Before we move on to the Monster Truck Racing Competition, let's take a look at some of the Tough Truck action from the evening...

PRO-ARENA TRUCK COMPETITION

A lot of familiar trucks would be appearing in this portion of the competition, as we have gotten to see a lot of tough truck competitions as part of the Monster Truck shows we've been to in the area over the last year.  You will also recognize a couple trucks from Bryan Wagner's coverage of the PSM World Finals, including a rollover by the #96 truck.  In addition to John Jungeblut's Wild Thing, I also remembered the Mac Attack truck from the Washington, MO event.  Mac Attack prevailed in Washington last fall, and he would be up to the task tonight in Kansas City as well, winning the overall event!!

R/C CLUB ENTERTAINMENT

In addition to the Pro Arena Truck competition, one of the local R/C clubs was in attendance, and they put on a show during intermission that was very entertaining.  I had fun putting the big lens on the camera and taking pictures of the R/C cars as they zoomed around the track and flew through the air.

RACING COMPETITION

Round 1

ROLLING THUNDER VS. MAXIMUM DESTRUCTION

The Racing Competition would kick off with a great match-up between Neil Elliott in Maximum Destruction and Jim Bendzick in Rolling Thunder.  In what was an extremely close race, Max D gets the call, as both trucks cross the finish line in the air nearly dead even.  Great performance by Jim Bendzick, but it would be Neil Elliott moving on to Round 2.

KING KRUNCH VS. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE

The next match-up would see David Smith in King Krunch facing off against Brandon Harrington in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.  In another fantastic race, it was Smith getting the win and moving on to Round 2.

BOB & TOM VS. EL MATADOR

The trend of close races continued as rookie Chuck Warner in Bob & Tom took on Daron Basl in El Matador.  Warner got the jump off the line and it would be just enough to hold off a hard charging Basl at the finish line in another very close match-up.

GRAVE DIGGER VS. CYBORG

First instinct upon seeing the matchup of Gary Porter and Jack Koberna's Cyborg is to give the win to Grave Digger, but Koberna surprised me by staying right with Porter to the finish!!  Unfortunately the great effort would still prove fruitless as Digger moves on and Cyborg is left to wait until Freestyle.

Round 2

MAXIMUM DESTRUCTION VS. KING KRUNCH

Round 2 would feature another great match-up as two trucks who appeared at last year's World Finals would go head to head.  This race would break the trend of close finishes however, as it was al Max D and Neil Elliott, as he punched his ticket to the Finals!!

BOB & TOM VS. GRAVE DIGGER

Next up in Semis would be the battle between one of the sport's most veteran drivers, and one of the sport's newest drivers.  Gary Porter with his years of experience would be facing off against the young gun who only made his debut the previous weekend.  In a stunning upset victory, Chuck Warner beat Gary Porter off the line and never looked back, sending the Bob & Tom truck to the Finals and Grave Digger back to the pits!!

Final Round

MAXIMUM DESTRUCTION VS. BOB & TOM

Rookie Chuck Warner was on a roll, having just knocked off Gary Porter in Grave Digger.  However, he would now have to face off against hard charging Neil Elliott in Maximum Destruction.  The fairy tale story would end here however, as the power of Maximum Destruction simply overmatched the rookie, as Neil Elliott flew to victory, taking the Racing Competition win in Kansas City!!

After intermission and the Tough Truck Finals, it was time for the Monster Truck Freestyle Competition!!

FREESTYLE COMPETITION

ROLLING THUNDER

After having done such a great job leading off the Wheelie contest, it was time for Jim Bendzick to do the same for Freestyle.  Bendzick would once again be up to the task, as he put on a great performance!!  Starting with a couple of strong hits on the carsets, including riding a small slap wheelie after the second hit, Bendzick established some good momentum for the run.  Next, he lined up for the fresh van stack that had been brought out, and hit it perfectly, throwing the front end way up in the air, and riding over the stack on the back wheels!!  Rolling Thunder then went right into a great set of donuts right near the wall for an awesome combination move!!  Bendzick drove right out of the wheelies toward the van stack, and put another good hit on it, again getting a nice slap wheelie over the stack.  At this point, the rear steering would not re-center but, Bendzick still managed one more pass over the cars before stopping the truck and saluting the crowd!!  A fantastic run from Jim Bendzick in Rolling Thunder that had set the bar extremely high for the rest of the field.  Having been the first truck out seemed to hurt his score, as he received a 24 from the judges.  A 24 is a solid score, but this run was deserving of much more.

Click below to move on to the next page for more Monster Truck Freestyle action!!

SEE MORE FREESTYLE!!