2006 Team Demolition Derby Tournament of Destruction
June
24, 2006
Round 2
Orange "CRUSH"es them all
2005 was no fluke. Orange Crush returned to their winning ways and captured Round 2 of the Tournament of Destruction after crushing all competitors, including the best opponents Team Demo has to offer. Their march to the finals was path filled with wild Dogs, Stranglers and Rage-filled car wielding psychos, all of whom gave Orange Crush a fight they won't soon forget.
Pete Millette, Jr. was ready to battle again for Stranglehold.
The Woman's Demo was back and several teams had extra cars ready for the ladies to destroy.
Jim Ryan, former patriarch of the Locomotives, goes over demo strategy with Kathleen Ryan.
Stranglehold garnered the biggest fan applause in the Beauty Contest to take the first win of the night. But, beauty definitely does not cut it out in the mud!
Racing Round 1
Junk Yard Dogs vs. Orange Crush
No, its not the Finals yet, and yes, these two teams are fighting it out in the first round! This race would set the tone for the night: brutal! The first hit was a wicked head-on smash on the front stretch that left The #65 and #25 cars totaled! #63 Carl Brower was able to get out ahead for Orange Crush as the rest of his team turned the hunters into the hunted and attacked anything blue that moved. Crush even got some good hits in reverse! The Dogs fought back and looked to have Brower cornered at the start of Lap 5 but Brower powered through the double team and took the win.
Team Xtreme vs. Stranglehold
I said in the May event coverage that Team Xtreme would be turning some heads this year and I thank them for not making a liar out of me! They did not look like a second-year team in this race and came out with some great tactics and looked poised for an xtreme upset! Xtreme left Stranglehold cars laying dead on the track but caused too much damage to themselves at the same time. With no defensive help, the #23 Xtreme car was eventually hunted down and knocked out of the lead. Stranglehold recovered and escaped with the win.
Road Rage vs. Damage, Inc.
Road Rage wanted to stay up top in the point standings after taking the event win in May but their first obstacle to that goal would be a resurging Damage, Inc. team. Both teams lost a car early thanks to a vicious head-on hit from Damage, Inc. right up by the wall. The cars were left twisted and seemingly welded together in the mess. The rest of the field spread out and fought to get one of their members squarely in the lead. Road Rage's #17 was in control and collecting laps as nearly all the Damage, Inc. cars were not moving. But, disaster struck on lap 4 as the engine of the #17 burst into smoke on the back stretch killing the momentum completely! Damage, Inc. had a second wind as the #8 wagon started throwing its weight around and was looking to take over the lead. Road Rage got two cars moving again and one took out the #8 right on the front stretch while the other cruised on by the mess to take the win.
Havoc vs. Wrekin' Krew
The new Wrekin' Krew flourished in their debut race last month but timing and resources were not on their side. With not enough cars to compete in the second round, they had to forfeit the spot to Damage, Inc. This month, Krew was stocked up on cars and ready for all rounds. Unfortunately for them, so was Havoc. Team Havoc rolled out some heavy iron and used all the weight to dismantle Wrekin' Krew from the beginning. Havoc dominated the entire race and sent the Krew packin'.
With the first round of competition complete, the teams had a short break to make final preparations on their cars for the next round. Ryan Bleuer received the "rollover trophy" for his flip last month, the first at the raceway. I apologize for no picture as I did not make it across the track in time for the presentation.
Racing Round 2
Orange Crush vs. Stranglehold
Bitter rivals pretty much sums up the back story on these two teams. Stranglehold captured the 2005 Championship from a dominating Orange Crush team which is still fuming over the way last year ended. But, time to extract some revenge and, oh was it ever painful. Not painful in a bodily sense, but just to watch. Orange Crush pounded away at Stranglehold during the first couple of minutes and had all the white cars either blocked in or disabled after only 2 laps! Stranglehold could not do anything as Carl Brower collected all 5 laps un-challenged in what was the quickest race of the night. Crush was headed to the Finals while Stranglehold headed to the wreckers.
Havoc vs. Road Rage
Rage wants back in the Finals to shoot for back-to-back wins, while Havoc would just like to make it there, somewhere they haven't been since August of 2004. This race was filled with drama and damage, must the opposite of the last race. Havoc jumped out early and took advantage of every opportunity for a big hit and they did not miss. Big door shots and double teams seemed to have Havoc poised for a win. But, the tables slowly were turning as Road Rage cars kept re-firing while Havoc could not keep their cars moving. The #17 Road Rage took hit after hit after hit and continued to move forward and collect laps. The car was completely decimated and mud covered but still had enough muscle to keep the lead through 4 laps. On Lap 5, Havoc made one more attempt to stop the #17 car. A good shot on the front stretch spun the #17 out, but it re-fired yet again and was driven across the finish line in reverse! Great race and great effort out of both teams.
