After making adjustments to his car from round 1 of qualifying, TLR’s Ryan Maifield came out swinging with redemption and showed the field a bit of his hand. Earning fastest time, fastest lap, and setting a new standard in the 4wd modified class and the only driver to turn 15 laps in qualifying. Right behind Maifield was round 1 tq, Jared Tebo with a 14 lap 5:01.9. Saying that his car is really good, but only having a few “trouble spots” if he pushes too hard, Tebo is going to a stiffer gold rear spring for the next round to keep the rear end a little more stable. Posting the 3rd fastest time was the current 4wd world champion, Steven Hartson, with a 14 lap 5:03.6. Hartson said he is happy with his car and feels he has the speed to compete with the top 2 drivers and only going to focus on his driving for the final round of qualifying. With Maifield taking round 2, he and Tebo are tied at 1 round a piece.
Modified SC was once again a great battle between Tebo and Maifield. These two drivers put on a terrific show on the clock as they competed for the fastest indoor SC truck in the nation. Round 2 goes to TLR’s Ryan Maifield as was able to drive consistent fast laps the entire 5 minutes without any crashes. Unfortunately for Tebo, who had a crash on his 8th lap that would seal the deal for round 2 and give the round to Maifield. For the final round of qualifying, Tebo is going to freshen up his diff and transmission along with heavier shocks oils to get his SC truck to handle speed a bit better as grip is starting to increase.
The ultra competitive 2wd modified class is starting to heat up as the top 8 drivers are all able to run 14 laps and hit mid 21 second fast laps. Taking advantage of Maifield’s mistake, Team Associated/JConcept’s driver Spencer Rivkin rises to the challenge and earns his first TQ run of the event and positions himself to take the overall TQ for tomorrow’s mains. Putting down a 14 lap 5:08.4 and taking the fast lap as well, young Rivkin drove an aggressive race and showed that he has the speed as well as the ability to deal with the immense pressure. Even with a few minor mistakes, Ryan Maifield was able to put together a run that earned him 2nd fastest for the round with a 14 lap 5:10.9. Team Associated/JConcepts’ Steven Hartson would finish 3rd quickest in round 2 with a 14 lap 5:12.8. Hartson would state that he feels he is “Cruising around and playing it too safe” and will “turn it up” a notch in the next qualifier.
With Maifield and Rivkin with a win a piece, the last qualifier will prove to be crucial for tomorrow’s starting grid. Not only is it just about the starting position, but also to gain the mental edge over the competition. However, as they say in formula 1, the race isn’t won on Saturday, what matters is who wins on Sunday.
Final Round Qualifying
The intensity continues to rise in Omaha, Nebraska as the JConcepts INS enters the final round of qualifying. In the modified 4wd class, Kyosho’s Jared Tebo and TLR/JConcepts’ Ryan Maifield are both tied with one win each. Both of these experienced drivers know that having track position is going to benefit greatly for the triple a-mains and will undoubtedly give them a better chance at winning.
With minor changes to his ZX6, Tebo started his final round with great urgency and put in the fastest lap of the weekend very early in his qualifier. Losing tenths to Tebo, Maifiled started to push his 22-4 to the ragged edge and ultimately started to cross the fine line of over driving as he made minor mistakes and pipe bumps. Unfortunately, Tebo would start to make the same minor bobbles as the two of the world’s best would trade mistakes and in the end of 5 minutes, Jared Tebo would take the Q3 win with a 14 lap 5:02.4 and in doing so take the overall TQ for 4wd modified class. Maifield would finish 2nd in the final qualifier and also start 2nd on the grid for the main event. With his best 4wd finish of the weekend, TLR/JConcepts’ Taylor Larsen would take a well earned 3rd place for the round with a 14 5:06.3.
The top qualifier for modified short course has already been decided with Ryan Maifield taking Q1 and Q2, but this exciting battle continues all the way until the end of the weekend. In the 3rd round of qualifying Tebo set out to dethrone the short course king, however on his first lap the Kyosho ace would make a mistake that would cost him 3 seconds. Knowing he had the upper hand, Maifield cruised to another TQ run putting his SCT 2.0 1st with a 14 lap 5:20.184. Tebo would end up with a 13 lap 5.00.8. Derek Wood has been putting in solid 3rd place runs and this time had his fastest run with a 13 lap 5:12.1.
The story of the weekend in 2wd modified has been the rise of Team Associated/JConcepts’ Spencer Rivkin who has been able to TQ round 2 in style. The big question was whether or not he would be able to TQ the 3rd round and steal the overall TQ from good friend, mentor, and JConcepts teammate Ryan Maifield.
In a flash, Rivkin would move straight to the front and set the pace for the rest to follow on his 4th lap. From there, the rest is history as he never looked back and no one was able to touch his time. With another stellar run to solidify his overall TQ, Rivkin said he was, “Extremely happy and a bit surprised” and that he was “ready for the mains”.
