Even though it was below zero temperatures outside, this arena was on fire.  The Wheelie Contest got the crowd on to their feet in a hurry.  Rap Attack put the tailgate on top of the crush cars, and earned a solid score from the crowd of 25.  American Guardian came close at a score of 22, but it would be the defending Thunder Nationals champion, Virginia Giant that would steal the contest.  As Diehl did his vertical dance across the crush cars, the crowd voted him the overwhelming favorite.

 

The Doughnut Contest was the as close as any contest could be.  With Predator on the track, performing what seemed to be the perfect doughnut, it became apparent that the smoky performance was a costly one.  The result was two rods being thrown through the oil pan, and a blown engine that would keep Predator out of the rest of today’s show.  His 29 score was then nearly topped by an impressive performance by American Guardian.  Guardian came up one point short with a 28.  Only one truck remained, the defending Thunder Nationals champion.  Virginia Giant took to the track knowing that only a perfect score would give him the victory.  After he lit up the track surface, you could clearly see the circular tracks he left behind.  The crowd roared their approval, and threw up the perfect score of 30 with out hesitation.

 

In Monster Freestyle, the four remaining trucks would come down to a showdown between the last two.   Rick Raab covered the track destroying everything in site en route to an impressive score of 26.  The only truck with a chance to steal the win was Giant.  As he took to the track, you could see that it was going to be close.  Ending with another impressive doughnut, it would now be up to the crowd.  When the third and final scorecard went up, it would be Guardian that would be announced the Freestyle winner by a single point.

 

Today’s Quad was feature the visiting team out of Carolina taking on the home team of New England.  As luck would have it, last season the New England captain defected to the warm weather team in Carolina.   The new captain made it clear that he would not give the victory away to his former teammate.  And true to his word, after two quads tied up in turn two, the Caroline captain could only watch as Team New England took the checkered flag, and the all of the points in tonight’s show.

 

Freestyle Motocross Thunder Nationals style means that there is not dirt ramps, not soft landing, and nothing but a cold, unforgiving concrete floor to look down at when those riders are 30 feet in the air.  As the metal ramps were put in place, the crowd new that they were in for some wicked FMX action.  Three riders took their warm up round, and then came out in the second half the had the crowd on their feet.  The first rider, Scott Murray, was happy to take the crowds score that gave him a third place finish.  As a rookie, he was just getting warmed up.  Johnny Jones took the second place finish with his one-hand superman seat grabs and heelclickers.  It would be Steve Wagner, with his heart attack - look back that won the crowd over, and took the perfect score of 30.

 

In Racing, Guardian took lane choice against Rap Attack, as did Giant when he faced Thrasher.  Rap Attack came on strong to power past Guardian for the victory and the trip to the finals.  As Raab steered Guardian back to the pits, it was announced that the engine had blown.   Raab and his crew would now go to work to put in their spare engine in time for tonight’s show.  Virginia Giant took out Thrasher to advance for a chance at the racing victory.  In the final run, Giant punched the gas and came in with wicked air, but Rap Attack came in low and fast.  Rappach brought Rap Attack over the finish line just ahead of Giant, and took the checkered flag. 

Saturday 8pm

Tonight belonged to the Giant… Virginia Giant.  The only context won by another monster truck was the night very first, the Wheelie Contest.  The crowd learned right away that American Guardian was still in the pits working frantically to finish installing a brand new engine, after throwing a rod in the earlier show.  It was announced that Guardian would not make the first contest, but there was still hope for Freestyle.  Clearly, Pat Summa in Thrasher won the crowd over as he walked his Monster over the entire length of the crush car line.  The next closest score was still four points less.

 

From then on, the night belonged to Diehl Wilson.  Virginia Giant came out for the doughnut contest and lit up the track.  With Rap Attack already scoring a 25, Giant had to be perfect.  And perfect he was. The crowd rose to their feet at Giant rotated around nonstop for what seemed like forever.  It was clear that Giant earned his second perfect 30 score out of as many contests this weekend.   Freestyle looked very similar.  The update from Guardian’s chief mechanic meant that although getting very close to firing, they would have to miss Freestyle, and target the racing for their return.  With Rap Attack leading the scores with 27, Wilson came out as the final truck, and once again blew the fans away with his high speed, deafening performance, capped off by that signature doughnut.  Giant’s perfect 30 score gave him the freestyle victory.

