Weekend Race Recap
Friday 7:30 p.m.
Monster Jam fans in Knoxville has grown accustomed to seeing five high quality Monster Trucks when the show rolls into the Thompson Boling Arena. The enthusiastic cowd welcomed Barabarian, Bad News, Destroyer, War Wizard and Bounty Hunter, a strong lineup by any standards. As the countdown to fire engines concluded, only one truck made the noise and it wasn't one of the five. in a surprise appearance, a sixth truck was added as Lee O'Donnell wheeled El Toro Loco into the arena, marking the first-ever six truck show.
The wheelie competition opened the night's performance. As Bad News, the thir dtruck in line, wrapped up his attempt, the floor went quiet as yet anothre truck rolled into the arena, bringing the total to seven. It was two-time World Champion Madusa, who made short work of the wheelstands, taking the win.
Wheelie competition
Barbarian - 17
Destroyer - 20
Bad News Travels Fast - 18
Madusa - 24
El Toro Loco -17
War Wizard - 19
Bounty Hunter - 16
The wheelie winner automatically gets a bye in the first round of monster racing. The rest had to earn their way up the ladder. Bad News defeated El Toro Loco, War Wizard dropped Barbarian, and Destroyer got the best of Bounty Hunter. All winners in the first round came from the right lane.
When round two came about, Madusa chose the right lane against Bad News, but a quick launch off the line gave the left lane win to Bad News. Destroyer, the latest to join the Monster Jam NGK Spark Plugs World Finals, moved into the finals by dropping local favorite War Wizard.
The finals squared off with a close race deciding the winner and it turned out to be Destroyer and Dan Evans in command.
The Monsters moved into the popular Donut competition and race winner Destroyer led off. He couldn't quite hook it up to his standards, bringing the run to an early end and taking a score of 16. Barbarian raised the ante to 23, but Bounty Hunter came out, loooking for the best score. He managed to enticed a 28 from hte judges with some furios circulations. Madusa started strong, gassing the truck through the entire run, but failing to score more than a trio of 8s, a 24. War Wizard's efforts ended up with the truck nearlt out of bounds and a 19 for his record. Bad News tried it as the last truck to go and a 25 proved to be a good score, but not enough to dethrone Bounty Hunter. El Toro Loco had suffered a broken radiator mount, leaving the truck in the pit while the crew went to work.
The Universal Technical Institute freestyle saw some wild action. Barbarian broke a shifter and slowed to a stop late in the run. War Wizard performed a big jump, badly damaged his left front wheel. Through it all, War Wizard's effort topped the freestyle as Randy Moore, from nearby Bristol, made his Knoxville edbut a success.
UTI Freestyle
Destroyer - 17
Barbarian - 18
Bounty Hunter - 23
Madusa - 23
War Wizard - 28
Bad News - 22
El Toro Loco - 20
A trio of freestyle motocross riders provided high flying thrills as Cody Cavanaqugh stuck a pair of backflips for finale. The XSBA exhibition gave two wheel fans a big thrill. Lawn Mower racing saw Michael Bell win a pair of events.
We'll be back at 7:30 Saturday for more Monster Jam excitement!
Saturday - 7:30 p.m.
A return to action in the Thompson Boling Arena was the talk of the town for Saturday night as Monster Jam returned. With five trucks through introduction, a surprise apperanace by El Toro Loco put six trucks in position for wheel stand competition. Aftre three trucks had finished their efforts, the lights went dark as yet another surprise was in store as two-time World Champion rocked the house with her appearance.
Wheelie
Barbarian - 16
Destroyer - 15
Bad News - 19
Madusa - 18
El Toro Loco - 24
War Wizard - 24
Bounty Hunter - 18
The tie between War Wizard and El Toro Loco was broken by the secret judge, who gave the nod to War Wizard.
With the War Wizard win, the truck drew a bye in the first round. The first round pairings saw Madusa topping Bounty Hunter and El Toro Loco and Destroyer met, nearly colliding at the Ford finish line with El Toro taking the win. In the final pairing, Bad News stopped Barbarian. In semi-finals, Madusa stopped the return of War Wizard while El Toro Loco waited patiently for his opponent, Bad News. A problem that saw Bad News dumping fluid kept the big orange truck in the pits, giving El Toro a bye pass to the finals. Both competitors decided to keep the action moving with El Toro going straight to the Advance Auto Parts starting line, challenging Madusa to answer the call. Madusa wasted no time coming forward and the trucks staged for the final. When the green came on, the trucks thundered forth, but El Toro Loco won the drag race to the Ford finish line to pick up the championship.
In Monster Donut action, a short field was presented as mechanics worked hard to get their trucks back into action. Barbarian fixed a slight problem to get the truck ready to sit and spin. His effort brought a 12 from the judges as the floor was opened for Bounty Hunter, who charged to a 16. Madusa was next and ripped off a stellar run of long duration and tight spins. She was rewarded with a 28 and watched as War Wizard tried to match the feat. His effort was strong, but came up a point shy with a 27 and Madusa notched another win for her record book.
The Universal Technical Institute freestyle saw a full contingent make theiur way to the floor. Barbarian compared a partial run before losing power to end his night with a 17. Bad News, thanks to yeoman effort of crew, put the truck back into action, posting a 7-7-7 scoring, great on slot machines and good enough for the lead. Destroyer came to the floor and set the stage for a backwards jump over the crush cars that endeared a 25 and a position as the new leader. Madusa tried to draw a little magic for freestyle, pulling a 20 from the scorecards. El Toro Loco was looking to capitalize on the racing win, but a 7-7-7 put him in a tie for second. War Wizard landed strong, getting a 24 and Bounty Hunter matched the effort. While 24 is a good score, it wouldn't be good enough on this night, giving Destroyer a second victory.
The night also saw lawn mower racing, XSBA action and high-flying freestyle motocross, giving Knoxville fans a full plate of excitement. The day opened with a Built Ford Tough Party in the PIts with a capacity crowd on hand for the duration.
