2009 Jimmy Babcock Racing League

Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 at 12:00am UTC

Again it was time to return to the center of electric off-road racing in Southern California, Hot Rod Hobbies. Jimmy Babcock's own track, and the finally destination for the Jimmy Babcock Racing League, was not only the track to end the season, but the one that started our electric series 7 rounds, seven long months ago.  Several of the overall points championships were still on the line, and another round, with an extended format and a fun layout, would help decide the outcome. Associated team driver Frank Root was on hand to anchor the team of young drivers, including Cody Turner and Reedy Truck Race Champion Brent Calvert.
 
The 2WD Modified Class still had a fierce battle alive for second through fifth in the final points, but no one could catch Frank Root as he had already clinched the title with two rounds remaining. Frank was not able to attend the first three rounds of qualifying held on Saturday, so Brian McDuffie held the TQ through two rounds, only to have Ryan Dunford steal it away in the final run of the day by less than 1 second.

Sunday was a new day, and Root used the last-chance qualifier to put in a good run to secure the overall TQ honors. This proved to be the winning move as Frank took off at the start of the 8-minute main, and pulled out to a lead that lasted until the end. The battle of the race was for the second position, with Brian McDuffie squeaking by Ryan Dunford for the second spot.
 
4WD Modified was much the same as 2WD - Frank had secured the championship - but several positions were still up for grabs. Also, just like 2WD, Brian McDuffie held the TQ through three rounds, with Dunford stealing it away in the final round on Saturday. Frank was not able snatch the TQ, but was able to slide between Dunford and McDuffie into the second spot on the grid. The start of the main was very hectic, with a lot of the running order changing positions. Brian came away with a healthy lead, while Frank was in the back of the pack try to work his way back to the front. Three minutes in, McDuffie still led with Lasley, Dunford, Pang, and Root all locked in a fierce battle for second. Frank moved his way into second and set his sights on McDuffie. Root worked his way past McDuffie and stretch out a comfortable lead. McDuffie wfinished second, with Dunford in third.
 
With all eight rounds completed, it was time to tally up the points and crown the 2009 JBRL Champions. Frank Root led seven Team Associated Championships dominating both the 2WD and 4WD Modified classes. In 2WD, Frank was perfect with his B4 FT scoring the maximum amount of points with five TQs and Win rounds. 4ED was not perfect for Frank, but he still had four TQs to go with five wins with the B44 FT. In the 2009 JBRL Series, Team Associated cars won fourteen or sixteen Modified Buggy (2WD and 4WD) A Main, and only missed out on one TQ.

These were not the only championships using Team Associated vehicles. Customer Kevin Williams, participating in the JBRL for the first time, was able to win the Rookie Championship with his T4 FT. Brent Calvert was able to win both the Stock Truck and Buggy classes with his T4 and B4 despite missing 2 rounds. Cody Turner's B4 FT rocketed to the 2WD Super Stock class by a comfortable margin. This gave the B4 FT a perfect record, winning every 2WD class! Even Frank had another championship in the Open Short Course class with his SC10. Whether the track was loose, bumpy, and loamy, or the smooth, high-bite blue groove, Team Associated vehicles were the choice of champions!


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