollars on unnecessary tires.
Qualifying
As qualifying got underway at the Nationals, it was clear that Ryan Cavalieri and teammate Ryan Maifield were serious about contesting for the National titles with their Team Associated Factory Team RC10 B4s and T4s. Cavalieri was able to secure the TQ spot in both the 2WD and Truck categories with Reedy power, Ryan Maifield in the second spot for both classes. Rounding out the other A main spots for Team Associated were Dave Montgomery, Jared Tebo, Brent Thielke, and newcomers to the National scene, Steven Hartson and Chad Due.
Mains
As the tone went off for the mains, it was as if Cavalieri shot out of a cannon. He led every lap of the first two mains in both 2WD and truck to slam the door on his first electric National Championships. Maifield was the only driver to contest for the win at any point. In A2 of truck, Maifield was trailing Cavalieri by only a few truck lengths, but an unfortunate encounter with a lapped driver forced him to retire early and gave Cavalieri his second title of the weekend.
Steady finishes from Pennsylvania's Dave Montgomery secured him second in both classes, with Maifield and Thielke rounding out the top three in 2WD and Truck, respectively. This completed a clean 1-2-3 sweep of all the podium positions for Team Associated. Both Dave and Brent used the LRP/Reedy brushless system in all three vehicles, once again proving the worth and competitiveness of a brushless setup.
Congratulations to Ryan Cavalieri on his two National Championships and to Jared Tebo for bringing home the 4WD National Championship for JConcepts.
Pictures:

Ryan Cavalieri, Champion
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Ryan Cavalieri and Jared Tebo lead a 1-2-3 sweep of the podium positions for Team Associated/JConcepts
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2WD Mod. From left To right: Jared Tebo, Dave Montgomery, Ryan Cavalieri, Ryan Maifield, Brent Thielke, and Chad Due
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2WD Mod results
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Truck Mod. Back row: Ryan Maifield, Jared Tebo, and Steven Hartson. Front row: Dave Montgomery, Ryan Cavalieri, and Brent Thielke
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Truck Mod results
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4WD Mod. From left To right: Ryan Cavalieri, Jared Tebo, and Ryan Maifield
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4WD Mod results, LRP Sphere Competition Brushless Data
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2006 ROAR National Champion - Factory Team RC10 B4 and T4
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The Planet R/C Raceway track developed a groove that provided good traction, but outside the groove dust developed and made racing very tight.
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Ryan Cavalieri prepares his BJ4 for the 3rd A main, already securing the National Championship with his B4 and T4.
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Ryan Maifield (right) and Jake Thayer prepare for the main events. Ryan was in good spirits all weekend and contested for the win in every class.
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Dave Montgomery prepares his tires for competition. The unique surface at Planet R/C required perfectly broken-in tires for maximum traction.
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Jared Tebo smiles big for the camera. Jared has been doing a great job preparing his cars recently.
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Team Manager Brent Thielke shows off his 3rd place T4. Brent used his track time to assist the team drivers in both setup and driving lines.
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Steven Hartson (left) and his father Dan proudly display their B4 and T4. Steven qualified 3rd overall in the Modified Truck class, but just got bumped out of the mains in 2WD and 4WD.
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Wisconsin native Chad Due gives his B4 the once-over. Chad concentrated on only 2WD for this race and it showed.
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Cory Crosley (left) and Brian Mellow pack up to leave the event. Without representatives like these, Associated wouldn’t be as strong as it is today.
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Scott Spear traveled from New Mexico to compete in the ROAR Nationals. This track was a complete 180 from his home track traction, so Scott was a bit confused by the dusty, low-grip surface.
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Charles Sinclair (right) interviews a racer from the past. Brian Dunbar made the trip to Indianapolis to visit some of his old teammates and friendly rivals.
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Doug Hay of RC Scoring Pro was on hand to make sure the timing and scoring of the ROAR Nationals ran flawlessly.
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"Cool Rob" Schaffer contemplates his races. Rob was fast throughout the weekend, but just couldn't put a whole five minutes together.
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