its the same thing with electrics 20yrs ago. stadiums came along...taking over form the buggy truck conversions which on put the monsters to bed back in 1990 (jrxt)-1992 (rc10t). the trucks will come along and develop into being faster around a given offroad track than the bugs. but over time, watch which type stays around. if electrics are any precursor, u'll find that buggies will remain as folks like the challenge.
but back to the event your runnin in. dont been concerned, its sportsman, focus more on runnin ur own pace and not making mistakes. if u do that, u will have fun and even surprise yourself in how u shake out in the results. thats the rough part bout those 'sportsman' classes, there's always some clown(s) who runs in it b/c in their mind, winning sportsman is better than the Cmain in expert. if u think this is bad....look at the onroad electric guys!!!! all the different classes, some fly by night.....pure case of every1 tryin to create a class where they can win.
lil secret, winning isnt all its cracked up to be. trust me, driving home tired from the long day of racing. u feel the same winning as u did running 3rd or 8th. did u have fun or not? i've won and had some1 destroy my car after the race in a 'days of thunder' moment b/c they didnt like gettin lapped as many times as they did. lost with a lap on the field b/c i got hit by a lapper and it knocked a pinion loose. conversely, i've won, run 3rd, came from behind for a good finish and had fun. sometimes just making the Amain, and thus be the only unsponsored driver to make 'the show', jacked simply to make it and end up ninth. also have blown up a brushed motor while in the lead w/1min left and still had fun.
run ur pace, minimize ur mistakes, have a good time and dont get sunburnt. u'll have fun, do well, and get a fair amt of leash to go do it again.
:steps off the box:
R