Weekend Race Recap
Monday:
Rain did not dampen the spirits of the thousands of monster truck faithful who turned out on Monday night for the first of three big nights at the legendary Lebanon Valley Speeday. The event, taped for TV and for an upcoming DVD was something nobody expected. Rain, a sloppy and slippery track and mechanical troubles plagued several of the worlds finest monster truck teams.
In a way it was a homecomming for Dennis Anderson of Grave Digger. "I have had fans in this area since I began running the old Digger truck and each year they come out and support us. I didnt want to disappoint anyone by losing the racing part of the event but I was determined to give them a show in freestyle", said Anderson in a post show interview.
The big winner of the night was Madusa who won the racing part of the night and won many fans over to her camp because of her incredible grit and ability. To the best of anyones knowledge it was the first time a women monster truck driver has won at the W. Lebanon track.
Results:
Round One:
Maximum Destruction a bye run
Turtle over Gunslinger
Madusa over Hot Wheels
Monster Mutt defeated Little Tiger
Grave Digger over Ragin Steel
Round Two
Maximum Destruction over fast loser Turtle
Madusa beat Little Tiger
Gunslinger over Monster Mutt
Digger over Hot Wheels
Semi Finals:
Madusa over Maximum Destruction
GunSlinger over Hot Wheels
Final
Madusa downed Gunslinger
Freestyle Competition Results:
Ragin Steel 18 solid run in sloppy conditions
Teenage Turtle 24 good run with the track a bit better
GunSlinger 25 awsome high jump clearing the cars twice
Little Tiger 27 super freestyle with Brian saving the truck on two wheels
Madusa 24 Madusa had problems with the slippery mud
Hot Wheels 28 Phil Foster came out fast and never quit
Monster Mutt 27 good run but no bone for Bobby Zee
MaximumDestruction 28 the only truck up to that time to take on the CarQuest Pyramid
Grave Digger 30 Dennis Anderson fulfilled his promise to deliver a great freestyle. He took the truck into duel cyclones, the highest jump of the night, and ended up straddling the infield wall before coming to a rest. The fans cheered for a full 5 minutes before the Green Mamba could do his car melt-down to end the show.
Street Warriors was won by Karl Barnes of Lanesboro Ma.
Tuesday:
It was to be one of the fastest nights of racing ever at Lebanon Valley Speedway for the monsters of the United States Hot Rod Association. From the very beginning of the event you could tell the monsters were glad the rain had stayed away and with the track fairly dry they were going to let it all hang out.
Monster Qualifing went well with only .01 of a second seperating Maximum Destruction and Grave Digger. After blowing a motor the night before on Max D and Digger putting the truck on its side during the opening Monday night you could tell the two big boys were ready for action.
Madusa fresh off her win in racing Monday night was also reved up and ready for action as was Bobby Z in Monster Mutt and the rest of the trucks in the nine truck field. The Speed Channel crew was also on had to catch all the action on tape.
Highlights of the night included Brian Barthels' amazing job driving Little Tiger in freestyle with a double wheelie and an incredible save. Bobby Z taking the Mutt for a walk on the wild side and still able to drive off the track and Dennis Andersons hard driving race and freestyle moves.
Race Results:
Round One:
Grave Digger with a bye as the fastest qualifier
Gunslinger over the Turtle
Madusa beat Hot Wheels
Monster Mutt downed Little Tiger
Ragin Steel suprised Maximum Destruction
Round Two:
Grave Digger over Ninja Turtle
Madusa beat Gunslinger
Ragin Steel took out Monster Mutt
Fast Losers round
Maximum Destruction over Hot Wheels
Semi Final:
Grave Digger beat Madusa
Max D. over Ragin Steel
Final:
Maximum Destruction powered past Grave Digger
"I know this is like Dennis Andersons second home town and there are bunch of Grave Digger fans here", said Tom Meents. " I just want to tell everyone what an honor it is to race against the man who is a hero to me. I used to watch Dennis on TV and now I can share a track with him in a sport that we both love. It is a dream come true and I thank the fans for their support each year."
In freestyle the judges were firm but fair not giving in to the fans just because a certain truck was popular. They had to earn their scores and some had a bit of a problem.
Ragin Steel
17 - a solid performance by Jason Childress
Teenage Turtle
23 - Brandon did a great job with lots of big air
Gunslinger
14 - broke rear steering early and could not finish strong
Little Tiger
20 - one of his best in a long time amazing air
Madusa
19 - the champ from the night before seemed to lack power
Hot Wheels
8 - Phil Foster had problems and they had to shut the truck down for safety reasons
Monster Mutt
25 - They let the dog out. He was deserving of the high score
Maximum Destruction
24 - Tom did a good job but broke towards the end of the run
Grave Digger
30 - Dennis was on fire. He jumped the truck repeatedly over the cars high flying over the track, a double donut, and jump over the CarQuest Pyramid with a roll over at the very end earned him the perfect score of 30 and gave him the win.
Doug Rose and his Green Mambe jet car again lit up the valley sky with his fire show and car melt-down.
Wednesday:
Another rainy night in New York didn't dampen the spirits of a packed house of Monster Jam fans nor did it extinguish the competitive fires of the Monster Jam participants.
Madusa backed up her Monday night Monster Truck Racing win with another triumph, this time over Tom Meents and Maximum Destruction, keeping her truck straight and steady in the slick conditions with careful application of 1400 horsepower.
Dennis Anderson also backed up a win, once again thrilling the fans with another signature Grave Digger freestyle competition performance, earning a perfect score of 30. It wasn't easy by any means for Anderson, as strong runs by Brian Barthel in Little Tiger and Phil Foster in Hot Wheels laid down the gauntlet. The increasing rain also made it tough for the master of Kill Devil Hills, NC, but Dennis triumphed over the tough conditions. "I know some of you fans out here probably couldn't see all that well," said a jubilant Anderson following the run, "And I can sympathize with you 'cause that last bit of that run, I couldn't see squat!"
John Killinger beat out another batch of rough and tough Street Warriors to earn the Street Warriors championship.
MONSTER TRUCK RACING:
ROUND ONE:
Grave Digger (top qualifier) had a bye run.
Gun Slinger over Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
Madusa over Hot Wheels
Monster Mutt over Little Tiger.
Maximum Destruction over Ragin' Steel.
ROUND TWO:
Grave Digger over Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
Madusa over Little Tiger.
Monster Mutt over Ragin' Steel.
Maxmimum Destruction over Hot Wheels.
SEMI FINALS:
Madusa over Grave Digger.
Maximum Destruction over Ragin' Steel (fast loser from previous round, replacing Monster Mutt, whose front steering was broken).
FINALS:
Madusa over Maximum Destruction.
MONSTER FREESTYLE RESULTS:
Ragin' Steel 14 Jason battled hard on the slick surface.
Madusa 15 The First Lady ran hard and fast.
Gun Slinger 15 Scott spun a great mud dance in the dirt.
Maximum Destruction 22 Tom's luck still didn't turn around-another engine goes bad.
Turtle 23 Brandon wasn't intimidated by rain or the CarQuest Pyramid.
Hot Wheels 24 Another entertaining big air blast by Phil Foster.
Little Tiger 24 The rain didn't spoil Brian's parade of wheel-standing wildness.
Grave Digger 30 The Master blasted out another classic Grave Digger run.
The night was capped off by a shower of a different kind...one of flames, sparks, and smoke...as Doug Rose and Green Mamba brought the night to a loud and brilliant climax.
