August 21, 2006

Scott Douglass column

“Scotty Awards” Part 1

As we prepare for another huge fall of Monster Jam Europe, it’s time to reflect back on the most spectacular moments of 2006 on this continent with my personal salute to the year’s best. I’ve come to call these honors the “Scotty Awards” for lack of a better name, and this year’s recipients have earned the highest of accolades for a season full of excellence and spectacular moments. So, let’s get on with honoring the 2006 Scotty Award winners:

DRIVER OF THE YEAR – RACING

Winner: DENNIS ANDERSON – For the third straight year my pick for this award is the seemingly ageless icon, although the choice this time was tougher than ever. Tipping the scale in Anderson’s favor was his march to a second World Racing Championship in the last three years, and the Grave Digger originator is a good bet to be a top contender again as he enters his 25 th year in the sport.

Runner-up: LINSEY WEENK – At the start of the season Weenk was as dominant as any driver we had ever seen. Iron Outlaw was unbeatable as the start of the campaign. With so much parity in Monster Jam and with so many teams rolling great, state-of-the-art equipment off their haulers each week, Weenk’s 21 race win streak is one of the most amazing runs we’ve ever seen. A little lull in the middle of the year and a disappointing night at the Monster Jam World Finals not withstanding, this was an incredible season for one of he most talented drivers to enter the business in years. And here’s the scary part for the competition. He’s only going to get better and better.

DRIVER OF THE YEAR - FREESTYLE

Winner: TOM MEENTS – The “King of Air” added a record extending seventh World Championship to his unequalled resume in 2006, capping off another season where Meents did things during his freestyles driving Maximum Destruction that seemingly defy the laws of science. Meents won a majority of the stadium freestyle events he entered and topped it off with the World Freestyle Championship to get the award here.

Runner-up: (tie) THE ANDERSONS (Dennis & Adam) – In 2006 Dennis Anderson had to deal with a new contender capable of upsetting him in freestyle each week: his son! Adam Anderson shocked many observers by winning a pair of major domed stadium freestyle events, with both his Dad and Meents in the field each time. He’s been so good at such a young age there is no telling how far Adam’s career will sky rocket. Yet at this time he knows he has to bring his absolute best anytime his father is in the field. Dad’s not giving him any slack any time soon. Both Anderson’s had tremendous success in 2006 and look out in ’07. While Dad’s skills haven’t faded a bit the kid is just getting started.

TEAM OF THE YEAR – RACING

Winner: 2 EXTREME RACING – The only thing this team did not accomplish in ’06 was gaining that elusive World Racing Championship. Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter again finished in the runner-up spot at the Monster Jam World Finals, losing to Anderson and Grave Digger in the greatest final race in the history of the championship event. The narrow loss takes nothing away from how fantastic the Bounty Hunter was throughout the year. Then when you add in Weenk’s incredible season in Iron Outlaw it’s clear that 2 Extreme earned the award as the best racing team of the year.

Runner-up: TEAM GRAVE DIGGER – Led by Dennis Anderson, Team Grave Digger is still top to bottom the deepest pool of driving talent ever assembled. Along with Anderson’s victories, add in triumphs by the likes of Pablo Huffaker, Randy Brown, Gary Porter, Charlie Pauken, and Rod Schmidt, and it’s easy to why this is the winningest team in the history of Monster Jam.

TEAM OF THE YEAR – FREESTYLE

Winner: TEAM MEENTS - The return of Neil Elliot to Meents’ team solidified their grip on this award. When Maximum Destruction is on the track the only way to tell who is driving is to watch to see who puts on the helmet, Tom or Neil. Meents and Elliot totally commit themselves and their equipment to giving Monster Jam fans the most incredible performance they’ve ever seen every time out. Add to the Max-D brilliance a nice mix of veterans and newcomers, led by Guy Wood, driving both the Hot Wheels and Bob & Tom Fords for Team Meents and you have a unit that’s capable of setting new freestyle standards each time they roll onto the track.

