SOLID AXLE MONSTERS – The 33rd National Radio Control Truck Pulling Association Worlds Event

SOLID AXLE MONSTERS – The 33rd National Radio Control Truck Pulling Association Worlds Event

I’m not sure if you have heard of the National Radio Control Truck Pulling Association (NRCTPA) before, but the organization has been around as long as RCCA has. The group actually has roots going back into the mid-1980s and started organizing big events in the late ’80s. In 1992 they started running in the present location, which is located in a Montpelier, Ohio-area hotel. The group runs two events a year there. The October event, commonly known as the “Worlds Event,” just ran in its 33rd year.

There are two different parts of the NRCTPA. Solid Axle Monster Truck (SAMT) racing runs in one part of the hotel, and RC truck and tractor pulling runs in another section. At this event there were a whopping 530 competition entries. In this article we will focus specifically on the SAMT racing event.

NRCTPA

There are seven different solid axle classes that replicate the different stages of 1:1 monster truck racing. Stage 1: Retro and Stage 2: Retro bring up rigs from the early days of the sport. Sport Mod and Ultra Mod were designed to match the early 1:1-scale Stage 3 trucks. Pro Mod is the main class, which matches the modern-day, full-size Stage 3 monster trucks.

All of the mentioned classes run a Tamiya Clod Buster sized tire and are based off of the 2.6-inner/outer wheel design. These trucks can utilize a motor-on-axle design or shaft-driven axle with a centralized transmission. The 2.2 Driveshaft class is a Pro Mod style truck with a 2.2-inner/outer wheel design that utilizes shaft-driven axles. The final class is a spec class based off of a stock Losi LMT.

You will find a variety of vehicles running here. They are based off of Axial, Freestyle RC, Losi LMT and the Tamiya Clod Buster. Did you realize the Clod is the longest-running RC production vehicle, and in 2022 it celebrated 35 years in production? We really have to thank these different vehicle manufacturers for giving our small corner of the hobby something to run.

The action kicked off on Friday night with a practice session. Saturday started out with a show-and-shine competition followed by a full day of qualifying. On Saturday night a special event was held to salute the late Scott Hartsock of Gunslinger monster truck fame. There was a show-and-shine competition and an elimination race. Once the racing was finished, all of the trucks were gathered for a multiple truck jump and a long jump.

Sunday was the main racing day, where all seven classes ran in elimination-style brackets. All in all, it was an action-packed event where trucks were constantly running through the mirrored obstacle course style tracks. Once they lined up head-to-head at the tree, they were off, with some trucks finishing their races within a hundredth of second of one another. The courses and races were similar to what you might see if you went to a 1:1 monster truck event. Drivers were able to view the competition brackets through monitors on-site or through their phone.

The competition stopped from time to time for the generous event sponsors to hand out some awesome door and raffle prizes. The NRCTPA wants to make sure they thank RC4WD, JConcepts, Freestyle RC, Castle Creations, JB Scale Graphics, Tamiya, Fat Cats Customz, Drive RC, Showtime RC, Pro-Line, Backwoods RC Hobbies, Lucas Oil, Boca Bearings, Losi, Dremel, Max Amps, Siege Work, HobbySports.com, Tekin and Kimbrough for their event support.

As you can tell, we’re big-time monster truck fans, and if you are too, we highly suggest joining us and the hundreds of like-minded monster truck enthusiasts at NRCTPA’s next event. For more info you can check them out on Facebook
@NRCTPA or on their website at nrctpa.org.

Good for both show and go, the lineup of monster trucks was as expansive as it was impressive.

Good for both show and go, the lineup of monster trucks was as expansive as it was impressive.

There was plenty of high-flying action to be had at the 2022 NRCTPA Worlds Event.

There was plenty of high-flying action to be had at the 2022 NRCTPA Worlds Event.

This monster truck takes a tumble while landing a jump. Note the scale cars that are lined up for crushing.

This monster truck takes a tumble while landing a jump. Note the scale cars that are lined up for crushing.

Blue Thunder does what it does best, and that’s crushing cars!

Blue Thunder does what it does best, and that’s crushing cars!

Funny thing is, we think that this Bad Habit is a good habit.

Funny thing is, we think that this Bad Habit is a good habit.

There was so much monster truck action at this event. We can’t wait to go back later this year!

There was so much monster truck action at this event. We can’t wait to go back later this year!

A nice lineup of color-coordinated Monster Energy liveried monster trucks.

A nice lineup of color-coordinated Monster Energy liveried monster trucks.


Text by Eric Krush
Images by Geoff Kettler and Stephen Hopkins

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Updated: February 21, 2023 — 5:41 PM
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