Biggest stories from the pits and racetrack of the Cactus Classic

Like Pro-Line’s innovative VTR wheel design for 1/8-scale trucks, their new VTR tire and wheel combo for 1/10-scale buggies forgoes the typical U-channel tire and wheel bead for a simpler design similar to 1/8-scale buggies.

Pro-Line’s VTR Suburbs for 2WD and 4WD rear wheels glue to the new VTR wheel with more rubber meeting the wheel, and the bead is easier to seat onto the rim. Dakotah Phend used the new VTR Suburbs to win the 2WD championship.

Pro-Line’s newest front tire for 2WD and 4WD buggies, called the “Transistor,” is an intermediate pattern between the Scrubs and Suburbs, featuring a mix of straight bars and small pins for superior steering on smooth and groomed tracks.

The body is a bit radical, but the PR-ST1 is standard stadium truck fare built to compete with today’s best racing machines.

Based off of the PR-S1 buggy and outfitted with red anodized goodies galore, the PR-ST1 is aimed squarely at the resurgent Stadium Truck class.

Aside from the trick carbon fiber shock towers, check out the Lexan ‘wings’ that bolt to the side nerf bars!

Forget slotting the motor plate – this machined aluminum unit has huge areas cut out!

Aluminum rear camber block and pivot blocks add weight, style, and strength.

Beefy aluminum rear hubs have four camber link locations on top, but oddly anodized black instead of blue.

Reedy’s speed control still isn’t ready for public consumption, and in fact hasn’t been officially named – though we have heard the name “Black Box.”

Associated’s new wrenches fit 5.5mm and 7.0mm nuts, perfect for upper shock mounts and axles!

Team Durango’s DEX410V4 comes with harder diff cases for the gear differentials, new universal center and outboard driveshafts, a new two-way slipper clutch that splits the power independently to the front and rear, new front and rear arms, new 19 deg. caster blocks, new low-stiction o-rings, updated shock pistons, hex ball studs and Dimec X-specification ball cups, new captured hinge pins, body clips, and a new body. Whew!

The DEX210V2 has straight and “aero-neutral” front arms that are shaped to reduce aerodynamic lift, a longer aluminum chassis, new rear body mount for the new cab-forward body and updated side guards to match, front shock tower with less rearward sweep and a narrower rear shock tower, rear arms designed to mount shocks on either the front or rear of the arm/tower, longer diff outdrives, new aluminum low-roll center rear pivot block, new rear gearbox with additional camber link location, new tranny/chassis brace for easier transmission removal, new driveshafts with a greater angle of articulation, hex ball studs and Dimec X-specification ball cups, new aluminum steering rack, and a new wing!

Team Orion’s new VST2 550 series motors carry the same innovative features from the 540-size VST2, like the multiple sensor port options on the all-aluminum endbell and can, but in a larger size that’s perfect for 4×4 short course trucks. Dakotah Phend used the VST2 550 to win the 4×4 SC class at the race!

TLR’s new radically cab-forward body for the 22-4 matches the similar design they released for the 22 2.0 earlier this year.

Viper recently announced that they’ll be bringing the Xpert line of servos into the U.S. and displayed them proudly in their booth at Cactus. Here’s the top-of-the-line model with an all-aluminum case.

Viper’s new V4.40 motor is the brand’s answer to the stress of the 4×4 short course class, with a 4-pole design for increased torque to motivate the heavy power-sapping big rigs!