Trucks: USHRA Monster Trucks including Grave Digger, Turtle, Max D, Taz, Air Force, Avenger, Brutus, Gunslinger, Cowboy, Destroyer, Instigator, and T-Maxx. Subject to change without notice.
Weekend Race Recap Saturday:7:30pm
by Scott Douglass
For the past several years the Citrus Bowl Monster Jam racing event has been one of the circuit's most unpredictable and it proved to be again in 2007 with Lee O'Donnell driving Taz to the victory over 2006 winner Steve Reynolds and Cowboy in the racing finals, then Neil Elliot and his team repaired a broken Maximum Destruction in time to burn up the track and snap Grave Digger's five year win streak in freestyle at the Orlando stadium.
Favorite son Scott Hartsock in Gunslinger set the fastest qualifying time for a bracket reduced to 11 trucks when a magneto problem kept Maximum Destruction out of the racing field. Similiar to his fate one year ago Hartsock again looked to be the truck to beat until motor problems ended Gunslinger's night after a second round victory. O'Donnell had posted the second fastest run in time trials and brought Taz from the bottom of the bracket to the finals with wins over Deric Evans in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Damon Bradshaw in Air Force, and Randy Brown in Grave Digger before topping Reynolds in a close finale. Not only was the win O'Donnell's first in a SPEED televised event, it was his first ever stadium racing win.
The Orlando freestyle was a real fans delight with truck after truck delivering huge performances. After Chris Bergeron grabbed the lead with a wild run in Brutus it was former Supercross star Damon Bradshaw who wowed the crowd with an amazing huge air assault that ended with a wild crash that saw his Air Force Afterburner erupt in flames. Bradshaw quickly escaped the cockpit as the USHRA officials extinguished the blaze, and Bradshaw headed to the hot seat as the leader with a score of 26, a score that was almost enough for his first stadium win. Bradshaw dodged a huge bullet when former world champ Jim Koehler drove Avenger through a full time run that ended with the truck in pieces and the fans on their feet saluting Mr. Excitement, Koehler's score ending up one point short of the lead. But Neil Elliot was not to be denied, after thrashing throughout the event to repair the magneto Elliot laid down a Max-D run combining truly sick air with amazing saves for a score of 27 and the event win. Brown brought Grave Digger onto the track last to try and extend the Orlando Grave Digger win streak in freestyle that he and Dennis Anderson had built over the last five years, but flattened the left front tire early in the run. Brown was still phenomenal even with the flat, but when his run ended with time on the clock he ended up equalling Koehler and O'Donnell in a tie for third behind Max D and Air Force.
RACING RESULTS
Fast Qualifier - Gunslinger
1st Round - Gunslinger bye run; Instigator def Avenger; Grave Digger def T-Maxx; Cowboy def Destroyer; Air Force Afterburner def Brutus; Taz def Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
2nd Round - Gunslinger def Instigator; Grave Digger def Cowboy; Taz def Air Force Afterburner (Instigator advanced to semifinals due to Gunslinger's motor breakage - Cowboy advanced to semifinals as fast round two loser)
Semifinals - Cowboy def Instigator; Taz def Grave Digger
FINALS TAZ DEFEATED COWBOY
FREESTYLE RESULTS
MAXIMUM DESTRUCTION 27
Air Force Afterburner 26
Taz 25
Avenger 25
Grave Digger 25
Brutus 23
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 20
Cowboy 19
T-Maxx 18
Destroyer 13
