INTRODUCTION >>> It's hard enough to put on one big indoor race these days, so who could be crazy enough to put on two at once? The Thunder Racing crew is, and they've managed to do it year after year at the annual Trinity/Car Action Snowbird Nationals. Held during the first week of February (affectionately known as Speed Week), the Snowbirds bring the best that both on-road and oval racing have to offer together in Orlando, Florida for one huge, you-absolutely-can't-miss-this event.
Weighing in at well over 700 entries, this is the biggest single event of the year in the USA, and brings together top driving talent from all over the world. The track opens on Tuesday and stays in swing 24 hours a day until the mains on Sunday, alternating between a road course and oval layout. There are pre-qualifying "club" races, three rounds of qualifying, the main events on Sunday, and the huge Race Rock bash afterwards.
RACE COVERAGE >>> We'll be bringing you news, results and pictures from the race on a round-by-round basis. Be sure to check out our official 2004 Trinity/Car Action Snowbird Nationals discussion thread in the forums, as well as the pages of pictures and results as we add them here.
RACE SCHEDULE >>> The official race schedule is posted on the Snowbirds website. Be sure to check it out!
THE TRACK >>> Click the thumbnail below for a wide-angle view of the track from this year's Snowbirds. It will open in a new window.
FINAL RESULTS >>> The final results are in! Here they are:
Touring Pro Mod A Main
[Complete Touring Pro Mod Results]
1. ( 2) 27/5:02.86 Ralph Burch 2. (10) 27/5:03.53 Paul Lemiuex 3. ( 7) 27/5:06.04 Jared Scott 4. ( 9) 27/5:07.04 David Spashett 5. ( 1) 27/5:07.70 Mike Blackstock 6. ( 6) 27/5:09.34 Matt Francis 7. ( 8) 27/5:10.64 Mike Dumas 8. ( 4) 9/1:48.20 Barry Baker 9. ( 3) 4/0:50.82 Jilles Groskamp 10. ( 5) 1/0:13.52 Brian Kinwald |
| Driver Details - Touring Pro Mod A Main | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Chassis | Motor | Battery | ESC | Radio | Tires | Body |
| Burch, Jr. | Xray | Fantom | SMC | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Lemieux | Losi | Trinity | Trinity | Novak | - | TRC | Trinity |
| Scott | Xray | Fantom | SMC | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Spashett | Losi | Peak | Peak | - | - | - | - |
| Blackstock | Associated | Reedy | Reedy | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Francis | Losi | Trinity | Trinity | LRP | Airtronics | TRC | Losi Skoda |
| Dumas | Losi | Epic | Epic | - | - | TRC | - |
| Baker | Associated | Reedy | Reedy | LRP | Airtronics | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Groskamp | Xray | Peak | Peak | Nosram | Sanwa | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Kinwald | Losi | Trinity | Trinity | Novak | Airtronics | TRC | Trinity |
Touring 19T Expert A Main
[Complete Touring 19T Expert Results]
1. ( 1) 27/5:08.43 Matt Francis 2. ( 3) 26/5:00.51 Barry Baker 3. ( 7) 26/5:07.21 Paul Lemiuex 4. ( 9) 26/5:11.17 Ralph Burch 5. ( 6) 25/5:01.46 Mike Blackstock 6. ( 5) 25/5:01.90 Teemu Leino 7. (10) 25/5:02.05 Craig Drescher 8. ( 4) 25/5:04.55 Jilles Groskamp 9. ( 2) 7/1:25.17 Brian Kinwald 10. ( 8) 5/1:00.30 Josh Cyrul |
| Driver Details - Touring 19T Expert A Main | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Chassis | Motor | Battery | ESC | Radio | Tires | Body |
| Francis | Losi | Handout | Trinity | LRP | Airtronics | TRC | Losi Skoda |
| Baker | Associated | Handout | Reedy | LRP | Airtronics | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Lemieux | Losi | Handout | Trinity | Novak | - | TRC | Trinity |
| Burch, Jr. | Xray | Handout | SMC | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Blackstock | Associated | Handout | Reedy | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Leino | Schumacher | Handout | Orion | LRP | Airtronics | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Drescher | Associated | Handout | Reedy | LRP | - | - | Protoform Alfa |
