Skeeno's AXIALFEST 2017 Report Part 4

Posted: 9/21/17

Skeeno's AXIALFEST 2017 Report Part 4

Photos by Matt Soileau and Michael Morris

So, Here it is, Part 4 of the Axialfest 2017 Skeeno Report! Day 4 consisted of Rock Racing and the Awards Ceremony and Raffle. If you somehow missed reports 1-2-3, please pop back; Report Part-1, Report Part-2, Report Part-3.  Let's take a look at what went down on the final day of Axialfest 2017.



Scott Kerkes was still going strong teching rigs on Day 4.



He must be the undisputed tech champion of Axialfest 2017.



Scott has a special way with the little ones as well.  Here he reminds this little guy that Fast is Slow, so don't try to win the race at the start.



Pham was all teched and checked and ready to race.  This is what he was waiting for all week, the Rock Races!  I think he podiumed in every class last year.  We'll have to see if he could repeat that performance this year.



Anthony Rivas was ready to count racers and laps.  See that paper in his hands?  That must mean something official.



Looks like this crew is ready to rumble.



Hold up, is that a Yeti and Yeti Jr?  It's like a father/son team.



The Axiallet haircut was pretty cool, but an Axial tattoo?  That's dedication. Raise your hand if you have an Axial tattoo.  Free entry to Axialfest 2018 next year if you show them your tattoo by September 20th.



Jawn Shulzz was race director.  Here he gives the drivers meeting.



Rules are pretty simple, fastest to three laps wins and goes to the mains...oh and no turn marshals, so don't flip over.



The Mod Squad, RC Driver's Greg V, Hemistorm, and Scale Builder Guild's Matt Kett, ready to catch all the action.



First up are the littles.  This has to be my favorite class.  They get so excited.  It's pure youthful fun.



You never can tell where the rigs are headed when the little's are behind the trigger.



You can always tell a female driver.  I think pink is the mandatory color.



See, pink shirt. And pink shoes.



Pink shirt, Little Tazzette, yup, my theory seems to be true,



These must all be guys, I don't see any pink. Wait a minute, is that a pink shirt back there?



The Littles attracted quite a crowd.



Everyone likes watching the Littles. They also came to check out the Bigs aka the Olds.



After the Littles was the Little Biggers. Oh, no! A rolled rig! I hope he can work it out, because, remember, there were no marshals to right your rig.



The Little Biggers gave the Olds a run for their money.



One wrong move and your race could end quickly.



Once the Olds got one track, the racing became even more intense.



Hey, there's Pham.  One of the 5 or 6 classes he raced in.  I lost track, but you can count his face in the podium shots.



Pham again? It seemed like he was in every shot, because, well, he was in every race.



Finally, a shot without Pham.



No Pham, but that's his truck. Oh wait, I think I see his dome in the background.



I see Sheriff Barton back there pointing out the leaders.



Dang, another shot of Pham.  I'm starting to think he paid me to post so many photos of him.  I better check my paypal and see if I got funds.



Let's end this with a picture without the Pham in it. You can see the winners of the Rock Racing below during the Awards Ceremony.



After Rock Racing, the Award Ceremony area was getting set up. I snuck in to take a look behind the scenes.



Nice, a free set of the world's best RC shoe, the Altra Lone Peaks!



Dang, that's a lot of trophies.  Notice the custom ones in the foreground.  That's because we added some last minute classes to the Concourse.  Next year, there will be even more new classes added.

 Sheriff Shawn was all smiles, even though his ankles were not smiling. Word on the street is that he got robotic ankles, so he'd be ready for Axialfest 2018.



Before people could enter the Awards Ceremony and raffle, they had to get raffle tickets. Cici, Cathy, and Mike are ready to rock.



Here's a table of swag to grab after getting your raffle tickets.



People were eager to get good seats. They started lining up early.



Waiting to wait, good thing they brought chairs.





Finally, the gates opened and the masses flowed in...



...and down to the arena.



I see your shaka, hang loose my friend.



Spots filled up fast.  I hope you brought a chair, or you were sitting on the ground.



What is this?  A Honda Mugen engine?  What could that be in?



Oh dang! An Axial 1:1 Comp Buggy.  Sorry, I got distracted, back to the ceremony.



