Friday December 28

The 2008 Monster Truck Winter Nationals started off in Topeka last night with a BANG!  Rookie Jerry Dalton took the first Racing win of the season in BIGFOOT 11 over past CFP Champion Rob French in MONSTER CORVETTE.  Not only that - but this Final Round match-up put on THE CLOSEST race of the night!  But what else would you expect from a Final Round like that?

Freestyle saw a good showing from all trucks, with all trucks having full runs and not really being cut short due to breakage, etc.  A gasp came from the crowd when Jerry Dalton and Bigfoot suffered a soft roll in Freestyle while attempting to break into a donut.  Steven Hill in Monkey'n Around was able to do it earlier.  So was Rob French in his Monster Corvette, "TWISTED DRAGON".  But Jerry couldn't get the hang of it tonight and put Bigfoot on its lid in his very first competition event.  The Freestyle cheering led to a cheer off between Dalton and French, but the 3rd cheer off finally awarded Rob French the much deserved Freestyle win in Monster Corvette.  Both had some great moves, where Jerry focused on the cars getting not only some good air, but some REAL NICE wheelstands over them as well, while French did some good jumps over the cars (including a REVERSER!), some WICKED dusty donuts, and a jump over one of the Arenacross double to end the run.

*A tough break for the Barbarian team though as Devin Jones lost his motor towards the end of Racing, despite having torn it down several times in the week or so (including Thursday) prior to Topeka's races.  He returned home to Oklahoma Saturday morning, and as a replacement Larry Quick was called in with his classic Mustang bodied GHOST RYDER.

 **Barbarian did NOT Freestyle, resulting in NO Freestyle points**

Saturday December 29

The battle of the rookies continued with the likes of Jerry Dalton driving Bigfoot, as well as Mark Foulk in Bulletproof.  Joining them would be a fresh face for the weekend; Larry Quick in Ghost Ryder!  Larry arrived mid Saturday afternoon and got ready quickly to make the Pit Party, and did so in ample time.

When it came to Racing the big story was the Final Round.  Saturday night would be a rematch (or grudge race, depending on which way you look at it) from the night before - Bigfoot and Monster Corvette would square off in a Ford vs. Chevy duel once again!  But Saturday was NO different from Friday night, as Jerry Dalton took the won against Rob French to make him 2 for 2 as far as career Racing wins are concerned!

Freestyle started off with the 'substitute' truck Ghost Ryder.  But Larry is known for some CRAZY Freestyle runs.  Larry came out and right off the bat hit the car and van row (6 cars and a van, all side-by-side).  And when I said he hit it, I mean he HIT it...HARD!  The nose went WAY up, the tailgate landed on the second car, and Larry wheelied across the row, slamming the rear tires into the van before letting the front end settle back down.  Talk about making a first impression!  Larry ran and ran and RAN that truck, and set the bar HIGH.  It seemed like no one could touch it, but that would have to be seen later on.

As the other trucks Freestyled, it seemed like Larry's run would stay on top.  One truck after another came out and had very respectable runs, but nothing came close to the run of Ghost Ryder's.  When it came time for the crowd to vote, the winner HANDS DOWN was Larry Quick and his Ghost Ryder Mustang!