Weekend Race Recap
Friday Night
McDonalds and Advance Auto Parts played host to an awesome display of Monsters and Quads. More than what the crowd of nearly 3000 expected.
It all began with the National Anthem followed by Jennifer Schnieder, better known as the Cannon Lady, who hit another perfect landing. By this time the big trucks were ready to get it on. Easy Rider started off the wheelie contest with a 19 and it just seemed to get better from there. Full Boar, Samson, Rap Attack all followed with the score getting better every time. Then the track was set for the defending series champ, the Virginia Giant. Diehl Wilson came out and took home the Fri. night wheelie title with a 23.
Things were really beginning to heat up with the Quad war guys in the first heat. For the fans, we decided that the winner of each heat race would throw a tee shirt with 2 tickets to the Saturday Night performance wrapped up in it. Just so happens that the captain from team Chicago, Nick Little, won the first heat. Not only does Nick not throw the tee shirt but he takes the tickets and rips them up and tells the crowd that there not worthy. That is just not right!
It was now time for the big trucks one more time. With the 5 great trucks that were here tonight the Doughnut Contest was sure to be exciting. Things did start off kinda slow with the Easy Rider truck. At some point during the Wheelie Contest the Easy Rider lost his rear steering and we all know that without rear steering a doughnut is just impossible. So Easy Rider could only muster an 8 from our judges.
The next four trucks were sure to pick up the slack though. Next was the Rap Attack, who jumped all over the lead with a 20. That wouldn't last, however, as Dan Patrick pulled Samson to the track. Samson left very little room for improvement when the man from Circleville, OH turned in a 29.
Ed Eckert and Full Boar would be the next truck to run. Full Boar began his doughnut and picked up speed on every time around. Next thing you know, Ed is holding the steering wheel out the window! Then he throws it! I thought the judging was rigged when all but 1 judge turned in a perfect ten. In fact it, was only good enough for 2nd place, with the total score of 28. Now out came the crowd favorite ,Diehl Wilson and the Virginia Giant. Diehl drove the Giant once around to get the crowd pumped up, and it worked! He didn't waste any time turning his doughnut into a CYCLONE! Needless to say he now had his second win of the night with a perfect 30.
It was time to let the Monsters cool down once more. The crowd was now ready for the second heat of Quad wars. After what happened with the tee shirt, tickets, and team Chicago in the first heat, the crowd was ready for their hometown boys to bring home the checker flag. Bring it home they did! Chad Saprano brought home the win for team Wheeling and of course he gave some lucky fan a 2004 Thunder National tee shirt and 2 tickets for the Saturday night performance.
Not only was freestyle up but the electricity in the Wesbanco Arena was up as well. Easy Rider lead the way once more, but with no rear steering, freestyle was a challenge for Kevin Koszala. Easy Rider could only pull a 19. Full Boar was next in line. Feeling cheated from the doughnut contest he was going to let it all hang out in the freestyle. For some reason the Wheeling, WV crowd was not into Full Boar tonight as he could only put together a 22 point run. Dave Rappich and the Rap Attack was now on track and the run was looking to be high energy. However, on the second hit of the cars the Rap Attack snapped the drive shaft in two, after coming down hard on his left side. So with the run cut short he could got all he could with a 14. Samson would come out next and tear the track up. He was determined not to let the Virginia Giant take 3 in a row. Ending his run with an awesome cyclone he jumped into the lead with a 25. That run would not be
overtaken by the Giant as Diehl could only put together a 24 point freestyle run.
After the fans had an opportunity to visit the novelty stand the Quad War finals were ready. An 8 lap final was back and forth when finally team Wheeling keep the flag right here in their hometown. For some reason it wouldn't end here. Right before the Racing finals Nick Little from team Chicago challenged Joe Anny from team Wheeling in a Captains Challenge. It didn't help when Joe denied Nick and team Chicago once again!
With the Wheelie, Doughnut and Freestyle Contests out of the way. The only thing left was the racing. With the Rap Attack out of commission. The stage was set for Easy Rider to go head to head with the Virginia Giant, with the Giant moving on to the finals. In the second race Full Boar barely beat Samson to put himself in the finals against the Giant. Samson did come back to redeem himself in beating Easy Rider in the consolation match. The final two were sure to please with another close race. Diehl Wilson and the Virginia Giant were now back in the winners circle when he snuck by Full Boar.
