2006 Team Demolition Derby Tournament of Destruction
August 19th, 2006
Round 4
ROAD RAGE SEALS CHAMPIONSHIP!
A climactic night of supreme smashing and reckless racing ended one of the most intense season of Team Demo racing ever at Route 66 Raceway. The New National Champions, Road Rage, capped their impressive and consistent 2006 campaign with their 3rd event win and nailed the coffin of 7 other teams shut.
Entering Round 4, the battle for spots 2-8 was still very much alive. Stranglehold, Junk Yard Dogs and Orange Crush all were tied with 18 points and were closely trailed by Havoc and Team Xtreme each with 16 points. Big money and big points were up for grabs and a jam-packed crowd was ready to witness a car crashing night of chaos!
Fred Sibley and the Lil' Red Beer Hauler were back to set the night on fire and burn another innocent auto to ashes.
A deranged demo driver representing Dark Horse Racing brought his tank-like car that resembled something out of Mad Max to battle 5 other drivers in a no-holds-barred Gauntlet Race! I personally doubted his chances but the car was quick and looked like it could really take a beating and not suffer any effects.
The Junk Yard Dogs rallied fan support and took the Beauty Contest win.
Racing Round 1
Team Xtreme vs. Wrekin' Krew
No rain in the forecast for this night, but would Team Xtreme find victory on the dry land? Wrekin' Krew desperately needed a win to end their rough going rookie year on a positive note. Team Xtreme showed more poise and skill than I feel they ever had in this race. They looked like a cohesive unit and dominated Wrekin' Krew with some skillful spinout's and brutal bashes. Xtreme pinned down all the Krew cars and put the #21 car across the finish line unscathed. Team Xtreme continues to roll!
Road Rage vs. Havoc
Endurance is a big factor in team demo racing. The ability to adapt to the situation and survive is vital to winning races. Road Rage has shown all of that throughout 2006. Havoc on the other hand I feel would be National Champs if instead of an endurance race, it was a sprint. They explode out of the starting blocks and absolutely punish the opposition. But, the damage from those hits end up taking a toll on them and with not many laps tallied, the opponents have found ways to recover and drive past Havoc. In the opening minutes of the race Havoc once again had a decisive lead over Rage. Great hits and timely blocks put Havoc in the lap lead but slowly Road Rage climbed back into the race. The #17 big red wagon plowed the course of anything blue and left Havoc cars in pieces everywhere you looked. #14 Steve Scarbro used the clear path to fly around the track and collect three laps for the win and officially give Road Rage the National Championship.
Junk Yard Dogs vs. Damage, Inc.
This race had major implications on the battle for 2nd place. Since Team Xtreme already advanced, that put them with at least 22 points. If the JYD won, they would temporarily re-claim 2nd place. If Damage, Inc. won, they would be right behind Xtreme with 20 points. That would put major pressure on the winner of the Orange Crush vs. Stranglehold match coming next.
Damage, Inc. was on their game in the beginning moments of the race and turned the tables on the aggressive JYD. Damage, Inc. was handing out plenty of hits including one of the biggest by #82 Joe Tyrakowski. Damage had a solid lap lead but the cars would not stay running! The #86 car picked up the lead and was limping around the track with the engine on fire! The mechanical stress was too much for the car and it would not go any further. But, the #80 tried to recover for the team but it too ignited an engine fire and could not continue! The #33 for the JYD was able to finally restart after taking several hits early in the race. Being the sole car in motion, collecting the remaining laps was as simple as driving in a circle. Tough break for Damage, Inc and the JYD survive.
Orange Crush vs. Stranglehold
A match that really does not need any introduction. Orange Crush and Stranglehold have been at each others throats for over a year and this match would just throw more fuel to the fire. Both teams jockeyed for position in the early going and Orange Crush came away with a quick lead. Stranglehold mounted a fury of offense and obliterated the great whites with thunderous head-on's one after another! Pete Millette, Jr. reclaimed the lead for Stranglehold and despite another race where his car was nearly totaled, it continued to thrive. The #55 and #60 cars collided in a horrific crash on lap four that slammed the door on Crush's chances as all four cars were now squashed. Another awesome fight in a rivalry that shows no signs of going away.
Gauntlet Race
The Gauntlet Race was up next and after some of the usual confusion in organization, it was ready to go. The Dark Horse driver would race the normal way around the track while the 5 other cars got to drive the opposite way and meet him head on! That's just nuts. First, because no way in hell this guy stood a chance and the race was going to be over within seconds. Secondly, that is just asking for pain and injury.
