8:00 Freestyle Finale
Some changes were made to the track prior to the kickoff of the show. A fresh car-van-car pyramid was setup right across from us in the open field. A bulldozer cleared out some of the mud in front of the small slap wheelie hill in hopes that Bigfoot, Big Dawg and maybe others would be able to get enough grip for a wheelie.
The long day of monsters took its toll on a few trucks as well. God, Guts & Glory would be out with drive line problems and due to that severely cut tire suffered in the last show, John Seasock in T-Maxx would also be out. Bigfoot, Raminator and Big Dawg would get the chance to freestyle for the first time while this would be the second time out for the other four trucks.
Monster Patrol-- Dabney would roll out first and looked to set the bar high with a full lineup of superstars waiting in the wings. Dabney differed from his previous approach which I did not like as he did not hit the S-course jumps at all which gave him so much air at the 5:00 show. He went right for the new pyramid but spit and sputtered his way over the slick obstacle. Dabney was able to continue getting decent air off the crush cars and made a couple runs at the pyramid but really let me down in the end. No donuts and did not hit the big jumps. Score: 4.
Nitemare-- Andy Hoffman flew out of the pits next and went right for the remains of that double pyramid that has rocked him around all day. He got over it smoothly this time and made a combo right into the crush cars with a good jump and followed that up with a nice set of donuts out in the grassy area down the track, the first person to attempt them over there and it looked like a possible new hot spot. Hoffman attacked the new pyramid but did not have much luck on it either. Hoffman called it quits after that for whatever reason, really disappointing me and others. Looked like he was building to a really good run but pulled the plug too soon. Score: 5.
Rammunition-- Dishman lit up the first freestyle round over 7 hours ago and that was just too long to wait for another run like that. He took on the new pyramid first and cut a quick donut out in front of the big barrier tires and then headed off into the distance making everyone wonder what he had planned. Suddenly, the truck died out on the far back stretch and remained that way for nearly 30 seconds before it was re-fired. Dishman hit the gas and blasted down into the trench and back up launching off the hill for a sweet jump. Dishman went after the pyramid again and skimmed over the top of it and headed way down to the far right side of the track and he obviously took note of what Hoffman did as he ripped off a crazy set of donuts throwing the grass and mud everywhere. Too many poles in the way prevented more pictures as he slid from one side of the infield to the other. He made a final pass down the cars and called it good and indeed it was very good. Score: 7.
Raminator-- The second Dodge team member, Mark Hall roared out next in Raminator and instantly got our attention with a huge leap over the single car jump on the back side. Looked like we were in for another fast-paced Raminator freestyle and this indeed had all the makings as Hall combo'd from one area of the track to the next grabbing as much air as the conditions would allow. He pulled some mid-run donuts and headed back to the single car jump unloading with an even bigger flight this time. But he would top that still as his next launch was off the so far untouched giant dirt hill on the left side of the track. Hall blasted up the ramp and up into the air causing Lima regional airport air traffic controllers to call in a U.F.O. on that one. Hall shot over the cars one more time and waived to the crowd ending the run. Cannot do much more than that! Score: 9.
Big Dawg-- It has been quite an up and down day for the Big Dawg team. First they looked to be in a position to dominate racing only to be plagued by RII problems then a red light puts Noelke out again. Noelke could avoid a complete loss on the day with a standout freestyle. He went right for the slap wheelie attempt but the slick track would have none of that and there would be no more attempts by anyone at that. Doug ripped through the pyramid with a very nice hit and grabbed some big air off the roller hill something no one else has tried to do. But again the mechanical demons would not go away. The engine did not sound at full power and sure enough there were problems. Noelke ripped his neck collar off and slammed it in the cab frustrated one more time. Score: 3.
Bigfoot-- Dan Runte put on a costly show Friday night as we found out that he launched Bigfoot off the big dirt hill with an insane amount of air only to suffer a terrible nose first landing that ripped apart the front end and leaving team Bigfoot short parts to compete Saturday. Jim Kramer drove through the night to bring up parts and by morning Bigfoot was back together. I highly doubt we were in for a repeat as after one tempt with fate, Runte tends not to go that route twice. Runte started this run with some big air on the single car jump but right off the bat something did not seem right. He charged at the pyramid and had a hard time getting over that as well as controlling Bigfoot on the landing. He went for a wheelie off one of the tuff truck hills but the truck was just tossed all around. The bugs have bitten another monster. Score: 2.
Avenger-- One truck left and Koehler had no reason to hold back now. The table was set for him to walk away with the win as only the run put down by Mark Hall stood in his way. Koehler showed signs of wanting to cut loose in his first pass but was forced to hold back for the rest of day. The chains are off and Koehler broke out with a giant opening leap on the S-course hill. He plowed through the pyramid getting the most distance over anyone as he launched it off the van. Koehler built up the momentum and cleared the crush cars with some great distance. He turned the truck around and flew back down the track and headed for the far corner and lined up for the big ramp! Koehler mashed the '57 Chevy for all it would go and took off into the stars with some HUGE air sailing way up and out over the land and seemed to carry forever. The truck landed incredibly hard but he gained control and slid the truck around into World Finals4-esque donut right in the middle of the track. He still was not finished and blasted over the cars getting undoubtedly the biggest air off the cars all day. Koehler tore through the pyramid one more time and slid to stop up against the barrier tires to salute the crowd. What did you expect? Score: 10. Watch this run in the Lima Video Theatre!
Another Lima experience complete and despite what looked to be a total wash coming in, turned out to be exactly what we've come to expect from this place. Excitement, drama, suspense, emotion and intense competition at every level throughout the day.
In the end, it was the Lima mainstay of Mark Hall in Raminator coming away with two racing victories and probably won the freestyle in a lot of minds as well. On and off again Jamboree participant Jim Koehler in Avenger had a solid day with two great freestyles and a decent show in racing. It was a rough day for the "Big" trucks with breakage and failures around every turn while other guys like Seasock and Hoffman took the opportunity and ran with it. A disappointing Jamboree debut for Melissa Stathas but all part of the learning curve. Kirk Dabney returned and looked promising in racing but faltered in his only chance at the track. He freestyles were consistent and will continue to be at every Jambo to come.
Big Thanks to Doc Riley of Special Events for providing us access to the event, Tim Hall and the Big Dawg team as well. Lima 2005 is in the books adding a page to the tradition it has established.