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Weekend Race Recap
Friday-
We could talk to crazy cold temps outside, but why bother? ALL the action tonight was indoors as the USHRA and some of Michigan's best monster trucks were taking on a few challengers from outside the wolverine state.
The night started with an overly ecstatic crowd getting ready for the wheelie contest. The judges seemed to be very knowledgeable and the scores showed that, even to the point of upsetting a few drivers. But, oh well.

The wheelie contest was showing scores in the high teens and low 20s all through the competition until the last 2 contestants. Mike Vaters and the 2006 Thunder Nationals champion Black Stallion along with Jim Koehler and former world freestyle champion Avenger, tied with a score of 23. We turned over the decision to the crowd and they screamed for Jim Koehler and Avenger as the winner.

Moving on to the racing portion of the night, Mike Vaters and Black Stallion stormed through the brackets and in the finals met up with local fan favorite Ed Eckert and his bright yellow Full Boar Ford. Ed Eckert coming back from a summer of re-hab after being on the loosing end of a motorcycle/white tail deer incident, Ed was taking this appearance in the finals very seriously. But in the end it was Mike Vaters taking the win.

Onto the doughnut contest, the "loose cannon" Chris Bergeron and Brutus had the crowd NUTS and scored a 27 and it looked like it was going to very tough to beat. But along came the earlier mentioned former world freestyle champion Jim Koehler and scored a PERFECT 30 to take the win.

Finally what everyone has been waiting for, monster freestyle, again, the judges were being critical of the runs and the scores were reflecting that. Low to mid 20s is what we were getting until Mike Vaters hit the floor for his 60 second run. Trying to lay claim to another run at a season championship Black Stallion scored a 28 and the win.

After tonight's show I had a chance to run up to the autograph line and it went on for over an hour and a half. Just goes to show you how rabid these Michigan Monster Jam really are. 3 more shows to go. Yee haw!!

MONSTERS:
Jim Bendzick - Rolling Thunder
Dave Rappack - Rap Attack
Trey Meyers - Iron Warrior
Chris Bergeron - Brutus
Ed Eckert - Full Boar
Mike Vaters - Black Stallion
Jim Koehler - Avenger

Saturday 2PM -
Often times the Saturday afternoon event of a 4 show weekend is considered the "off show." Well, not here in Grand Rapids. A near capacity Van Handel Arena watched enthusiastically as every monster truck, racing riding lawnmower, xsba rider let it all hang out for the entire 2 hour show.

Starting in the wheelie contest, Chris "the loose cannon" Bergeron and Brutus easily showed the rest of the drivers how to do it with a rather convincing win. Chris Bergeron scored a 26 and no one was even close.

Next up was monster racing. Again, it was Brutus and Chris Bergeron sweeping through the field and into the finals and taking out the defending Thunder Nationals champion Mike Vaters and Black Stallion. It was starting to look like it could be the afternoon for the "dog."
Onto the donut contest and Brutus's reign will come to an abrupt end. Traction problems plagued Chris his entire run. He just couldn't hook up the 800 lb. tires enough to turn and get the donut started. The win though did stay within the team as the 2003 World Finals Freestyle Champion, Jim Koehler and Avenger scored a perfect 30. Again, no one was even close in scoring.

The final event of the afternoon and the fans were waiting patiently for the drivers to lay it on the line. Monster freestyle, and with the loaded field here in Grand Rapids, MI it was sure to be a barn burner. The floor was the enemy today as it was very very tough for any driver to find traction, but it was 25 years of experience and knowledge of less than perfect conditions that propelled Mike Vaters and Black Stallion to the freestyle win.

The weekend is half over and it is only going to get crazier. Hang on Grand Rapids the Thunder Nationals is in town!

Saturday 7:30PM -
As the song goes, "Saturday night's alright for fightin," here in Grand Rapids that was exactly the case. Not one driver or monster truck was dominant. There was even a case tonight were a driver the "judges" chose as the winner came out during his interview and admitted that he didn't deserve the win and he handed it over to what many considered was the winner. It was one of those kinds of nights.

It all started with the wheelie contest. Dave Rappach and Rap Attack set the bar pretty high for the first truck out on the floor and scored an 18. His score held up until Chris "The Loose Cannon" Bergeron and Brutus as well as big Ed Eckert and Full Boar both tied with a now leading score of 21. That was until the final truck came out. The "Wild Man," Jim Koehler and Avenger narrowly took the first win of the night with a score of 22. Critical judges, but at least fair this early in the night.

