Jeremy Cathlina Interview
RC Pro. 1st congratulations on you RC Pro Intermediate Buggy Championship. Let’s get some background for everyone. How old are you and how long have you been racing?
Jeremy. Thank you, I will be 31 this April. 2007 was my second year of 1/8 scale racing, I raced gas truck for a summer before that.
RC Pro. I understand your getting married soon.... congratulations! Hopefully your wife likes RC.
Jeremy. Yeah, I will be married in May. She is supportive enough to let us honeymoon in California a week before the ROAR nats. I get to drop her off at the airport and say goodbye as I pick up my buddies to go race. How awesome is that?
RC Pro. Most of the top guys in your class had problems qualifying at the finals. Can you tell us what happened?
Jeremy. I know for myself I had a hard time qualifying because I haven't traveled much and the track conditions where nothing like I expected or was used to. The first day of practice the track really dried out in a couple of hours and became real loose, I started changing my setup to accommodate the track, then each day the track was re-prepped and held moisture longer and longer. Before I knew it I was so far off on my setup I just struggled. I also concentrated too hard on getting in a clean run, and did that, I just didn't drive fast enough. So before the mains I went back to everything I knew and liked, and just drove hard. The track changed really fast especially from day to day, If I remember right the top 3 finishers in the B where the top 3 finishers in the A. I think the extra 30 min of runtime before the main was an advantage.
RC Pro. Yea the dirt at the arena took a bit to figure out how to work it. We saw how slick and dusty it was on the 1st day of practice so we watered after that.
Your wife to be sounds as understanding as mine does. You better hang on to her!
How about giving us some info on your setup you ran for that A Main?
Jeremy. Setup is one thing I love about the Jammin car. It is so versatile from track to track. I usually run the same setup as all of the guys on the Jammin website. http://www.jamminproducts.com/setups.htm If you look close they are all basically the same. The only difference I had was lighter shock oil for the colder weather and plastic chassis braces for some more flex.
RC Pro. I had several people tell me they could run just about any tire and hookup was that what you saw or did specific tires give you different feel?
Jeremy. We came with a stock of holeshots thinking that it was indoor and most likely be the tire of choice but that was not the case, they were manageable but way too loose. I really liked a M3 bowtie and stuck with it the whole time, I know a lot of others liked bowfighters.
RC Pro. No it wasn't the typical indoor dirt.
So what are the plans this year for racing? Do you plan to cut back little as an old married guy or will you be traveling more?
Jeremy. This year I am going to race and practice as much as I can. I should be at Real RC Raceway, in Pleasant Hill, MO a few days a week, I am planning on running a full Pro Series schedule, 2008 Roar Nats, and the Futaba Nitro Challenge for sure. We will see what else I can squeeze in as we go.
RC Pro. Do you have any sponsors you would like to let everyone know about or maybe your looking for sponsors and would like to let everyone know?
Jeremy. Yes, I would like to give a special thanks to Jay Halsey. I will be driving for Jammin Products and Ofna Racing in 2008.
RC Pro. Good job picking up Jammin! It seems they have picked up a number of the Intermediate National Champs over the years.
I assume since you didn't list any you are still looking for engine, tire and fuel sponsors?
Jeremy. I am very happy to be with Jammin. Yes, still looking for tires, engines, and fuel.
RC Pro. All you manufacturers out there take note here is a chance to pickup the Intermediate Buggy National Champion leading into his 1st season in the Expert class!
Jeremy be sure you have a resume ready to send out. ;)
Jeremy. Thanks, Carlton
RC Pro. Are you planning on running any other classes this year or will you just concentrate on buggy?
Jeremy. I am planning on focusing on buggy. But, there’s a good chance you might see me with a Jammin X2 truggy when it is released.
RC Pro. I know last year your closest competition was your racing buddy String Bean. Does that present a strange problem at the races or any tension since you both pit together? I would guess the majority of the time your too busy laughing for much tension.
Jeremy. No tension, we don't take each other very serious, we like to talk a lot of smack, but we are the first to congratulate the other. We try to help each other more than anything. Carlton, you know better than anyone that the guys from Kansas City are always laughing and having a good time, every now and then we can be fast too.
LOL! Oh I know real well! Seems you haven't been involved in the pranks that were directed at me though. :)
RC Pro. So this year you will be in expert. That's a tough class especially in the North Division with Taylor, Tebo and Steve Hale. How do you feel you will do this year?
Jeremy. Sounds like another Friday night club race at Real R/C. Seriously though there are a lot of fast guys in the North and all divisions. Its a "any given Sunday" thing, I will just do my best to prepare for the races, not think about names, points, divisions. I just want to have fun racing and see where I stand when the dust settles.
RC Pro. Was there a pivotal race last year when you felt you had a better shot at the Championship? Can you explain why?
Jeremy. The finals. There is no Championship unless you make it to the finals. At the finals there is allot of competition, everyone in a points battle, its anyone's game. You can't throw this round out, The finals can make or break you. You definitely need to bring your best A game to do well at this race in any class.
RC Pro. Well I think we are about ready to wrap this up. Thanks for taking the time to do this interview and I hope to see you at the top of the Expert class soon.
Please fell free to thank those that have helped you and I'll see you at Real RC for the North round 1 event.
Jeremy. Special Thanks to my family for putting up with me. Thanks Carlton Eppes for putting on such a great series. Thanks to Jammin Products and Ofna Racing for the great support and unbeatable products. Thanks to 247designworks.net for making some great stickers. And a special thanks to some of my local track friends for all the help, Steve Hale, Taylor James, Stringbean, Jared Tebo, and Gene Cook.
Jeremy thanks for doing this interview and look forward to seeing you at the next race!
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