2013 U.S. Indoor Championship – Cleveland, OH

CRC Triple T.Q. and win!

Knapp and Firsching on top again.

The 2013 version of the U.S. Indoor Championship marked the 34th Annual running, this event held at the Holiday Inn in Strongsville, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The central location of the event has consistently attracted racers from all the northern hot spots of indoor carpet racing. With strong club racing programs in neighboring states, all forced indoors due to inclement weather, the Ohio location has proven a hub of great indoor carpet road racing. This year, the event had around 220 entries.

CRC Triple T.Q. – Knapp takes 2 T.Q.s, Firscing takes the WGT.

Andrew Knapp (left) and Tom Firsching display their T.Q. and winning awards. Andrew was T.Q. in 17.5 and 13.5 1/12th scale with his CRC Xti. Tom took World GT T.Q. honors with his Gen-X 10SE and Black Art GT86 World GT body, the new standard for World GT bodies. In addition, the duo would finish 1-2 in 1/12th 17.5 class with Knapp winning and Firsching keeping him honest for 8 minutes.

1/12th scale 17.5

In this class, with the conservative 17.5 blinky horsepower, corner speed is a premium. A recipe perfect for the CRC Xti. At the Champs, Andrew Knapp would put his Trinity powered Xti on pole position. In the A-main, CRC Xti pilot Tom Firsching would sneak up from his 3rd qualifying spot to challenge Andrew. For the entire 8 minute run, Tom shadowed Andrew, never dropping more than 10 feet behind. At the end, Andrew held tough mistake free with Tom breathing down his neck. Joining the CRC duo in the A-main were CRC teammates Wayne Gerber, Mark Calandra and John Tortorice. A cool 50% of the A-main with CRC cars and tires. Also, the CRC drivers used the affordable and available CRC 1s Rocket Fuel battery pack.

Flying high with the Xti – Knapp and Firsching 1-2!

CRC tires in the 1-2 spot. Andrew has the Transverse conversion on his Xti. Tom chose the “short-short” car; Altered Ego chassis with the standard Xti rear pod plate, also in the transverse position.

World GT

The World GT class at the Champs had a very strong turnout. These cars are super easy to race weekly. They use spec tires that are durable and basically provide too much traction. Also, large full bodies and a bumper protect the chassis from race damage. Combine that with a blinky 13.5 power package and these cars are fun and affordable to race.

The new CRC Gen-X 10SE has been on a strong run taking top results all season long. Tom Firsching built a Gen-X 10SE and put a couple battery packs on it before heading to the 2013 US Indoor Champs. Tom mounted the now “must have” Black Art GT86 body on the car and took an impressive Top Qualifying position. CRC teammate Wayne Gerber put his SE in the 2nd qualifying position. Again, 50% of the field was CRC cars with teammates Brian Wynn, Lee Harpe and Frank Calandra joining the 1-2 duo in the A-main. Firsching used the CRC #3705 1s Rocket Fuel pack to rocket his way to a T.Q. with CRC World GT tires providing the grip.

2013 World GT Top Qualifier

The CRC Gen-X 10SE #1801 topped with the new Black Art GT86 #4180. Add a little power form the #3705 battery and you have a T.Q. run.

The most affordable and winning chassis in WGT racing, the CRC Gen-X 10SE. CRC #2300 and 2302 World GT tires provided the traction.