Tonight’s Doughnut Contest was one of the closest ever.  With four of the trucks letting loose to earn scores to 27, 27, and 29 – one truck remained.  The truck built for doughnuts, with his full leaf spring suspension and extra 2,500 pounds of metal, still had a chance to win with a perfect score.  Full Boar spun non-stop until the fans couldn’t take it anymore.  His reward, their perfect score of 30 and a contest championship.

Freestyle was all about Black Stallion.  Vaters run was non-stop action, never evening slowing down to line himself up on the crush cars.  To top it off, he lined himself up for the “Saturday Night Special” reverse jump to reward these crazy fan who were making so much noise.   Vaters nearly cleared the entire crush car stack – in reverse.  The crowd couldn’t get enough, so Vaters still gave them even more.  When the smoke cleared, the crowd chose Black Stallion as the clear Freestyle winner with his second perfect 30 score of the evening.

 

The Evansville fans got their first look at Lawnmower Racing.  No, not your average mowers, but modified MTD and Murray mowers capable of speeds up to 100 mph.  On tonight’s track, these competitors felt that they hit a top speed in nearly 40mph, on a small oval track… on a lawnmower keep in mind.   A husband and wife racing each for the first time split the first two heat.   Tim Ragsdale won the first heat, even though his wife Tanya led the first four laps.  Tanya, though, would not be denied as she took the easy victory in Heat 2.  In the final, it was the local mower with Jim Croslin that took the checkered flag.

 

The high flying action of “Mini Moto Freestyle” competitor Aaron “Flip” Smith was a true highlight in tonight’s show.  After warming up the crowd with some Freestyle tricks, the crowd yelled until he agreed to perform the Flip.  So, off the take off ramp, upside down in mid-air… not once, but twice.  A performance that is sure to put this new sport on the map.

All five Monsters were ready to go for tonight’s show – Vaters spent the entire night rebuilding the rear end, and even displayed the busted metal at today’s Pit Party.   Both he and Godzilla began the night strong in the Wheelie Contest.  Godzilla landed on the crush cars, flat on his tailgate – grill pointed towards the rafters.  The crowd responded with a perfect thirty.  This set the challenge for Black Stallion.  When Vaters succeeded in setting his truck up vertical, the crowd could not believe it as he danced his car over the stack, and onto the concrete floor before dropping the front axel.  The crowd awarded Vaters the 30, and then declared him the champion with a cheer off.

 

In the Doughnut Contest we had to go to a cheer off, again, to find our winner.  Both Bad News and Rambo scored perfectly with the crowd as the spun circles on the concrete, while holding their steering wheels outside of the trucks window.   With two equal scores of 30, the crowd had to decide it… their choice – Rambo.

 

In Freestyle, it was Full Boar that set the pace early with his outstanding performance, scored a 25 by the audience.  But, in the end, it would be the Reverse Jump over the stack that would win the crowd over for Black Stallion.  On that final jump, you could hear the damage to rear axel once again of Stallion.  The crowd appreciated the performance, and scored it a perfect 30 to give him his second Freestyle victory of the weekend.  Vaters now had to get the truck back to the pits, and tear open the rear end, and fix the damage in time for racing.

 

In Lawnmower Racing, Heat 1 proved to be a challenging one.  One rider took the back straightaway to wide, and anther did the same around turn four – both riders bent the rear axels, and sent their mower to the pits.  They showed us just how difficult it is the handle  50hp on such a low riding frame.  Four mowers made it to the finals, and George Herrin drove his new  mower to the checkered flag.

 

The Mini Moto Freestyle rider, Aaron “Flip” Smith gave us a new trick tonight on his 90cc cycle.  After doing not one, but two straight back flips in mid air, Aaron reached into his trick bag for something that he’s never tried before.  Called the “Sterilizer”, he lands the cycle with his legs stretched over the top of the handle bars, resting himself on the gas tank.   The combination of these three straight tricks, had the crowd on their feet screaming for the one they call, the “Brown Hornet”.