The racing portion of the night was next and more interesting circumstances came into play. Earlier this weekend, Chris Bergeron and Brutus seemed to have too much traction during the night, but that all changed tonight. He couldn't find ANY AT ALL. Every corner, couldn't turn, every tap of the throttle, major tire spin. If it was karma for Chris, it was coming back to haunt him in the worst way. Working their way through the brackets and into the finals it was Jim Koehler and Avenger going up against Mike Vaters and Black Stallion. With a great jump off the line and with Avenger fighting for traction, Mike Vaters took another win in racing.

Up next was the donut contest. And the judge's scores were all over the board. As low as 12 and all the way to a perfect 30, Jim Bendzick and his Rolling Thunder Chevrolet quietly stole the show early on with a very impressive 27, and he was the 2nd truck out. He was hanging onto the top spot until the excitable and local fan favorite Ed Eckert and his Full Boar Ford stood the entire crowd of the Van Handel Arena on its feet. During what had to be 20 consecutive spins, Ed removed his steering wheel and tossed it out the driver's window and just kept on spinning to the roaring approval of everyone. As could be predicted, Ed easily scored a 30 with the judges and convincingly the win. The problem came when he shut the truck down. As Ed and Full Boar came to a stop, there was a LOUD POP and Ed still in the cockpit just put his head down as if to say he knew exactly what happened. He won the donut contest but he also lost $50,000.00 blown motor. You wouldn't have been able to tell though as he was all smiles for the fans during the winning interview. Truth be told though, he was done for the weekend.

Ah, freestyle, what all fans come to see and what all fans seem to talk about the most was next. Again, Dave Rappach and Rap Attack were at it again with another wild 60 second run and his score of 21 held up until the final 2 trucks hit the floor. Mike Vaters and Black Stallion came out and was nailing one big air hit after another. Then to top it off, the Black Stallion signature move, big air over the cars in reverse. The judges seemed to like this run and scored it a 25. But the door was left open for the last truck, the 2003 World Finals Freestyle Champion Koehler and Avenger. Even with the opportunity for another freestyle win, he couldn't quite pull it off and ended up with a 22.

Easily the longest autograph line of the weekend portrayed the fan's enthusiasm tonight. With one more show remaining here in Grand Rapids, it would be hard to say we are saving the best for last, but you never know.

Sunday-
Team Scream Racing leader said it best during a pre-show interview, "On a weekend like this, the true die-hard lovers of monster truck racing are the ones that show up when no one else will. Sunday afternoon shows are usually the case, but not today and we are going to hang it all out today for just you, the Grand Rapids fans!" When I say Team Scream you have to know that I am talking about the 2003 Freestyle World Champion Jim Koehler. Boy, was his prediction true!
It all started in the wheelie contest. It was all Jim Koehler and Avenger. No one was even close!

During racing it was 1 familiar face and a relative new-comer to the finals scene. Mike Vaters and Black Stallion is no stranger to the finals in any competition but the guy he had to go up against was. Jim Bendzik and his big blue Chevrolet Rolling Thunder were more than up to the challenge set before them. Nothing more than a great jump at the green light was all that separated Black Stallion and Rolling Thunder at the Toyota Trucks Finish Line with the win going to Mike Vaters.
After a quick intermission, a surprise contestant came out last for the donut contest. Again it was Rolling Thunder and Jim Bendzik setting a very high bar for the rest to follow. A few monsters later, and out to the floor would come Chris "The Loose Cannon" Bergeron and his Brutus monster and they laid claim to an impressive 27 and what appeared to be a rather easy win. But wait, there's a late entry. One of the riding lawnmower racers wanted to challenge the big boys and WOW did he! Jayson Mikula and his 2003 John Deere riding lawnmower racer smoked the tires in the center of the floor and even had Chris Bergeron wondering who the judges would decide the winner was going to be. As it turned out, it was a tie by scoring standards. It would come down to the crowd and a major sized applause to decide the winner. After 3 tries, it still was too close to call and it was the decision of the USHRA officials to keep it a tie. Hhhhhhmmmm, a 10,000lb. monster truck and a 350lb. riding lawnmower tied in a donut contest. Only at a Monster Jam event!

When it was announced that monster freestyle was set to hit the floor, the fans at Van Andel Arena went crazy. The judges were tough, fair, but pretty critical and the drivers were finding that out very fast. A score of 26 was the winning number, that's how tough the judges were. That didn't matter to Chris Bergeron and Brutus as he is setting himself up to make another appearance at the World Finals in Las Vegas. More weekends like this and Chris will be on his way. Obviously Bergeron and Brutus won freestyle and the accolades of the fans in Grand Rapids this Sunday afternoon.

The closer it gets the more we all talk about it, but March 24th is right around the corner. Pick your favorite driver and keep track to see if he or she makes it there. The field will be announced very soon. So let the debate begin.