Council Bluffs, IA - Mid-America Center

Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam
Mid-America Center
Council Bluffs, IA
January 7-9, 2011

The start of 2011 and the Advance Auto Part Monster Jam Tour will have a tremendous amount of new things for fans to see and hear about, but none more than in Council Bluff, IA. The Mid-America Center came to life with 3 completely new trucks and 3 trucks that had major overhauls in anticipation of the new season. Jimmy Creten and the Bounty Hunter sponsored by Fruta Vida, debuted a revolutionary new body, made of liquid kevlar, making it virtually impervious to damage, the first ever (that I have seen) open/locker front differential, allowing Jimmy the ability to lock in the open or locked position for the front drive, which either locks the wheels into spinning at the same rate or the open position that puts power to the wheel with the least amount of resistance. And as always, the 2Extreme team has an overabundance of HORSEPOWER!!! The motor has been lowered in the chassis as has the fuel cell that now has half the tank under the normal mounting position. Incredible. These guys keep pushing the envelope, and that will continue to make Monster Jam even better. Tony Farrel and the Grave Digger The Legend truck, with the blue and silver paint the Dennis Anderson started with nearly 30 years ago and the same paint scheme that was used at a world finals event is now a truck that will be out on the tour all year long. I great treat for long time Dennis and Digger fans. Monster Mutt Rottweiler driven Charles Benns made it's debut as well. Adding the Rott and Charles to the kennel is going to be a force for the rest of the drivers to take notice of. The Flame Motorsports team of King Krunch and El Matador both were spporting brand new bodies for the start of 2011, and if I know David Smith, he has done some tweaking to the motor, tranny and all of the other go fast goodies his team always seems to have. The Iron Outlaw didn't get the extreme makeover that Bounty Hunter did, but the driver Nick Owens is going to keep that truck in the forefront of Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam fans around the nation. It has been a long time since I have seen a virtually unknown rookie, come out with the abilities this young driver has. Remember the name, Nick Owens.

Grave Digger came away with the hat trick on Friday night, winning the wheelie contest, racing and freestyle, for a clean sweep of the night. Daron Basl and El Matador were giving Tony and Digger a good run in the main event of racing, but a mechanical issue took Basl out of the race in turn 2, handing an easy win to Digger.

Digger's sky wheelies were definitely top notch and deserving of the win, showing that even though Tony Farrel has been out of the seat for nearly 2 years, he is still on to of his game.

Freestyle was cut short due to the mechanical issues on El Matador and to compound things for the Flame Motorsports team, King Krunch also developed a gremlin and was out of action as well. Nick Owens and Iron Outlaw laid down a killer run and was rewarded by the judges, but you have to think that if he had been lower in the run order the scores would have been higher.

Wheelie scores:
El Matador 18
Monster Mutt 16
Iron Outlaw 20
King Krunch 21
Bounty Hunter 25
Grave Digger 27

Racing Brackets
Round 1
Iron Outlaw pulled the trigger on El Matador
Monster Mutt bit King Krunch
Digger buried Bounty Hunter

Semi Final
Grave Digger spanked Monster Mutt
El Matador returning as fast loser in a rematch from round 1 stuck it to the Iron Outlaw

Final
Grave Digger keeps the Legend alive after defeating El Matador who experienced mechanical issues. (thinking it was water in the mag)

Freestyle Scores:
Iron Outlaw 21
Monster Mutt 16
Bounty Hunter 22
Grave Digger 25

Submitted By: SERVICE IS OUR BEST PART ADVANCE AUTO PARTS MONSTER JAM ANNOUNCER
Scott Heaton

It was all Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter. Winning all 3 events on the day. Tony Farrel and Digger did it yesterday and in a game where I can do better than you, Jummy got his win streak going and it is going to hard for any of the other guys to take him off of the top spot on the podium. Jimmy's new machine is working very well, and although the new truck "blues" may not have all been worked out, Jimmy is one of the drivers that when he feels confident in his truck he is nearly unstoppable. Once again, Nick Owens, the other half of the 2Extreme team that is here did an outstanding job. This young driver has the potential and capabilities to go along way in this biz, and he credits Jimmy and the Iron Outlaw for his success.
David Smith and his Flame Motorsports team had the mechanical issues that bit them last night come back again on the El Matador truck. They think the cylinder head gasket, which is a special item, is blown and without a replacement part it put Daron Basl and El Matador out for the day. David and King Krunch carried the banner for the team very well, once again performing as a future world champ should.

