Weekend Race Recap
Friday 7:30
The road to the Monster Jam NGK Spark Plugs World Finals is still going strong, especially with the six awesome trucks that competed here tonight at the Peoria Civic center. With Escalade already qualifying for the 2008 WF the other five trucks were fighting for another chance to make it.
We started the night off with the Advanced Auto Parts wheelie contest. Freedom Force set the bar high with an awesome wheelie that scored him a 22. That score was too low by the reaction of the crowd and I thought it deserved more, maybe even the win. Rolling Thunder was next and took the lead with a 24 and El Matador tied him with an identical wheelie. King Krunch stepped it up and took over from there with a 27 as well as the crowd favorite Monster Mutt Dalmatian with the same score. The only truck remaining was Escalade and he wowed the judges for a perfect score of 30 and the first win of the night.
With Freedom Force done for the night with a broken shock we went into racing with a five truck bracket. Monster Mutt got the buy in round one and Escalade took out Rolling Thunder to advance, as well as King Krunch beating El Matador. In the semifinals, one of the closest races came between Escalade and fast loser El Matador with Escalade taking the win. King Krunch also had his hands full trying to beat Candace in her Monster Mutt Dalmatian and won by only a foot to advance his truck into the finals. The stage was set for the two World finals competitors and each was ready for the green light to fly. When the green light come on, King Krunch inched out Escalade in another photo finish and another new winner for the night.
The Built Ford Tough freestyle competition was next and the scores were close up to the end. Rolling Thunder was out first and each driver knew that the higher they finished in each competition tonight would determine where they will start tomorrow. Bendzick took the early lead with a 25. With the very wet and tacky dirt track, I and others never thought a doughnut could be spun but the newly built Rolling Thunder proved us wrong. El Matador also spun a doughnut along with some good air but fell short with a score of 23. King Krunch was next and had some great air off the car stacks and took the lead only by one with a 26. Monster Mutt tried to catch her tail but only scored a 25 as the crowd still cheered her on. Escalade was last and he will start last tomorrow as Balhan took the freestyle win with another perfect score of 30 along with the highest air of the night.
In the Torco Fuels quad war challenge, team Illinois won two out of the three races along with a captains race to take their first win in two weeks in front of the home state crowd.
Saturday 2:00
Another exciting crowd came out early for the Built Ford tough party in the pits and to watch their favorite Monster truck compete for the Monster Jam title. The afternoon though belonged to George Balhan and his Escalade as he won all three competitions but it wasn't easy.
The Advance Auto parts wheelie contest started of with Freedom Force scoring a 12 but only because the rear axle broke not allowing the truck to have all four wheels turn. Jim Hotchstatter and his crew worked all night and into this morning to get that truck ready only to be let down again with mechanical problems. Rolling Thunder was next and took the lead with his wheelie scoring a 21 only to have it taken away from El Matador and King Krunch who tied with scores of 24. Monster Mutt Dalmatian was bound and determined to get a win and sky wheelied it high to take over first with a high score of 27. Escalade was last to go because he was last nights winner and again wowed the crowd and the judges to get another perfect 30 for the win.
The excitement didn't stop there as every race was the closest it has been all weekend long. In round one action Monster Mutt beat El Matador who was having fuel issues and King Krunch kept his streak alive by taking out Rolling Thunder. Escalade got the buy run as Freedom Force was still out. In the semi finals, Rolling Thunder came back as fast loser and almost upset Escalade as he was faster off the line but at the finish Escalade took the win. Monster mutt also had a close race as she lost by inches over King Krunch setting us up for a rematch like last night. Monster Mutt's loss was so close that Candice Jolly's crew chief (Roger Hubbard) demanded a replay but no cameras are used at this event. In the finals, Escalade got his revenge and defeated King Krunch in another close race.
With Escalade taking the first two wins of the day all the other trucks stepped it up to try and take him out. El Matador was first out for freestyle and scored a 22 to start us off. It was impressive to see El Matador and Rolling Thunder do doughnuts on this very wet and tacky track without flipping their trucks over. They did it in true style as Rolling thunder scored a 20 with his. Monster Mutt was next and tried every thing to take the lead but couldn't do it with a score of 19. King Krunch finally took the lead with some great air off of every stack and high speed through out his run to score a 23. There was plenty of scoring room for Escalade but as tough as the judges were so far for freestyle any thing could happen. George took the green light and had the sickest air so far this weekend and that’s all it took for the score of 28 to sweep the afternoon competitions which was worth the price of admission.
Saturday 7:30
As I sit here in the stands at a scorers table to get an internet signal to write to you, the Monster Jam fans, on what happened here tonight is a little difficult, but in a good way. Normally, I find myself in a small office with no distractions writing this recap. But instead, I find myself watching the fans hang around for autographs and a piece of Monster Jam to take home with them. This is truly the reason why I love what I do and so do these fans.
We started the night off with an awesome opening ceremony with a tribute to the men and woman who keep our country safe and a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. When the lights came up and the fans counted down to start your engines the first truck was ready to go for the wheelie competition. Freedom Force was first and we thought his bad luck was over but again problems with truck and he only scored a 12 and was out for the night. Rolling Thunder and King Krunch took the lead with scores of 20 as El Matador could only muster up a 19. Monster Mutt Dalmatian was next and the crowd was really cheering the truck on. When the judge’s scores were revealed with a 24 for the lead, the crowd went crazy. Escalade again was last because of his prior wheelie victory this afternoon and again skyed his truck to the win with a score of 28.
The battle continued into the 1-800-Safe Auto racing finals where again King Krunch would square off against Escalade. The trucks were staged at the starting line and the thumbs up was given by the tech official. Before the green light came on, King Krunch jumped the starting line and Escalade took home another victory. This is how they got there: Escalade got a buy run in round one and then beat El Matador in the semi finals. King Krunch defeated Rolling Thunder in his first match and beat out Monster Mutt. In other racing action, Monster Mutt took out El Matador in round one but El Matador came back as fast loser in the semi finals to get beat by Escalade.
Freestyle was next and it was awesome as Monster Mutt was first to go. Candice had Mutt and the crowd begging for more and her score reflected it with a 21. Rolling Thunder was next and we were waiting for the awesome doughnuts, but the track was too tacky and he finished in a tie with Monster Mutt. El Matador who broke the transmission only thirty minutes prior to this run had the crowd on there feet with some sick doughnuts and high air for the lead with a 26. King Krunch was looking for his first freestyle win but could only convince the judges for a score of 23. With room to grow Escalade was on a mission to take another three-peat. Not only for the fans, but for all the family and friends who were on hand to watch him. When the red light came on signaling that his run was over he kept on going giving the Monster Jam fans some sick air and great slap wheelies to take the win with a score of 27.
The night was over and the fans stayed around for autographs as the competitors came out to wave good bye and were reminded that tickets go on sale tonight at midnight for next years Monster Jam.
Monster Jam Announcer: Greg Whitacre
