Did You Know Competitive RC Car & Truck Racing Was A Thing?

Did you know that there is competitive radio control car races held practically every day throughout the year? It's true! One of
my favorite pastimes, in addition to playing video games, is racing RC cars. I have been doing this since the 1990s, and is something that I don't get to do nearly enough. In addition to racing myself, I also like to run and announce races. I recently had a chance to do that for the opening weekend events at Eli Field in Monticello Illinois, home facility for Horizon Hobby and home to RC fest.

This single day event featured four different classes racers could compete in. These are all considered to be 1/8 scale vehicles, which means they're 1/8 the size of an actual full size race car. There are two vehicle classifications, buggy and truggy, both of which are four-wheel drive vehicles. There's also an electric class, powered by a for sale lithium polymer battery and a brushless motor system, and there is also the nitro class which runs on an alcohol-based fuel.

Nearly 40 different racers showed up to race this event between the 8th scale nitro buggy and electric buggy classes, also called eBuggy, and the eTruggy class. There weren't enough entries for a nitro trucky class, which we have noticed has been on the decline for a number of years.

What's the difference between the truggy class and the buggy class you might be wondering. A buggy is smaller and lighter, features smaller wheels, and is generally faster and more nimble. A truggy features larger wheels and tires, a truck style body, and is generally a bit easier to drive and more forgiving. A buggy will turn faster lap times than a truggy.

My job as the race director, the official term for what I do, is to run the event. I enter the names into the particular classes on our scoring computer, and I announce all of the action on the fly. It's a great amount of fun to be able to be a smartass and throw out quips when I really have no risk in the game. It also is a great time to hang out with friends from my former employer along with other drivers I have met over the years.

Did you know this was such a thing? Have you ever driven a competition level RC car before? Let me know in the comments.

#RCRacing #TLR #TEKNO #FYP #TeamAssociated