I like to cruise the arena and see who I can spot.  Here's Dan the Man, Old Dan, Dollar Dash Champ, Dan Wilson of Team Vanquish.



My Wheelers for the Wounded buddy, Mr. L.D.



Hey, Crawler Fab with their sweet puppy.



He looks tired. I wonder if he walked all the Scale Trails. That would have been over 10 miles!



Chris Cru Jones of Altra fame. I can't thank him enough for turning me on to Altras, truly my favorite shoe of all time.  I have three pairs now, and have my eye on more.



Mike Bier with Root Bier and Ginger Bier, I know that last nickname needs work. I'll think of something better for Axialfest 2018.



Team Voodoo in the house!



All the way from Hong Kong for the second year in a row, Jason Tsang of Boom Racing.



Marc Bettencourt of Crawl4Cure.  They have a new location this year.  Go check it out: https://www.facebook.com/events/1099973673456868/



Is that Little JJ on top of big JJ's Jeep?



I'm not sure, but pretty girls always get their pictures taken.  It's a rule somewhere.



OMG, OMG, OMG! It's Two Chainz Scalerz!



A-Main had the whole front row on lock.



Finally, let's get this party started. Oh no, Jahn Shuls has the mic.  This will be a while.



I decided to check out the raffle swag. Dang, that's a full table.



I took a long time to give out all this swag.



Oh Snapple, I see the A-Main/JRC creations. Sweet!



And the Kona bike from Pedal's Bike Shop and are those RTRs and kits behind it? If only I didn't have one of those orange STAFF shirts, maybe I could win one.



Dang, that crowd is HUGE! See if you can see yourself here: Axialfest Attendees Group Shot



Wait, I think I see Jon Shults calling us up. I wonder what he wants.



Oh, group shot to thank all the hard working volunteers of Axialfest.  Look how many people give up their hard earned vacation days to volunteer. Without them, Axialfest wouldn't run so smoothly, so remember to thank the STAFF shirts when you see them next year.  Thanks ya'll's.



Finally, I think we're ready to start.



Wait, why is Rivas up there? He hates attention.



SURPRISE! Last year Rodney Wills caught the ol'dusty eyes when he was surprised with a special Vanquish thank you.  This year it was Rivas who caught the dusty eyes.



Rivas has been volunteering for lots of Axial events for years, and when they found out he lost his RC stuff in a vehicle theft, wheels were put in motion.



I'm not sure how many hands were part of making this happen, but Vanquish was definitely a big part again.  Full Vanquish set up on this SCX10 with custom Rivas Concepts paint on the body.



OK, finally, let's give some trucks away.  These two took home the A-Main/Judd Rummage trucks.



Lucky Ducks! I'm mega jealous.



Hold on, pause again for 2CS to pass out tickets to the kids.  Special SCX10-2 just for kids only.



This took a while.  I was amazed at how many kiddos were at Axialfest.



Speaking of kids, this guy won one of the many Canyon Coolers.  These things are amazing and the owner is a great guy.  I definitely recommend them, just for their customer support.



Hold up, if that the winner of the 2CS rig?



Yes, yes it is! Congrats young lady.  See you on the trails next year.

On to the winners of the Altra Ultra 5K Enduro.  Sadly, it wasn't me. But, I'm back in action and ready for next year.  1st: THE Jake Wright, 2nd Mikey Thompson, 3rd Kyle Listul



From the 801, Katie Murphy was the fastest female.  She gave me a run until my servo died. Skeeno Jr. has her sights set on her title next year.



Rock Racing Winners, see how many Phams you can count.

Kids 10 & Under















 




























Before I say goodbye and see you next year, let me show you my mysterious camp mate one last time.  Here he is, Mr. Cory Shafer with Shawn Barton. on Sunday morning as I drove home.  Fitting shirt that Shawn is wearing.  They spent long hours and many days making Axialfest a success. I barley saw Cory at all.  He came in after midnight and was gone before the sun came up every morning.  I think he got less than three hours of sleep a night.

So, that wraps up Skeeno's Axialfest 2017 Report.  You better start making plans for Axialfest 2018, because you know it's going to be even bigger and better.  It is every year.