2012 Futaba Electric Challenge
Hosted by Leisure Hours Raceway
Will “Cush” Cushing wins 2wd Mod Buggy and Jon Probst takes
Stock SC as Team TrakPower dominates the Futaba Electric
Challenge!
The 2012 Futaba Electric Challenge was a 2-day event based on a very unique format-
two completely separate days of racing, one day indoor and one day outdoor, with combined
points to determine an overall winner. The format tested the skill and setup ability of racers
as they had to adapt to very different track conditions and driving styles between Saturday and
Sunday, but Friday was reserved for racer practice to allow some time for everyone to get dialed
Cush went into the weekend planning to race his Team Durango/Tresrey DEX410 in
4wd Buggy and his DESC410 in the 4wd SC class, but a light turnout in the 4wd Buggy class
meant he would race 2wd Mod Buggy instead. Jon ran in the highly competitive Stock SC class
making for three classes covered between the two of them. Both spent the majority of their
practice time on Friday working on indoor setups and gearing since the outdoor season has been
going for a few months and they had the outdoor setups nailed down and ready to go. Feeling
comfortable with their cars and anxious to get the racing started, the pair headed home early
Friday to get some rest for the big weekend.
Jon’s qualifiers were up first each round and he started the weekend strong by setting TQ
in the first round, and then improved on it in rounds two and three. “My TrakPower batteries
feel really strong, and when it seems everyone else is fading at the end of the race mine are still
cranking out awesome power” said Jon after setting the overall TQ. The main was much the
same for Jon as he ran the same pace he had all day, slowly creeping away from the field and
catching an extra lap at the end as second place crossed the line just after the tone.
Qualifying for Cush was an up and down affair all weekend. In round one of Mod
Buggy he was very fast, but a few mishaps kept him from setting a fast time. In round two he
put a nice run together and grabbed the TQ, only to have it broken in the first of two heats in
the third round. Hell-bent on retaking the TQ in his last qualifier, Cush set out on a blistering
pace that would have retaken the TQ by over 10 seconds, but a small mistake on a high-speed
double resulted in his TD/Tresrey DEX210 cart wheeling off the track and popping a ballstud.
His second round time was good enough for 4th spot on the grid though, and he was determined
to get the lead straight from the tone. He battled into 2nd spot quickly and set his sights on the
leader, applying pressure and running consistent lines as he looked for an opening or a mistake
from the leader. At about the halfway point the leader got it wrong on the triple, allowing Cush
to cruise by and wheel his way to a victory. “My buggy has been great all day, and I finally put
together a good run here in the main. The extended chassis from Tresrey gives me the stability
I need to really push the car, and thanks to TrakPower I can hit the triple lap after lap without
worrying about coming up short.”
In 4wd SC the competition was really tough, but Cush felt confident with the truck thanks
to some new parts from the newly released DESC410V2. The new geometry coupled with
longer front shocks helped the truck corner and jump better and faster, but through qualifying
Cush again struggled with consistency. After three rounds of showing great speed, but failing
to have a really clean run, Cush sat 4th on the grid. Knowing that both he and the truck could do
better, Cush started the main and caught a nice break when the TQ made a mistake and he went
from 4th to 1st in one corner. The race appeared to be well in hand as Cush ran super consistent
laps and held a steady lead over 2nd place. Meanwhile, TQ Randy Cathcart was on a mission
working his way through the field, and with just a few laps left he had caught and passed for 2nd
place, setting his sights on Cush. They raced around the track so closely that a small blanket
could have covered both of them, until Cush went into a tight 180 off the back straight just a
little too fast, pushing out just far enough for Randy to sneak by on the inside. With only a lap
to try and get the lead back, Cush pushed the truck as hard as he could, but crossed the line just a
second back in 2nd place.
Sunday’s race action looked to be much the same as Saturday, even though the track and
race conditions were very different. Jon took the overall TQ in Stock SC again, winning two of
the three rounds in the process. The main however was an all out battle between him and local
Stock SC ace Mike Frazier. They swapped positions for the entire race, navigating lap traffic on
the very fast indoor track and racing each other very clean. Coming into what he thought was
the final tone, Jon kept it pinned into the triple trying to make up enough time to get the lead
back- a jump that Stock SC had to double-single- and flipped over, only to realize they had beat
the tone and he had another lap to race. Needless to say, the time was up and he would settle
for a hard-fought 2nd place at the line. “That was the most fun race I’ve ever had”, said Jon “We
battled each other hard and clean the whole way, and my truck was just awesome from start to
finish.” The 2nd place finish, coupled with two TQ’s and a win on Saturday gave him the overall
win for the weekend!
Cush went out to qualify and set TQ in the first round, only to have it beat in round two
by two other racers. Going into round three he knew he needed a strong run to be in contention
for TQ, and he put down a great run but ultimately fell two seconds short and wound up 2nd on
the grid. At the start of the race he found himself chasing the same car he had followed around
in the outdoor main, but this time there was more pressure from behind. After a few laps of hard
pressure from 3rd place, he was able to put some distance between himself and 3rd so he could
focus on running down the leader. Again, consistent pressure and fast laps from Cush forced a
mistake from the leader, and Cush was able to cruise to victory for the second time in two days,
taking the overall win for the weekend.
The indoor leg of the 4wd SC class was intense to say the least. The trucks are fast,
really fast, and make the large indoor track at Leisure Hours seem much smaller than it is. After
two rounds of qualifying he sat in 2nd place, and in the 3rd round he appeared to be on a TQ pace
when his truck shut off after the big triple. A marshall was able to turn the truck off and on, and
he was on his way but the damage was done and the possible TQ was gone. So for the main he
started 2nd, and drove a great race from start to finish. He put down consistent laps and was able
to make time on everyone but his nemesis from the day before, Randy Cathcart. At the tone he
crossed in 2nd place, and with that he earned 2nd overall for the weekend. “I wanted this one bad
today, but Randy has been on fire this weekend. My truck was great for me through the whole
event and I’m really happy to represent my sponsors on the podium this weekend.”
Jon and Cush would like to thank everyone who help to keep their race program the best
it can be: Team Durango, Tresrey USA, TrakPower Speed Equipment, B-Fast RC Performance,
and Leisure Hours Hobbies and Raceway. Our next big event is the Spektrum Off-Road
Championships at Trackside Hobbies, held the first weekend in November. Until then we’ll be
working to get faster every time we hit the track!
