Here's the CEN trucks the night before opening day of the 2003 season.

Click pic to enlarge

Now I'm at the end of the 2003 racing season, (as in.... I just got off the track for the last time this season a few hours ago) I figured it'd be a good time to type my feelings. There wasn't much of a 4wd ST class anywhere this season which surprised me. The ST2 (4wd) is a blast to just beat around or to go race, there's nothing like 4 wheels diggin' in the dirt. :-)

The ST2 was hard to beat on the race tracks even though it was basically stock..... well except for tires, radio, throttle servo, pipe, and shock oil. I did do a little bit of tweaking here and there over the months, but nothing major. The ST2 would be a killer truck with some after market parts and good servos on it, which I'll do over the winter. For being a truck designed to beat around in a gravel pit or something, it sure showed it's muscle on the track. It raced in the unlimited monster truck class as well as the 8th scale buggy class a few times and it loved it. I couldn't believe the 4wd ST class fizzled out like it did, maybe I should have held my cards a little while longer. Rumor has it that the nitro 4wd ST class is going to be pulled next season at my home track which devastates me but at least I finished 1st in the points series.

 I wore out some parts and even broke a few, but the engine is still begging for more. When the manual said no break in needed, I kinda laughed and said to myself.... "cool, lets see". I may have taken it easy on it for a tank or two, but I tuned it for kill shortly there after. I am happy to say that it still has nice compression after... I can only guess like, 4 or 5 gallons of fuel.... maybe more ran thru it. Did I mention that this truck was hard to beat on the race track?

Now, the 2wd ST1 (or my version of it) was just crazy fast. It may have not been the best handling truck out there, but it sure was fast!!! Maybe my modifications didn't work, or maybe I should have tried a little harder, but I had to give it up at the big sanctioned events. Although I did have a couple good A-main finishes and some killer fast laps times in the short time I raced it. Either way, I had to give it up early into the season because I was nothing but nerves after racing that truck. Maybe I made it to fast or maybe it was me, I don't know but I'd shake like a leaf during a race. If I had to rate mine as a racing truck, from 1 to 10, 10 being best.... I'd have to rate it as an 8 or 9. Mine will never be a 10 but I'm not saying it can't be 10 in the right hands, I'm saying not in mine. CEN didn't build this truck to be a race truck to begin with, we all understood that.... they built it for beating around in a pit, but I just had to race it.

After it's all said and done, I have admit both trucks are well worth the price. My hats off to Ken from CENracing  for putting up with my whining and the CEN company for their support. I will continue to race the ST2 where ever possible with or without CEN's support, that's how much I liked the truck.