I think Mike was having some brake issues on the nitro. He was fighting it in both qualifiers and I dont think he ever got it worked out before the main so he ran with no brakes. I reality 4th with no brakes is still pretty impresive.
As for me, I didnt really do all that well. I'm not what I (or anbody else for that matter) would consider a good driver. In the 1/8 buggy the only guy I beat was the only guy that broke

and in the Electric Truggy class I managed to make 3rd by just driving within my ability and doing my best to keep the wheels down as much as possible. If you look at my lap times I'm WAY off the pace.

But none the less I was pretty happy to make 3rd.