Andrew Higgs is a family oriented, RC obsessed adrenaline junkie. Higgs walked on to the racing scene about 7 months ago when his family was surprised with a fleet of RC cars for himself and the kids on Christmas. His son, Drew, spent time watching RC videos on youtube and has been in love with RC cars ever since. Once Higgs discovered the racing aspect of RC, his whole perspective on the sport changed. Suddenly, the world opened up and the opportunity to crazy great things had been given to him. It also didn't help that his computer would taunt him and send him subliminal messages (Thanks to technology and cookie tracking). Naturally, Facebook started suggesting Adrenaline RC Raceway, as a page he might like to follow. What happens next, is where the Higgs family takes the leap.
The Consequences of Discovery
"We saw that it was in our hometown, looked like a well maintained track, held regular races, and had a hobby shop with everything we needed. We browsed through some of the content on the website and watched some videos shot at the track. Then we saw there were rentals. Drew practically demanded we drop what we were doing and go immediately. The first week of December we came in, rented trucks, and fell in love. It was the longest couple of weeks ever, but finally Santa was good to us as there were four trucks under the tree. We practiced the week after Christmas and participated in our first race on New Years Eve. We’ve been hooked ever since."
Family Time = Race Time
Andrew Higgs has 3 kids who regularly travel with him to the races most weekends. Two of which who drive (Drew & Matthew) and the youngest (Owen) comes to hang out and enjoy the community. Additionally, there are many weekends when Higgs brings a family friend who races with his kids. We asked Andrew what it was like to have a whole family of RC drivers. It is not super common that every family member drives and spends the whole day at the races. "It is expensive, but worth every dime! Race day is pure chaos for me. The kids are a rowdy bunch, so someone always breaks something. Between us racing and marshalling, there is never enough time. I wouldn’t have it any other way though."
Not only is RC good for family time, but Higgs tells us why it's a great sport for the kids to get in to. "It is a great family friendly activity, at least at Adrenaline. It feeds the competitive nature, but without a ton of pressure to perform. It is also teaching them you can’t always win. Some days the luck (or skill) just isn’t with you, but rather than give up you try to salvage as much as you can points-wise. Basically, it teaches the whole lemonade out of lemons lesson. It is also way cheaper than buying a real racecar or gokart!"
Let's Talk Setup
Higgs recently launched his brand new youtube channel, Rowdy Chaos, that documents his races through vlogs and breaksdown how he built out his racing trailer. If you haven't checked out his videos yet, we highly recommend it.
"I drive a TLR SCTe 3.0 and the Team Associated RC8B3e and B64d. The kids are both driving 4wd Traxxas Slashes, but I do have another B64d and a TLR SCTe 2.0 for when they are ready." In regards to brand loyalty, Higgs prefers Team Associated. He doesn't have a strong reason for choosing this brand other than some of the best drivers like Ryan Cavallieri are associated with the brand.
We talked with Higgs about his decision to buy a trailer dedicated to RC cars, and he is genuinely loving his decision. "Having so many cars running, the trailer has been amazing. I have everything organized so I can open it up and start working. There really isn’t a pit setup time. Just open the door, take the cars off the wall, and get to work. It is my little rolling garage. It is a bit of an investment, but worth every penny. I highly recommend it. The only downside is not pitting inside the shop and being in constant chit-chat with the other drivers."
Over the last 7 months the Higgs family has officially accumulated 12 RC cars. Higgs jokes," not sure if that is good or bad, but for 7 months, yikes!"
Advice for those thinking about it...
If Higgs could go back in time and tell himself one thing when we started racing it would be to start with 4 wheel drive trucks. He thought the Traxxas Slash 2 wheel drive was a great entry car and great for bashing, but it does leave a lot to be desired on the racing side. He does believe starting with the slightly more challenging 2wd car allowed more learning opportunity for control and patience, as it does not always want to rotate in the corners.
His RC Car Routine..
His goal is to make it to the track to practice at least once a week. However, Higgs explains his summer has been insane, so it hasn't always been a realistic goal. With fall approaching and the new school year, getting back in to a routine will help. Much like having a little league sport after school, Higgs will bring his kids to the track to practice.
He races every time Adrenaline RC has a race, plus they committed to the ROAR Region 2 as well. Occasionally they will make time for a special race here and there. The furthest Higgs has ever traveled is to Alabama for the AMS 8.0 Race earlier this summer. They can't wait for 2018 as they hope to hit up Motorama, Psycho Nitro, AMS, Wicked Weekend, Region 2 ROAR races, and all of the Adrenaline Races. They have a lot of exciting things to look forward to in the busy upcoming year.
Last Minute Details Higgs would like to Include...
"Shoutout to everyone who helped us learn the ropes and get our feet wet. Thanks to the entire Hardison family for making Adrenaline what it is. You have built an amazing community around the track and for that I am grateful. Also a HUGE shoutout to my wife for putting up with our new life. Check out our YouTube channel, Rowdy Chaos!"
RAPID FIRE!!
- Electric or Nitro?
Electric, but I do love the smell of nitro!
- Pro-Line or AKA?
Pro-Line
- Kit or Pre-Built?
Kit
- Dirt or Road?
Dirt, but I’ve never done road. I’m a huge race fan, so if we had a track I would get a road car.
- Track Racing or Rock Crawling?
Track
- Racing or Practicing?
Race
- Lipo or NiMH?
Lipo
- Big air or keeping it tight?
Tight (because we break too much on big air… at least for now)
- 1:10 Scale or 1:8 Scale?
1:8
- Buggy, Short Course or Truggy?
SCT is more fun, but I do love the buggy
