Team Ice Dominates All-Star Challenge

Team Ice completed the clean sweep of the inaugural All-Star Challenge with the victory in Freestyle that brought an exciting conclusion. With only two trucks remaining Team Fire’s Adam Anderson (Grave Digger) grabbed the lead, but the advantage would be short lived. The final driver on the track would be Team Ice’s Ryan Anderson (Son-uva Digger) and his Freestyle would leave the fans with an exclamation point to an action-filled weekend.

 

Team Ice won with a 625-575 total point margin. Ryan Anderson would be the top performer with 90 points.

The first half of the field has completed their runs in the Freestyle portion of the All-Star Challenge. At this point, the top score has been recorded by Monster Mutt Dalmatian Ice’s Cynthia Gauthier, who used a big air jump to gain the attention of the scoring crowd.  Her 8.773 displaced early leader Tyler Menninga, who tallied an 8.615

 

Still to come are Linsey Read, Jim Koehler, Coty Saucier, Colton Eichelberger, Cam McQueen, Camden Murphy, Neil Elliott, Tom Meents, Todd LeDuc, Adam Anderson and Ryan Anderson

The Vegas-style racing portion of the inaugural All-Star Challenge saw some dramatic turns of events. When it was time to crown a champion, it was Coty Saucier in Monster Energy, giving Team Ice its second straight racing victory of the weekend.

 

Saucier was stationed in Round 2 after team captain Scott Buetow put him in the top position for the byes. Saucier defeated Cole Venard in Round 2 with the fastest time of the night at 16.313. Next up was Bari Musawwir, who fell in the Quarter Finals. The Semi-Final matchup was a victory over Team Ice teammate Jon Zimmer, setting the stage for Ice versus Fire with Bakugan Dragonoid also in the Final Round.

 

The main event saw one of the closest finishes of the night as each recorded their best time of the night but the 16.274 run by Saucier was just less than .01 faster.

 

Team Ice took a lead of 480-420 into the Freestyle action. Ryan Anderson of Team Ice had the individual point lead.

 

The racing action is about to start for the second night of the inaugural. At the end of the night, an individual champion and a team champion will be crowned, but first there is elimination racing and Freestyle.

 

At the end of the Friday night action, Team Ice led by a 317-283 margin. Race winner Ryan Anderson led the points with 44, followed by Best Trick winner Brianna Mahon with 42. Both are members of Team Ice, contributing to the 34-point margin. Tyler Menninga sits third overall, tops on Team Fire. The rest of the top five are Neil Elliott (Ice) 37 and Jim Koehler (Fire) with 35.

 

Day 2 of the inaugural All-Star Challenge at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas saw the return of the enthusiastic crowds who gathered for the Pit Party.

Tonight’s activities include racing on the Vegas-style track and Freestyle.

Once again, the two captains (Team Fire’s Tom Meents and Team Ice’s Scott Buetow) gathered to decide the racing bracket and the Freestyle order for the Saturday night competition. Since Team Ice holds the points lead (317-283), captain Scott Buetow called the coin toss and lost, giving Team Fire the right to pick first. The drama began immediately.

Team Fire’s Tyler Menninga called out Todd LeDuc from Team Ice, seeking revenge for a Friday night racing loss. Buetow reminded Team Fire that the choice of racing opponent was his and, after a little banter, Buetow relented. The trash talking escalated throughout the choices to set up some interesting matchups.

Round 1

Race 1 – Grave Digger (Tyler Menninga) will represent Team Fire in his attempt to avenge last night’s loss at the hands of Monster Energy (Todd LeDuc). The two had never met until Friday night, so Menninga has a shot to even the record. The winner of the event will not have it easy because the Round 2 opponent will be Coty Saucier. If LeDuc wins Round 1, it could set up the first-ever meeting between two Monster Energy trucks.

Race 2 – Team Fire will offer up Zombie Fire (Bari Musawwir) to meet up with Team Ice’s Northern Nightmare (Cam McQueen). The two have not met since Calgary in 2014, where Cam won both races. The winner will face Great Clips Mohawk Warrior (Bryce Kenny) in the next round.

Race 3 – It will be a first career meeting for Megalodon Fire (Cory Rummell) and Monster Mutt Dalmatian Ice (Cynthia Gauthier). Dragon Ice (Jon Zimmer) would be next in line for the winner and neither of the first round competitors has raced Jon Zimmer since 2017.

Race 4 – In a rematch from last night’s race #4, team leaders Max-D Fire (Tom Meents) and El Toro Loco Ice (Scott Buetow) will line up again. Buetow won last night’s matchup, but the change in the track layout clearly benefits Meents. He is 45-11 on this type of track while Buetow has a record of 1-7. Grave Digger Fire (Charlie Pauken) will take on the winner.

Race 5 – The Black Pearl (Cole Venard) will set sail for Team Ice to do battle with Max-D (Colton Eichelberger) on Team Fire. It will be their first career meeting. The Round 2 opponent is none other Son-uva Digger (Ryan Anderson), who led Team Ice to the racing win last night.

Race 6 – It will be another match between two drivers who have never squared off before when Team Fire sends BroDozer (Heavy D) and Team Ice counters with Bad Company (John Gordon). Both drivers picked up a win last night, but neither driver has ever raced this type of track in the past. It doesn’t get easier as Team Fire’s Grave Digger (Adam Anderson) looms in Round 2.

Race 7 – Max-D (Neil Elliott) carries the mantle for Team Ice as he faces one of the toughest racers in 2019 with Bakugan Dragonoid (Camden Murphy) of Team Fire. Bakugan Dragonoid was unable to compete last night due to a transmission issue, so there’s additional incentive. Avenger (Jim Koehler) has the first round bye for this part of the bracket and meets the winner.

Race 8 – The final race of the first round will see a rematch of Friday racing. Grave Digger (Krysten Anderson) will do the work for Team Ice against Scooby-Doo (Linsey Read) on Team Fire. Last night, it was Krysten Anderson getting the best time and crossing the finish line first. Just as before, the winner will have to go against Whiplash (Brianna Mahon).

Tonight’s Freestyle order was also determined by the team captains.
Zombie Fire
Bad Company
Great Clips Mohawk Warrior
Grave Digger (K. Anderson)
Grave Digger (Menninga)
Whiplash
Megalodon Fire
Dragon Ice
Scooby-Doo
Monster Mutt Dalmatian Ice
Grave Digger (Pauken)
The Black Pearl
BroDozer
El Toro Loco Ice
Avenger
Monster Energy (Saucier)
Max-D (Eichelberger)
Northern Nightmare
Bakugan Dragonoid
Max-D (Elliott)
Max-D Fire (Meents)
Monster Energy (LeDuc)
Grave Digger (A. Anderson)
Son-uva Digger