BMiller Racing’s Terry Wickum doesn’t usually come to the track with the latest factory team kits loaded with aftermarket hop-ups. Instead, he makes the most out of what he has in his pit bag, and then drives it to the max.

That certainly was the case in the 2012 outdoor season opener at Delta RC Racepark (Antioch, CA), where he came away with a pair of impressive victories in 2wd Buggy Open Expert and SCT Open Expert.

Wickum, who less than two months ago ran 1/10 buggy for the first time, defeated an impressive pro buggy field to win the A main. Starting fourth in his ProTek battery powered Associated B4.1, Wickum took advantage of mishaps from teammates Josh O’Connell (TQ), Eddie Bernal, and Nathan Bernal in the initial two laps to grab the lead by the time the pack came to the timing loop for lap three. From there he never looked back, reeling off 13 of the next 14 laps in either 20 or 21 seconds without any major mistakes.

Wickum went on to win the seven-minute main by more than 12 seconds with local standout Dennis Close finishing second. The remaining members of the BMiller contingent all finished in the top six with Nathan Bernal placing third, O’Connell fifth, and Eddie Bernal sixth.

Things went even better in 2wd expert short course for Wickum, piloting his Associated SC10 to the TQ and then a wire-to-wire win in the main. Local mainstays Ken Johns and Kevin Pitta finished second and third, respectively. BMiller’s Troy Hanson rallied from a series of rough driving incidents in the first two laps to move through the pack from 12th to finish fifth.

The current Delta RC layout can best be described as … fast, fast, fast. So when it came time for the evening’s final event, 4wd short course, everyone knew it was going to be flat out from start to finish. Fast and on the edge fits O’Connell just fine.

Pushing his Losi SCTE to the max, O’Connell TQ’d to take the pole for the main. However, after going wide in the first turn, O’Connell found himself in a pinball machine in the early going and quickly fell back to fifth. But once the action settled down, O’Connell drove thru the lead pack and re-gained the top spot in lap three. From there he never looked back and nearly lapped the field by the end of the seven-minute main. Close finished second and Johns was third.

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