ROAR Off-Road Nats: Tebo, Maifield, Tessman and Phend Score Titles for Kyosho, Associated, Hot Bodies, and TLR

After all of the practice and qualifying rounds it looked as though the order for all four Modified classes were set in place – the Stadium Truck, Short Course, and 4WD classes each had one driver set the fastest time in three of the four rounds, and the defending champion in the 2WD division locked up overall TQ honors with a clutch round win in the final race on Saturday. With such heavy favorites leading the way, what could possibly go wrong?

Modified Stadium Truck

A1
All eyes were on Dakotah Phend after his domination of qualifying, but a crash on lap two handed Jared Tebo a lead that he never relinquished. Phend dropped to third behind defending champion Ryan Cavalieri, and then gave up another position to teammate Billy Fischer after another wreck a few laps later. Phend followed Fischer for five laps before making a clean pass and set off after Cavalieri, but Ryan dropped out of the race with two laps to go to promote Phend and Fischer to second and third.

1. Jared Tebo
2. Dakotah Phend
3. Billy Fischer
4. Mike Truhe
5. Cody Hollis
6. Tyler Vik
7. Nolan Anderson
8. Steven Hartson
9. JR Mitch
10. Ryan Cavalieri

A2
The second leg closely mimicked the first, this time with Phend holding on to the top spot for four laps before crashing out of the way of Tebo and Cavalieri. Jared sped off to his fourth ROAR National Championship and, after swapping positions twice with a few laps to go, Cavalieri held off the hard-charging TQ by just three-tenths of a second. Fischer again finished fourth, this time ahead of Cody Hollis.

1. Jared Tebo
2. Ryan Cavalieri
3. Dakotah Phend
4. Billy Fischer
5. Cody Hollis
6. Nolan Anderson
7. Mike Truhe
8. Tyler Vik
9. JR Mitch
10. Steven Hartson

A3
With Tebo wrapping up the title early and sitting out the final race, Dakotah Phend finally did what everyone guessed that he would do: take command of the race and wrap up the win. Cavalieri got by for two laps in the middle of the race after a few small bobbles from Phend, but broke the left front suspension and dropped back through the field before retiring with a minute to go. The move promoted Steven Hartson and Truhe, who had both passed Fischer, to the remaining podium spots.

1. Dakotah Phend
2. Steven Hartson
3. Mike Truhe
4. Billy Fischer
5. Cody Hollis
6. Tyler Vik
7. Nolan Anderson
8. JR Mitch
9. Ryan Cavalieri
10. Jared Tebo

Final finishing order – Modified Stadium Truck

1. Jared Tebo (Kyosho/Orion/AKA/KO Propo)
2. Dakotah Phend (TLR/Orion/Pro-Line/Spektrum)
3. Billy Fischer (TLR/Viper/Pro-Line/Spektrum)
4. Mike Truhe (TLR/Novak/Pro-Line/Spektrum)
5. Cody Hollis (TLR/Orion/JConcepts/Spektrum)
6. Steven Hartson (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Airtronics)
7. Ryan Cavalieri (Associated/Orion/AKA/Airtronics)
8. Tyler Vik (Associated/Speed Passion/AKA/Airtronics)
9. Nolan Anderson (Associated/Reedy/Pro-Line/Airtronics)
10. JR Mitch (TLR/Trinity/Tekin/JConcepts/Spektrum)

Modified 2WD Short Course Truck

A1
The crowd was looking for another upset after watching the crazy beginning to the Stadium Truck class, but Ryan Maifield disappointed everyone – he led from the front of the grid and never looked back, looking a completely mistake-free race to take the win. Dustin Evans kept him honest, however, staying within a bobble’s distance and finishing about seven seconds back after giving up the spot for one lap to Maifield’s teammate Kody Numedahl. Numedahl got caught at the line as the clock expired and couldn’t challenge for the position on the final lap.

1. Ryan Maifield
2. Dustin Evans
3. Kody Numedahl
4. Cody Turner
5. JR Mitch
6. Ryan Lutz
7. Chad Due
8. Tanner Denney
9. Justin Gilkison
10. JP Richards

A2
Maifield took off at the starting tone for the second leg and never looked back – his margin of victory was only four seconds this time, but he was never challenged for the win and comfortably claimed his third national title in the class. Numedahl capitalized on Evans’ crash on the third lap to take the second spot and left the Evans in the clutches of Ryan Lutz; Lutz got around Evans at the halfway mark but gave up the position a lap later and the final finishing order was set.

