Du Quoin, IL
March 3-4, 2006
Southern Illinois Center
:: Saturday 8:00 Recap ::
The third and final show was upon us and it was a great sight to see all 7 trucks still in one piece and more than ready to go for the final win. Captain USA's tire/wheel problem was still unresolved and would remain that way until the tire could be removed from the wheel back at the shop. James Tigue also made some shock adjustments to Bearfoot to counter the hard landings the truck was taking in Freestyle.
JR Adams was feeling better since the 2:00 show and suited back up for full duties in Rampage. Wayne Tigue would not be driving Extreme Overkill 2 for this event; Rich Inman, the man who drove Monster Patrol down in Australia in the summer of 2005, would take the wheel.
:: QUALIFYING ::
The long weekend finally began to claim it's first victims. Captain USA's wheel problem became an axle problem after all. A third-member was discovered broken after introductions, which would leave Harwood on the sidelines the rest of the night. Rich Inman's night came to a very quick end as well. His hard Qualifying effort did major damage to the rear axle housing and hydraulic steering arms.
Kirk Dabney had the wildest run, but also the quickest en route to his third straight #1 Qualifying spot!
Rudy Waller and Seth Elliot put on a great FMX finale to cap their flawless weekend. These two guys are definitely at the top of the FMX food chain and you'll know why if you see they fly live. Check out more of their action online at ECXFMX.com
:: RACING ROUND 1::
Doug Charles had the hot hand again in Wild Thang and put a hurtin' on Rampage. Adams' truck died out in the middle of the set too.
James Tigue pulled a great hole shot against Charlie Miller in the #29 truck, but even on the short track, a great hole shot wasn't enough! Miller charged from behind with a nice low leap and beat Bearfoot by a half truck.
Kirk Dabney would get a BYE run due to the breakage on Captain USA and Extreme Overkill 2.
:: RACING ROUND 2::
Doug Charles continued to roll and blew away Bearfoot whom returned as the fast loser.
Charlie Miller didn't need to come from behind this time as he took control from the start and put Monster Patrol away in a tight race.
:: RACING FINALS::
Doug Charles was nearly perfect in the first two races and continued the pattern in the Finals. He blasted Wild Thang off the line and left the #29 truck eating dust. Charles picked up his 2nd racing win of the weekend claiming 6 out of 9 possible heat victories.
:: TUFF TRUCKS::
This 70s era Ford Ranger dressed up as a wannabe Chevy took a vicious beating at all corners of the track. We were just waiting for the entire bed to fly off but somehow it remained on. The other two trucks definitely had the faster times but couldn't match the beater's carnage.
Kirk Dabney's Monster Patrol colored tricycle rider proved victorious in the rubber match between himself and James Tigue's Bearfoot themed trike.
:: FREESTYLE ::
:: RAMPAGE ::
Adams made the most of his final freestyle of the weekend and put down a very solid run. He grabbed better air off the cars and did not show any reservations towards the pyramid. Still not enough to win the event, but a step in the right direction. Score: 5.
:: WILD THANG ::
A wild weekend behind the wheel of Wild Thang for Doug Charles and he could put a huge exclamation point on it with yet another victory. He swept the first show and was in a great spot to do it again. His first jump was an outrageous sky wheelie which he planted into the cars and then walked the truck all the way off the set. He powered Wild Thang into a great vertical wheel stand over the pyramid on two occasions and filled the run with very good air off both car lanes. No complaints about this run and he definitely was going to be a contender for the win. Score: 8.
:: BEARFOOT ::
James Tigue once again found himself having to shoot down Wild Thang for the top Freestyle spot. Bearfoot has been plagued with some mechanical woes nearly the entire weekend and they would bite again here. Tigue looked in good shape after a hit on the near cars and then working a slap wheelie off the pyramid with ease. But, after the wheelie, the truck shut down and could not re-fire. Tigue managed 1 racing win, but 0 Freestyle victories on the weekend. Score: 3.
:: MONSTER PATROL ::
Dabney's freestyle's picked up momentum all weekend and this run put a stamp on it! All-out, peddle down, high-flying tactical mastery applied with every move. He got the biggest lift off the cars of anyone all weekend, cleared the rows several times including walking off the set twice. He rocketed over the pyramid and stuck the back of the wing to the ground and powered across the floor with a perfect slap wheelie! Dabney threw in two sets of dust spewing donuts to send the crowd into a frenzy. You cannot do a run in this type of an environment much, if any, better than Dabney just did. Score: 10.
:: Kevin Harvick/Kid Rock #29 ::
Charlie Miller was primed to play spoiler and was going to make it very interesting come voting. Miller opened the run with a huge leap over the near set, spiking the truck into the third car. He went to work on the pyramid and tried to match the slap wheelie of Dabney, but couldn't get the bounce on his first attempt. He followed up with more big air on the far set before giving the slap wheelie another shot. This time he kept the front end high in the air and slammed it down hard. Miller put his foot through the floor and managed to ride a slap wheelie all the way across the floor before having to mash the brakes as he slid nearly out the pit gate! Not as vertical as Dabney's but exciting end to the run. Score: 7.
Not surprisingly, the crowd vote came down to three guys: Kirk Dabney, Charlie Miller, and Doug Charles. In the re-vote, I was shocked to hear Dabney's cheers drop off first as I believe he deserved the win hands down. Between Miller and Charles, Doug Charles won over the crowd with his wheel standing freestyle and claimed his second Freestyle win and second sweep of the weekend!
It was the Doug Charles and Kirk Dabney show during this final event and really pretty much the entire weekend as they claimed 5 of the 6 event wins. Charles showed some tremendous progress behind the wheel of Wild Thang and if the trend continues, the efforts displayed by Wayne Tigue and JR Adams are a sign of future things to come.
HUGE Thanks to the entire Shafer Motorsports crew for their accommodations all weekend (Bobby Paul, Rich Inman, Russ Ivy.) And I thank YOU for reading this weekend coverage of Du Quoin, IL 2006!