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Rockford, IL - Rockford Metro Center
Thunder Nationals
Rockford Metro Center
Rockford, IL
02/03-04/2006
Monster Jam Racing Winner Monster Jam Freestyle Winner
Friday - 8:00PM-Samson
Saturday - 8:00PM-Samson
Friday - 8:00PM-Avenger
Saturday - 8:00PM-Avenger


Trucks: USHRA Monster Trucks and more. Trucks are subject to change without notice.


Weekend Race Recap


Friday - 8:00PM
Racing: Samson
Freestyle: Avenger
Wheelie: Brutus
Doughnut: Avenger

The night began with the monsters firing it up for the Wheelie Contest, and when it was over, the crowd found a clear winner. Samson started it off with a score of 13, with Predator's 20, and Full Boar's 23 to follow. Avenger's score of 25 led all others but would not be enough in the end. The monster known for slap wheelies off the line during racing was a natural in this contest. Brutus lined up the stack and launched straight into the air, bouncing back to the track on two of his four tires. The crowd scored him one point short of prefect. The win gave Chris Bergeron a bye in the first round of racing.

In round one of Monster Racing, Predator blew past Full Boar, and Samson took out Avenger in close finish. Avenger would come back to the Semi's as the fast-loser, but be taken out by Brutus. In the second race, Samson was established himself as the clear favorite in taking out Predator.

In the finals, it was clear that it was going to be a close race. Brutus took the air, while Samson brought it through the line low and fast. The officials took a second look, but it was clear that Samson passed the checkered pole first to earn the racing victory.

The Dew Action Sports Tour brought the action during tonight's show with sick air, and nearly every trick you'd normally catch on the TV coverage. With both BMX and Freestyle Motocross, this crowd was on their feet and yelling out of control the entire time. To wrap it up, both teams ran a train back to back over the ramps…each athlete knocking out sick air.

For the doughnut contest, there could not be a better line up of trucks. Brutus struggled with a score of 8, as did Predator with a 4. But from then on, it was out of control. Samson lit the track up with a score of 27, before two perfect runs thrilled the crowd. First up was Avenger, and Jim Koehler was more excited than ever, and nearly out-of-control. But the crowd just couldn't get enough. He took Avenger immediately into the spin, getting tighter and faster, acting like he didn't want to stop. Full Boar, a truck known for strong Doughnuts was next. He too immediately got into a cyclone so fast that his steering wheel came flying out onto the track. Both trucks were scored a perfect 30. The crowd had to cheer to pick the champion, and it was clear that they wanted to return some of that excitement the Jim dishes out at every show. Avenger was now the clear winner.

Freestyle was enough to keep the crowd screaming as every truck impressed the crowd. Predator led the way with a 24, followed by Samson with a 25, and Full Boar getting the crowd on their feet en route a 28. But this competition really came down to the final two trucks. Both of these guys knew how to impress this crowd… never let off the gas. Brutus came out first, and put up the biggest air of night, as he continued to hit the stacks nonstop. The crowd was clearly impressed, giving him a near perfect score of 29. But, there was one truck to go. And it would be the former Freestyle World Champion, Jim Koehler. Well, let's just say that Rockford got a first hand look at how Jim won that championship. He never let up on the gas, hitting the stacks at any angle, and getting into a doughnut that made his earlier, contest winning attempt look like practice. With only five seconds left, he somehow managed to straighten out the Avenger, and get it over the stacks two final times with huge air. All three perfect scores of 10 went up immediately, and Rockford awarded the victory for Mr. Excitement's world class performance.

Saturday - 8:00PM-
Last night's show set the bar high for these competitors… tonight's show did not disappoint. In the Wheelie, Predator (21) and Samson (17) warmed up the crowd with their first look at the Monsters. Full Boar (25) and Avenger (26) got the fans on their feet. But it was Brutus again tonight that brought the fans to a frenzy, as he did the wheel stand on the crush cars, ripping the tailgate off of the truck. No doubt that his run was worth the perfect 30. Chris would later autograph and award that tailgate to one of his loyal fans.

Once again, then, Brutus took the bye in the first round of racing. Predator would also advance to the semi's with a victory over Full Boar. With Samson's close win over Avenger, our next round of racing was set. When Avenger came back as the Fast Loser, we had identical pairings as last night. Brutus took out Avenger, and Samson took out Prowler, so, we had the same results too… and a rematch in the finals. Samson proved to be too strong for the K-9 this weekend in Racing. Both trucks came off the line strong, but the veteran, Dan Patrick just knew how to blow past Bergeron in the final seconds. Samson takes both racing victories for the weekend.

The Dew Action Sports Tour brought the action again tonight's proving that monster truck fans are true well rounded motor sports fans. They just couldn't get enough of the "jam Session" style action of both Freestyle Motocross and BMX together. It seemed impossible to top last night "train" to wrap it up. But tonight's show had the two teams perform it simultaneously, and then a second time while crossing and alternating. Good bet that most of this crowd will be tuning into the Due Action Sports Tour this summer.

For the Doughnut Contest, we saw Brutus improve big time to a score 19 to start things off. Koehler got the '57 Chevy around the track, but couldn't quite light the tires up like last night. They liked it though, and gave him a 26. The next three trucks, as expected, just tore it up. First up was Predator followed by Sampson, and both were able to get the tires off the cement surface and whip up a cyclone. No question about the scores and both were given a well deserved 30. The final truck, Full Boar, is one of the best at Doughnuts and came out to tie the score. After getting too close to the edge of the track, he took a second run at it and nailed it. In the process you could see smoke from underneath, as Ed blew two cylinders out of the engine. As a result of the failed first attempt, the judges rightfully couldn't give him the perfect thirty. Ed had to settle for the 29, and a blown engine that would keep him out to Freestyle. At this point, again tonight, the crowd had to cheer to pick the champion. While it was close, Larry Jarzel in Predator had the advantage, and took the Championship.

In Freestyle, the crowd got something that really got them on their feet. After Predator scored a 24 to start it off, followed by Samson's 19. The crowd was now excited to see Brutus, knowing that they see lots of air. Well, they saw exactly that on his very first jump, but then, everyone got more that they had bargained for. Coming off the car stack, Brutus landed on only one rear tire, bouncing the truck to run side and back into the air. Chris tried to power out of it… but over the dog went, right onto his side. Taking a look at the truck, you could see that the entire body destroyed, spread across the track. He popped out of the truck with in just a second or two to the roar of the crowd. They loved it. No doubt that Brutus has won over thousands of new fans. But without completing the 60 second Freestyle run, his score was low at 11. The final truck to run Freestyle is one of the very best. Coming off a win last night, Jim Koehler was on fire, gunning for the win. Just as he did 24 hours ago, he ran the track, getting huge air, and never let off the gas. It was clear before he even stopped that the crowd was going to award him the victory. Again, it was how Jim won the World Freestyle championship in 2003. His score of 29 not only brought him the victory, but also a chance to thank the crowd. If you've ever heard Jim on the microphone, you know what the word "excitement" really means… the perfect way to end the weekend.


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