Seven National Titles on the line. Four days of intense racing action. 

Novak GTX Speed Controls used by Top Qualifiers: 6
Novak GTX Speed Controls used by ROAR National Champions: 5
Novak GTX: the choice of champions

What’s better than a week in sunny northern California in June? A week at the ROAR Paved On Road Nationals, of course!

Billy Bowerman’s Speedworld Raceway was the host to the 2006 ROAR Paved On Road Nationals. Bowerman and his crew are no strangers to big events so expectations for great races were high, and there was very little anyone could complain about.

Speedworld Raceway is located in beautiful Roseville, Calif., about 30 minutes from the Sacramento Airport. I arrived Tuesday night to catch up with the team. Luckily, there were no late-night changes; we mainly just sat around “bench racing.”

Wednesday morning the track opened promptly at 8 a.m. to start open practice. The track is wonderful. It’s very smooth and nice with huge lanes, and a big driver’s stand. There is a lot of shade for everyone, including permanent tables. This was my first trip to Speedworld, but it certainly won’t be my last. It’s just a great facility.

Practice went smoothly for the most part. They allotted a few hours for messy open practice and started the regular controlled practice later in the day.

But Thursday started with controlled practice and ended with open practice. This was very nice. It allowed those of us that needed to get back to the hotel for some more sleep a chance to get a jump start on wrenching and nightly preparations. The hot talk of the evening dwelled on who was fast at what time in the day because track temps directly affected lap times. 

Qualifying started Friday around 10 a.m. There were a few minor computer issues in the middle of the round, but the crew got it all sorted out and the day continued. 

Saturday was more of the same with two rounds of qualifying. We were done a bit earlier on Saturday, which was a very welcome change: more time for wrenching and sleeping.

Jeff Brown was “Mr. Stock” that weekend, making his way to the Nats from sunny Florida. Jeff took home the TQ honors in Stock 1/12-Scale and Stock Touring Car with his Superior Hobbies/Corally cars. 

In 19-turn and Modified Sedan, it looked like it was going to be “The Billy Easton Show.” Billy and his Yokomo/Trinity/Novak ride secured the No. 1 spot on grid in both of the premier Touring Car classes.

Another Floridian, Michael Bruce, was able to put his GTX powered Superior Hobbies/Corally to the top spot of the 19-turn 1/12-Scale.

While Illinois native Tom “Expo” Esposito secured another Master National TQ position to add to his collection with his RC America/XRAY T2.

Sunday the mains started at 10 a.m. with the first rounds of A-Mains.

Racing action was very close and intense. A National Title was on the line for crying out loud! In the end, an amazing five out of seven classes were won using the Novak GTX. Six out of seven top qualifiers chose the GTX.

Stock 1/12-Scale saw Mr. Stock Jeff Brown easily walk away with the first two mains to secure his ROAR National Title. Novak equipped drivers E.J. Evans and Shad Galante followed right behind, making it a GTX sweep of Stock 1/12-Scale.

19-turn 1/12-Scale was a different story. Racing buddies and roommates for the week Bruce and Galante battled to the third main. Bruce won the first main and Galante the second main. They battled nose to tail through the third main down to the wire. But Galante was able to edge out his racing buddy, and they actually hugged at the end of the race. It was a great racing moment between buddies.

Mod-1/12 was TQ’d by the ever fast Chris Tosolini, but the TQ jinx got him, and Jon Orr took home the National Title in the first two of three A-Mains. Congrats, Jon!

Masters TC was, in fact, “The Tom Esposito Show.” That weekend, Expo was dubbed Nacho Libre and cries of “Go, Nacho!” could be heard all across the pits during Expo’s run. Expo Libre was able to take home the TQ and won the first two mains easily for his umpteenth National Title. I asked him how many, but he’s old and can’t remember.  (Sorry, Nacho!)

Stock TC was a very interesting race, indeed. Brown was TQ, and many expected him to check out. But Travis “Micro T” Schreven was sitting second on the grid and wasn’t about to just sit back and let a National Title slip away. The battles lasted through all three mains. Travis won the first main, Craig Xavier the second. A big pile up in the second main shuffled the field and setup for a great third main. But Micro T showed why he just won the Reedy Race of Champions 19-turn class and flat checked out to take home the title.

19-turn TC was not as exciting, mainly because Mr. Easton had everyone covered and took home the win in the first two mains easily. Can you say…domination?

Modified TC was, well, as always, a little controversial. With Easton on the TQ spot, it’s a fairly safe bet to go with him as the winner, but Rick Howart and Atsushi Hara both had something to say about that. With pressure from behind and some racing contact, each driver threw a wrench in Billy’s plan for total domination. Hara took home the win with Easton in a close second. Billy laid down some of the best times of the weekend in his third main victory.

A huge thank you to all of the racers that used the GTX.

Congratulations to all, and thank you for choosing Novak!