Calandra Racing Concepts wins the 2009 ROAR Nats!

Gen-X 1:12th car and CRC tires win back to back Championships!

At the Holiday Inn hotel in Strongsville, Ohio, 284 entries battled for the National Championship at the 2009 ROAR Carpet Nationals. The class with the most competition and entries was the hotly contested 1:12th scale stock class. New car kits from a plethora of manufacturers were entered in what has become the most popular class for carpet racing. Even with the new chassis in the field, after four rounds of qualifying it was the same ole story, Calandra Racing Concepts drivers swept the front row with CRC cars and tires qualified 1-2-3! Tom Firsching (right) took the T.Q. position with his CRC teammates Max Kuenning (center) and Dave Johnson (left) qualifying 2nd and 3rd. All three drivers used CRC’s Gen-X 12 car (3200),  Pro Cut tires and the new Black Art R8C body (4167) available from CRC.

In the Triple A-main format, each driver had a great chance to win the event overall. Johnson won the first A-main (A1) from 3rd on the grid with Tom 2nd and Max 3rd. In A2, Max took the win with Tom 3rd.

The final race… A3…. a titanic battle between Tom and Max ensued with the lead swapping 2 or 3 times. While leading, neither driver could shake his rival as the 2 broke away from the pack. In the end, Max was able to wrestle the win with Tom hot on his tail. A total of 5 CRC Gen-X cars were in the A-main with Chuck Lonergan and Tyler Gerber joining the front row trio.

In 1/12th Modified, these brushless powered road rockets need all the help they can get to stay connected to the track. Aerodynamics play a big role in the handling of a 1:12th car. Over the past few races, a new body has been winning many of the large events. Starting with the World Championships, through Cleveland and the Snowbirds, the Black Art R8C body (4167) has become the new standard for performance. At this years ROAR Nationals, the body finished 1st and 2nd in both 1:12th stock and modified.

Josh Cyrul used the body to T.Q the event in 12th Mod. During qualifying, Mike Blackstock noticed Cyrul’s good handling car and switched to the R8C for round 3 to qualify 2nd on the grid. In the Triple A-mains, both Josh and and Mike Blackstock used the Black Art R8C. The 2 drivers finished inches apart with Blackstock taking the title.

How good is the body? Released mid 2008…. The Black Art body has now won the IFMAR World Championships (Matsukura in Bangkok), the Euro Championships (Honigl in Italy) and the ROAR Nationals (Blackstock). Add the Snowbirds, Cleveland and the ROAR Nats in stock, and the Black Art R8C from CRC has proven itself the winning choice for 1:12th scale lexan.

Summary:

A great race for Team CRC, winning 1:12th stock with 5 cars in the A-main. In Super Stock, again 5 cars in the A-main and a strong 2nd from Michigan Mafia leader, Terry Rott. In World GT, , Frank Calandra and Tom Firsching put their CRC Generation-X 10 cars (1710) in the A-main.

The ROAR Nats caps off a great indoor season for Calandra Racing, dominating the IIC in Vegas (winning 12th Mod and World GT) and commanding the US Indoor Champs in Cleveland (winning 12th Masters, Super Stock and World GT). Look for more next season!