JConcepts at the Alabama Manufacturers Shootout

By Matt On July 10, 2013 · Add Comment

Ryan Maifield continues his success at AMS 4.0 with another victory taking his career total to six wins with JConcepts…

The AMS event in Cullman, Alabama continues to be one of the more well known races on the calendar during the summer racing season. The 4.0 event went off extremely well with the direction and management of Jimmy Babcock and Nick Black. A hefty 521 entries packed the facility for the weekend with the 1:8 classes once again showing the largest interest at this event. The now famous dirt, building and track layouts make for great racing and hold up extremely well to the punishment of the racers all weekend. Once again, the JConcepts crew was on hand to support the product, customers and race team as well as a contributing sponsor to the “Greatest show on Dirt.”
Qualifying started with Team Associated/JConcepts driver Ryan Maifield picking up where he left off from previous years and TQ’d the opening qualifier in the 1:8 truggy class by a narrow margin over Jared Tebo. The trusty Hybrid tyre in green compound for Maifield was once again on point in the class.
The 1:8 buggy opening qualifier was a battle once again with Tebo getting the first round by 0.7 seconds over Maifield. It was obvious after round one who the two fastest drivers were at the event. JConcepts drivers were on fire during round two of qualifying in all classes. John Bernard TQ’d the open 1:8 E-buggy class, Max Flurer TQ’d in the 1:8 E-truggy class, Ryan Maifield TQ’d the 1:8 nitro truggy class and Jacob Mueller TQ’d in the 1:10 SCT class. Great drives by Barry Pettit, Tyler Jones, Chris Viesins, Daimon Borkowicz, Michael Paige, John McGinty Jr among others placed themselves in the hunt for A final showings.
Round three didn’t see many dramatic turns in results, but allowed some drivers with only one good run to improve in points or alter their A final grid positions. The track remained in great shape, smooth and the traction was increasing which meant slightly more tyre wear. Qualifying finished up at just round 11:30pm, which was surprisingly quick considering the total heat and entry count.
Saturday morning began with the bump-up finals and as the afternoon sun came in, the A finalists began cleaning and preparing their vehicles for the longer events later in the day. Tyre choice and complete prep was crucial because no A final warm-ups were given so drivers needed to have their prep in order at the sound of the tone.
The first Pro final to hit the track was the 1:8 truggy. TQ, Ryan Maifield started out front and pulled a great lead and kept Lutz, Drake and Tebo in his rear mirror for the first seven minutes of the race. After the first pit stop, the crowd pressured Maifield for several minutes putting a lot of speed behind the ace Arizona driver. Maifield fired back with an unbelievable next ten-minutes just pulling away from the field. The truggy master was at his best during this stint and the entire package was working giving him an advantage. During the second and thi3rd pit stops, John Piant and Paul Wynn worked the pits for Maifield to perfection with consistency allowing the driver even more confidence. In the middle of the pack Jared Tebo made a great comeback and moved into third then second place and kept Maifield in his sights. As usual, Maifield kept the hammer down on the JConcepts-equipped RC8T-CE, punishing the track, lapping all the way through third place. The pit crew was on point and Maifield increased his gap as he passed the 40-minute point. Maifield pushed another quick three minutes and then relaxed the last two minutes on his way to his third consecutive 1:8 truggy AMS title. JConcepts Hybrids in green compound were the winning tyres along with Finnisher rear wing and Punisher body.
The electric finals were coming down to the wire and with the double A final format the results could go to as many as four drivers heading into the finals. In the E-truggy class the TQ, Max Flurer took the early lead in A2 and bolted out to a great lead. Daimon Borkowicz, Paul Cicarello and Martin Harrison were locked into battle. While Max was out front and gone, Martin maintained a great position in second. Daimon fought through to challenge Martin and both drivers looked very clean and extremely hooked up. Daimon made a final move getting by Martin to solidly move into second place. Out front, Max was in full kill mode and rode off to take the overall championship. Daimon Borkowicz finished second and Martin Harrison third. All three ran JConcepts green compound Hybrids, Elevated wheels, Finnisher wing all topped off with a Punisher body.
The 2WD modified SCT class was paced in qualifying by Jacob Mueller and after a second place finish in A1 he was looking to take the overall with another great finish in A2. Jacob received the start he was looking for and had a comfortable lead. Peyton McDonald zipped into the lead group with some quick driving making his way back into contention. Hunter Cupp, the A1 winner, got a bad start and also worked back into position. In the end it was Jacob Mueller taking the win and the overall championship, Hunter Cupp finished second and Florida driver Peyton McDonald finished third. All three drivers relied on JConcepts all weekend long, utilising a combination of 3Ds and Double Dees tyres mounted on JConcepts wheels.
John Bernard easily took A1 in the open 1:8 E-buggy class but as the drivers lined for A2 it wasn’t getting any easier. John shot out into the lead with the JConcepts-equipped Mugen/Tekno E-buggy and didn’t make any early mistakes in the race. John’s consistency and speed was too much to handle for the class and easily took A2 to wrap up the overall victory. John’s Mugen/Tekno ride was equipped with JConcepts all weekend including the finals where he wrapped up the victory with Hybrids tyres in green compound mounted on Mono wheels with a Punisher body topping off the vehicle.
Capping off the weekend, an incredible shout out has to be given to the AMS crew and the hard working racers that put on the famous event. One of the best track layouts and surfaces to date should force racers to make plans early for the annual event as 5.0 is sure to be the largest yet. Thanks to Jimmy Babcock and Nick Black on the speedy and consistent program. Congratulations to Ryan Maifield on becoming a six-time winner to the AMS event with three titles in each Pro buggy and truck classes.