The rest of the weekend has a tough act to follow, but I know they wont let us down!
Thank you,
Greg Simas - USHRA Announcer
Saturday
Well Monster Truck fans, Saturday night’s performance in the Wesbanco Arena kept the fans on their feet throughout the show!
I thought it was going to be a rough night when after the Wheelie Contest I had to break the news that the Rap Attack was out of commission for the night. David Rappich and the Rap Attack broke the 4 link bar and tore up the whole rear end in last nights Freestyle Contest. David worked through the night and into the morning to get it ready but it wasn't to be tonight. I will tell you this though, the other four trucks definitely picked up the slack.
In the Wheelie Contest, Kevin Kaszala and Easy Rider could only put together a 16-point effort. I thought he was robbed. Ed Eckert and Full Boar came out and stood the truck straight up to what I thought was a sure perfect score. The judges didn't agree though, they only gave him a 24. Dan Patrick and Samson were next in line. It didn't look like Dan hit the cars the way he wanted to so with only one pass he was given an 18. The fan favorite Diehl Wilson and The Virginia Giant came to please as always and took home his second Wheelie title in a row with a 28.
Once again the Quads were ready to settle some scores in the first heat race. It almost looked like an instant replay from last night when team Chicago's Captain Nick Little passed Chad Saprano on the inside to when the first heat. In my opinion it almost looked like Chad just opened the door for Nick and let him and team Chicago walk away with the victory.
Now once more it was time for the Monsters. In what was sure to be the best of the four contests the always crowd pleasing Donut Contest. Easy Rider was up first and still suffering from no rear steering from the night before a doughnut was just not in the cards for the truck again tonight. The judges ended up giving him a 6. Now Full Boar would begin his Saturday night domination. Once again Ed put the truck into an awesome doughnut and threw the steering wheel out the window. That was enough for our judges as well; they awarded Full Boar with a perfect 30! Samson and the Virginia Giant didn't let the crowd down one bit when they both put their trucks into cyclones right in the middle of the Wesbanco Arena. They both would come close but fell short only by 1 point with 29's.
The Quads were at it once again in the second heat race of the night. Joe Anny the team captain for the Wheeling team was not going to leave this one up to anyone else. He took control of the heat race and lead 4 of the 6 laps to capture the checker flag for the hometown team.
Now that the great fans in Wheeling, WV have seen two of the most exciting elements in Monster Truck Freestyle, the Wheelie and Doughnut. It was time to put the 2 together along with some other car crushing action. Easy Rider was once again first out and put together a solid run, even going full speed in reverse over the Red set of cars. Once again the judges were hard on Easy Rider only giving him a 22. Full Boar would now continue his domination with a run that would be virtually impossible to beat. He ended a highflying run with another one of his doughnuts. Full Boar would post 28 points leaving little room for the other 2 trucks to over take him. It was not to be tonight though as Samson could only muster a 23 and The Virginia Giant could only come up with a second place run 24 points.
After a short intermission, it was time to go racing Monster Truck style. The bracket was set. Full Boar was to meet Easy Rider in the first race and Samson and Virginia Giant were to go head to head in the second race. It would be the Virginia Giant and Full Boar who would move on and meet each other in the finals, which meant that Samson and Easy Rider needed to see who would take home the consolation prize. Samson would barely edge Easy Rider at the line to win the consolation match.
The finals were now set in the Monster Truck racing, Full Boar and The Virginia Giant. So we need to find out who will be the Saturday night Quad war champion would be. A 6 lap final was set Team Chicago vs. Team Wheeling. As the green flag dropped it looked as though Team Wheeling was going to make it 2 in a row. Chad Saprano did just that when he crossed the McDonalds Finish line in first place. As I interviewed Chad something just didn't seem right with him. I noticed this earlier in the first heat race. All of a sudden Chad takes of his Wheeling team jersey to unveil his true colors, the Orange of team Chicago. No way how could the Wheeling Co-Captain turn like that? So of course Team Captain from Wheeling Joe Anny was not going to take this traitor like behavior kindly. The match was set. Not only did Joe want Chad on the track he wanted the Master Mind behind it all, Chicago’s team Captain Nick Little. 1 vs. 2 a 4-lap match race was on. Joe was on a mission against some tough odds. He came from behind to win the match race and bring the checker flag home where it belongs!
