For the second year in a row, ARC Raceway, located in the heart of Temecula's wine country, hosted the Sidewinder Nitro Explosion. Team Associated, the title vehicle sponsor of the event, was out in full force with Ryan Cavalieri, Ryan Maifield, and Tanner Denny all competing in the Expert Buggy and Truggy classes. Richard "The King" Saxton was also on hand to compete in the Expert Buggy class and to assist the team with their Factory Team RC8.2 buggies and Factory Team RC8T CE truggies.

In qualifying, both Cavalieri and Maifield were towards the top of the charts in both classes while top ten runs from Saxton in Buggy and Denney in Truggy secured them each a place in the 45-minute "A" final.

In the Buggy final, Ryan Cavalieri and his Pro-Line-equipped Factory Team RC8.2 battled towards the front of the pack, taking on Adam Drake, Cody King, and teammate Ryan Maifield. As the dust settled and the event drew to a close, Cavalieri and Drake had gapped the field and the win came down to the last lap. At the finish line, Cavalieri was able to just edge out "The Drake" by less than a second to back up Ryan Maifield's 2011 Expert Buggy victory for Team Associated at the 2012 9th Annual Sidewinder Nitro Explosion.