Weekend Race Recap:
Monster Jam Blasted Raleigh Tonight!
Six awesome trucks came to town to have some fun. Three different events for the Monster Jam drivers plus Mini-Moto and Quad Wars.
The first event of the night was Monster Jam Wheelie Competition. The trucks would hit the cars for the first time this weekend. One at a time and hit the crushed cars the opposite direction. The scores started off low and went high and then would go back down. The first two trucks, Iron Warrior and Backdraft, both scored 17's. Up next would be Eradicator. Andy Slifko would score a 24 after putting his truck on it's tailgate. Then, Black Stallion would get a 23, Monster Mutt a 21. The last truck would be Grave Digger. Gary Porter had problems going over the stack but would still score a 23. We then found out that Grave Digger broke his transmission. The win would go to Eradicator.
The event quickly went into Monster Jam Racing. The brackets were set by the drivers going into the crowd and then kids would pick numbers out of a puff truck for each driver. Round One: Eradicator defeated Iron Warrior, Monster Mutt defeated Backdraft, and Black Stallion got a bye run because Grave Digger did not make the call to come out. Semi-Finals: Monster Mutt defeated Eradicator, and Black Stallion defeated his teamate Iron Warrior. The finals would be the closest race of the night. Black Stallion took the win over Monster Mutt.
The final event of the night would be Monster Jam Freestyle. One truck at a time, anything goes, sixty seconds. The track crew came out before and built a van stack on top of a table top that the Quad Wars were using. The scores were again pretty close. Iron Warrior scored a 16. Backdraft struggled a little bit and got a 15. Eradicator scored a 22. Black Stallion would then take the lead with a 27. Monster Mutt had a few difficulties and would receive a 19. The crowd had been wondering if Grave Digger had time to fix the truck or not. Then finally the engine fired and Gary Porter blasted out of the tunnel. Grave Digger went crazy tonight as there are so many Digger fans in North Carolina. Grave Digger took the only perfect score of the night. Grave Digger would be the winner.
Wheelie Freestyle
Backdraft 17 15
Iron Warrior 17 16
Eradicator 24 22
Black Stallion 23 27
Monster Mutt 21 19
Grave Digger 23 30
Saturday Night:
A sell out crowd came out to see the Legendary, Black and Green Wrecking Machine from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina and that is what they got to see! Grave Digger was driven by Gary Porter this weekend who is also from nearby Wadesboro, North Carolina.
Three different events for the monsters tonight. The first would be the Sky Wheelie Competition. The crowd was really excited when the Monsters came out to hit the cars for the first time. The scores started out low and went high quickly. Iron Warrior and Backdraft would get a 14 to get the event started. The next truck up would take the lead with a 23 by Eradicator. Then came the 6 time Thunder National Champion Black Stallion. Mike Vaters would get a 25. Up next was another crowd favorite from Wadesboro, Whit Tarlton in Monster Mutt. The last truck would get the high score and the win. Grave Digger took the victory with a score of 28.
Without missing a beat we went into Monster Jam Racing. The brackets were set by the drivers going into the crowd and each driver picked a race fan to draw a number for their starting position in the rounds. Round One: Grave Digger defeated Backdraft, Black Stallion defeated Iron Warrior, and Monster Mutt defeated Eradicator. Semi-Finals: Grave Digger defeated fast looser from round one, Iron Warrior, and Monster Mutt defeated Black Stallion. The finals would have two North Carolina's boys going head to head. Grave Digger got the jump off the line and wouldn't look back. Grave Digger the racing winner.
The final event of the weekend would be the crowd favorite. Monster Jam Freestyle. During intermission the track crew double stacked each of the racing lanes for high flying action. Also, they built a Van Stack ontop of a table top that was used for Quad Wars. Big Air would be the theme in the Freestyle. The scores were really low for the first 5 trucks. All of the North Carolina fans were on their feet for the last truck of the night. Grave Digger blasted out of the tunnel and seemed to never let off the gas until the red light flashed. Gary Porter tore the place up tonight. Grave Digger took home a clean sweep and the win in Freestyle with a score of 29.
Wheelie Freestyle
Backdraft 14 15
Iron Warrior 14 16
Eradicator 23 18
Black Stallion 25 20
Monster Mutt 21 22
Grave Digger 28 29
Story by: Scottie Deubler
