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"The Winter Nationals Championship" - 12/20/2006

When you mention racing to a Monster Truck driver it means competition. The level of that competition rises with even more when you put together a series with points awarded per race. Take that series and add a 6-foot tall championship Trophy, a huge event at the end of the Points Series that has DOUBLE Points awarded this brings a whole new meaning to Competition. In 2006 both Dodge and Ford went after the championship and every week it was a war between the Ford truck Bigfoot and the Dodge truck Raminator. Sometimes though each of those trucks would have their hands full with the other guys........don't forget the other guys.

The other guys were the Independents. Guys like Rich Blackburne from Demon, Brad Campbell of Monster Moose, and Public Disturbance driver Jason Grill, they make up the grass roots effort for the Independent guy. Independent owner/drivers that sometimes have sunk every dime and all their resources in one truck and one hauler. They have virtually no sponsorship, no support except from a few neighborhood friends, and they work on their trucks day in and day out and then haul them clear across the country to do a show. They are living the dream but usually have that dream of being that top name truck that everyone knows and ever other truck is measured by is their dream they are chasing.

All year long everyone kept talking about Raminator's driver Geremie Dishman and the showdown he was going to have with Dan Runte, the top driver for Bigfoot. It happened only once and that was in Wichita Falls and Runte went down. Team Bigfoot knew they had a couple of aces and that was Rick Long and another Bigfoot driver Dave Harkey. Both of these guys are very good drivers and Long was doing good on the shows he was at and Harkey was taking up the slack on the East Coast shows, Team Bigfoot was alive. So the points kept racking up for these guys but then again here came the Independents - Demon had won a race or two, Public Disturbance was coming on, and the Moose was in the hunt.

Right down to the wire when fired up the lights inside the Idaho State University Mini-Dome the CFP Monster Truck Grand Nationals was going to be one of the wildest nights ever. Racing was on a "J" track that started on coke syrup coated concrete then turned either to the right or left depending on your lane and then 3 huge jumps on a long fast track with the finish line jump launching trucks 20 to 30 feet in the air and they flew some as much as 100 feet!

Racing in front of a huge sold out crowd in a dome can sometimes mount up pressure. Young Geremie had plenty. He was sitting on top of the points lead, he had the baddest truck the Hall Brothers Racing Team could put under him, he had the top crew man in the business. And there was a couple of spectators that was probably added some of the pressure and that was the factory Dodge racing sponsorship guy and his wife who had flew in from Detroit, sitting in the grandstand watching the action. He was there, I am sure, to see Geremie win. Geremie is a good kid. He is a racer, and his competitive nature put more pressure on himself and he wanted to win badly. It did not happen. His tires were set up for outdoor tracks and he had no grip out of the hole and his starts lacked a bunch. Then he came to the turns and had more problems. It was not to be his night and his year went up in smoke with a blown motor in Freestyle.

Bigfoot had basically the same level of equipment the Dodge guys did. They came to a gun fight with an atomic bomb! Their trucks were the top of the line and they had the legendary Jim Kramer there for support. Kramer is regarded as the guy that took monster trucks from crushing cars to the level they are now. His knowledge and his driving ability and his daring "in control" style has not been matched yet today. Both drivers from Bigfoot qualified well. Were they the fastest.....no.

Fast qualifier for the night was Monster Moose and right behind him was Public Disturbance and these guys all of a sudden became a threat. Marching right through the pack was Brad Campbell. He had already took a look at the new Trail bike the winner was to receive and he had his eyes on the other championship goodies. RAM kept having problems with the turn and lost in his first round putting him out of the championship. He could not come back and win no matter what. Geremie knew it and it baked on him the entire rest of the night. Moose went onto win Racing and when it came to Freestyle it was a battle between him and Bigfoot Rick Long who actually almost flipped his truck end over end when he throttled to slow over the bus. It was a wild night and the crowd was vocal it was the Moose!

So this year it starts all over. Same rules with an exception of the minimum amount of races it takes to qualify and we also upped the rewards. For the 2007 champion there is a huge trophy, jackets, a special directors chair, the title of being the champion, and now add a brand new utility size 4 wheeler ATV plus $1000 dollars cash! That means this is the biggest, the most prestigious, most noted, most competitive Monster Truck Indoor Winter Series in the World today!

The first round is coming soon January 5th and 6th in Trenton, New Jersey and also that same weekend in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. This year there are a whole lot of new Independents that are chasing the title and one less factory. Team Ram is gone and hopefully they will return one day. We have a hunch with the new trucks in our lineup like Sudden Impact, T-Maxx, Monster Corvette, Viper, Reaper, and the return of Bigfoot, Public Disturbance and of course Brad is back with the Moose and to put it in his words "we are loaded for bear but we will settle for a Bigfoot!"

I believe this is going to be a wild year in Monster Truck racing, and the Grand Nationals in Pocatello will not be the only crazy night we are going to see.

Look out the Moose is loose!

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