Jared Tebo Wins 2005 ROAR Offroad Gas Nationals

Held in the rustic Texas town of Harlingen, the 2005 ROAR Offroad Gas Nationals was hosted by the G.E.A.R.S. R/C Club over the weekend of April 29 - May 1. Going in to the event, the Team Associated RC-10GT had never been defeated in the nine previous years a National Championship has been crowned, most recently in the hands of Associated Factory Driver, Jared Tebo. This year the title would be determined on a track that challenged both the driver and vehicle with patience and the ability to adapt to the drastic erosion of sandy corners.

Going in to the main event, Jared Tebo again piloted his Factory Team GT to the pole position ahead of a four-way tie for second on the grid. As Jared lead the field off the line, Associated teammates Ryan Maifield and Ryan Cavalieri joined him and the three of them pulled away from the field during the first five minutes of the event. Two untimely flame-outs for Maifield left him at the rear of the pack nine minutes in to the main, and all but out of contention for the win. As Tebo and Cavalieri continued to stretch the field, Cavalieri took over the lead during a Tebo pit stop and looked as if he was able to put some distance over the reigning Champion. Unfortunately for Cavalieri he stripped a spur gear almost half way through the grueling one hour main and was off the track for almost seven minutes repairing the vehicle.

With the competition starting to have some troubles, Tebo continued to burn laps and time off the clock inheriting the lead when Cavalieri was off the track. At this point Jared and his pit dad, Bruce decided to make use of their hand-built, quick-change rear tire system. For the next 20 minutes the lead remained unchallenged, but behind Jared the battle for the other podium positions was heating up. Associated drivers Taylor James and Marty Korn began working their way through the pack, maintaining a clean line, fast pit stops and most importantly a functioning vehicle. Suddenly Jared started complaining that his car didn't feel the same. During a scheduled pit stop, Bruce was able to determine that Jared had lost a screw from the rear suspension mount. They decided to tighten the other screws and go back out for one lap while Bruce located the necessary part. Jared was able to limp his car around the track and back in to the pits for the repairs. At this point, second place at the time, Adam Drake was able to take over the lead.

As the race continued, Adam needed to pit only one lap after taking over the lead which put Tebo back in to the top position, a spot he wouldn't relinquish for the rest of the hour-long main. As the race was coming to a close, several drivers were off the track with mechanical failures and the battle for the top four spots was heating up. Hard charging, Taylor James worked his way up to within a few seconds of second place Drake and took advantage of a late race flame-out from Drake to move in to the second overall position. Also moving up in to a podium position was the steady Associated driver, Marty Korn, who had been in a battle with James for the entire event. Rounding out the top four sweep for the GT was Ryan Maifield, who came back from his early race bad luck.

Congratulations to the now two-time Gas Truck National Champion Jared Tebo and his pit dad Bruce on their outstanding title defense. This is the tenth year in a row the GT has claimed the National Championship. GTs took the top four positions - eight of fourteen GTs in the main. You still can't beat a GT!