Weekend Race Recap

Friday - 8:00PM

Thunder Nationals In Pensacola Florida
By: Joe Lowe 

Friday night the monsters invaded the Civic Center in Pensacola Florida for the first of two big events. It had been a year since the 10,000 lb. beasts had been to the gold coast and the locals were ready for action. The monsters were also ready but it was to be an all Grave Digger night although Gary Porter had to fight to win it all.

Jim Jack brought his local hero status with him driving Reptoid to the race finals against the legendary Grave Digger. Others on hand were Thunder Nationals Champ Black Stallion, Iron Warrior,  and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Fans were treated to a dose of Pyscho, Mike Vaters jet powered quad and an awesome display of fire and power. Other events included Quad Wars and the battle between Team Alabama and Team Florida. Team Alabama looked as though they were headed to a clean sweep winning the first 3 point and the second 6 point races. They fell to the Floridians in the 10 point relay race giving the Florida team the win for the night.

Hot Rod Bobby Cox was also on hand with his mini monster truck, the Hardly Davidson and his wild stories. He also made a ton of friends by throwing t-shirts into the crowd.

Results for the night were as follows

Truck                                      Wheelie                   Donut                      Freestyle

Iron Warrior                            24                                            17                            21

Reptoid                                   24                                            broke                       26

Teenage Turtle                        27                                            28                            27

Black Stallion                          21                                            28                            28

Grave Digger                         30                                            30                            30              

Racing had its share of surprises

Round One

Grave Digger bye as the Wheelie contest winner

Reptoid over Teenage Turtle

Iron Warrior beat Black Stallion

LCQ to determine who would go to the semis saw Turtle defeat Black Stallion

Semi-Finals:

Grave Digger beat Turtle

Reptoid over Iron Warrior

Finals

Grave Digger over Reptoid in a close contest. 

Saturday - 8:00PM

Saturday Thunder Nationals in Pensacola Fla.
By: Joe Lowe

It may be Spring Break time in Florida but it was also Monster Time in Pensacola Saturday night when for the second night in a row the Thunder Nationals roared into the Civic Center with over two hours of non-stop action.

Unlike the night before it was not going to be an easy night for Gary Porter and the Grave Digger team. Digger did lay claim to an early victory in the Wheelie Contest to begin the event but the rest of the night was a tough one for the black and green wrecking machine.

Brandon Harrington drove the Ninja Turtle to a clear victory in the donut contest. Both Turtle and Thunder Nationals Champ Black Stallion, driven by Mike Vaters, tied for the Freestyle Competition win with three 29’s.

Racing came down again to hometown hero Jim Jack driving Reptoid against Grave Digger. While the racing was very very close after review it was agreed by the official that Grave Digger was the winner by inches.

Quad Wars saw both teams, Florida and Alabama take one win each in the first two races. Alabama earning 3 points in the first race and Florida getting 6 in the second. The relay race in the final went to Team Alabama bringing almost half the crowd to their feet to celebrate while the other half was silently shocked to see Florida go down to defeat.

The judges and fans alike loved the Freestyle Competition. Trey Meyers aboard Iron Warrior set the fast pace early driving the truck to the breaking point as the first one out. He earned a 23 and broke at the end of the run having to be towed off the track. Jim Jack and Reptoid earned a 24 from the judges then the fun began. Ninja Turtle, Black Stallion and Grave Digger all were given 29’s by the judges forcing a crowd cheer-off to determine a winner. The fans chose Grave Digger but it was very close with Brandon Harrington again getting ever so close to taking the limelight away from not only the Grave Digger truck but also Thunder Nationals Champ Black Stallion.

Results were as follows:

Truck                                Wheelie                           Donut                                     Freestyle

Iron Warrior                            27                                 23                                            23

Reptoid                                   23                                 22                                            24

Turtle                                      29                                 30*                                          29

Black Stallion                          23                                 29                                            29

Grave Digger                           30*                               28                                            29*

*denotes Winner

Racing Results:

Round One

Grave Digger Bye run as th Wheelie Contest Winner

Turtle defeated Black Stallion

Reptoid over Iron Warrior

LCQ

Black Stallion over Iron Warrior

Semi-Finals:

Grave Digger beat Black Stallion

Reptoid over Turtle

Finals:

Grave Digger beat Reptoid by mere inches.