I will start off with a quote from Jeff Bowland, whom I do not know. Basically he wrote everything you really need to know, but I will give you my version too:
“JQ didn’t do anything intentional, it was a borrowed truck and the tank swelled. Degani used ice water to shrink the tank back down….. Go look in half of the coolers in the pits, Drakes included (who got the bump because of the DQ) and you are sure to find a a bottle of fuel in more than one. JQ has a target on his back because he goes against the grain and does/says things his way. We should encourage that, not target it.”
-Jeff Bowland
After rather amazingly making the main in Truck, beating many established truck racers, my tank was then found to be 1cc too big. Eventually I was DQ:ed. Let’s begin by establishing a few facts:
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There was no intentional cheating regarding tank size, I borrowed a truck, raced it at DNC, returned it, borrowed it again, and raced it at SS. I took the body off once at SS, to change my clutch before the main, I never checked the tank.
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There was ”no advantage”, 1cc is about 3-4 seconds of runtime. Oh huge, specially since I stopped at 7:30 and my runtime was more than enough. It’s not like I cared enough to ever check it.
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I really didn’t care, I enjoyed the B main, because I was actually competitive, and because I beat good drivers that actually care about truck. I didn’t even want to do the truck main after I made the main in Buggy, I just wanted to prepare and focus on that. So if you are one of those people that are so happy because I got screwed, this is not a great opportunity to do that.
For the entire debacle of #tankgate, I was actually sitting in the pits, gluing tyres, and preparing my buggy for my B main, as it was coming up. Degani went to tech to see what was going on. 1st attempt, failed 1cc over, 2nd attempt after a cool down period, failed. Then, for whatever reason a 3rd attempt was offered. Before the 3rd attempt Degani got the fuel bottle to the pits and filled it with ice cold water from the cooler. The cold water would cool down the hot tank making it smaller. Now thinking back, had he in his rush realised to mix in 10% blue sidewinder, no one would have been the wiser, but he didn’t, it was probably 98% water. 2% fuel. The tank is checked for a 3rd time, and low and behold, it passes! Terminator Tech guy called it, it’s a pass. Degani picks up the truck and walks back to the pits, it’s all good. The beaker is still on the table, and Maifield and Tim Long are feeling it, looking at it, tasting it, and figure out its ice water, and they say it’s not legal. So I get called back to tech. The tech guy picks up the truck again to be tested. It never get’s tested and I get DQ:ed. Had Degani emptied the beaker, again I would have been fine.
So what’s wrong with this situation? Everything.
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In America there are ”no rules”. Where is the rule book for Silver State again? What Roar rules are enforced, what rules aren’t? No one knows, it’s just do whatever, and you may or may not be illegal or legal, jump the start, cut the track, run a different car, take someone out, get extra practice tickets, whatever you want. Rules, procedures and penalties are all made up as they occur.
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At least there is this rule, 150cc for a truck tank, that’s simple, but then you have to have a procedure you follow to then determine that a tank is definitely legal or illegal.
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Have the right beaker, so you can tell a 0.5cc difference easily, it needs to have a thin spout.
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Have a horisontal surface.
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Actually follow a procedure, how many times to try it, how long and how to let the tank cool down, and don’t let people interfere. Don’t let Degani put ice water in the fuel bottle, don’t let someone drop something in the tank, and don’t let the people who would benefit from a disqualification mess with the results either.
- If you did that you wouldn’t pass a car, and then 5 minutes later DQ it anyway because someone complained.
Why was I OK with Degani doing what he did, if I’m so honest and I don’t cheat? Because tech in America is a complete joke. Jason Ashton won the ROAR Nationals, the biggest race in America with a fueltank that was 3-5cc’s over the limit. Why wasn’t he disqualified? Because he was fast and deserved the win, he was a nice guy, he was a local guy, I don’t know, because it was a cool story or because he pitted at 5 minutes? I was OK with what Degani did because there are no written rules at these races and the rules they make up as they go along aren’t enforced fairly or equally. Show me the Silver State rule that states that you have to tech fuel, we are checking for capacity, the liquid doesn’t matter. I have seen 2 minute calls be ignored, and I have seen 2 minute calls turn into, let me change this servo. After you tech your car before a race, not that there is a reason to, but you could actually switch to a completely different car. Same after a race, you could hand tech a different car. No one would know, there is no system. I don’t even know why they bother with tech.
Do you think the ice water idea was just invented? Even your hero Adam Drake mentioned that he had employed the ice fuel trick before. When in Rome, do as the Romans.
THEQuagraine 
nailed it 100% !!
99% of them will not get the point anyway…
That was a joke that they even did that and then to dq u for 3 to 4 sec of extra run time why was maifield even near the tech table anyway all a joke cause u say what’s on your mind. This hobby and it’s cool kid clicky bull shit needs to change. You my freind please keep doing what your doing otherwise this hobby is jst done for me. You right the only things worth reading these days
Can’t Delete the word right from my last sentence. Oops don’t dq me for a extra word
Aren’t the “Great Americans” fantastic! I am interested to know if the rules are upheld at European races?
Rules on bashing? More cc on a borrowed traxxas?
Only thing that rules is the fact that you
beat TheDrake…
Is Truck racing…who cares!
No one but the tech guys should have been anywhere near the tank or the graduated cylinder used to measure the the tank capacity. The guys who touched the graduated cylinder should have been disqualified for being near or even touching the graduated cylinder. Had this been an official testing no one but the tech’s should have been anywhere near the tested vehicle or any of the testing equipment. These tests have to be taken seriously by the governing bodies at these events and they broke every rule as to testing and being fair to the vehicle being tested and to the drive of that vehicle. 1cc is a joke to disqualify someone for in the first place, where is the actual benefit? There isn’t any benefit. Now 10cc or 20cc would be a definite benefit.
