A better than expected and very brave, eager crowd, started lining up outside the Palace doors an hour before the Pit Party was to begin. Final preparations were quickly made to get the die-hard fans in from the cold faster. The gates opened and hundreds of people flooded the area for driver autographs and to get an up close look at the monsters.
Jocelyn Perrin once again had a very long line of fans and she greeted every single one with a smile. As you can see, some of these kids were awe-struck by her presence.
And then there's Jeff Perrin...loving, caring husband to Jocelyn:
Ace's High carried the American Flag for introductions and Shelly was nice enough to turn on the flames and heat the place up a bit for us. My wish to see Ace's High smash some cars still didn't happen though.
For the night show, I switched sides in the arena for a different perspective of the action.
Wheelie Contest
Don Frankish again kicked off the night with a very good wheelie on the fresh car, but his jump would not hold up very long. His teammate, Nathan Weenk in Jurassic Attack, gored the cars with an excellent wheelie and rode it across the set. Andy Hoffman in Nitemare tried to top Weenk but could not bring the dino down.
Jocelyn Perrin looked for another big leap but could not get the front end to pop straight up. Mike Hawkins' Equalizer is not your typical designed truck, therefore, he cannot pull a conventional wheelie very well, if at all. Ah, but that is just a simple road block for Hawkins to crush. Hawkins blasted into the near set with lots of speed and the truck sailed into the air over the first two cars then the rear wheels spiked into the third car and tossed the truck another 15 feet and finally back down to Earth. Not a vertical wheel stand by any means but definitely one hell of a jump that put the crowd squarely behind him.
Kevin Poore had Project X back in running order for the time being and wanted to equal his performance from earlier in the day. I don't think he topped it but he gave it one heck of shot and also was going to make it difficult to pick a winner. Poore used the same slow developing approach to the cars and punched it at the last second, shooting Project X straight into the air as the rear wheels again tried to pass the front end up. He did not have the height as he did earlier which did not allow the rear wheels to go under the truck. Instead, the entire back side of the truck was planted into the last car which sent the front end slamming back to the ground after another insane flight. The Michigan fans roared in approval for their hometown truck.
The Hummers of TeamKCM had a very tall order in front of them to once again top Project X. Jeff Hoy brought Spiderman out first and hit the near set but did not have much impact. The truck was still not at 100%. The Tuff Country Dragon Slayer had the final crack at taking the Wheelie Contest title and Christensen was going to make it even more difficult to choose a winner. He hit the cars very fast and shot the truck into the air much like Hawkins did and landed the rear wheels on the third car and was able to walk the truck down the ramp with the front end still in the air! Christensen got it back to the ground before getting into the wall.
Dragon Slayer, Project X and Equalizer all had win-worthy jumps and the crowd had a tough decision to make. The 8 trucks were indeed widdle down to those top three and then a cheer-off was pretty well split between Project X and Equalizer. Both drivers were out of their trucks and tried to rally support. It went back and forth three times before finally the Michigan man Kevin Poore in Project X was declared the winner.
Poore definitely put the truck vertical but I really liked Hawkins' jump for the power and innovation displayed. Its a draw in my opinion.
The Super Truck Challenge rolled back out for some races and then it was time for the big boys (and girl) to race!
Monster Truck Racing Round 1
Lil' Miss Dangerous Too vs. Spiderman-- Hoy's truck did not leave very strong while Perrin did not leave like a ball of fire either but easily took the lead over the first jump. Perrin settled down and cruised her truck over the cars for a decisive win. Winner: Lil' Miss Dangerous Too.
Project X vs. Jurassic Attack-- Would Project X be able to get off the line this time was a big factor for this race. Weenk was handed the win in the first show but Poore's truck showed some incredible speed once it re-fired. A slight hole shot went to Weenk but Project X was right with him. They hit the ground running and Weenk made a charge for the final jump while a HUGE fountain of white smoke billowed out of Project X's engine! The truck lost all forward momentum and crawled up the ramp to the final set and Poore had to watch Weenk cross the finish well ahead of him. Winner: Jurassic Attack. Project X was able to make it back to the pits under its own power but the engine was suffering. The top of the arena was now filled with white smoke.
Nitemare vs. Equalizer-- Hawkins continued to be incredibly quick off the starting line and instantly put Nitemare behind. Hoffman carried the front tires in the air over the first jump while Hawkins put the front of Equalizer on the ground and made his charge to the finish. Equalizer dove to the line and moved one round closer to a sweep in racing. Winner: Equalizer.
Dragon Slayer vs. Maniac-- This would be the first trip down the track for the 2005 M.O.D all around Champion and he would have to face a very strong Maniac truck. They left the line nearly even and they both cleared the 2 cars. Christensen did not jump as far as Frankish and had Slayer putting power to the ground while Frankish took a bad bounce to the left. Christensen squared up Dragon Slayer and sailed over the final jump a truck length ahead of Maniac for the win. Winner: Dragon Slayer.