Now back to the Monsters! It was all set at the Advance Auto Parts start line. Last night Diehl Wilson and the Virginia Giant won 3 out of 4 but tonight he was in a position to play spoiler. Ed Eckert and Full Boar were now in a position to win 3 out of 4 and that is exactly what he did when he barely overtook the Giant at the McDonalds finish line. 3 out of 4 for the Full Boar! Congratulations Ed, way to go!
So another night of great Thunder National action is in the books. Check back tommorow to see who it will be in the final day from Wheeling, WV.
Thank you,
Greg Simas - USHRA Announcer
Sunday
Well Fans the first 2 performances were in the books and the buzz around the pit area was that the drivers couldn’t wait to get things under way in the final performance. The fans came out in big numbers for the Advance Auto Parts Pit Party and loved meeting each and every driver.
Once again the show began with another awesome launch from the Cannon Lady (Jennifer Schneider) hitting dead center in her net. Then we rolled right into the Monster Truck Wheelie contest. Now as you read earlier Rap Attack broke his 4 link bar on Friday night during the Freestyle contest which keep him out all night on Saturday. We couldn’t keep him out on Sunday though, but first it would be the Easy Rider. Once again I thought that Kevin Kaszala and Easy Rider were cheated but as we all know it is tough to be the first truck out. Easy did pick up his best score of the weekend with a 21. Full Boar would come out next and pick up right where he left off from Saturday. Ed Eckert drove the truck to a total of 27. Samson could only grab 14 points as he didn’t hit the cars the way he would have liked to. Now David Rappach and the Rap Attack would make his return. Return he did to a tailgate dragging 29! The Virginia Giant was only able to put together a 22-point pass. So the victory would be Rap Attacks! Victory came with a price though as Rap Attack tore up his back end once more and would be out of action the rest of Sunday afternoon.
For the Doughnut contest, 3 trucks would only contest it, Samson, Full Boar and Virginia Giant. Once again Samson came out and impressed once more to an awesome 29-point doughnut. Full Boar would follow that with another incredible no handed and no steering wheel doughnut, which would tie him with Samson with 29. Virginia Giant now had a tough act to follow. Diehl Wilson and the Giant would not let the crowd down. Kicking it into high gear Diehl put the Giant into another tight cyclone to a crowd approving perfect score of 30.
The great fans of Wheeling, WV were now ready for some Monster Truck Freestyle. Easy Rider would once again be the first truck on the Wesbanco Arena floor. But once again the crowd was tough on Easy even after the backwards pass of the cars, they would only give him a total of 10-points. Full Boar who was slowly winning over the fans here in Wheeling would be out next. With a couple nice doughnuts and 3 or 4 passes over the cars Full Boar would collect 27 points for his efforts. Samson rolled out next but could only get enough points to put him 1 behind Full Boar 26. The definite crowd favorite Virginia Giant would have the throttle wide open throughout his entire 60-second run. He ended his run with another cyclone and the crowd gave him what he deserved another perfect 30.
In the Quad Wars today the heats were split with Nick Little winning the first for team Chicago and the second was won by Joe Anny from team Wheeling. In the Quad War main Nick Little the team captain from Team Chicago looked to have it in the bag on the last lap but a rider from Team Wheeling looked to block him coming out of turn 4. That opened the door for team captain for Wheeling Joe Anny to once again bring home the Checker Flag. It was defiantly a team effort! As we all know Nick Little would not leave it at that. He had to come out and interrupt the show and throw down a challenge to Joe Anny, saying that he was cheated and deserved another chance. So we put the Hardy twist to the 2 captains. The track crew rolled out 2 tricycles and the 2 would have to do battle without their trusty Quads. Needless to say Nick was no match for Joe and the flag remained right here in Wheeling.
So the brackets were now set for the Monster Truck racing. In round one Full Boar was to meet Samson and Easy Rider was matched against the Virginia Giant. Once again it would be Full Boar and Virginia Giant moving on to the final. So it was set again for Samson and Easy Rider to meet in the consolation match. Samson would take home 3rd for the 3rd strait day. Now, Giant won the head to head match on Friday and Full Boar took it home on Saturday night. So who would it be tonight? They meet in all 3 finals and this one was the closest of them all. If we had photo finish capabilities we would have needed them today. It would not be for the Giant today as Full Boar took it home for the second straight day.
Well everyone it has been a blast!
Until Next Time,
Greg Simas – USHRA Announcer