Runner-up: “ TEAM SCREAM” – “Team Scream” is our unofficial nickname for the combination of two of the wildest characters in the industry in tribute to their volume shattering TV interviews and no pair of drivers delivers more spectacular moments week in and week out than Jim Koehler in Avenger and Chris Bergeron in Brutus. Each driver brings the fans to their feet as soon as the light turns green and leaves everything on the track. They may not have as many wins as they’d like to, but that’s only because they run the equipment so hard from the opening bell that they often leave time on the clock, which hurts their overall scores. At any given moment, however, both Avenger and Brutus are capable of creating another memorable “Wow” moment for Monster Jam fans.

HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE AWARD

Winner: STEVE REYNOLDS IN COWBOY WINS RACING, Citrus Bowl, Orlando – A new award this year, I have to tip the hat to the drivers who stood up to the extra pressure and put on championship performances in front their home town family and friends. Steve Reynolds, not a Florida native, had even more pressure on him when he jumped into the Cowboy truck owned by Floridian Scott Hartsock and delivered with a huge televised racing victory in the city where Hartsock had driven Gunslinger to a big time win over Grave Digger in the finale a year earlier.

Runner-up: DAVID SMITH IN KING KRUNCH WINS FREESTYLE, Reliant Stadium, Houston – David Smith has become one of the most consistent freestylers in the world, as evidenced by back to back finishes near the top of the leader board at the Monster Jam World Finals. But this night in front of his home town crowd Smith went for broke, holding nothing back, and beat all of the top superstars in the sport for one of the biggest wins of his career.

UPSET OF THE YEAR

Winner: ADAM ANDERSON IN THE DRIVE WINS FREESTYLE, Ford Field, Detroit – I know that we have expected big things from Dennis’ oldest son from the first time he strapped in to a monster truck, but very few expected he’d have a chance to actually come in first place in a huge stadium event, on television, against an all-star line-up that included not only his father, but arch-rival Meents, this early in his career. Adam took a back seat to none of the big names in the first ever Monster Jam event at this phenomenal new venue, and deservedly walked on stage with his proud papa right there to share in the celebration.

Runner-up: PAUL COHEN IN PASTRANA 199 WINS FREESTYLE, Metrodome, Minneapolis – While Cohen has been a player in what ever truck he has driven, no one could have seen this one coming. Behind the wheel of the Pastrana 199 truck Cohen turned in the freestyle performance of his career and was a no doubt winner over a stacked field in the Metrodome.

BREAKTHROUGH WIN OF THE YEAR

Winner (tie): CARL VAN HORN IN T-MAXX WINS RACING, DAVID SMITH IN KING KRUNCH WINS FREESTYLE, Reliant Stadium, Houston – Very simply, this category reflects the accomplishment of a driver and team that, while their win is considered an upset, it’s not a shock because we’ve been waiting for them to breakthrough with a win on Speed. Both honorees here had their breakthrough wins on the same night at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Carl Van Horn, just a few weeks after joining the Traxxas T-Maxx team, finally got the truck dialed in to his liking and put everything together on the head-to-head course, knocking off Chad Fortune and Superman in the racing finals. In freestyle, as noted before, Smith rose to the occasion on his home turf and beat a field of former World Champions with a brilliant start to finish high energy freestyle performance.

CRASH OF THE YEAR

Winner: JIM KOEHLER IN AVENGER, Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas: – Without question the most breathtaking onc move of the year. When Jim Koehler launched his special chromed Avenger into the air over the huge freestyle stack at the Monster Jam World Finals you could literally hear a collective gasp from the sold out crowd. As the truck soared the ’57 Chevy actually began to roll over in mid air, then plummeted to the floor and crashed hard on its side. A fired-up, and thankfully uninjured, Koehler then topped it off by diving in to the red colored water that served as the “lava” for the spewing volcano on the track, and the former freestyle World Champion received a standing ovation again. This crash is so in a league of its own that there is no runner-up in this category this year.

That fills the space for this week. Next week it’s Scotty Awards Part II, with even more Monster Jam excellence to pay tribute to.