The months of January and December
are pretty unique, if you really think about it. They are so far
apart, yet so close; they signify the end of one year, and the beginning
of a brand new one. While these months are most often recognized for
their religious and holiday-related importance, it should be noted that
they are much like a pair of bookends. While “real-life” bookends
help keep your books from falling over and causing you much grief,
consider my metaphor; January and December hold between them all the
events, happenings, and goings on of a year’s time. The are the
proverbial bookends of the calendar which we all follow and plan our lives
around. In light of all of this, I’ve decided to take a look back at
2005 in brief, at the places I’ve been and the things that I’ve seen.
It certainly has been a memorable year for me, probably by far the most
fun-filled year I have ever had. I feel that as a mechanic, crew
member, driver, and family man, I’ve come many steps forward from where I
started back in January. And now, as a new January looms just around
the bend, I look back at 2005 and outline my hopes, dreams, and
expectations for 2006.
January
The first month of 2005 would start off with a bang, in Colorado Springs,
CO for the first event of the 2005 Monster Nationals series. The
event saw the restructuring of the Monster Nationals point series, which
would now allow for both a racing AND freestyle champion. Hopes were
high that our trucks could claim both titles, though wins by Big Dawg and
the freshly-debuted Summit Bigfoot made clear the fact that both
titles would be hotly contested.
Colorado Springs.
Raminator vs. Bigfoot. Hall vs. Runte.
Cleveland, OH proved to be probably the lowest point in the winter season
for us, as we struggled to build momentum. The Ford teams once again
prevailed in racing, and the pickings were slim in freestyle as well.
Rammunition broke off a rear wheel while racing Bigfoot during the second
Saturday show, making for an even longer night.
Cleveland Wheelie
Contest.
In Battle Creek, MI, the tides would turn as we buckled down and returned
to our winning ways, as Raminator and Rammunition both returned to the
spotlight capturing the checkered flag and the fans’ admiration as racing
and freestyle victories were finally clinched. With the scent of
victory fresh in our faces, it was on to Wisconsin.
Making some time out for
a young fan in Battle Creek, MI.
Battle Creek - Let it
Snow!
The chilly climes and high piled snow drifts are trademarks of the
Madison, WI event. Inside, however, Mark Hall’s Raminator was nearly
too hot to touch. The broom was thrown out on the track Sunday
afternoon, as Mark and the rest of the team were able to put the red truck
in Victory Lane for each of the three racing programs, and the fans saw to
it that Raminator was crowned freestyle champ each night. The road
to the Mansfield finals was still a long one, but now the way was brightly
lit.
Madison: Trucks
can fly!!
Mark in route to a
Sunday freestyle victory!!
After Madison, Travis and I went on a non-MT errand, as we ran the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck that we use for displays down to the St. Louis Auto Show
as part of the Mopar / Dodge exhibit.
February
Why some of the smallest races on our schedule are some of the most
important is highly ironic, as it is well known in the MT industry that
Raminator and Rammunition prefer the large expanses of outdoor tracks.
That being said, the presence of the many Dodge executives and VIPs who
attended the East Lansing, MI Monster Nationals weighed heavy on our minds
that cold night in February. The tight confines and slippery floor
of the Breslin Center haunted us in 2004, but thankfully the team made an
impressive turn around for 2005. Mark Hall and Dale Benear were able
to rout the competition, with Benear finding himself in victory lane in
front of a warm Michigan crowd and lots of happy sponsors.
Dale performs the
"Triple-T" dance after winning in East Lansing.
While the Monster Nationals (and Rammunition) in Columbus, OH rocked the
OSU Schottenstein Center, Geremie, Mat, and myself fought frustrating
breakage intertwined with sweet success in Asheville, NC at an
independently promoted show. A misaligned bell housing from the
manufacturer would lead to the destruction of a clutch assembly, flywheel,
and two transmissions. Despite that, two freestyle wins and a racing
win were still in our back pockets as we left town.
