Race Recap: ETRL 2019 Round 4 – Slovakia Ring

Post Race Analysis
Round 4 was (yet again) another ETRL round back at TQ RC Racing. The weather wasn't quite as hot as it's been, making for a much more pleasant race environment. The track was also pretty technical; lap times were in the 14-second range (average) with a few guys clicking off high 13's.

Spec Truck
We had 11 trucks join us for the day and 3 new faces; Brent Newman, Matt Siu and Mike Ricca.

Speaking of Brent Newman, he was able to keep his cool all day, having consistent runs to earn 296 points. That would be enough to take the overall win and draw some attention from the fast guys. I've known Brent for a long time and knew he was fast, so it was great to see him throw down some good runs. He's already looking forward to the final 2 races (and next season!).

Finishing in 2nd with 294 points was Mark Goldwater. Along with being another consistent driver, he's been in the right place at the right time - another great showing for him.

Greg Monise finished up in 3rd for the day. Even though Greg was wicked fast (posting a couple sub-14 second laps with a Spec truck) and pulled off the TQ, he lost major points in the first main due to his radio batteries dying. I'm going to guess he'll be more on top of that the rest of the season.

Rolling in to 4th place was Chad Rott. This is only Chad's 2nd round of the ETRL but he's quickly picking it up, finishing the day only 2 points off the podium. He's 9th overall in the series, however quite a ways back from 8th place. He's got his work cut out for him if he wants to finish higher up by the end of the season.

Points leader Craig Hammon lost quite a few points as well after clipping the chicane going on to the straight and breaking a wheel. He accidentally glued the sidewalls of his rear wheels, so he mounted them up front. The rear wheels are known to be a little weak and, well, he certainly proved that. Craig would finish 5th for the day.

Ken Gerberding's day wasn't too bad, but not what he had hoped. I think he was struggling a bit with tires (maybe), only able to click off a 15.155 fast lap. He actually tied newcomer Matt Siu for 6th place, both with 284 points. The tie breaker is judged by who has the highest first main placing - that would be Ken. It was a close battle between these two guys.

Mike Ricca would finish 8th, just two points in front of Josh Trout. It was good to see Mike back on the track again - great competitor. It was also good to see Josh back as well - family emergency last race had him leave a little early. Have to give Josh a shout out as well - we needed his volunteer turn marshal services for all 3 Super Truck main events - thanks a ton, Josh!

Frank Monise has a good day as well. Competition is tough, but Frank's truck looked great and a smile on his face - definitely having some fun with toy cars. He finished 10th for the day, just 2 points behind Josh.

Finally, little Jason Dee finished in 11th. Jason spends most of his track time playing video games (when he's not driving) - going to be fast when he gets a little older! All those games builds up the hand-eye coordination!

Here's the Top 3 for the day in Spec Truck.

Here's the overall Spec Truck leaderboard for the day.

Super Truck
Only 8 trucks were in attendance for Round 4 - that just means more points were up for grabs for those that showed up!

Craig Hammon would once again TQ and post a blazing fast 13.700 fast lap time - his truck was on fire. Even though he's scoring maximum points right now, he's missed 6 rounds so far so, unfortunately, he's not in contention for the overall win. I think, though, he's doing some prep for next season...

Tony Phalen was facing some more overheating issues but was able to keep his truck together to finish 2nd overall. He needed this; that puts him 1 point behind Frank Liu in the overall class standings. I know he's looking forward to getting outside on the asphalt where the grip (and vehicle stress) are a lot less.

Mark Goldwater had a great day in Super Truck as well. He finished 1 point behind Phalen - I know that's got to hurt. Even though he's a fierce competitor, he'd never let you know it. Like Hammon, he's missed 2 full races so he's not in contention either, but I'm sure he'll be vying for a Top 3 spot in the final two races anyway!

Points leader Frank Liu finished 4th overall for the day. This was good enough to keep his class lead by 1 point - but I know he can feel the heat right behind him. He's got some incredible speed in that truck so he's going to be hard to beat once we get outside.

Finishing 5th for the day was Jerermy Dee. A great run for him, netting him enough points to extend his lead over 4th place (in the overall) by 14 points. Barring any serious issues in the final 2 races, Dee looks like he could hang on to that position for an end-of-season podium!

We had another tie, this time for 6th with Julian Pedregon and Ken Gerberding. Both Julian and Ken had some vehicle troubles - Julian with a new body that wasn't sitting quite right and Ken with some powertrain issues - however they both managed to end the day with 283 points. Again, using the first round to decide the tie breaker, it was Julian who got the placement.

Taking the final position was Fernando Cosio. I know Fernando was having some handling issues early on, but since I'm in the same race as him, it's hard for me to analyze what the problem might be. Both him and Julian missed the first outdoor round of the season, but hopefull we'll get them back for the final two.

Here's the Top 3 for the day in Super Truck.

Here's the overall Super Truck leaderboard for the day.

• Current Spec Truck Standings
• Current Super Truck Standings