The next installment of Behind the
Scenes, I’ll continue my look back at 2005 as I re-cap the second half of
the year. 2005 was a really great year for me, and like I said last
time, I had more fun than I can ever remember having in one year.
So, before I start waxing rhetoric, let’s continue on with the 2005 wrap
up.
July
July is without a doubt one of the very busiest months for our team. Criss-crossing
the nation with our six rigs definitely adds the miles up. The busy
schedule starts to wear on people as the end of July approaches, as we are
away from our homes and families most of the summer. However, we do
what we do for a living because we choose to, and thankfully our families
have come to understand, or at the very least tolerate our obsession.
Heading into Summer.
Coping with the time away from home is something one must do to retain
one’s sanity, though we all seem to do it in different ways. Some of
us use the phone frequently to stay in touch with loved ones, while some
of us prefer a more solitary approach. For me, reading and music
seem to be my favorite ways to depart from the real world, or at least to
help deal with it. I spent a lot of time during the summer months
riding shotgun in the semis, driving them when I could, so I got to catch
up on a fair amount of reading. Everything from Tom Clancy novels to
“The Far Side” comic books fed my reading appetite, while tunes ranging
from Rush and Stevie Ray Vaughn to Godsmack and Linkin Park kept my ears
busy.
While I pride myself on being a good race crew member and mechanic (I
consider it my number one priority at HBR), I also take pride in driving
our ride truck. So, when an event like the Route 66 Monster Mash in
Joliet, IL comes around like it did in June, I have to let go my interest
in one, and focus my efforts on another. The Raminator R/T has
become really popular in Joliet since I first took it there in 2004, and
the fans have come enjoy it so much that many leave their seats during the
actual show to come and ride it. Despite the intense heat associated
with the Midwest during the summer, the truck ran flawlessly and I had a
great time running it alongside Darrell Wagner and his grandson Mikey.
Staying busy is a trademark at HBR it seems, and two days after Joliet we
were at it again in our hometown of Rantoul, IL for the annual Monster
Truck demonstration for the Fourth of July. I drove the R/T through
the awesome parade, and had a blast doing it. Parades are one of my
favorite gigs I get to do with the R/T. From there, we wide-loaded
it to a large municipal parking lot on the former Chanute Air Force Base,
where I met up with Mark Hall and his Raminator race truck. After a
few hours of rides, Mark performed a great exhibition despite the grueling
heat, and I backed that up with even more rides. We take donations
for local charities and school funds, and the residents of the town are
more than happy to donate.
View from inside the R/T at the Rantoul 4th of July Parade.
The world’s coolest wide load?
No fireworks needed.
Plenty of smoke though.
Still not busy enough yet? Well, we kept on rolling after Rantoul
and headed to the historic Bloomsburg, PA for the annual Four Wheel
Jamboree Nationals. Three intense days of racing and freestyle,
totaling five shows makes for a very long weekend for all the teams.
After all was said and done, Mark and Raminator had claimed two of the
four racing wins, at the cost of the motor in Raminator 7. We always
try to prepare for every situation, and thankfully we were prepared for
this one. Rather than sitting out the Saturday night Freestyle
session due to the blown motor, we called in Geremie Dishman and his
Raminator 5 race truck. We swapped tires in the infield between the
afternoon racing show and the evening freestyle show, loaded the wounded
#7 truck up, then finished preparing #5 to freestyle. I think the
fans and the promoter appreciated the effort we put forth to make sure
that we stayed in the show. The two wins by Raminator kept us ahead
in the points chase for the Special Events title, though wins by Summit
Bigfoot and the 30th Anniversary Bigfoot kept them close to us in points.
Mark checking over the truck after a Friday
night victory in Bloomsburg.
Tim and Geremie running through Raminator’s oil filter.
Mark looking over the Saturday headlines of the Bloomsburg paper,
featuring Raminator.
Tim and Mark focused on the task at hand: winning.
Swapping tires in the infield.
Too big to be a bird, too small to be a plane…must be Rammunition again.
Dale has been working on his wheelies this year.
Stopping for supper at a truckstop in PA on the way home from Bloomsburg.
The last couple of years, Bloomsburg is always followed by the final event
of the Monster Nationals series in Mansfield, OH. As the indoor
season wound down, Mark Hall was able to clinch the Freestyle championship
by a margin that, well, lets just say that second place wasn’t even close.