Sioux City, IA would be the final race for the Valentine’s month.
This particular event is the perhaps the greatest war of attrition we
fight on the Monster Nationals tour. Destroyed wheelie bars, smashed
body parts, broken axles, troubled engines, and seemingly unfixable
gremlins haunt the teams that race in the Tyson Arena. Team Bigfoot
found themselves hauling a replacement truck for Dave Harkey after he
ripped a four-link mounting plate off of Bigfoot 14’s rear axle housing
during an early round of competition. While a total sweep wasn’t the
end result for us, more victories were reeled in on our quest for the MN
title.
Mark starts the weekend
off with a bang - Sioux City.
March
Our love-hate show of the year is the University of Illinois Assembly Hall
Monster Nationals, held in our hometown of Champaign, IL. Since
2003, wins, an success in general, have been harder to achieve than
nailing jello to a wall. The size of this building rivals only the
largest tennis court it seems, though the action reaches levels
unthinkable to most fans that haven’t attended the event. Sadly,
Mark Hall’s Raminator fell victim to a broken pinion early in freestyle,
but the demise of one Ram only fuels the passion of the next. Dale
Benear continued his impressive winter season as he wowed the
predominantly Chevy-biased crowd as he aired his way to a freestyle win.
Relentless in pursuit and ruthless in execution, Rammunition visited a
place that was starting to become familiar: the winner’s circle.
Rammunition knocks off
Bigfoot in Champaign finals.
My winter race season was essentially done after Champaign, as the weather
around the country was improving enough for the Raminator R/T to come out
of hibernation. Trips to Holten, KS; Fayetteville, AR; and
Shallotte, NC rounded out the month of March for me. It felt really
good to be back in the seat of something with big tires, and as the
weather improved I began to acquire more seat time behind the wheel of the
Freightliner Century that we use to haul the R/T around the nation.
April
The trip home from Shallotte, NC to Champaign was a hurried one, and time
was short for me once I was home. Mopars at the Strip in Las Vegas
was only days away, and there was little time to get the R/T cleaned up,
perform routine maintenance, and reconfigure my hauler to make room for
Travis’ Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The trip to Vegas with Travis was long and short, so to say; it was fun
the entire time, however. The Mopars at the Strip event held at Las
Vegas Motor Speedway’s famed “The Strip” drag way was as close to heaven
as a Mopar fan can get, short of attending the Mopar Nats. Between
being treated like royalty by the event staff and fans, presenting the
American Flag for the National Anthem with the R/T, and seeing Kenny Wayne
Sheppard play a private concert at the Cannery Casino, I’m pretty sure
this trip was the most fun I had all year. And since all of this
took place in Las Vegas, NV, I really can’t complain.
The sign says it all.
Travis and I with the
beautiful Nevada desert in the background.
After a good five or six (maybe seven?) days in Vegas, it was off to east
Texas, Longview, to be specific. The Dodge dealer in town called
upon the R/T for its services, and to help counter the display the GM
folks across the street were putting on, with King Krunch and El Matador.
We had fun talking and hanging out with the Flame Motorsports guys, and
ultimately the fans in the area really were the winners.
From Texas it was off to the East Coast for my first Dodge Dealer East
Coast swing of the year. Albany, NY; Sussex, NJ; and Turnersville,
NJ made up the schedule for the last days in April.
I took the chance during all of these road trips to catch up on some much
needed reading. I enjoy reading everything from aviation technical
guides to science fiction novels to political thrillers to Calvin and
Hobbes comic books.
May
The Lima Jamboree stands as the most significant date in the May calendar
book. Despite heavy rains, we managed to win two final rounds and
place runner-up in the third. Thanks to the heavy rains that seemed
relentless, the entire infield became horrifically slippery. I
determined, through very scientific research, that the infield was
actually composed of axle grease, goose droppings, WD40, cooking oil, and
some green textile resembling grass (but much much slipperier). This
ominous combination of ingredients added to the rain dropped by what must
have been a medium-sized tropical storm made for, shall we say, less than
ideal racing conditions.
