After blistering the cyclone style race course to post the fastest qualifying time for last Saturday night's racing action in Detroit's Ford Field Linsey Weenk's disappointing start to the New Year continued when he was upset driving Blue Thunder in the first race of the night, falling to a determined Steve Sims in Stone Crusher. Weenk rebounded in fine shape though, shaking off the racing defeat to finally get his team rolling in the right direction by winning the freestyle competition in the Motor City.
The huge smile on the Canadian driver's face as he accepted the Detroit Freestyle Championship spoke volumes. The pressures of a winless start to the season was somewhat eased for a driver used to great early success in recent years. Interestingly the first big trophy of 2009 for Weenk is freestyle hardware which points to the balance Linsey has achieved as a Monster Jam driver. He may have climbed the ladder of success in the sport by amassing racing wins but it is being a threat to win in both of the sport's disciplines that puts the Blue Thunder driver among the elite.
Building momentum to make his run at history. That's what John Seasock did by powering Batman to the racing triumph in Detroit. The two-time defending World Racing Champion has his sights set on equaling Tom Meents' record of three straight world titles, and Seasock clearly views every stop on this winter's tour as another chance to roll Batman into Las Vegas with a full head of steam, momentum to carry into his quest for history on an historic night, the upcoming 10th annual NGK Spark Plugs World Finals at Sam Boyd Stadium March 28th.
Most fans in Detroit were surprised to see Mopar Magic in the Championship Race, but nobody in the pit area was. Ricky Ownley is one of those unsung talents that other drivers and crews are always aware of and with team owner Steve Sims putting first class equipment underneath him it's not a shock to see Ownley marching Mopar Magic through any racing bracket. He definitely pushed Seasock all the way to the finish line in their exciting final race at Ford Field.
Candice Jolly continues to close in on that day when we see her drive the Monster Mutt Dalmatian to a televised championship at a major racing event. The popular native of south Florida was shivering all day in Detroit's sub-zero weather but she was red hot at showtime, taking the Mutt all the way to the semifinals before losing a close race to Mopar Magic. Jolly won every battle at the starting line, which has become her trademark: cutting the best lights in the business. Along with those great starts she has improved so much on the big turning courses that she is a legitimate threat to win one these major events sometime soon.
"The Streak" continued in Detroit, with George Balhan finishing 2nd in freestyle again, this time driving with a Ford body on his truck sponsored by radio station 106.7 The Fox. That makes four consecutive runner-up finishes in stadium freestyles dating back to the Minneapolis season opener last month. Balhan has been the most consistent freestyler in the sport this season even though he hasn't grabbed a trophy yet.
Team Scream brought some 2,000 fans to Ford Field and you knew where they were and who they were cheering for. Saying their support of Avenger and Brutus was loud is a huge understatement. Both Jim Koehler and Chris Bergeron were more jacked up than usual because of their home state fans and both had strong runs to the delight of those fans.
This week is one I've been looking forward to ever since the 2009 Monster Jam on Speed TV line-up was announced: the first ever Monster Jam at the brand new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It's been a few years since we televised the Indy show so this weekend, in this incredible new building, will be off the charts!
