Weekend Race Recap
Saginaw, MI(March 14-15, 2003)
Friday
Gravedigger rolled the truck in the Donut competition Friday night in Saginaw. Rod Schmidt who admittedly had not be in Digger 8 in several years was doing a great job in the truck until the Donut competition. "It just hooked a lot quicker than I thought it would and before I knew it I was over", commented the driver after the roll. The truck had no major problems and everyone thought it would be easy sailing into the Freestyle competition but that was not the case. Gravedigger's RII (remote ignition interupt) radio did not check out and USHRA officials would not let the truck run until the problem was fixed. "I understand the concern of the officials and I agree with them", said Schmidt but I want to show the fans a real Digger freestyle." After the problem was fixed during the intermission Gravedigger came out and did an exhibition freestyle for the fans.
Competition results went as follows:
Wheelie Donut Freestyle
Lil Miss Dangerous 18 18 21
Full Boar 20 27 23
Rambo 24 28 20
Destroyer 28 19 25
Gravedigger 29 29 dnr
Racing saw the winner of Freestyle, Destroyer get a bye into round two.
Full Boar defeated Rambo
Gravedigger beat Lil Miss Dangerous
Destroyer beat fast looser Rambo
Gravedigger over Full Boar
Final saw Gravedigger inch out Destroyer.
Quad Wars saw Team Saginaw defeat Team Chicago in the final after winning the first two heats.
Saturday 2PM
The Thunder Nationals presented by the Neighborhood Michigan Ford Dealers gave fans a treat Saturday afternoon with some outstanding action. For Quad Wars fans it was not the best of times as Team Chicago took all the heats, the main and a captains challenge race to defeat the hometown boys. Saginaw team captain Matt Calabrese vowed to be back and ready to take the win in the 8pm event.
Monster action only saw one problem. Full Boar driver by Ed Eckert blew a transfer case while winning the donut competition. The bouncing of the donuts put much more pressure on the system than the truck could hold. Eckert said"I thought we blew a tranny and could change it during the intermission but we had worked for a full 15 minutes to remove the transmission before realizing the transfer case was the source of the problem. By then it was too late.". Full Boar will be back in action for the 8pm show.
Competition Results:
Wheelie Donut Freestyle
Lil Miss Dangerous 15 18 18
Full Boar 13 28 (winner) 0 DNR
Rambo 15 26 15
Destroyer 20 14 25
Gravedigger 29 (winner) 19 28
Racing saw Full Boar unable to answer the call.
Round One:
Gravedigger automatic bye to round two with the freestyle win
Little Miss Dangerous defeated Rambo
Destroyer bye after Full Boar could not answser the call.
Round Two:
Gravedigger over fast looser Rambo
Destroyer over Lil Miss Dangerous
Final:
Gravedigger beat Destroyer
It was an afternoon worthy of a championship event with tough competition and great fans present to cheer the trucks to victory.
Race time for the third and final event in Saginaw is set for 8pm tonight.
Saturday 8PM
A slight problem in the steering of Destroyer was the only thing that marred the ThunderNationls in Saginaw Saturday night. Destroyer had run hard in the wheelie contest and in the Donut contest but lost the front steering as he came out for his freestyle run. Dan Evans and his team worked thru intermission to bring the truck back for the race part of the night. Destroyer defeated Rambo in the first round but lost to Full Boar in the semi-finals. "We were lucky to get the truck repaired for racing and I guess I lost my concentration in the semi's and Ed got the win. He's a tough competitor and deserved to win", said Dan Evans.
Competition results:
Wheelie Donut Freestyle
Lil Miss Dangerous 17 18 20
Full Boar 21 28 21
Rambo 12 30 26
Destroyer 26 21 15
Gravedigger 30 12 30
Race Results:
Round One:
Gravedigger bye run as the winner of Freestyle
Destroyer over Rambo
Full Boar defeated Lil Miss Dangerous
Semi-Finals:
Gravedigger over Lil Miss Dangerous (Fast Looser)
Full Boar over Destroyer
Finals:
Gravedigger defeated Full Boar
