**Opinions and descriptions of the Team Demolition Derby Tournament of Destruction on MidwestMonsters.com are those of I, TDA Photographer Jason Twite, and do not necessarily represent those of the Team Demo Association, its affiliates or sponsors. All information has been presented as accurately as possible, with respect to race analysis and results. However, specific race details should not be considered as hard facts. If you have a correction, please email it to my attention. Thank You! **
All photos Copyright Team Demolition Derby Association/Creative One, Inc., 2007.
DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT PERMISSION!
2007 Team Demolition Derby
Tournament of Destruction
Presented by series sponsor Speedway Auto Parts & Wreckers in Chicago Heights, IL
June 30th: Round 1
Havoc hoists the gold; Tensions flare after Finals
Ten long, agonizing, boring, team demo-less months from the end of the '06 season to the rain-delayed kick off the 2007 Tournament of Destruction! This year's war of wreckage is stocked full with new armies of autos ready to maim and maul any four-wheeled mechanical freak in their sights. A sold out crowd jammed Route 66 Raceway eager to witness the carnage!
Jocelyn Perrin's Lil' Miss Dangerous and Larry Quick's Pure Vengeance monster trucks were on hand to provide the intermission entertainment with a big dual-freestyle. I worked very hard to bring monster trucks back to the Team Demo events and had to convince Jan Gabriel I had two trucks that would not disappoint...we'll see if I was right a little later.
The legendary 7-time Team Demolition Derby Champions have returned! The Mean Green Machines are owned by "Papa" John Milette, previous owner of last year's Champs, Road Rage. A mix of rookies and demo vetrans with a big name to hold up. When I was much younger, I only witnessed one race back at the hallowed grounds of Sante Fe Speedway, but the team I always remembered from that night was the Mean Green Machines. Really cool, personally, to see that name back out there.
The Brothers of Xtreme return for their 3rd season in the purple powerhouse cars of Team Xtreme. Trey, Zac, Josh and Jason, all sons of the legendary Sante Fe Speedway racer Bill Van Allen. This team made great strides in 2006 and could be a player in 2007 for a title.
A team always on top of their game and threat to win each time out, the Junk Yard Dogs return for another season of slamming. The Dog ended last year on a somewhat sour note, but have shuffled some of the team around, brought on some new talent and are hungry for a title in '07.
Another team with a fresh, updated look, new drivers and a desire to again get not only back in victory lane, but be in contention for a championship. Havoc was last in victory lane at the final event in 2004!
2005 Champions, 2006 Runners-Up, 2007...??? Stranglehold retained most of its team from the previous years, minus the departure of Gerritt Vanderbilt to the Junk Yard Dogs. Still a very power and very talented, vetran team who know how to win.
Orange Crush, Stranglehold and Road Rage own ALL the Team Demo event wins from 2005 & 2006. Totals: Stranglehold-- 1 win, 2005 Champs. Road Rage-- 3 wins, 2006 Champs. Orange Crush-- 4 wins, NO Championship! This team lives and dies by Demos. The history shows they are winners, but they've died by the point system. This team needs 2007 to be a reason to live again!
The fourth different name in the last four years to run as Team #7. While they may appear to be a new team, the Killer Bees are anything but new to Team Demos. After winning the 2006 title, nearly all the members of Road Rage now reside on the Killer Bees! Robby Stahulak now an owner/driver, along with Lewis, Scarbro, Vollbrecht, and others are definitely some of the most feared in the sport and the Killer Bees plan on making lots of noise this season.
Dave Swan's Damage, Inc. is back in business yet again. The yellow & black attack has not seen a win or even a Final round appearance in a very long time. In a season of shake-ups, perhaps Damage, Inc. can finally cash in.
A swarm of Killer Bee fans already out in force!
Jan Gabriel's daughter, Amanda, with the National Anthem.
The Low-Down on Team Demos: For the first timers...Team Demolition Derby is a 4-on-4 race of destruction where the ultimate goal is to get one of your team's cars to complete 5 laps. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Not when you've got driver's on the other team, specifically known as "Crushers," looking to take you out! 40mph head-on blasts, side slaughtering impacts and bone jarring wall jams are not only allowed, they're essential to victory! For the safety of the drivers, intentional left-side door shots are not allowed; anything else is free for the taking and giving! Single elimination means you must win 3 times to win the night and you'll walk away with a cool $6,000. Oh, and about a dozen totaled cars.