Woman's Demo
Eight ferocious females were up next in a county-fair, or traditional style, demolition derby. Unlike the Team Demo format, this would be the usual "smash up the other cars until there is only 1 car left running."
Track announcer Mike Turcol interviewed the ladies before heading out into the mud.
The women got off to a bit of a slow start but once they had some room to gain speed, they were laying out some decent hits. The #7 and #51 cars were the aggressors of the pack and it showed by the amount of damage they were handing out as well as sustaining from the impacts. It was down to two cars running, the #01 Road Rage wagon and the #7 Locomotive wagon when the red flag was thrown. It puzzled everyone as to why the race was being stopped until attention was turned to the back of the track where paramedics were attending to the driver of the #3 Junk Yard Dogs car which was up against the wall. I did not see the car go off in that direction or have a clue what her condition was. I did not hear any update after the race either. Kathleen Ryan was voted the winner via crowd applause in the #7 Locomotive car.
Racing Finals
Road Rage vs. Orange Crush
A commanding lead was at stake. If Road Rage could pick up the victory and make it two in a row, they would really put distance between themselves and the rest of the pack in the point standings. Orange Crush was looking to climb out of the basement and once again be a threat to Championship. This race would be impactful and intense from the start. Both teams screamed towards the first turn to try and gain the early advantage. Cars from both sides waited back and prepared to strike the lead cars head-on. Ron Tyrakowski was one of those guys for the Orange Crush as he met a Rage car head-on in a sick, wicked, insane and whatever other adjective you'd like to throw in here, crash! Tyrakowski's car spun completely around and took off back the way he had come. The car continued to hook to the left and slammed extremely hard into the concrete barriers right in front of me. From my view, the throttle must have been stuck to cause the car to veer out of control and into the wall like that but, that is merely a guess. Track crews immediately looked into the car to see if Ron was alright but it appeared Ron was laid over on the seat and out of sight. Fearing a possible serious situation, the race was stopped and paramedics were quickly called over.
Safety crews jumped onto the hood of the car and into where Ron was to check on his status. Ron finally did sit up and amazingly looked to be fine! He was adamant about not being hurt and wanted the race to continue. The paramedics were not so sure and wanted to have him checked out but finally after some insisting from Ron that he was ok, he was allowed to stay in the car and the race resumed!
The teams were not phased by the break in the action and continued to pummel one-another. Rage put a car in the lead for a short while but were stopped as Crush then took over the lead. Tyrakowski sought revenge on the #17 car for the hit earlier in the race and they tangled again in another head-on impact. Crush eventually gained up the upper hand with more cars running than Rage. The dying Rage cars and their drivers were not in quit mode and still looked to stop the Crush's lead car which was once again driven by Carl Brower. The #11 Rage car got in a small hit in Turn 1 but it hardly phased Brower as he continued on Lap 5 and could taste the finish line. The #10 Rage car was all that stood in his way in Turn 3. Brower hit the gas and blew by the red car to avoid the collision, took the final turn and crossed the finish line to seal his third race win of the night and the event win for Orange Crush!
Carl Brower's winning #69 Orange Crush machine.
Orange Crush survived the Junk Yard Dogs, made Stranglehold tap out, and had caged the Road Rage all in one night. The Crush team members spilled onto the track and up into the stands for the celebration.
2006 Tournament of Destruction Round 2 Winners: Orange Crush!
2006 Championship Point Standings after 2 events:
Road Rage--18
Stranglehold--14*
Orange Crush--14
Junk Yard Dogs--12
Havoc--10
Damage, Inc.--10
Wrekin' Krew--8
Team Xtreme--8
*Stranglehold received 2 extra points after the May event due to a scoring error.
The hits keep getting bigger and the battles more intense and brutal as the Tournament of Destruction wears on. Round 3 is July 22nd with the Round 4 Nationals Finals August 19th and after Round 2, all the teams are still mathematically alive to win the Championship. It will surely be a wild final two races of the season as the points race intensifies.
Visit Route 66 Raceway's site if you'd like information on how to witness the carnage in person or keep tuned to teamdemo.com for all the latest updates and news from the world of Team Demolition Derby.
All photos Copyright Team Demolition Association/Creative One, Inc. 2006.
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