 

Quad Wars really heated up, with Carolina swearing that New England would not win two straight.  For the second straight time, the Carolina captain found himself off of his quad, and on the track surface as New England crossed the finish line.  This time, the enraged Caroline captain, insisted that it was foul play, and demanded that New England prove they are the true winner.  The captain’s challenge would be two quads, four laps, and would be for all of the points.  As luck would have it, the Carolina Captain once again tied up with the opponent’s quad, and found himself on the track watching as New England beat him once again.

 

In FMX action, the rookie, Scott Murray, ran his best performance as he took the second best score given out by the crowd.  Steve Wagner, had the crowd screaming as he put up the sick air for all four of his final jumps.  Again, the Heart Attack Look Back was the crowd pleaser.  This time, he nailed it not once, but twice on his way to a perfect 30 score.

 

The Racing brackets were set with Rap Attack facing off with Thrasher, and Virginia Giant against a brand new engine in Guardian.  Thrasher took the first round victory from Rap Attack, before we waited to see if Guardian could answer the call.  On the two minute clock, we waited with Giant on the starting line.  The engine was in, but when they fired the monster, the starter blew, crippling the American Guardian and taking him completely out of today’s racing.  The finals were set with Virginia Giant have a second chance in one day to take the racing victory.  This time he’d have it.  Giant was the first off the line, and the first to cross the finish line, and take the victory.

Sunday
Rap Attack shifted into high gear, and stole today’s show. From the Doughnut Contest to Racing, Dave Rappach just could not be touched. The Wheelie Contest, though, belonged to two of the other Monsters. Pat Summa makes it know that he loves the wheelie, and his truck is built perfect for it. He showed us why during today’s show, as he set the truck up on the tailgate, and rode the wheelie to the concrete. The only truck to challenge was Virginia Giant. After Diehl’s run, it obvious that could go either way. The crowd makes the call, and they decided to give Giant his second Wheelie victory of the weekend. American Guardian, still struggling to get a brand new engine to fire and run, did make it out for the Wheelie Contest, and ran strong considering that the crew stayed up all night wrenching to get it done in time. But, the problems continues for Rick Raab, as the truck blew one of the cylinders.

 

It was clear that Rap Attack was determined to win in front of this Manchester crowd when he came out for the Doughnut Contest. His high-speed attempts at spinning in the center of the track was all that the crowd needed to score him the winner. Giant had a chance to compete, but got a little to close to the wall and had to end his run early.

Freestyle, again, came down to a close contest between these same two trucks. American Guarding was not able to run Doughnut, but made the call for Freestyle running on only seven cylinders. After his first pass, flames were seen on the engine, and it was official, Guardian had just blown his second engine of the weekend. Rap Attack’s constant pressure on the throttle pedal was the key to exciting this crowd. His score of 27 reflected this crowd’s love for high-speed excitement. The final truck to run still had a shot to take the contest, but Giant’s score came in one point less than what was needed, and Rap Attach had his first Freestyle Victory of the weekend.

 

Quad Wars ended the weekend with quite a surprise twist. After winning the third straight finals round, the New England captain decided to allow the Caroline captain a chance to run a one-on-one challenge for the points. This all happened because the Carolina captain was DQ’d before the finals, and the New England Captain wanted to beat him on the track. After a collision bent the sprocket on his quad, the New England captain was out of race, and lost the points to Carolina.

Freestyle Motocross again proved to be a crowd favorite. All three riders really had a good feel for the track surface and ramps on this final show. The tricks were the best we’d seen all weekend. It was again Steve Wagner that scored a perfect score of 30 with the crowd, taking his third straight victory.

 

In Racing, the Freestyle victory earned Rap Attack a bye, and a trip to the finals. After Thrasher beat what looked to be a struggling Virginia Giant, the Finals were set. With one Racing victory, Dave Rappach was looking to make it two out of three. Pat Summa was the only thing standing in his way. When the two trucks left the line, it was clear that Rap Attack’s strategy to come in low and fast was the better approach. Dave got his second racing victory, and won the hearts of many Manchester fans.