Weekend Race Recap
Friday 7:30
A near sold out crowd was on hand to watch their favorite Monster trucks compete in three main events. The Q, also known as the Quicken Loans Arena, was rocking when the count down to start the trucks hit one and all eight trucks fired at the same time.
The wheelie competition was first. Full Boar was first and had a solid wheelie to take a score of 16. After Shock tied Full Boar on his run as Pastrana 199 only scored a 15 for the first score Norm Miller has taken in over a year since retiring from Blue Thunder. He was behind the wheel for Courtney Jolly for the weekend. Bad Habit was next and impressed the judges for a score of 23 to take the lead and Brutus had done the same for another tie. Avenger was looking to up the score but could only muster a 19 well off the pace. Grave Digger was last and every one was screaming for the black and green wrecking machine as he wheelied his way to the first win of the night with a score of 27.
Racing was fast and so close on every race that the instant replay was used on almost every race. The crowd was treated to the HD VIDEO board and cameras that are new at the Quicken Loans arena. In round one action After Shock had the buy run and advanced to the semi Finals to face Avenger who beat Bad Habit by a foot. Grave Digger took out Full Boar in his race and Pastrana 199 defeated Brutus. In the semi finals Avenger edged out After Shock and Grave Digger squeaked by Full Boar who was impressive with his new engine. In the Finals the fans were treated to two World finals champions battling head to head. At the Ford finish line Grave Digger won by what seemed to be inches to take his second win of the night.
Freestyle had its ups and downs as After Shock took the early lead with a solid run and a score of 17. Full Boar also ran well but could only get a score of 14 from the judges. Bad Habit was next and we knew he was going to let it all hang out for his home town crowd. He came out and hit the fan stack for the biggest air so far for the night but after that the rear steer broke and that was it for him scoring a 20. Pastrana also had some problems and ended his run with thirty seconds still remaining on the clock for a 9. Brutus on the other hand had the crowd roaring with some good air and quick momentum for the lead and the score of 23. Avenger was next after coming off a loss to Digger only to find himself with a flat rear tire after his first hit of the cars giving him a 19. Digger knew it was wide open to take the sweep and he scored a perfect ten with out finishing the full sixty seconds. Wow! Stay tuned for more action when we come back tomorrow for two more shows.
Saturday 2:00
This afternoon started off with three thousand Monster Jam fans packing the arena floor for the Built Ford tough party in the pits. After the party was over another one started as the doors opened to the rest of the fans to another near sell out.
The Advance Auto parts wheelie contest was first and Avenger was the big winner and has my vote for the best arena wheelie of the year. Kohler stood Avenger on its trunk lid and walked and I mean walked the truck across a four cars like it was slow motion to score a 27, and well worth the wait in line to get in. Digger was next with a score of 25 and Full Boar and Bad Habit tied with scores of 22. The disappointment of the night came when Rap Attack stood his truck vertical and rolled over off the side of the freestyle motor cross hill to a score of 15 as the crowd booed. Pastrana and After Shock both finished with a 17 and 15.
Racing was next and more surprises were in store. After Shock was the surprise as he took his first victory of the weekend by beating out Rap Attack in round one, Avenger in the semi finals and Brutus in the finals. Another upset came when Avenger beat Grave Digger in round one keeping his streak alive to make it to the finals but as we know that didn't happen. In other races Brutus beat Full Boar and Pastrana 199 to make it to the finals and Pastrana 199 also had a win in round one against Bad Habit.
The action was not even close to being done when we came out of intermission. The Monster Jam fans were treated to the cannon lady and freestyle motor cross action before we started the Monster truck freestyle. The first out in freestyle was Full Boar and big Ed Eckert kicked it off with a score of 19. After Shock was next and took the lead with a score of 22 that would last until the seventh truck. Bad Habit had a good run and scored a 20 and Rap attack with the damaged body pulled out an 18. Pastrana 199 had some huge air but only scored a 21 and Avenger had problems with his steering giving him only an 18. Brutus was the truck to take the lead away from Aftershock and did it in style scoring a 23. Again a lot of room was left for Grave Digger and Tingler was not going to get beat twice in a row. Digger wowed the fans with sick air and a huge doughnut at the end of his sixty seconds to score a 29 and the win. In the interview Chad Tingler thanked the awesome fans and hoped they would all come back tonight for more Monster Jam.
Saturday-7:30
The Quicken Loans arena was rockin' as over ten thousand screaming fans watched their favorite Monster trucks battle it out in three action packed competitions.
There were many surprises and upsets of the night as Brutus claimed victory in racing and Avenger won freestyle in a tie breaking score from the USHRA extra judge that scored him 2 more points over Grave Digger to give him the win. Grave Digger was the wheelie contest winner that started off the night but that was it for the black and green wrecking machine. Here are all the results of the night:
Wheelie contest Freestyle contest
Aftershock 25 28
Full Boar 24 22
Bad Habit 25 29
Rap Attack 22 25
Pastrana 199 21 23
Brutus 24 29
Avenger 19 30
Grave Digger 28 30
Racing results
Round one: Pastrana over Full Boar Brutus bye run Grave Digger over Bad HABIT
Avenger def. Rap Attack
Semi Finals: Brutus def. Pastrana Grave Digger def. Avenger
Finals:; Brutus over Grave Digger
Monster Jam Announcer: Greg Whitacre