The Dark Horse car made it a whopping 1/2 lap before being smashed up against the concrete from a 3-car hit. The goal of the Gauntlet is to stop him from making the 5 laps. Well, within about 10 seconds the 5 cars had done the job. But, in the interest of keeping the show going, the Dark Horse was allowed to break free and continue on.
He took two more huge hits on the back stretch that crippled some of the regular demo cars but did not seem to even phase his beast. His luck would run out though. The Dark Horse collided head-on with a team Stranglehold car and was now wedged into the engine compartment! The front wheels of the Dark Horse car were not even touching the ground. The back tires spun and spun in the mud with no where to go. The Dark Horse had been defeated.
Round 2
Team Xtreme vs. Road Rage
A re-match of the finals from last month except this time Team Xtreme was at full strength and could really make a name for themselves by ending the Champs season right here. In the early going it was Team Xtreme with the lead as they made solid hits and cleared the way for the #23 car to take a lap lead. The damage for both sides piled up quickly but Team Xtreme still held onto the lead. Road Rage hunted down the leader and blasted the #23 out of the race. The #2 car tried to pick up the slack but had to fight off too many red cars. Xtreme's cars refused to fire back up and move after sustaining too many hits. The #17 Rage car took over the lap lead and with no competition in the way, cruised Road Rage into their 4th straight Final Round appearance.
Junk Yard Dogs vs. Stranglehold
With only two points separating them, the winner of this race would clinch second place in the points. JYD won the Beauty Contest to open the night, but there would be nothing beautiful about this race. Several flat out insane head-on hits left cars folded in half all over the oval. The ‘Dogs jumped to an early lead thanks to huge hits from the #30 car. #59 and #30 tangled on several occasions before finally giving up on destroying each other and went after other prey. The #30 was finally taken out by the #50 while #59 for Stranglehold was in contention for the race lead. Stranglehold began to mount their own high-powered offensive and crippled the JYDs into submission. Right as the winning car for Stranglehold crossed the finish line, the #30 and #56 cars viciously collided head-on. In a very scary moment, the driver of the #30 car had to be cut out with the Jaws of Life and stretchered off the track. Thankfully, a few days later, he was up and back to a usual routine.
But....the short-fuse tempers in the world of Team Demos blew up and a brawl nearly broke out in the pits between members of Stranglehold and the Junk Yard Dogs.
A lot of noise and commotion took over the pit area while an even bigger noise was ready to be unleashed on the track. Fred Sibley lined the Lil' Red Beer Hauler up to his latest victim and roasted the helpless car to the ground. Some pretty weird/creepy green clouds hovering around Sibley in the driver seat.
Racing Finals
Stranglehold vs. Road Rage
Back in July, Road Rage conquered Stranglehold during their only other face off this year. That race was an instant classic, but would history repeat itself or could Stranglehold fend off Road Rage? Both teams came out swinging and unleashed heavy hits to their opponents. Stranglehold was on the receiving end of the worse damage and it really caught up with them by the time Road Rage already collected 4 laps. Stranglehold tried every thing to stop the strong running #14 and #17 but were unsuccessful. The #55 attempted a last ditch head-on crack to #17 but missed and was spun directly into the charging path of the #14 whom delivered one of the craziest hits all year; a final knock-out blow to end the race.
Double the trophies for Road Rage! National Champs and for the third time this year, event champions!
Consistency creates champions. Stranglehold only won one event last year but were in the Final round all four times on their road to the title. This year, Rage went even a little better and picked up three event wins out of 4 Final round chances. Papa John Millette and his team would have a long off season to enjoy the spoils of the championship but come May 2007, they're going to have 7 ready, willing, able and angry demo teams seeing red and looking to gun them down.
Big thanks to Jan & Theresa Gabriel and everyone at the TDA for another great year and allowing me to capture the action from the best place possible. Also, I need to thank several people associated with many of the demo teams for helping with information throughout the year and being supportive of my work. You all know who you are and I really appreciate it.
Thanks for continually reading my Team Demo event coverage and be ready for more of the same in 2007!
Final 2006 Championship Point Standings:
Road Rage--38
Stranglehold--26
Junk Yard Dogs--24
Orange Crush--22
Team Xtreme--22
Havoc--20
Damage, Inc.--18
Wrekin' Krew--16
All photos Copyright Team Demolition Association/Creative One, Inc. 2006.
DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT PERMISSION
All accounts and comments expressed in Team Demo coverage on MidwestMonsters are solely of Jason Twite and do not necessarily represent those of the TDA or any of its affiliates.