Las Vegas, NV (March 23, 2002)
The lights went dim and the crowd went wild as the roar of more than a dozen monster trucks could be heard off in the distance. Suddenly, the sky lit up with fireworks and the train of monsters protruded out onto the floor. The air was filled with electricity and the rush of excitement. The anticipation and drama leading up to the biggest event of the year was finally over with. It was time to sit back and witness history, as the best monster truck drivers in the world put on one of the most memorable displays in motor sports.
In the first round, Madusa and Gun Slinger got things started with Gun Slinger outdoing the fierce and feisty Madusa. Next up was Power Forward against Bulldozer. Chad Fortune in Power Forward became the first victim of the night, flipping the truck in the turn, something that he had done in practice the night before. Guy Wood in Bulldozer took the victory.
The third race pitted the battle of the 20th Anniversary trucks, Grave Digger versus Black Stallion, who had trouble in the turn after a powerful push down the straight away. Dennis was able to work his way around the corner to leap his way to the win. Predator matched up against Hot Wheels in the next race. This battle went right to the wire with hot Wheels jumping to a very tight victory.
Jim Koehler in Avenger became the second victim of the vicious left hand turn and rolled his truck in his race against Sudden Impact whom's engine killed during the race as well. John Seasock was able to get it started again and roll his way to the win. Next up was Jim Creten in Bounty Hunter against Brian Barthel in Wolverine. In another tight race Creten was able to capture the win. Due to truck problems Lyle Hancock in Blue Thunder was not able to race, leaving Tom Meents with a first round win as well.
The second round featured some incredible match ups. First up was Team Meents against the hard driving Scott Hartsock in Gunslinger. Tom pushed his truck to the limit in this race breaking out a phenomenal 64 miles per hour down the straight away. Then after a smooth turn, Team Meents jumped to victory. Next up was Grave Digger against Bulldozer. Guy Wood in Bulldozer caught the left hand turn to hard and flipped the truck breaking off one of its horns.
Blacksmith met up against Hot Wheels in the next race. Pablo Huffaker in Blacksmith, who was one of the favorites going into the weekend took an easy win with Hot Wheels flipping in the turn. In the final race of the second round, Bounty Hunter took the win over Sudden Impact.
The semi-finals brought about the race everyone was waiting for, Team Meents versus Grave Digger. Tom kept his momentum going and busted out another powerful dash down the straight away to grab the early lead, which he was able to hold on to with a smooth turn that propelled him to the finish line. In the second race of the semi finals, Blacksmith met Bounty Hunter. Pablo crossed the finish line first but was penalized for not crossing cleanly, and the win went to Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter.
The race finals matched up Tom Meents in Team Meents against Jimmy Creten in Bounty Hunter. Tom continued to get great starts and speedy results on the straightaway. This was too much for Bounty Hunter as Tom leaped over the finish line to a third straight World Finals racing championship. "It's all about the fans…they keep me going," said an extremely enthralled Tom Meents after the race.
Freestyle got off to an incredible start with Madusa leading the charge. She barreled her way out onto the floor and had an incredible run before flipping to a score of 19. Next up was Gunslinger, and he wasted no time in getting the crowd to their feet. Hartsock hit the huge middle jump and soared through the air to a score of 20. Sudden Impact had a solid run that scored a 24 and took control of the hot seat. Carl Van Horn in Firemouth finished with a 24 as well to tie things up at the top. Alan Pezo in Predator scored a 21 with a nice run that landed him in the Built Ford Tough hauler.
Black Stallion came out next and destroyed everything in site breaking out a phenomenal freestyle run that earned him a 32 and control of the lead. Next up was Bulldozer who flipped early on and scored an 8. Brian Barthel in Wolverine completely destroyed a camper and broke out an incredible run that earned him a 30. Bounty Hunter came out next and flipped early to take himself out of contention. Avenger and Power Forward also flipped early in their runs and earned low scores as well.
Hot Wheels made some noise early on destroying a camper before losing it on the Built Ford Tough trailer, scoring him a 17. Pablo Huffaker came out next in Blacksmith and completely dominated hitting the huge camper sending him vertical in the air. Huffaker finished the run with a head on collision with one of the massive dumpsters and finished with a 35 and the lead. Lyle Hancock was able to make it out for freestyle and waste no time at all in going huge, but could not outdo Huffaker in Blacksmith.
And then it was Digger time, and Dennis never let's his fans down. Dennis went wild and broke through the track like a man possessed. In an incredible recovery, Dennis completely back flipped the truck and ended upright, bringing the entire crowd to their feet. Dennis scored a 36 to grab the lead from Huffaker. Team Meents came out next and ripped the track apart flying high through the air and smashing over everything in sight. Meents finished with a 37 and the Freestyle championship!