Rammunition makes a
practice pass - Lima.
You can't stop
freestyle, mud, rain, or shine.
Dealership gigs in Pampa, TX; Canandaigua, NY; and Milford, PA kept me
busy the rest of the month, along with a very special visit from the R/T
to the Thomasboro Elementary School in Thomasboro, IL. The town of
Thomasboro is where the Hall Brothers are originally from and have lived
pretty much their whole lives, and it is unofficially the home of Hall
Brothers Racing. In lieu of this, we had the honor of giving
students who had met their grade goals a special ride around the town in
the Raminator R/T (with a police escort and RII’s, of course). These
kids had worked really hard to achieve their goals, and I like to think
that they were well rewarded for it.
I'm glad the streets of
Thomasboro weren't muddy like Lima.
I would also like to give a special thanks to the general manager of
Milford C-J-D in Milford, PA. He lets me drive the R/T wherever I
want on their expansive dealership property, be it on pavement, their
(once) nicely manicured front lawn area, or the awesome MX track in the
back. He also hooked me up with a pair of Dodge NHRA Funny Car 1:16
models, which I later had Gary Scelzi and Whit Bazemore sign.
June
June was a unique month, as it kicked off with a one day display in
Frankfort, IN, backed up by a three-day visit to the Boyne Highlands
Resort in northern Michigan for a Dodge dealer’s regional convention.
A full-on Mark Hall freestyle, rides, and some [wacky] miniature golf made
for good fun, and the steaks, awesome burgers, and to-die-for omelets made
for good food.
Doin' the R/T thing in
Boyne, MI.
Mark making it look easy
- Boyne, MI.
I had a lot of fun in June, I must say. I had the pleasure of
pulling double duty in Richmond, IN, as I drove both the R/T and Mark
Hall’s Raminator at the local Dodge dealer. Much thanks to them for
providing me with acres of play space for the R/T and the race truck, not
to mention the 17-odd cars they brought out. Having been an MT fan
since I was a very young child, I’ve always wondered what it would be like
to drive one. Though I’ve worked at HBR for now almost three years,
I’ve always made it known that I enjoy being with the trucks and working
on them more than anything, and that driving them would be an added bonus
(not to mention a dream come true). The R/T has been a blast from
day one, and I have a lot of fun and take a lot of pride in doing well
with it. However, after doing my first car crush, a small bug bit
me. I’m pretty sure it is the
“I-want-to-do-this-a-whole-lot-more-cause-crushing-cars-is-fun” bug.
It’s rare, but not unheard of. My thanks to Tim and Mark as they
have been great teachers all along, and to see Tim smiling at me when I
was done and telling me that I did a great job was a really good feeling,
one that I’ve been hard pressed to match since.
One of my first hits
during my Richmond car crush.
Richmond - The feeling
this jump gave me really can't be explained.
There's a happy man in
there.
As though that weren’t enough, the next day most of the team took a trip
up to Rt. 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL to soak up the NHRA Car Quest
Nationals. The fun never stops, right?
Wrapping up the halfway
mark in Chicagoland at the drags.
Adding to the busy list of to-do’s in June would be a hot, but fun, Mopar
car show hosted by the New Mexico Mopar Muscle club in Belen, NM, followed
by a corporate gig with two trucks in Detroit at a Dodge R&D facility
along with my second dealership car crush in Bellefontaine, OH.
Halfway there! 29 different gigs in 26 weeks.
Next week I’ll finish my look back at ‘05, as I make like a cheesy VH1
countdown and give you the low-down on July through December. Until
then, please enjoy your Holiday weekend. Whatever you celebrate, be
it Christmas, Hanukkah, or a spiked bowl of punch, have the happiest in
memory, and be sure to not forget our troops overseas who are doing their
best to stand up for what our country is built on. That being said,
I’m going to find some egg nog and relax. Thanks for reading.
- KD
Email KD and let him know what you
thought!!
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