Wheelie Scores:
Monster Mutt 21
King Krunch 19
Iron Outlaw 20
Grave Digger 25
Bounty Hunter 26

Racing Brackets:
Round 1
Bounty Hunter took out Grave Digger and Digger came away with a mechanical problem that took him out of the rest of the day
Monster Mutt Rottweiler had a bye run due to El Matadors mechanical
King Krunch edged out Iron Outlaw

Semi Final
Monster Mutt beat King Krunch when David Smith slid out in the final corner while having the Rottweiler covered.
Bounty Hunter beat Iron Outlaw in a photo finish

Final
Bounty Hunter defeat Monster Mutt Rottweiler

Freestyle Scores:
Iron Outlaw 24
Monster Mutt 21
King Krunch 22
Bounty Hunter 26

It looked like Tony Farrel and the Digger Legend truck were back to their winning ways after taking the wheelie contest win and then again in racing. Tony even acknowledged that he had to be on his game because in the afternoon event Jimmy Creten and the Bounty Hunter swept all of the events after Tony had achieved that on Friday night. Plus, he said that just to beat the rest of the field beside Bounty Hunter would take all he and the Silver and Blue Wrecking Crew could muster. And the driver to stop the streak was a driver that made his Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam debut this weekend and a driver that I have been touting all weekend long and with his win it makes me look like a genius, was none other than Nick Owens and the Iron Outlaw. For the 3rd time this weekend Nick showed what he has got in the talent bucket as well as the abilities that the 2Extreme race team trucks have. He blistered the track, hitting all of the obstacles, both forward and back, had HUGE air and a killer donut. Those things combined gave the rookie and possible "Advance Auto Parts monster Jam Rookie Of The Year" the overall victory in the "Service Is Our Best Part Advance Auto Part Freestyle". I haven't seen this kind of talent since Jon Zimmer.

Wheelie Scores:
Monster Mutt 13
Iron Outlaw 17
King Krunch 13
Grave Digger The Legend 25
Bounty Hunter 21

Racing Brackets:
Round 1
Grave Digger bye run
Iron Outlaw dethroned King Krunch
Bounty Hunter took down Monster Mutt

Semi Final
Grave Digger put the Monster Mutt back in the kennel
Bounty Hunter beat teammate Iron Outlaw in a photo finish

Final
In a slugfest Grave Digger narrowly edges out Bounty Hunter

Freestyle Scores:
Iron Outlaw 21
Monster Mutt 12
King Krunch 8 Broke the right rear drive axle and which cut his run short resulting in the low score, and the reason David broke the axle was because he was set to win at all cost, unfortunately, the cost was a big one.
Grave Digger 10 RII shortened his run as well and cost him big time.
Bounty Hunter 20

Afternoon Advance Auto parts Monster Jam events seem to work well for Jimmy Creten and the Bounty Hunter. Sweeping all of the competitions on Saturday afternoon and then again on Sunday afternoon seem to prove the point, and to put an exclamation mark on the weekend, Jimmy was the only driver to score a perfect 30 point score over the course of the weekend. He started it off with 2 near perfect skywheelie's for the 30 point score, then came out in racing and beat one of the toughest competitors out there in David Smith and King Krunch in the UTI Final. Then the capper, a 26 in Freestyle to take the win and the clean sweep.

David Smith and the Flame Motorsports team had a rough weekend, with the only plus being that they went to the main event of acing on Sunday. A blown motor, and a broken axle kept the team from the normal front runner spots they are used to. The first weekend of the year is out of the way, and hopefully the mechanical gremlins that bit them this week are over with.

Wheelie Scores:
Monster Mutt Rottweiler 25
Iron Outlaw 24
King Krunch 22
Grave Digger 27
Bounty Hunter 30

Racing Brackets:
Round 1
Iron Outlaw bye run
Grave Digger beat Monster Mutt
Bounty Hunter took out King Krunch

Semi Final
King Krunch came back as fast loser and took out Iron Outlaw
Bounty beat Digger

Final
Bounty Hunter wins against King Krunch

Freestyle Scores:
Iron Outlaw 18
Monster Mutt 18
King Krunch 19
Grave Digger 17
Bounty Hunter 26