With just one round remaining in the 2022 JConcepts Points Series, we’ll look at each class and go over who the favorites are and who could still play spoiler and move into the top 3 for the season. What strategies will be used by those looking to hold on and those looking to move up? Will freestyle be more conservative, or go for broke?
This season has been hands down the most competitive to date in the Bee Line Trucking 2.6 Monster Truck Class as we head to Rescue with just 9 points separating first through third in the standings. With such a small margin for error, every point becomes critical. After finishing in third place in 2021, Sam Elliott’s consistency in racing and high-scoring freestyle runs has him going into the final round with 289 points for the “Saigon Shaker” LMT. David Heimbigner missed the podium last season and comes in with the most momentum from Round 5 in Auburn where he moved up from third to within a point of the lead after taking the racing and overall event win with his “Son Uva Digger: Ice” Black Market RC chassis.
Last year’s runner-up Zac Soares is only 9 points out and looking to put “Excaliber” on top after losing the lead in Auburn. Heimbigner’s “Flyin’ Hawaiian” is currently 4th in points just 13 points behind third place and could potentially move up into the podium as well. Soares is a long shot that is technically not out, but would take a lot of luck to move into the top 3 with “Prospector” currently 41 points out of 3rd.
Not only are trophies and bragging rights up for grabs, the Bee Line Trucking Podium Pot has a total of $900 on the line as well. 2022 will also continue the interesting trend of the prior year’s 2.6 Class winner missing the podium altogether the following season as has been the case each year since 2019.
While he won’t be making the podium in the 2.6 Class, Jeremy Bunting is looking to become the first back-to-back champion in the Nor Cal Performance Diesel 2.2 Mini Monster Class. His “Crash Test Dummy” Black Market RC truck started right where it left off last season and has not relinquished the top spot all year and heads into the final round with a commanding 55-point lead. While first place might be all but wrapped up, the battle for the second and third spot are still very much up for grabs.
Elliott’s two entries currently occupy second and third with 183 points for his custom “Hell Raiser” and 181 for the BMRC “Get ‘Er Done” entry. After a disappointing Round 5 in Auburn, Heimbigner is still very much alive with the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” trailing third place by just 6 followed by Soares’ pair of trucks just 11 and 14 points out.
In its first season as a part of the Points Series, the Black Market RC Retro Class has lived up to expectations in being one of the most volatile and unpredictable classes with all of the trucks running the same motors and minimum weight. With only qualifying and racing points available, one bobble can be a disaster. Bunting comes into the final round with the “Shotgun” JConcepts Regulator having won two rounds while being runner up in Rounds 1 and 5. He currently leads Round 5 racing winner Soares and his “Excaliber” Regulator by 11 points.
Consistency has paid off for Heimbigner who has made it to the finals in three rounds, but has not been able to take the win with his “Bigfoot II” BMRC Shaft Squatch chassis. Could Round 6 be the race he finally gets over the hump and plays spoiler? Or could one of the racers in the log jam for 4th-6th move up?
Jacob Smallwood did not compete in Round 1, but his “Hawaiian Punch” Regulator chassis has been one of the fastest trucks on the circuit since joining in Round 2 and is currently in 4th place with 51 points. Right behind him with 50 are Wes Harriger, who won Round 1 in Rescue with the “Coors Extra Gold” Clodbuster, and Elliott who seems to have finally gotten the bugs all worked out of the shafty “Beast”.
The 2.6 and 2.2 classes will likely come down to freestyle. 2021’s Freestyle 2.6 Class Champion Elliott has accumulated 123 points for “Saigon Shaker” through 5 rounds of freestyle averaging over 24 points an event. With no regard for 3D printed roll bars, Soares is in second with 112. Be on the lookout for these two to burn it down one last time with the championship on the line. Meanwhile in the 2.2 Class, Bunting leads all scores with 116 with Elliott right behind with 107. With a full off-season to come, expect to see a lot of trucks in pieces by the end of this one! It all goes down on Saturday, October 15th at Rescue Community Center RC Track, you don’t want to miss it!