Weekend Race Recap
Friday - 8:00PM -
Thunder Nationals was back in full force at Van Andel Arena with 6 awesome monster trucks battling it out for freestyle, wheelie, doughnut and racing champion. Fox motors was proud to present the Thunder Nationals as we started the night off with the wheelie contest. Full Boar was the first to go and gave the judges there first opportunity to hold up their score cards by giving him a 17. Turtle was next and up the score by one taking an 18 for the lead. This didn't last long as Brutus landed on his tail gate when he flew high in the air on his take off giving him the lead with a 25. Predator fell short with a 14 and Avenger would tie Turtle with an 18. Grave Digger was last and wheelied his way to a 23 giving Brutus the first win of the night and for the weekend.
Racing was next and Grave Digger would have to battle Avenger in the finals to take the win and his first victory. Grave Digger made it to the finals by beating Full Boar in round one and Turtle in the semi finals. Avenger didn't have it as easy as he lost in round one to Turtle but came back as fast loser in the semi finals to beat Predator. Predator made it to the semi finals by beating Brutus in the first round only to lose to Avenger.
Doughnuts were awesome as the crowd was on there feet screaming for more. The favorite to win was Full Boar but fell short by scoring a 25. Brutus did not score because of mechanical problems and Turtle would doughnut his way to a 24. The surprise of the night came when Avenger hit the floor and spun a wicked doughnut lifting his two left side tires off the ground giving him the win with a 29. Grave Digger was second with a 28 and Predator rounded out the field with an 11.
Freestyle was crazy as two trucks were broke and couldn't compete this was Predator and Full Boar. Grave Digger would take the freestyle win by scoring a solid 29. Avenger and Turtle would tie for second with 19 and Brutus ended up with a 12 for third. This gave Digger his second win of the night and momentum leading in to tomorrow’s competition.
Dew action sports tour BMX riders were in the house show casing their talents with some wicked tricks off the freestyle ramp. The crowd was screaming for more as each of the 5 riders left the floor.
Saturday - 2:00PM -
The temperature was rising out side as the sun was out for a gorgeous day but inside the Van Andel Arena it was smokin. The Wheelie competition was first and Full Boar led the way with a 24 until Grave Digger would steal it away with a 25 and the wheelie win. All Trucks scored well and the scores were close as Brutus and avenger would tie for third with 22. Turtle and Predator would round out the field with scores of 20.
Grave Digger once again dominated racing as he would defeat Full Boar in the finals to take another Thunder Nationals victory. Full Boar made it to the finals by beating Turtle in round one and Avenger in the semi finals. Avenger made it to the semis by defeating Brutus in round one which was a very close race. This race was so close that Brutus would come back as fast looser in the semi finals only to get beat by Grave Digger. Grave Digger took out Predator in round one to advance him into the finals.
Doughnuts was next and played havoc on all the trucks as the floor was slippery enough for the trucks to loose control or brake. Full Boar again the favorite spun his doughnut right into the stack of crushed cars ending his chances at a win with a score of 24. Brutus also had problems as he would only score a 21. Things the started to heat up as Turtle spun a perfect doughnut to take the lead with a 28. This wouldn't last long as Predator was next. Predator had the fans on their feet when he was done and took the lead with a 29 and a blown engine that would end his weekend. Avenger who won the competition last night would win again as he spun wickedly around the floor to take the win with a perfect 30.
Freestyle would end the show with some fast runs by all five trucks. Grave Digger would take the win for his second freestyle win with a score of 28. Digger wanted that win bad because he was broke during the doughnut competition and couldn't perform. Avenger was second in freestyle with a solid run of 27 followed by Brutus and Full boar who tied for third with a 23. Turtle rounded out the competition with a 22.
Saturday - 8:00PM -
A near capacity crowd witnessed some of the best competition I have seen from all five participating monster trucks in some time. The scores and racing were close all night as the crowd was screaming for more.
The wheelie contest was very close and the best I have seen as Full Boar went past vertical to start the event and scored a week 20 from the judges. Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtle did the same and scored a 25 for the lead. As each truck would go the scores got higher as Brutus would take the lead with a 27 only to get shut out by Avenger who walked his truck all the way across the cars and then slap wheelied again to wow the judges for a perfect 30 and the lead. Grave Digger did every thing he could but fell short with a 28 giving Avenger his first win of the night.
Racing was next and Grave Digger was finally dethroned as Full Boar took him out in round one. Full Boar would go on to beat Brutus to make it to the finals for a second straight time. Avenger in first round of racing was on a mission and had momentum receiving a buy run automatically putting him in the semi finals. Brutus in round one had a surprising win over Turtle but Turtle still had one more chance as he came back as fast looser. Avenger in the semi finals beat Turtle by inches to advance to the finals were he would take on Full Boar. In the finals both trucks were wanting the win in front of there home state crowd and in the end Avenger was victorious by beating full boar of the line for his second win of the night.
Avenger again wowed the crowd with his doughnuts as he would win the doughnut competition for a third time this weekend also giving him three wins for the night. Turtle was second with a 29 edging out Brutus by one with a 28. Digger was fourth with a 27 and full Boar round out the field with a 20. This was the closest contest we have had all weekend as three points separated first to fourth place.
Freestyle was next and all trucks were shooting for Avenger not wanting him to sweep the night as no truck this weekend has. Full Boar got the crowd started with smooth freestyle that scored him a 20 Turtle and Brutus would do one better and tie for the lead with scores of 22. Avenger wanted the four wins and it showed as he hit all the cars and threw in some doughnuts to wow the crowd and the judges by taking a 28 and the lead. Grave Digger was last and had some room as he worked the floor in Digger style by taking the win away from Avenger by scoring a 29 and winning by one point.
Sunday - 2:00PM -
The last Thunder Nationals for the weekend came to a close at Van Andel Arena as fans young an old got to see five great monster trucks battle it out. Full Boar was a crowd favorite as he wheelied himself into the lead in the wheelie competition with a 26. That score would give him second place as Grave Digger would take the win with a 29. Brutus was third with a 24 and Turtle was next with a 19. A bad hit on the cars created Avenger to veer toward the stands creating him to shut off early giving him his lowest score for the weekend which was a 17.
Kohler would make it up later in the doughnut competition were he would win against Turtle in a crowd cheer off. Both Avenger and Turtle scored perfect thirties in the doughnut competition leaving it up to the fans to decide who should win . Grave Digger fell short by one point getting a 29 as Brutus gained a 23 and Full Boar getting a 21.
In racing action Full Boar paid back Avenger from his earlier loss in the finals saturday night. The disappointment came when Full Boar blew his transmission doing it. This gave Avenger another chance at the finals. Grave Digger would advance to the semi finals with a bye run and Brutus would advance by beating Turtle in the first round. In the semi finals Avenger had a battle with Brutus and came out on top by winning the race by a bumper. Grave Digger advanced to the finals by beating Turtle setting the finals race up with two world finals champions. At the green light Digger got the edge and had the better lane as he took another win for the day by defeating Avenger.
Freestyle was tough as the crushed cars were crushed so far down that the trucks were not getting much air. Digger made the most of it by sweeping the freestyle competition for the week with a score of 26. Avenger again fell one point short taking second with a 25. Third place was close as Brutus had a 20 followed by Turtle with a 19 and Full Boar with an 18. The high light was the doughnut that Avenger spun after the sixty seconds in freestyle as he spun his doughnut almost a full minute which seemed much longer than that. When he was done the crowd was on there feet screaming for more.