The Semi-Finals were going to be very interesting with the first show finalists still in it as well as proven champion Dragon Slayer and the wild card of Lil' Miss Dangerous. Perrin has not been the quickest of the bunch but certainly one of the smoothest and that is definite plus on this short and rough track.
But, before the Semi's rolled out, two local guys wanted to give it a shot on the tuff truck course. The driver of the gray Chevy nosed the truck off the center hill very hard a couple times and made the dumb move of using his arm as a brace for himself. Real nice way to snap a wrist or elbow.
The Super Trucks came out for their last race and crowed a champion. The small purple jeep had been one of the quickest all night and took the win. Quick acceleration and short wheelbase were just was what needed on the tight track.
Racing Round 2
Lil' Miss Dangerous Too vs. Equalizer-- Hawkins roared Equalizer off the line and again was able to drop the front of the truck down to the ground very quickly and keep speed up. Perrin had a smooth jump over the first set but could not make up the difference. Hawkins flew over the final set and took a two truck length win and was back in the Finals. Winner: Equalizer.
Jurassic Attack vs. Dragon Slayer-- Weenk was not intimidated by Christensen and surged off the line first and launched Jurassic Attack over the first set. He got a lot of air and that erased the initial lead he had. Christensen stayed low over his jump and applied power to the ground first. Weenk stuck his foot in the throttle and tried to play catch-up but was knocked out by a strong running Dragon Slayer. Winner: Dragon Slayer.
The Finals were going to be an all-out war between Equalizer and Dragon Slayer but we would have to wait just a bit for the climax as Draco the Dragonator rolled into the arena to munch on a car.
I'm sure there is a Dragon Slayer/Draco joke here somewhere.
Racing Finals
Equalizer vs. Dragon Slayer-- If there could be such thing as a "dream final," this was it. The two hardest racers in the field facing off for the championship. Hawkins has mowed down everyone with consistent starting line technique that has powered him to victory. In the other lane, Christensen has only made two passes down this track but they were nearly identical and both effective. The crowd was firmly behind Equalizer before the race and the drivers pulled to the line awaiting the green flag. Hawkins exploded out of the hole with his strongest and wildest first jump of the day and totally abandoned the staying low technique. Christensen left equally as hard but let out in time to still get the front end back down in a relatively quick fashion. Hawkins' jump launched Equalizer over 1/2 way down the track and he still had a lead when he landed. The truck was not pointed to the cars but that was not about to stop Hawkins and he punched the throttle for all it had as Dragon Slayer closed in at the final set. They sailed over the cars dead even as Equalizer dove to the finish to try and hold the lead. They crossed the line together and I had no idea who won. I quickly reviewed my picture and thankfully nailed right when they crossed the line and it was DRAGON SLAYER inching out Equalizer for the win in an incredible battle we all hoped for. Winner: Dragon Slayer.
Monster Truck Freestyle
The track crew had already prepared for freestyle before Draco came out during intermission and setup a nice (smashed) car-van-van-hill obstacle in the middle of the track. The vans had just been dragged in from the snowy parking lot while the car was yanked out of the racing lanes and the hill was from the Super Truck course.
Unfortunately, the freestyle lineup was cut down due to breakage. Jeff Hoy in Spiderman called it quits after more engine problems emerged and shockingly, Dragon Slayer was out as well! The hard run to win racing did some serious damage to the truck and he was finished.
MANIAC-- Don Frankish kicked off Freestyle again and opened with a small jump on the far side but immediately things were not well. Smoke shot out from the engine and the truck did not sound at full strength. He went for another hit but came up empty and had to limp Maniac off the track with obvious problems. I don't know if it really was a factor but perhaps the freezing temperatures played a role in breakage considering so many trucks were effected. Score: 1.
LIL' MISS DANGEROUS TOO-- Perrin picked up the crowd vote in the first show for the Freestyle win with a very solid run. She could very well repeat with another good performance and it helps that her truck has been breakage free so far. She got some air off the two sets of cars early in the run and then woke everyone up as she made an approach at the vans! Perrin stood on the gas and put the '41 Willys up into the first van and carried the truck all the way across the pyramid, just barely scrapping the back tires on the edge of the second van. Perfectly executed jump and the fans loved it. Perrin sped down the far side of the track and then ripped into a fury of donuts! She tore up the dirt and exposed the concrete which sent the truck spinning even more. Perrin got out of the throttle as the truck began lifting up on two wheels and set it back down easily. The place erupted as she opened the door and saluted the crowd. Score: 8.