| Groskamp | Xray | Handout | Peak | Nosram | Sanwa | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Kinwald | Losi | Handout | Trinity | Novak | Airtronics | TRC | Trinity |
| Cyrul | Xray | Handout | SMC | - | - | - | - |
Touring 19T Sportsman A Main
[Complete Touring 19T Sportsman Results]
1. ( 4) 25/5:02.72 Brad Johnson 2. ( 2) 25/5:08.57 Brandon Melton 3. ( 9) 25/5:09.56 Mat Stinson 4. ( 3) 24/5:03.12 Michael Toth 5. (10) 24/5:04.30 Mihai Gutuescu 6. ( 5) 24/5:05.91 Brian Lutz 7. ( 8) 22/5:00.76 Bill Sydor 8. ( 7) 21/5:12.33 Jeff Nidd 9. ( 1) 1/0:12.47 Jeff Cuffs 10. ( 6) 1/0:14.52 Shad Galante |
| Driver Details - Touring 19T Sportsman A Main | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Chassis | Motor | Battery | ESC | Radio | Tires | Body |
| Johnson | Associated | Handout | Hurricane | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Parma Alfa |
| Melton | AE/Xtreme | Handout | KC Racing | - | - | BSR | - |
| Stinson | Schumacher | Handout | Pole Position | Keyence | Futaba | Jaco | Frewers Stratus |
| Toth | Xray | Handout | Kinetix | Ko Propo | Ko Propo | - | Parma Alfa |
| Gutuescu | Losi | Handout | Pole Position | Novak | Futaba | Speedmind | Losi Lexus |
| Lutz | Yokomo | Handout | Hurricane | Ko Propo | Ko Propo | Jaco | Losi Alfa |
| Sydor | Xray/Warpspeed | Handout | Kinetix | Novak | Airtronics | T.M. Racing | Protoform Alfa |
| Nidd | Xray | Handout | SMC | Novak | Airtronics | Jaco | Protoform Mazda |
| Cuffs | Xray | Handout | Epic | LRP | Ko Propo | TRC | Trinity |
| Galante | Corally | Handout | Corally | Ko Propo | Futaba | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
Touring Stock A Main
[Complete Touring Stock Results]
1. ( 1) 25/5:12.61 Raymond Darroch 2. ( 9) 25/5:12.72 Paul Ciccarello 3. ( 2) 24/5:03.45 Jason Schreffler 4. ( 8) 24/5:08.32 Scotty Ernst 5. (10) 24/5:09.16 Mark Smyka 6. ( 5) 24/5:10.70 Rob Love 7. ( 3) 23/5:00.69 Alexander Lopez 8. ( 7) 23/5:02.58 Jeff Cuffs 9. ( 6) 23/5:05.86 Bobby Flack 10. ( 4) 12/2:28.53 Brad Johnson |
| Driver Details - Touring Stock A Main | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Chassis | Motor | Battery | ESC | Radio | Tires | Body |
| Darroch | Losi | Handout | Trinty | Novak | JR | TRC | Losi Alfa |
| Ciccarello | Associated | Handout | SMC | Novak | Futaba | Jaco | Parma Alfa |
| Schreffler | Yokomo/Rayspeed | Handout | Sureshot | Keyence | Futaba | TRC | Protoform Mazda |
| Ernst | Associated | Handout | Reedy | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform Alfa |
| Smyka | Losi | Handout | Trinity | Novak | Airtronics | TRC | Losi Alfa |
| Love | Schumacher | Handout | Fukuyama | Ko Propo | Ko Propo | BSR | Protoform |
| Lopez | Xray | Handout | Trinity | Ko Propo | Ko Propo | TRC | Protoform Alfa |
| Flack | Losi | Handout | SMC | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Losi Alfa |
| Cuffs | Xray | Handout | Epic | LRP | Ko Propo | TRC | Trinity |
| Johnson | Associated | Handout | Hurricane | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Parma Alfa |
1/12th GTP Modified A Main
[Complete 1/12th GTP Modified Results]
1. ( 1) 43/8:04.46 Mike Blackstock 2. ( 7) 43/8:10.40 Simo Ahoniemi 3. ( 3) 43/8:11.21 Brian Kinwald 4. ( 9) 43/8:11.63 Mike McMahon 5. (10) 42/8:03.33 Hubert Honigl 6. ( 4) 42/8:03.88 Barry Baker 7. ( 8) 42/8:08.73 Takuya Ito 8. ( 2) 41/8:01.45 John Orr 9. ( 5) 38/7:34.02 Sakke Ahoniemi 10. ( 6) 28/5:25.40 David Spashett |
| Driver Details - 1/12th GTP Modified A Main | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Chassis | Motor | Battery | ESC | Radio | Tires | Body |
| Blackstock | Associated | Reedy | Reedy | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform |
