Maifield and Cavalieri Win Offroad Shootout

Vehicle Class: Electric and Gas Offroad

As the temperature rises in Southern California, racers flock to Hot Rod Hobbies in the Santa Clarita Valley to compete in the 8th Annual Offroad Shootout. The Hot Rod surface is a by-the-books blue groove track. The layout is built two weeks in advance and allowed to dry to a hard crust that provides superb traction and consistency.

This year marked the return of both Ryan Cavalieri and Jared Tebo to the Offroad Shootout. In previous years, there has been a scheduling conflict that prevented them from attending, but this year they both chose to compete against the top offroad racers in the nation in preparation for the upcoming ROAR Nationals and IFMAR World Championships. Also in attendance were top Associated/Reedy drivers Ryan Maifield, Dave Montgomery, and Lloyd Dassonville. Team Losi also had their top drivers in attendance, including Matt Francis, Travis Amezcua, Jesse Robbers, Billy Easton, and Mike Truhe.

Throughout Friday and Saturday, drivers vied for the top spots and "A" main positions over four rounds of qualifying. At the end of qualifying Team Associated drivers took TQ honors in 2WD Modified, Truck Modified, 4WD Modified and Pro Gas Truck. Additionally, Reedy-Powered driver Ryan Maifield to TQ honors in the highly competitive 2WD Modified class with Ryan Cavalieri TQ'ing the other three classes.

2WD Modified

Starting from the pole position, AE/Reedy driver Ryan Maifield checked out from the competition and cruised to a comfortable win in A1. Things were looking similar in A2, until a shock malfunction on the second to last lap allowed the competition to close in and forced Maifield to finish the race with only three functioning shocks. At the start of A3 Maifield began pulling away from the other competitors as teammate Jared Tebo picked his way to the front. As time elapsed Tebo was able to reel in Maifield and make for a bid for the lead. An untimely crash by Tebo relieved the pressure from Maifield and allowed him to bring home the main victory and overall win.

Truck Modified

Occupying the top four positions on the grid, Team Associated drivers were primed to battle it out for the top position and overall champion. In A1 Cavalieri was able to distance himself from the battle for a second after an early crash by Tebo. That was until Maifield and Tebo began pushing to catch up, but in the end came up a second short of Cavalieri. Things were looking good in A2 for Cavalieri to wrap up the overall title, but as Dave Montgomery continued to pressure Cavalieri, a brush with the pipe forced an early retirement from Cavalieri. Montgomery cruised to the victory in A2, setting the stage for a showdown in the third main. As A3 proceeded, Tebo got out front and didn’t look back, allowing Cavalieri, Montgomery, and Maifield to battle it out for the overall win. In the end, with a last lap pass, Cavalieri crossed the line in second securing the overall title.

Pro Gas Truck

With an even split between Associated and Losi vehicles, the 45 minute "A" final was looking to play out as a classic dual. An early retirement by Amezcua and Truhe knocked out two competitors and in typical gas fashion a few flame-outs and breaks took a few others out of the mix for the overall win. At the 30-minute mark, the only two vehicles on the lead lap were Cavalieri and Tebo. Looking for an advantage, Tebo employed his custom-made quick-change system and opted to change both rear tires in hopes of making up time on Cavalieri. In the end, the gamble didn't pay off and Cavalieri cruised to an 8-second victory leading the 1-2-3 sweep for the Team Associated GT.

4WD Modified

In preparation for the upcoming World Championships, many drivers chose to focus on the competitive 4WD class. Reigning World Champion Ryan Cavalieri took the TQ position and earned the right to start on the front row for Sunday with his J-Concepts BJ4. In A1 Cavalieri battled it out with Truhe and crossed the line less than a second ahead of the hard-charging Truhe. In A2, Cavalieri was checked out from the field until he began slowing with a minute to go. This allowed Amezcua to take the win of A2 and Cavalieri was again able to best Truhe by only a few tenths of a second. A3 was shaping up to be a battle between Cavalier, Truhe and Amezcua for the win. Early on, Amezcua broke in the fast chicane, which left the Cavalier and Truhe to battle it out. An unfortunate break by Cavalieri while in a position to win the event, handed the victory to Truhe and regulated Cavalieri to the second position.