Super-G Brings Drift To King Of The Streets
April 24, 2023
This past weekend was the first King Of The Streets - Drift Competition in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although a lot of thought and preparation went into this first time event, we were unsure of what to really expect. It’s always a little nerve-wracking when we step out of the norm to try something new, but it seemed to go over really well!
This was a RC Drag Talk, Super-G / Limited Traction collab. As most know, Super-G and our NorCal Fam, Limited Traction always team up for the mobile game. In the spirit of the earlier King Of The Streets events, where the winner took home as much as $20,000.00, we wanted to use their same formula and have the winner of the Drift side take home a healthy cash prize as well. The formula used was $125 entry fee, with $90 going to the winner.
Super-G wasn’t sure how many competitors we would have for the first event, so we decided the minimum purse would be $3,000.00. That meant if we had 2 competitors come out, we would put in the remaining $2820.00. Luckily that didn’t happen, but it was a real possibility.
The Surface
We had also decided we wanted to break away from the typical comps we are all used to, since the setting was not our typical Drift setting. So rather than trying to bring our own surface, we decided to use the surface at the venue, asphalt. Luckily it was pretty smooth and well kept, so it still provided a great surface to comp on.
Tires
We took 2 trips out to the venue prior to the event to test tires. We decided rather than to attempt to closely match the speed and traction we are all used to, which was not very difficult with the huge tire compound range provided by DS Racing, we wanted to change the game a bit. The objective this time was all about fun, NOT about scale. With the help of Team Super-G, we tested tire after tire to find something that would provide enough traction to bring us closer to drifting 1:1. We even took into consideration how the traction would change as the day went on, and we decided on the DS Racing, HF-5. The major difference from the norm, if you don’t keep them spinning, you’re going to grip up and straighten.
The Event Weekend
Friday was the first official day and there was a lot of testing and tuning going on. People trying different chassis to see what was the most fitting for this type of competition. We saw a lot of weight shift setups, as well as traditional comp setups. There didn’t seem to be a lot of difference between the two, as with anything drift, the more traction you have, the less the fine details on the tune make a difference.
[I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Get Any Pics At Prototype]
Friday after we shut down for the night, a lot of us shot over to Prototype RC for a after sesh and to wind down. Everyone had a great time and there were some awesome trains going on! Big shout out to Prototype for the hospitality and giving everyone a great time!
Saturday night we all headed over to Slidelines RC for more sliding and elbow rubbing. The big dogs all came out and there was some insane trains going on! The laps were all smooth and dialed. I had a great time and was lucky enough to get some serious laps in with Bret (the owner of Slidelines). I love driving with this guy and this time was no exception!
Sunday Morning - Comp Day
Because RC Drag Talk wraps up their event around noon, and anyone who’s been to a Drift event knows how comps can take awhile sometimes, we were under pressure to get going and get done in a timely manner. This meant an early start. We opened doors at 7am, tech’d at 8am, and started the competition at 9am. EVERYONE cooperated and this made for a very smooth event! Thank you to everyone, you guys really made this run extremely smooth!
Normally we have qualifying and that sets up the brackets. This puts the best against the worst performing drivers of that day against each other, and the closer you perform to the average, the more evenly matched you end up with your competitor. NOT THIS TIME! King Of The Streets - Drag uses Random Brackets, so in the same tradition, we did the same. We entered everyone in the order they registered, hit shuffle 15 times in front of everyone, generated the brackets, and the comp was set!
The Judges for the event were myself, Dennis Caroza, and AJ Caroza. I was relieved when I found out I could rely on them, as I know they have a true understanding of what we are looking for. This made the calls simple and clear.
The Competition
We ended ups with 33 competitors and we were hoping for a minimum of 32, so we exceeded what we were hoping for! This made for a perfect test of this competition, to see if we will continue to do this in the future. As we went through the brackets, it became clear that although the brackets were random and not based on performance, the battles were matched up really well! It helps that all the heavy hitters were out to support this first time event, but even the guys newer to the scene were able to hold their own.
This was a Winner-Take-All competition, so there were no points for second place. It all came down to Joe Durkee (Team Super-G) vs. Bret Trevino (Tech 1 Drift). First was Joe leading and Bret chasing. Joe threw down an awesome lead run, and Bret put down a wicked chase! It was obvious these guys were comfortable with their setups and the track conditions, and they were ready to go all out! Then it was Bret’s lead and Joe’s chase. Again these guys were going hard! It was clear why these two were in the finals. Joe made a slight miscalculation coming out of Zone 2, causing him to contact and inhibit Bret’s movement. This secured the win for Bret, and earned him the title of King Of The Streets 2023, and a cash prize of $3,000.00!!!
Congratulations Bret on a well deserved win! With so many unknowns going into this, it speaks on both your tuning knowledge and driving skills!
I want to give a special thank you to Ashley and Tyler from RC Drag Talk for providing this opportunity to work with you and being a part of something special. You guys are the easiest to work with and we appreciate how you do things. Straight and simple always works for us! Also to our NorCal Fam, Limited Traction for always coming through and doing the best mobile events around. Slidelines RC and Prototype RC for the awesome hospitality and killer after-sessions! And most importantly, you, the RC Drift Community for believing in us and taking part in a first-time event. You are the ones that make the forward movement possible!
Can’t wait for the next one!!!