PROJECT X -- Poore had an up and down day with a double win in the Wheelie Contest but anything outside of that has been problem plagued. The truck was hopefully back at 100% as he rumbled out for Freestyle. He hit a big jump on the near set and headed down to the far end to line up the van stack. The steering appeared not to be fully functional as he took awhile getting the truck straight. When he did attack it was awesome! Project X went completely vertical over the vans as Poore walked the rear wheels all the way across and down the pyramid. Excellent jump but he was not able to follow up smoothly. Poore took a very long time again to turn the truck around towards the cars because steering was really becoming an issue. Not only that, but the engine was revving extremely high and creating an insane amount of noise. Poore hobbled the truck across the near lane sets then finally had the truck lined up for the vans again and cleared the stack, bouncing up a small slap wheelie to top it off. But, as this run wore on, it was not getting any better, in fact, it was becoming painful to watch as Poore tried to get Project X from jump to jump. The noise was ear-splitting and I was just praying it would die or they'd shut him off but neither happened. Poore went for the vans again but the power was so limited from the crippled engine that the truck could not get over and became stuck.
Poore proceeded to mash the gas in forward and reverse over and over and over to get the truck unstuck. After going no where for a couple minutes and with the engine STILL running at an insane rate, the front end loader finally came out to drag Project X off. But, once off, they unhooked him and he headed back for the cars! Poore crawled over the near set then went for the vans from the side! He popped up a cool looking wheelie but was now stuck again!! I was just waiting for the engine to explode and why he was not shut off is beyond me. The noise was deafening and getting out of control. The loader came to drag him off again and a few minutes later the engine did finally quit. A real lack of concern for equipment and the crowd's enjoyment about sums this run up. The truck was broke from the beginning and after the first three jumps he should've ended the run. Miserable. Score: 6 (for the three good jumps) But a ZERO for overall performance.
NITEMARE-- Hoffman is another guy who had a decent day thus far and could cap it with a solid freestyle. He started with a nice jump on the near cars getting about as much air as could be expected with the condition of the set. He flew over the far set and again went for a slap wheelie and carried it off the jump and through the middle of the track. He brought Nitemare back to the near set and put good air under the truck. Hoffman looked like he was going to line up the van but stopped and popped out of the window and waived signaling he was done. He looked down at the truck and shook his head. Hoffman had spotted a broken drive shaft loop bouncing around near the axle housing and decided to end the run for safety precautions. A dumb thing to have break but a smart move rather than risk breaking more or throwing that loop into the crowd. Score: 4.
JURASSIC ATTACK-- Weenk had my vote for the freestyle victory at the first show and I looked for more variety from the young gun again. He started with another power wheelie right out the gate and carried it right to the pyramid, dropped the front and launched over the vans with another excellent combo of moves. Weenk grabbed air on the near set then went for the far set and nailed a fantastic pogo, spiking the rear end into the third car. Weenk pounded away at the crush cars and hit another good jump over the smashed down vans to end the run. The kid did nothing wrong all day. Aggressive racing and standout freestyle. Score: 9.
EQUALIZER-- Hawkins fell to breakage during his first freestyle, but put on a heck of a show all day racing and now needed that exclamation mark. He hit a nice long jump over the far set and quickly spun the truck around and gunned Equalizer towards the vans. Equalizer sailed over the pyramid and started tilting to the left in the air. The truck landed hard on the left side wheels but Hawkins regained control and kept the truck moving. He turned around and attacked the pyramid from the opposite direction and picked up some more air on the near side cars. Hawkins charged for the pyramid again and this time the truck leaned off to the right side in the air and he clipped the crush cars on the landing. He turned the truck to the left and looked to be going for a donut but whipped the truck around way too fast for the tacky dirt and tumbled Equalizer over on its side and then straight up on its roof! The body shredded underneath as debris scattered everywhere near the truck. A very hard rollover as he had a lot of speed in the turn. Hawkins emerged just fine and the crowd loved the destruction. The roll looked somewhat intentional but we may never know. Score: 7.
I stayed around for a little while in the arena and talked with drivers while they signed autographs and waited around for Jocelyn so I could finish some items of the project. After that, the teams began the not-so-fun task of taking the trucks back outside in the near zero degree temps to tire down and load up.
For all those fans out there that get the opportunity to hang around the pit/hauler area after a show, always remember that if you just stand around with a camera in-hand, you will be put to work in no time at all!
Elliott Miller (Michiganmonstertrucks.com) grabbed my camera and snapped a shot of my hard work in progress. Jeff Perrin did the real labor of the task and had LMD ready to go in the hauler faster than anyone else.
With LMD loaded up, I thank the Perrin's for their help and cooperation with my project and decided it was time I load up and head back the 2 hours to my grandparents house for some midnight Thanksgiving dinner leftovers.
HUGE thanks again to Jeff & Jocelyn Perrin and also to Don Frankish, Tony Coleman, Jim Morris, Mike Hawkins, Elliott Miller and everyone that made the day run as smooth as possible and for granting access to the show. Thanks to you for stopping by for the coverage too!
Here's ends the 2005 Coverage on MidwestMonsters.com (about time considering this was uploaded on October 15th, 2006). Thanks for supporting the site through another long year!