Silver State 2026

All wrapped up from Silver State 2026 in its new beginning of the year time slot. Due to the late notice the turnout was lower at 578 entries which for a racer was actually nice as we got 6 minute qualifiers and a shorter day. I wasn’t able to attend last year so this was my first time running RawSpeed tires at Silver state and I was impressed. The SSLW Super Mini had me on pace all week and allowed me to be competitive in all my classes.

Qualifying was solid with nitro truggy and Ebuggy on Thursday. In Ebuggy I had a pair of two’s and in nitro truggy a 2 and a 3 to qualify me 3rd overall in both classes. Everything was working well. One thing to note this year was the track being extra manicured each night after racing and packed more than usual. In the end this kept the track smoother than most years in the past though it still did get a bit rough in spots by the end of each day.

On Friday qualifiers for etruggy and nitro buggy started off with a bang as I was able to TQ Q1 in both classes. In truck I backed it up with a 2 and I wasn’t able to back up the NB run unfortunately but still overall qualified 5th into the A while taking the overall TQ in Etruggy! My Kyosho rides on RawSpeed SSLW Super Minis showing pace. My Kyosho teammate Phi also was doing great and he took overall TQ in Ebuggy and Nitro buggy!

Saturday brought with it the mains for nitro truck and Ebuggy. First was Ebuggy and it was a standard single 10min main. With bobbles by the leaders I was able to take the lead on the first lap and fend off attacks throughout and have a second and a half lead with two laps to go. But thru the double double I hit the rut and my car kicked right which allowed Fuller to put the inside pass. We went down the front stretch for the final lap and I went into the high front corner having to take a slightly different line running side by side with Maifield and my car kicked over the step down and tumble and fumbled and I fell to 5th. Utter disappointment for me but Phi put himself in position thru some other last lap craziness to take the victory for Kyosho. Well done Phi!

Next was the 45min Nitro Truggy final and I had a great start from P3 and again got into the lead but quickly made a mistake and fell to 4th which is pretty much where I would remain most of the race. A retirement ahead of me promoted me to 3rd and then over the last 5 minutes or so I held off a hard charging Rivkin to hold onto a 3rd place podium position.

Sunday brought the end of the event and we had two more mains to finish up with. First up was Etruggy and I got to start on pole. It was short lived with a mistake and I fell to 3rd. But about 7 min in the leader bobbled and then second followed suite and I threaded the needle between them and took over the lead. I had a good 1.5 second cushion with two laps to go but didn't have the cleanest second to last lap and we were being told we may not make another lap. So I came across the front corner knowing Maifield was going to come at me hot, but I just didn't have the line I wanted to was cautious and he set me up and launced it over the hump and landed right in front of my truck and my front tire hit his back tire and sent me tumbling. But it was final lap and thought to be final corner though we ended up getting one more lap and I had to settle for a dissapointing 3rd. But I had no one to blame but myself for allowing him back into the picture when I felt I had a lead I could hold onto. Very bummed especially after letting the Ebuggy main slip away too. Grateful to be able to lead some mains. But dejected to let them slip away.

Finally we had the nitro buggy main and I was excited to see how we could do with out MP11's. My car felt decent but unfortunately I missed my tune and I tried to get it good in the warmup laps and the first couple laps felt ok, but it went rich on me and I didn't have the power on the straights. Every once in a while it would clear out but the majority it was rich and it made timing things tought especially when it is so critical to have perfect car placement on a rougher track like this. So, while I had another good start and got into 3rd, I tumbled again on the front stair dropdown and fell into the clutches of the mid pack and got chewed up a bit. Knocked back to 13th and I just struggled to mount much of a charge with being a bit rich on the engine. I tried what I could and would end up finishing 9th but I left a lot on the table. Another bummer was Phi, who had the lead but also had an engine issue which knocked him out. Felt a lot like Wicked weekend all over again for us, but we shall regroup. In the end we had 3 Kyosho's in the main though taking 7-8-9 positions and I know the results are going to come as we have such a great car to work with!

So that's a wrap from Silver State. A TQ and 3, 3, 5, 9 positions isn't too shabby and a decent start to the 2026 campaign.

Set-up Notes:

Nitro Buggy MP11: SSLW Super Mini Tires (Half moon out of the foam rib and a 4mm hole in the center of the ribs, to aid in bump handling)

MP10eTKI2 Ebuggy - SSLW Super Mini Tires. Also Ran some MP11 rear end Parts:

IF617B Upper Arm Set

IF726 Rear Arm Set

IF734 Rear Hub Carrier Set

Nitro Truggy:

RawSpeed SSLW Super Mini Tires. Also Ran the added 70g of weight to make legal weight at this race of 3900g.

MP10Te Etruggy: RawSpeed SSLW Super Mini tires