1. Ryan Maifield
2. Kody Numedahl
3. Dustin Evans
4. Ryan Lutz
5. Tanner Denney
6. Chad Due
7. JP Richards
8. JR Mitch
9. Cody Turner
10. Justin Gilkison

A3
With Maifield out of the way, Dustin Evans started up front and took the wire-to-wire victory despite a small wreck in the middle of the race. The action was behind him: Lutz capitalized on a mistake from Numedahl on the third lap and held the position until his own wreck with two minutes to go. Lutz set off in hot pursuit, and Numedahl crashed again on the final lap to give up second.

1. Dustin Evans
2. Ryan Lutz
3. Kody Numedahl
4. JR Mitch
5. Tanner Denney
6. Justin Gilkison
7. JP Richards
8. Chad Due
9. Cody Turner
10. Ryan Maifield

Final finishing order – Modified 2WD Short Course Truck

1. Ryan Maifield (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Airtronics)
2. Dustin Evans (TLR/Orion/JConcepts/Spektrum)
3. Kody Numedahl (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Airtronics)
4. Ryan Lutz (Durango/Tekin/AKA/Futaba)
5. JR Mitch (TLR/Trinity/Tekin/JConcepts/Spektrum)
6. Tanner Denney (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Airtronics)
7. Cody Turner (Kyosho/Orion/Pro-Line/KO Propo)
8. Chad Due (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Futaba)
9. JP Richards (TLR/Speed Passion/AKA/Airtronics)
10. Justin Gilkison (X-Factory/Viper/Panther)

Modified 4WD Buggy
A1
Ty Tessmann was the story of the weekend after dominating 4WD qualifying with his Hot Bodies D413 prototype, and he carried that momentum into the first leg of A-Mains with a commanding wire-to-wire victory; his 2.4 second gap on defending champion Ryan Cavalieri was a function of twenty consecutive 19-second laps! Second qualifier Dakotah Phend had a disastrous third lap and dropped back to ninth, and spent the race working his way back into the top five before suffering a DNF with about 90 seconds to go. Third qualifier Ryan Maifield’s race was even worse, retiring with mechanical issues after less than a minute, leaving the door open for Cavalieri and former 4WD World Champion Jared Tebo to claim the final podium spots.

1. Ty Tessmann
2. Ryan Cavalieri
3. Jared Tebo
4. Ryan Lutz
5. Dustin Evans
6. Carson Wernimont
7. Barry Baker
8. Tyler Vik
9. Dakotah Phend
10. Ryan Maifield

A2
Just as Maifield did in Short Course, Tessmann blasted off at the starting tone of the second leg and won the title in impressively uncontested fashion, with only one mid-race crash and an easy 2.5 second gap at the line. In a mirroring performance from the first leg, Phend crashed early (on the first lap!) and dropped back to eighth, before fighting back to the top five by race end. Meanwhile, Ryan Lutz had a spectacular race, moving up from seventh on the grid all the way to third after Maifield retired with mechanical issues near the halfway mark, and then got around Ryan Cavalieri for the second spot with just two laps to go.

1. Ty Tessmann
2. Ryan Lutz
3. Ryan Cavalieri
4. Jared Tebo
5. Dakotah Phend
6. Carson Wernimont
7. Dustin Evans
8. Tyler Vik
9. Barry Baker
10. Ryan Maifield

A3
Tessmann sat out the third main and Maifield missed the start due to electrical issues, leaving the door wide open for Cavalieri to pass Phend for the lead on lap three and take off for the win. The top three were very close for the entire race until Phend crashed and let Lutz by with less than a minute to go; Cavalieri and Lutz made it by for one more lap and finished just 1.1 seconds apart at the line.

