2016 Psycho Nitro Blast – The Nitrozity

The ninth annual Psycho Nitro Blast, called “The Nitrozity,” drew over 800 entries to the Walters State Community College Expo Center in Morristown, TN to compete in eleven different classes. In typical PNB fashion, the fast and difficult track layout included large wooden jumps and evolved throughout the weekend, challenging even the best racers in the world to stay clean for long main events.

Pro eBuggy

Starting on the pole was Team Associated’s Ryan Cavalieri. Cavalieri was unstoppable in qualifying, and was without a doubt the #1 pick for the Pro E-Buggy win, however, the cards did not play in his favor. The tone sounded only for disaster to strike as Cavalieri found himself buried in the field after mayhem of cars and chaos on lap 1. As they came around to cross the line it was Kyosho’s Jared Tebo leading the pack with AE’s Spencer Rivkin second and JQRacing’s Joseph Quagraine in third. Tekno’s Ryan Lutz made a hard charge early and quickly made his appearance in the top 3, taking the position from JQ. Out front Spencer Rivkin was putting the pressure on Tebo, but Jared looked flawless (perhaps his smoothest run this weekend). Rivkin would make a small mistake in the whoops, allowing Tebo to stretch out his lead. Only a few laps later Tebo would lose traction around the tricky off-camber, sliding and eventually flipping into the infield. Rivkin was handed the lead, and looked to be cool, calm, and collected out front. Meanwhile, while all eyes were on Tebo and Rivkin, TLR’s Ryan Maifield made a silent assault on the field. Maifield would click off the fastest lap of the race and after Tebo’s tumble, found himself sitting second. An unexpected crash would once again drop Maifield to 4th, and make for a three way battle for 2nd through 4th between Tebo, Lutz, and Maifield. Tebo would spin out, dropping to fourth and moving Lutz and Maifield to second and third. Maifield then jumps his way past Lutz into 2nd, and put the power down to catch Rivkin. With only 2 laps to go, Maifield caught up to Rivkin in the lead, and made a big air pass over the catapult jump to take the lead! The crowd was on their feet as Rivkin mounted up to take back his top spot. In an attempt to dive inside after the far double, the two collided, resulting in Rivkin upside-down. Ryan Maifield would take a deep breath to finish his remaining two laps with ease, taking home the 2016 Psycho Nitro Blast Pro 1/8 E-Buggy A-Main win! Rivkin, running JConcepts Triple Dees tires, Dirt Tech inserts, Bullet wheels and Striker body would recover from the crash to finish 2nd, with Jared Tebo finishing out the podium in third.

Pro Nitro Buggy

Ryan Maifield started on the pole position, and as the tone sounded he put in an absolute flawless run to the win the PNB finale from start to finish! He would cross the finish line with a lap on nearly the entire field, and a 30+ second lead on second. The race kicked off with a relatively clean start with Maifield, Lutz, and Cavalieri (Ryan, Ryan, & Ryan) leading the pack. Cavalieri and Tebo would tangle a bit early on, allowing Maifield and Lutz to spread their lead out. JConcepts/Mugen driver Cole Ogden would take advantage of the Tebo/Cav collision by working his way into third. At the 10-minute mark, Ryan Maifield had a commanding 10 second lead over Ryan Lutz, while Cole Ogden lingered in third. Moments later, the Kyosho of Jared Tebo was in the pits for mechanical troubles. He re-entered the track, but only to make a few turns before returning to pit lane for a considerable amount of time, dashing his hopes of a PNB win. For the next 10-minutes the race was less than exciting, as the field was spread out considerably from first to last. 22-minutes in, a hard charging Ryan Cavalieri struck disaster as he would flame out, and end his race. Moments later, second place driver Ryan Lutz would also experience a flame out. Cole Ogden would move to 2nd with Joe Bornhorst in a distant third. As the clock ran out, Ryan Maifield took a Sunday cruise across the line for an outstanding win. Cole Ogden would look his absolute best for the weekend by putting himself second on the podium. Our hat is off to the amazing crew who created this monstrosity including Dave Leikam, Lance MacDonald, Jimmy Babcock, Bobby Moore (track builder), Jacob Peterson (photographer), the entire Psycho crew, and all of the amazing racers who make it all possible!

Thanks to Mike Garrison and InsideLineRC.com for the report.