ROUND 1
Havoc vs. Stranglehold
Stranglehold had an early advantage with Chris McGuire's #50 out front for Lap 1, but Havoc didn't let him get far and #44 Rich Wilson spun him out in Turn 3. Johnny "Rude" Ryan picked up the lead for Havoc in the #42 and put Stranglehold at a disadvantage. Stranglehold missed several key hits, while Havoc did not and the damage was becoming too great. Ryan bulldozed his way through the #50 car on Lap 4 and Havoc was still in great shape. Wilson nailed a head-on smash which ignited the #52's engine on fire underneath! But, the #52 was not finished and made a lunging stab at Ryan as he cruised by on Lap 5, but came up short! Ryan avoided traffic, crossed the finish, capping a stunning upset over Stranglehold and put the rest of the teams on notice.
Team Xtreme vs. Mean Green Machines
The big Mean Green wagons were a bit slow off the start and allowed the much quicker #26 Xtreme car to grab the lead. Mean Green Machines roared back with two solid hits on Xtreme blockers, but the #26 was still out front. Xtreme mounted a stiff offensive including a sick head-on wagon-to-wagon shot on the back stretch. Amazingly the MGM's wagon didn't bend an inch, while the Xtreme wagon crumbled and was toast! But, no one was able to get at the leader and a last ditch shot at the finish was cut off, which gave Team Xtreme the victory after 5-untouched laps for the #26 car.
Junk Yard Dogs vs. Orange Crush
Orange Crush owner/driver Ron Tyrakowski in the #66 charged to the front out of Turn 1 and looked to get the outside lane and avoid the JYD Crushers. Vanderbilt and the gang wouldn't give him an inch and pushed the #66 farther to the outside and left him wide open for a scintillating head-on blast from the #30 car. Vanderbilt took over the lead in the #35, but was followed closely by another Orange Crush member. That was until the #3X charged across the track and took him out with a wicked shot! Orange Crush was dropping fast and JYD continued to collect laps. Kahuna entered Lap 5 with only two Orange Crush contenders. #69 missed his opportunity to shut the leader down and that left Elmer Fandery's #67 as the only hope. He charged straight across the infield with Vanderbilt in his sites on the back stretch. The Kahuna blasted down the back stretch, narrowly out-running Fandery and watched him smash face first into the concrete wall! The Crush got squashed and JYD moved on.
Damage, Inc. vs. Killer Bees
This one hurt. A lot. To say the Bees "stung" Damage, Inc. wouldn't even be fair. They flat out killed them. The pictures pretty much tell the whole story. An insane annihilation. Not the team Damage, Inc. needed to face while trying to improve a team and finally pick up some wins. The Bees obviously are not to me taken lightly.
ROUND 2
Havoc vs. Team Xtreme
Both teams were very strong in Round 1 and a trip to the Finals in the very first night would pay huge dividends for the points standings and establish a goal neither team has ever reached. Xtreme did not get out of the gate well this time and Havoc took control early. Xtreme missed chances to cut off the #47 car and were left as big purple sitting ducks. Havoc ran away with this out. Supreme speed and timely tactics put Havoc back in the Finals for the first time since Sept. 2004!
Junk Yard Dogs vs. Killer Bees
Race of the night! The Bee's and JYD's turned the track into a slaughter house! Vicious head-on blows dealt out by both sides left many cars crippled across the mud. Kahuna's #35 withstood two separate, Earth-shattering shots, while Robby Stahulak's #77 led most of the way and crossed the finish line in reverse after brushing off a double wagon attack! Another race with so much brutality and action that there was just no way to keep track of it all! Excellent race.
MONSTER TRUCKS
Put up or shut up time. Would I feel like a hero, or want to hide under a demo car? The monsters had two car-van-car pyramids to dismember and of course a wide open muddy surface to use to their advantage. Jocelyn Perrin with Lil' Miss Dangerous was scheduled to go out for her solo run, then Larry Quick would fire up Pure Vengeance for his run. Once Larry had a few hits in, Jocelyn was to bring LMD back out for a dual-freestyle finale!
Jocelyn roared her beautiful 1941 Willy's down the front stretch to pump up the crowd and they were definitely eager for freestyle.
She built decent speed in the mud and nailed the first pyramid and managed to put LMD up in the air and over the van with no problems. Excitement already began to buzz through the stands as she lined up the other pyramid and grabbed even bigger air on that fresh stack. Jocelyn sped across the mud for another crack at the first pyramid and aired the truck out nicely again. She continued to run strong and hit her fourth jump back on the right side pyramid. The truck was already heavily caked with thick, nasty mud as Jocelyn cut LMD loose into a dazzling set of donuts which ignited the crowd support. Jocelyn punched the throttle as she sped off the track and gauntlet was thrown down for Pure Vengeance.