1. Ryan Cavalieri
2. Ryan Lutz
3. Dakotah Phend
4. Jared Tebo
5. Carson Wernimont
6. Dustin Evans
7. Tyler Vik
8. Barry Baker
9. Ty Tessmann
10. Ryan Maifield

Final finishing order – Modified 4WD Buggy

1. Ty Tessmann (Hot Bodies/Orion/Thunder Power/Pro-Line/Airtronics)
2. Ryan Cavalieri (Associated/Orion/AKA/Airtronics)
3. Ryan Lutz (Durango/Tekin/AKA/Futaba)
4. Jared Tebo (Kyosho/Orion/AKA/KO Propo)
5. Dakotah Phend (TLR/Orion/Pro-Line/Spektrum)
6. Carson Wernimont (XRAY/Reedy/AKA/Futaba)
7. Dustin Evans (TLR/Orion/Pro-Line/Spektrum)
8. Tyler Vik (Kyosho/Speed Passion/ProTek RC/AKA/Airtronics)
9. Barry Baker (Associated–Avid/Reedy/ProTek RC/AKA/Airtronics)
10. Ryan Maifield (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Airtronics)

Modified 2WD Buggy
A1
Armed with the Centro mid-motor conversion for the B4.2, defending champion Ryan Cavalieri and his Team Associated teammate Ryan Maifield took off from the first two spots on the grid and ran in formation for the first half of the race. Cavalieri made a mistake at the three minute mark that let Maifield by, and the two got together five laps later over the front tabletop that allowed Dakotah Phend to close the gap. The following lap both Cavalieri and Maifield crashed over the back triple, and Phend snuck by on the inside to take the lead and A1 victory. Cavalieri recovered for second, but Maifield dropped to fifth behind Dustin Evans and Ryan Lutz.

1. Dakotah Phend
2. Ryan Cavalieri
3. Dustin Evans
4. Ryan Lutz
5. Ryan Maifield
6. Kody Numedahl
7. Steven Hartson
8. Ty Tessmann
9. Jared Tebo
10. Billy Fischer

A2
Déjà vu struck early for Cavalieri and Maifield in the second leg, as both crashed over the back triple on the first lap and let Phend pass for a lead that he’d never give up, clinching his first 2WD Modified National Championship with a three-second cushion at the end of the race. Cavalieri got the worst of the early crash, dropping back to ninth while Maifield only fell to fifth. Both drivers worked their way through traffic to get back to the top three, with Maifield beating Cavalieri to the line by a second.

1. Dakotah Phend
2. Ryan Maifield
3. Ryan Cavalieri
4. Dustin Evans
5. Ty Tessmann
6. Ryan Lutz
7. Steven Hartson
8. Jared Tebo
9. Billy Fischer
10. Kody Numedahl

A3
With Phend sitting out the final A-Main the stage was set for a grudge match between teammates Cavalieri and Maifield to decide the overall runner-up. They swapped positions on the first lap, then Maifield bobbled on lap two to let Cavalieri and Evans by before dropping out of the race on lap five. Kody Numedahl had a fantastic start from the back of the grid, moved into third when Maifield retired, and even passed Evans for second at the halfway mark, but dropped back to fifth behind Jared Tebo and Ty Tessmann with two late-race mistakes. Up front, Cavalieri stretched out his lead ahead of Evans and was the only one to make it by for the 19th lap to take the win.

1. Ryan Cavalieri
2. Dustin Evans
3. Jared Tebo
4. Ty Tessmann
5. Kody Numedahl
6. Billy Fischer
7. Ryan Lutz
8. Steven Hartson
9. Ryan Maifield
10. Dakotah Phend

Final finishing order – Modified 2WD Buggy

1. Dakotah Phend (TLR/Orion/Pro-Line/Spektrum)
2. Ryan Cavalieri (Associated/Orion/AKA/Airtronics)
3. Dustin Evans (TLR/Orion/Pro-Line/Spektrum)
4. Ryan Maifield (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Airtronics)
5. Ty Tessmann (Kyosho/Orion/Thunder Power/Pro-Line/Airtronics)
6. Ryan Lutz (Durango/Tekin/AKA/Futaba)
7. Kody Numedahl (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Airtronics)
8. Jared Tebo (Kyosho/Orion/AKA/KO Propo)
9. Steven Hartson (Associated/Reedy/JConcepts/Airtronics)
10. Billy Fischer (TLR/Viper/Pro-Line/Spektrum)

After a quick trophy presentation to recognize the top three finishers in each class, including the 2WD, Stadium Truck, and Short Course 17.5 divisions that also competed this weekend, the Electric Off-Road world departed Silver Dollar R/C Speedway with a “see you later” rather than a “good bye;” the fastest Modified racers will return in just a few weeks’ time for the only race in RC more prestigious than what went down this weekend – the IFMAR World Championships.

Click here to watch replays of the A-Mains and interviews with the winners!

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