The annual Hot Rod Shootout is always a racer’s favorite, and attracts some of the fastest pros in the nation for one final mega outdoor showdown in Santa Clarita, California, home of the world famous Hot Rod Hobbies and the 21st running of the Hot Rod Shootout. In 2WD Modified, those who thought Team Associated’s Ryan Cavalieri was slowing down due to fatherhood, were proven wrong over the course of the weekend. Cavalieri went head to head with current WC, and took a resilient bounce back win after losing A1. It would be easy to give in and just settle for 2nd, but Cavalieri’s inner fire wouldn’t allow that to happen. After stepping up the pace and winning A2, "Cav Mode" was in full swing, and carried that momentum into A3 to seal up the overall win in the 2WD Modified class. Ryan Maifield (Yokomo) had to settle for 2nd, and Team Associated’s Jake Mayo rounded out the podium result.
In the ultra-fast 4WD Modified class, it was another epic "Ryan and Ryan" show. After qualifying, Maifield set the overall TQ, but Cavalieri took a very narrow win over Maifield by just .2 seconds in A1. Maifield answered back and took a well deserved A2 win to set up for a classic final showdown in A3. Once again, 2 of the greatest of all time showed us how it was done as they left it all on the line. With Maifield leading the way for nearly four minutes, all it took was one mistake that allowed Cavalieri to get past Maifield and to go on to win his second title of the weekend. As in 2WD Mod, Maifield came in 2nd overall as Xray’s CJ Jelin rounded out the podium.
(some text and photos taken from REDRC.NET)