Maifield and the other racers in the video are a joke and a disgrace for what they did and what they said was disgusting and maybe their sponsors should be asking themselves why these jokes of racers are even on their payrolls, absolutely a complete shame to anyone and everyone in the industry. What a fucking joke.
This shows that your new car, the Black Edition, is really good and the envy jumps in the middle. Preferably you will be looking for the tickles in any other category other than the Buggy so you will notice less !! This means that you are on the right path. Good job JQ !!
Did all the other drivers pass tech?
Haters wil be haters, its pure jealousy.
They wil never bother to understand, its easyer to just hate.
Dont let it get to you, you’re doing a great job.
stay awesome.
I watched Cavalieri cut line 20 times practicing at the Winter Midwest and no one had the ball to say anything. (Props to Tebo & Phend for showing sportsmanship by not being that guy). The crap the top pros get away with is silly. The video that Mugen guy made to make JQ look bad, actually show how big a joke that tech was with the Mugen mafia pressuring that poor tech dude. If I was Drake, I would’ve been embarrassed to accept that spot via disqualification for 1cc of fuel with a loaner car.
Where to start? Humm,
While having met, talked with, and read just about all that JQ has posted, I usually find the perspectives he brings to the table mostly refereshing, even thought I may not agree 💯 with his points. This blog here, well, I did expect something different in some regards, to which I’ll explain.
The opening quote, of JQ having not done anything intentionally. I beg to differ here wholeheartedly. It was and is absolutely 💯 intentionally done by JQ’s (your) own admittance, as it was very clearly pointed out that the Tuggy class in which a loaner truck was used was a class JQ cared nothing of. Which by proxy, also meant any and all rules associated with it were equally thought less of. I know full well, this was not JQ’s first Silver State race and at a number of bigger 1/8th Nitro racing events, certain things have been and are checked for. Tank size being but one such thing. So to claim ignorance in that aspect or claim it doesn’t matter simply because the class/truck didn’t matter to JQ, is without question wrong. Character is defined in part, by not only doing things when you know people are looking, but doing the things people look for when no one is looking. So also knowing you used the very same truck you had used previously this year at DNC, JQ should have known exactly what the full volume of tank and fuel line to the carb was, and if it was over by any amount, have also known exactly how to correct it.
At the end of the day, it is the sole responsibility of each and every driver to know certain things about their car/truck setups as far as rules and tech go. Wether it’s a car/truck or class a driver may think or care less about is irrelevant, as the rules still apply. Knowing that there could be some kind of variance in how tech is done procedurally and/or how tech equipment will be used, it’s even more important to take any advantage offered to tech early on so a driver knows exactly how tech is being done and then has the proper knowledge of how to make sure things are within the scope of the rules (not to be confused with trying to skirt the rules), wether a driver agrees with the “how” things in tech are being done. Failure on the drivers part here is on them and they should “own” it when it isn’t. Don’t have to like it, but I would think as a matter of pride, character, morals, ethics, or however you may wish to call it, any driver would “want” to own it. I can for sure say without question, that those who have, have usually gotten far more support by doing so. Which is what I had hoped to see here, but instead felt more like a deflection of taking responsibility in reading and rereading the blog a few times.
The bullet points offered are valid and anyone who has been around for any decent amount of time and traveled to races enough times, knows full well there are for sure some issues in many aspects of racing that isn’t always just on track stuff. Things that could and should be worked on by many, many people. As far as some rules not being known about in advance for an event or something of that nature, I don’t really have a solution to that 💯 or would cover everything all the time. Many events and tracks don’t always follow the same rules or even the rule book to a “T”, it’s a known issue for sure and perhaps one day, more tracks/events will, but for now it isn’t that way. Some things that maybe should be spelled out rule wise aren’t, but it’s generally understood that certain rules almost always apply even if not clearly spelled out. Which is no different than it being equally understood, that at certain events some things will for certain be checked for and some things won’t, which often times can be and is event dependent. Is it perfect? Nope. Can’t it be changed? Absolutely. Much of what is done in RC racing is done on an honor system, whereas many, many times it’s up to the racers/drivers themselves to do all the little things they need and should be doing. Even if it means paying better attention to a car/truck or class by a driver that has little interest in, but is running in. Little things always matter, not just the big things.
As far as JQ having an issue or being upset with Greg or what/how he was trying to do things on his behalf, I can understand his not as stated, though I could equally understand if he was to a degree. After all, it’s JQ’s name on it and not Greg’s, but that’s a decision only JQ can make or had/has to make. They both have been around long enough to know what to do and what not to do, why things were chosen they way they were to try and correct things was their call. If it were me personally, I’d have just cut a half inch or inch off the line and been done with it (which I have done as I was cutting it that close).
Your first point is ridiculous. Not caring, means that I never checked the tank, and just assumed it’s good. Not that I cheated because I didn’t care. Second, I never deflected any responsibility or argued that a different decision should have been made. I simply explained myself to all the haters posting online, and wrote about the problems of tech at US races. And finally, I didn’t read the rest…
They’re getting scared, your driving skills are constantly improving and now with the Black Edition, you have a vehicle capable of going toe to toe with them. Keep at it JQ, don’t let them get you down. The best way to really beat them is to keep on trucking and beat them at their own game.
[…] 5th Place: #Watergate […]
Being the person directly quoted in this blog, I need to also point out that this is in no way a negative comment about anyone, including Drake. This is simply explaining a method (that many people may be unaware of) that many of us have used in the past and will probably continue to implement to combat tank expansion caused by excessive heat.
[…] 5th Place: #Watergate […]
[…] 4th Place: #Watergate […]