Larry roared Pure Vengeance to life and tore down the front stretch on his way to the first pyramid. Larry never slowed down on his approach and absolutely launched the truck completely over the top of the set and well beyond the second car! Awesome hang time, but it came with a painful price! The rear tie-rod snapped immediately on landing, which left Larry with no control over the rear wheels! I couldn't help but think "Oh no, this isn't happening. Not now, anytime but now." But, I quickly learned to have more faith in Larry than to think he was done after one jump. With broken rear end and all, Larry charged the second pyramid and was still able to get some air over the set and smash the van down well. Controlling a fully-operational truck in these conditions is hard enough, let alone with a busted rear tie-rod, but Larry refused to quit and showed great patience and skill to maneuver Pure Vengeance around the track. He ripped off a set of donuts, which left the entire back half of the truck covered in mud! Larry built up speed towards the pyramid once more and cleared the front completely over the cars and sheered the hood off upon landing! The crowd exploded with approval and continued to cheer as Lil' Miss Dangerous charged back onto the track!
Jocelyn uncorked a titantic-sized leap on the first pyramid and thundered back down into the mud upon landing. Larry lined up for a hit on the other pyramid, but the rear end finally stop cooperating and slid the truck off to the right. Jocelyn immediately whipped the truck into another blazing set of donuts to feed the frenzied crowd. Larry was able to move Pure Vengeance out of Jocelyn's path as she sailed over the second pyramid one more time. Jocelyn's husband, Jeff Perrin, flipped the strobe light switch and Jocelyn ripped into yet another sensational display of donut power! Either completely dizzy or out of fuel, Jocelyn rolled LMD up to the fence and saluted the crowd who were on their feet going crazy!
And why did you wash the truck before you came, Jocelyn?
Larry Quick was not too pleased with his performance due to the breakage and had a long night ahead of him to clean the truck off and get to the damage.
During Jocelyn's post-run interview, the crowd continued to cheer and were demanding more donuts! She was completely out of breath and full of emotion from the run, but was not about to let her fans down! Donut Encore!
Jocelyn Perrin took her truck well up to and beyond the call of duty, especially in the muddy confines of the Dirty 'O'.
An unfortunate and nasty break on the rear of Pure Vengeance
Yeeaaaahhh...that's really not going to help much.
This monster truck freestyle was right up there with one of the best ever at the Team Demos, rivaling that of Scorpion King & Bearfoot back in 2003. Both teams were exceptionally great to work with and the TDA thoroughly enjoyed both performances and we hope to have monster trucks back sometime during the 2008 season!
FINALS
Havoc vs. Killer Bees
Havoc used excellent driving and timely blocking to get to the finals, while the Killer Bees pulverized their opponents into submission; a styles clash which led to this epic Final round. The Bee's plowed through Havoc in the opening minutes, but fell victim to breakage on Lap 2! #4 Brian Anderson immediately took charge for Havoc and was poised for victory until #7 Steve Scarbro refused to die and hunted down his prey.
#44 Rich Wilson thwarted Scarbro's attempts and matched him at every turn around the track, never letting him get more than a car length ahead. Anderson again looked to have it locked up until the #77 re-fired and annihilated the Havoc member in Turn 2!! However, the head-on hit was not enough to contain Anderson and he broke free towards the finish. Scarbro had him locked in his sights, but Havoc threw up the block and cut off the Killer Bee! Anderson cruised untouched to the Finish and cemented Havoc as the team to beat in 2007!
After the conclusion of the race, an altercation broke out and punches were thrown by some members of the opposing teams. The Killer Bees were hit with a 2-point penalty due to the scuffle.
Speedway Auto Parts & Wreckers Point Standings
After 1 Event
Havoc 10
Killer Bees 6
Junk Yard Dogs 6
Team Xtreme 6
Mean Green Machines 4
Damage, Inc. 4
Orange Crush 4
Stranglehold 4
An awesome night of Team Demos to kick off the 2007 season! Plenty of intense moments and newly formed rivalries will only build the tension and excitement as the Tournament of Destruction continues! Congratulations to Havoc for one heck of a hard fought win and to all the teams for proving once again why this is the greatest form of a destruction motorsport in the world!
HUGE Thank You goes out to Perrin Motorsports and Quick Motorsports for a job well done and we look forward to working together in the future!
The 2007 Tournament of Destruction continues below!
Click Here for ROUND 2: July 28th!
**Opinions and descriptions of the Team Demolition Derby Tournament of Destruction on MidwestMonsters.com are those of I, TDA Photographer Jason Twite, and do not necessarily represent those of the Team Demo Association, its affiliates or sponsors. All information has been presented as accurately as possible, with respect to race analysis and results. However, specific race details should not be considered as hard facts. If you have a correction, please email it to my attention. Thank You! **
All photos Copyright Team Demolition Derby Association/Creative One, Inc., 2007.
DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT PERMISSION!