Hey Boosted, welcome! Great to hear the enthusiasm. This
is a fun hobby.
You should check with the local club racers, but I suspect that TSM / AVC are not allowed in sanctioned racing. Besides, you should just, you know, learn to drive? Is your Dominus the 2wd or 4wd version? A 2wd truck will teach you how to drive better. In fact, most racing at the club level and above are mostly 2wd, with maybe a 4wd buggy or truggy class. A 4wd short course truck IS easier to drive than a 2wd truck, and that's a bonus when you're just out fartin' around with your buddies, but if your local track doesn't have a class for you to run it in...your kinda out of it. So my advice is, if you want to race, go see what most of the local racers are running. And ask questions, most folks are happy to chat about their cars and give you advice.
I would also hold off on buying the Traxxas truck. I've been around this forum quite a while, and I've never heard of anyone racing a Traxxas vehicle at a track. At least not seriously. It's not that they're bad, or that it can't be done, it's just there are other brands more suited to track racing. Most race rigs are Techno, Durango, TLR, Associated, etc. And the Techno and Durango don't even come with wheels or electronics for your $400. Yeah, ouch! Not a hobby for the ill of means.
As for all the upgrades the guys were talking about... I'm kind of ambivalent about sensored vs non-sensored motor systems. A sensored system is supposed to have better "feel" and low-speed control. But I don't know it matters so much, IF the ESC has a good start up routine for the sensorless motor. See, the sensor is there so the ESC, the speed controller, knows where the motor is in its rotation. In a sensorless motor system, the ESC has to sense where the motor is by first giving it a "kick" to get it moving. Then once the rotor is turning a little, the ESC can sense it and switches to "drive mode" and off you go. How well the ESC is programmed to do that start-up routine will determine how well the car behaves at initial roll out. Most sensorless systems these days are pretty good, and I think you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in how the car drives. I've got a sensored motor system in my 4x4 SCT, and a sensorless system in my smaller truggy. Both of them feel the same to me.
Also, you said "....buy a cheapy
and pay someone to hop it up for me..?" Dude, it's a
hobby. The idea is, you learn about the ins and outs of it
on your own. That's part of the
enjoyment. Ya know? Hop ups, shmop ups. First you're going to have to learn about your car and how to work on it. They DO require maintenance you know. Bearings need replacing, diffs and shocks need refilling with fluid...and you need tools to do that with. Lubes, fluids, tools....ah, don't forget batteries and a good charger! Oh and racing transponders are like $50, unless the track rents them. Like I said, brudda, not a hobby for the ill of means. Or of little patience. Hang around the hobby store or track on practice days, ask questions, see what the other guys are running. Gather data. Then go buy your new race rig.