the T2R is hard to argue against in my opinion. All of the cool T2 009 features, but alot less $. I'm in the same boat, except that I'm looking to get into racing on asphalt, not carpet. You could try to get a used top of the line TC. It would same you some money that you could put toward Lipo and charger. Trust me once you use Lipo you'll never want to use Nimh again. You could for the most part get away with one lipo battery for a whole race day. Just charge it between heats and be ready to go. Try that with Nimh.