5:00 Show
The rain soaked Lima area was now in for some relief. The downpours finally let up and the rain stopped for the first time in nearly a day. As the 5:00 show approached, the skies were still very overcast but held off enough rain for us to move from the covered grandstands down the track a bit to the open bleachers. Better weather also equaled a bigger crowd as the stands were nearly filled for the evening event.
After sitting out racing during the first show, Melissa Stathas in God, Guts & Glory would be in action leaving Monster Patrol on the sidelines until freestyle. The Stathas' other truck, Gold Digger, was on display during the day over in the pit area.
Racing Round 1
Avenger vs. T-Maxx-- Koehler was out powered in the first show while Seasock took the T-Maxx to the finals and showed everyone just where the power was. This time though the tide has turned. Koehler launched off the line first and actually kicked up dust off the start line showing just how deep they were spinning. Seasock took advantage of Koehler sliding over towards the middle of the track to gain some ground but then bobbled a bit of his own allowing Koehler to come back around and take the win. Winner: Avenger.
Bigfoot vs. God, Guts & Glory-- A real mismatch in every sense of the term but Stathas was out to prove the doubtful as she grabbed a legit hole shot over Runte! Her low geared heavyweight truck had the advantage in the thick mud as she did not spin at all and held a lead over the roller hill. But then the massive Bigfoot power in the other lane kicked in during the flat land and Runte blew away Stathas the second half of the course to the win. Winner: Bigfoot.
Big Dawg vs. Rammunition-- The RII problems were sorted out in Big Dawg as Noelke squared off this time with the other Dodge boy, Dishman in Rammunition. Noelke caught Dishman not just napping but nearly in hibernation with the biggest hole shot one could ever hope for. Noelke had Big Dawg half way down the track in a blistering pass before Dishman was over the hill. Dominating victory for Big Dawg and he looked plenty strong headed to Round 2. Winner: Big Dawg.
Raminator vs. Nitemare-- Every win this round has been out of the far lane and the logic behind that may have been that with the track slope, the far lane was drying quicker than the near lane where the water was now pooling at. Trucks in the right lane have been finding dust on the start line while in the left they've found defeat. In a near mirror image of the previous race, Mark Hall unloaded a giant hole shot over Hoffman with now spin whatsoever off the line. Hoffman was slow to get going and there was no catching Raminator. The victory would setup a rematch of the race that did not happen in Round 1 between Hall and Noelke. Winner: Raminator.
Racing Round 2
Bigfoot vs. Avenger-- Both driver's were looking for their first Final round appearance of the day but instead of controlling that themselves in the race, the track made the decision. The lane difference was now blatantly clear as Koehler spun mightily off the line while Runte showed now signs of slowing down and put down his quickest run of the day to cruise into the Finals. The high speed was great for the race but stopping was another story. Runte slid Bigfoot over 100 feet and nearly clipped one of the freestyle jumps before being able to get Bigfoot back under control. Winner: Bigfoot.
Raminator vs. Big Dawg-- No mechanical failures this time as the trucks were locked on the line ready to roar. Would the lane difference put the dawg to sleep or would Noelke be able to put the over-grown sheep out to pasture? Once again, we never got the chance to find out. Noelke red-lighted handing the win to Hall. Half way down the track, Noelke slowed down to allow Hall to catch up and pass him but Big Dawg ended up first to the finish anyway but in the end Raminator still moves on. This showdown would have to wait for another time. Winner: Raminator. (Raminator did face Big Dawg on Sunday on a dry and full S-course track. It was said to be one of the best races in a long time and unfortunately I was not there to witness it. Noelke would come out top dawg in the see-saw battle over Hall. If anyone has pics/videos from that race and would like to share, please let me know!)
Racing Finals
Raminator vs. Bigfoot-- Lane choice went to Hall and of course he took the left lane. Runte was now faced with a muddy up-hill battle even before they left the line. The next chapter in this rivalry was about to be written but in the end, team Bigfoot was looking for an eraser. The lane problem tainted what would've been a great showdown on a dry track. Hall showed no mercy and put down an incredible pass leaving Runte 4-5 truck lengths behind still spinning through the mud. Winner: Raminator. All victories in this event came from the left lane.
Freestyle
The obstacles on the track would remain the same only this time a little more beat down. The drivers were going to have to get more inventive to keep any kind of interest in the runs. With Dabney sitting out racing, he would lead off Freestyle followed by Nitemare and then T-Maxx to round out the show.
Monster Patrol-- If anyone knows how to be inventive about a run, its Kirk Dabney. Dabney has been an innovator in monster trucks for over 20 years and is no stranger to Lima under any conditions. He opened his run strong by grabbing the biggest air of the day with a nice leap over the S-course jump and was the first to actually get some air off the cars. But the real launching spot was that single car jump on the back side of the track and Dabney worked it over several times with some awesome leaps and even pulled a slap wheelie on his final pass. A bright ray of sunlight, the first in over 24 hours, burst through the clouds as Dabney went sliding through the mud which brought a double cheer from the crowd. Dabney polished off the run with a couple more hits on the cars and a nice set of donuts. Best run of the day easily and the weather looked to be on the upswing which would only improve the action. Score: 8.
Nitemare-- Andy Hoffman would be out for his second freestyle performance of the day and with the improving conditions, he definitely wanted to improve on his run from the first show and possible top what Dabney has already thrown down. Hoffman took the same route at first and got some nice air off the far jumps before coming to the middle of the track and attacking the rows of cars. Hoffman built up a lot of speed to the cars and managed a couple nice long jumps clearing the three cars and the ramps. The junk pyramid gave Hoffman another wild ride inside Nitemare with a rough initial hit and then another hard pogo once he reached the second van in the line. Hoffman finished his run with a set of donuts where Dabney had spun his but just could not quite get the same velocity going. Good run but come the final show I look for Andy to really let loose. Score: 5.
T-Maxx-- John Seasock grabbed the controller and brought out the giant T-Maxx for his shot at freestyle next. Seasock quickly was out to impress as he carried the most momentum over everyone on the day. Seasock grabbed some nice air over the car sets trying to out dual Hoffman in the long jumps. Seasock slung T-Maxx around through the mud at each corner trying to keep that speed going before making his next move. He cut to a set of donuts that sent huge amounts of mud clumps flying everywhere as he slid the truck up into the birm of what was left of the mud racing track. Like we really need MORE mud flying around. I do not think John was ready to end his run there but the right rear tire lost pressure and sunk flat. Seasock rolled T-Maxx by the crowd and back to the pits. Score: 6.
With the rain clouds out of the area and the sun now blasting through, finally we had the opportunity to go check out some of the Show-N-Shine highlights. Both of these trucks are just unreal!
Got to love the 4x4 vans in attendance:
Some beautiful Ford trucks capped by the Bigfoot show truck also on display:
There was not too long of a time gap from the end of the 5:00 show until it was time for the 8:00 all freestyle finale. After making the rounds through the Show-N-Shine, it was back to the stands to find some seats as it was already filling up. As the sun went down on Lima, the trucks went up...way up in a freestyle shootout featuring the biggest air all day by far and even more of the nasty mud getting thrown around. The 8:00 freestyle marathon is next!