| Ahoniemi | Corally | Corally | Corally | Nosram | Sanwa | Corally | Parma Speed 8 |
| Kinwald | Trinity | Trinity | Trinity | Novak | Airtronics | TRC | Protoform |
| McMahon | CRC | Orion | Orion | LRP | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform |
| Honigl | CRC | LRP | LRP | LRP | Sanwa | Track Magnet | CEFX |
| Ito | Trinity | Trinity | Trinity | Nosram | Sanwa | TRC | Trinity |
| Baker | Associated | Reedy | Reedy | LRP | Airtronics | Jaco | Protoform |
| Orr | Associated | Reedy | Reedy | LRP | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform Speed 12 |
| Ahoniemi | Corally | Corally | Corally | Nosram | Sanwa | Corally | Parma Speed 8 |
| Spashett | CEFX | - | - | - | - | - | CEFX |
1/12th GTP Stock A Main
[Complete 1/12th GTP Stock Results]
1. ( 1) 39/8:01.93 Mark Smyka 2. ( 2) 39/8:04.42 Paul Ciccarello 3. ( 9) 39/8:08.26 Scotty Ernst 4. ( 3) 39/8:12.61 Bobby Flack 5. ( 7) 38/8:01.61 Michael Bruce 6. ( 8) 38/8:06.50 Brian Wynn 7. (10) 38/8:12.94 Ron Atomic 8. ( 4) -- DNS -- Jeff Dayger 9. ( 5) -- DNS -- Mo Denton 10. ( 6) -- DNS -- Raymond Darroch |
| Driver Details - 1/12th GTP Stock A Main | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Chassis | Motor | Battery | ESC | Radio | Tires | Body |
| Smyka | Trinity | Handout | Trinity | Novak | Airtronics | TRC | Parma Speed 8 |
| Ciccarello | CEFX | Handout | SMC | Novak | Futaba | Jaco | Parma Speed 8 |
| Ernst | IRS | Handout | Reedy | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | Protoform Speed 12 |
| Flack | CEFX | Handout | SMC | Novak | Ko Propo | Jaco | CEFX |
| Bruce | Corally | Handout | SMC | Ko Propo | Futaba | Jaco/Corally | Protoform Speed 12 |
| Wynn | CRC | Handout | Pro-Match | GM | JR | CRC | Parma |
| Atomic | CEFX | Handout | Kinetix | Ko Propo | Ko Propo | Jaco | CEFX |
| Dayger | CRC | Handout | SMC | Novak | Futaba | Track Magnet | Parma Speed 8 |
| Denton | Speedmerch. | Handout | Fukuyama | GM | Ko Propo | TRC | Protoform Speed 12 |
| Darroch | Trinity | Handout | Trinity | Novak | JR | TRC | Trinity Speed 9 |
LATEST UPDATES >>> Here are the latest updates:
[Thursday, 2/12 @ 11 PM, futureal] Post-race activity continues with the posting of 167 photos from the race. A big thanks goes to J. Filipow for helping out with the photography.
[Monday, 2/9 @ 2 AM, futureal] The race is over! All results from the mains and final qualifying standings have been posted and can be seen on the links to the left. Heading home in the morning, will sort through all of the pictures when I get back. Thanks to everybody for checking out the live Snowbirds action on R/C Tech!
[Saturday, 2/7 @ 10 PM, futureal] Results from the final two rounds of on-road qualifying have been posted. Things are about 4 hours behind schedule and round 3 of oval qualifying is just now beginning.
[Saturday, 2/7 @ 6 AM, futureal] Results from the first two rounds of oval qualifying have been posted. Round two of on-road qualifying will begin shortly.
[Friday, 2/6 @ 4 PM, futureal] First round of on-road qualifying has just ended; results are posted in the forums and will be on the site here soon. Oval qualifying is about to begin.
[Wednesday, 2/4 @ 3 AM, futureal] The first set of pictures is going online right now, from practice this evening. Today was mostly oval, from early afternoon and still going strong right now at 3 AM! On-road takes over again at noon, all the way through the club race at 9 PM and then practice until 5 AM tomorrow when oval gets the track back. Handout motors will also be distributed in a few hours.
[Monday, 2/2 @ 4 PM, futureal] Look above for the on-road track layout for the race. The oval layout is, of course, an oval. Practice begins in about 30 minutes.
[Saturday, 1/31 @ 2 AM, futureal] Coverage pages created; leaving for Florida in the morning!