Every big race starts the same way for us: a truck loaded past its limit, fresh tires on the trailer, and a whole lot of hope that nothing rattles loose on the highway. This year's trip to Wicked Weekend was no different — except this time we made a promise to ourselves before we even left the driveway. We were making the mains.
Here's how travel day, practice, and qualifying prep actually went, plus the real setup changes that got our Sparko F8SE nitro buggy ready to compete.
Travel Day: Getting the Rig Race-Ready
We rolled out about 20 minutes ahead of schedule with fresh heavy-duty brakes on the truck, new tires on the trailer, and both the nitro buggy and its engine already broken in before we left home. That last part matters more than people think — showing up to a big event with a brand-new, unseated engine is a recipe for inconsistent fuel mileage and power all weekend. We'd rather do that work at home so every practice lap at the track actually counts.
Eight and a half hours of towing later, through a genuinely wild stretch of weather, we pulled into Wicked Weekend ready to unload and get to work.
Practice Day: Chasing Grip on a Slippery Track
Practice opened up humid, foggy-lens conditions and a track that looked fast but drove slippery. The groove was there, but it didn't have much bite to it — which meant our usual nitro throttle technique of flicking on and off through corners was lighting up the rear tires and killing consistency.
The fix came from a call to Sparko factory driver Lee Setser, who recommended a spring change to help the F8SE plant into the low-grip surface instead of skating across it. We bled the shocks, swapped in a softer setup, and immediately felt the car settle down through the rough sections.
HB Springs vs. Stock Springs: What We Learned
Running a side-by-side test between spring brands on both the nitro and electric buggies taught us something worth passing along: stiffer stock-style springs tend to work better on smoother, more prepped tracks where the car needs support, while softer HB springs soak up bumps and chatter far more effectively on rougher, low-grip surfaces like what we found at Wicked Weekend. If you're racing somewhere with a beat-up, bumpy layout, don't be afraid to go soft.
Tire Testing: Green Reflex vs. Relapse
We split our practice time between an older set of Green Reflex and a fresh set of Relapse compound tires to see which held up better as the track rubbered in. Lap times were close enough that tire choice looked like it would come down to personal preference and track evolution rather than one tire being a clear winner — something to keep testing into qualifying.
Dialing In the Driver, Not Just the Car
Setup only gets you so far. A big chunk of practice went toward throttle discipline — rolling into the power smoothly instead of snapping it, picking cleaner lines through the bumps, and simply not overdriving a track that punishes aggression. Watching a few laps from a top pro on track at the same time helped identify exactly where the car could take a hit without getting upset, which turned into some of the best laps of the whole practice day.
Mentality mattered just as much as mechanics. Deciding you're making the main before you ever turn a wheel sounds cheesy, but it changes how you drive under pressure.
Behind the Scenes: The Full Team Effort
Wicked Weekend isn't a solo trip. Our teammate spent practice working through a stripped drivetrain, rear differential changes, and his own spring swap ahead of his first big race in the Sportsman Buggy class — nerves and all. Getting a full pit crew dialed in, batteries charged, and gear organized before qualifying is its own kind of race prep.
And yes, we got a hat signed by the current field of Sparko and top pro drivers on hand for the weekend — a solid reminder of the level of competition we were lining up against.
Shop the Gear From This Build
- Sparko F8SE Nitro Buggy & Parts
- Lee Setser's Race Setup Sheet
- The Lee Setser Collection
- Adrenaline Servos
Stay tuned for our qualifying and A-Main recap from Wicked Weekend — including how the spring and tire changes held up under race pressure.