Racing, however, was a bit closer, though Mark was able to go into
Mansfield with a respectable lead thanks in part to some help from
teammate Dale Benear, who “pinch-hit” for Mark in Erie, PA back in May.
Dale swept the weekend with two freestyle wins and two racing wins.
Unfortunately for Mark, bizarre ignition troubles forced him to miss the
entire show Friday, and the racing portion of the show Saturday.
Dale Benear helped out again, as he did his best to knock off the
competition on the tricky and tight J-drag track. The FAA probably
made a call to the Monster Nationals staff after that weekend, as Dale
aired Rammunition to mind-boggling heights in racing. For the second
race of the year, I also drove the R/T in addition to my crewing duties,
so needless to say I slept well each night.
Dale, Darrell, and myself goofing around in Mansfield, prior to the show.
Thanks to Paul M. Harry for all of the Mansfield photos.
Presenting the colors during the National Anthem with the help of the Boy
Scout troop
that Paul Harry’s son is a member of.
Myself along with Paul’s wonderful family.
Alas, July is over, right? Nope, far from it. Dealership appearances
in Greenville, IL and Holten, KS; corporate events in Detroit at Chrysler
Headquarters and Plymouth Road Office Complex; and county fair races in
Owensville, OH and our hometown of Champaign, IL kept me very busy.
At the end of July though, I had the sunburn, dash plates, and photos to
prove I’d survived it.
George Eisenhart (Monster Nationals) and I goofing around pre-show in
Champaign.
Ambient temperature was approximately 376.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
August
Only five events in August for me, but man did I put some miles on with
the ‘ole R/T hauler. Just days after the dealership gig in Holten,
KS, the convoy of Rams headed for Essex Junction, VT for my favorite race
of the year. The Vermont Jamboree takes place in the scenic
foothills that surround Lake Champlain. This race has been good to
the HBR team, since 2001 when Mark Hall began a streak of wins that was
unbroken until the final race on the final day of 2004. 2005 proved
to be bittersweet for our team, with Raminator taking two final-round wins
and clinching the 2005 Special Events title by an incredibly wide margin.
On the downside, however, was Sunday’s freestyle. Rammunition made a
massive leap during his freestyle, which up to that point has been nothing
short of stellar. Upon landing, however, the right front spindle
broke, sending the front tire under the truck, causing it to roll onto its
roof. With little more than fiberglass and body mounts damage (aside
from the spindle), Dale emerged OK and the truck was repaired well enough
to drive into the hauler under its own power. Raminator drove into
its hauler under power as well, but not after the truck discovered a very
soft spot in the infield and rolled during an attempted donut.
Again, fiberglass and body mounts were the only real wounds and Mark was
fine, even going so far as to drive the machine off of the track after
having been rolled back over. In the midst of all this was Amanda
and I and the R/T, running all day long, both days, stopping only when the
infield became live with racing. At the end of this weekend I had
nothing to look forward to but a very long drive to Sturgis, SD that had
to be made in record time.
Rammunition’s big launch in Vermont.
End result of Rammunition’s big launch in Vermont. Dale’s only rollover
so far since 2002.
Andy Hoffman taking a
break, Raminator R/T-style.
Travis and I left Vermont on a Monday morning at 6 A.M. EST, and drove
straight through to Sturgis. Travis and I switched off driving the
rig over the next day and a half, and we made it there safely Tuesday
afternoon, on time and in good shape. Did I say we needed to make
the drive in record time? Well, get out your eraser because we did
just that. For the next four days we found ourselves enjoying the
sights and sounds (but not necessarily the smells) of the annual Black
Hills Motorcycle Rally at the Buffalo Chip Campground and Amphitheater.
We cruised the R/T around the campground, ambassadors of goodwill on
behalf of Dodge, passing out Dodge goodies like wristbands, die cast cars,
bandannas, and beads. If this wasn’t enough fun, then the concerts
by Disturbed (heck yeah!), the Steve Miller Band, and Twisted Sister were
certainly enjoyable as well.
Cruisin’ in Big Red at the Sturgis Bike Rally.
Havin’ fun inside the Buffalo Chip amphitheater.
(Left to right) Some weird guy, one of the Dodge girls, me, and Travis.
We are judging the
Hawaiian Tropic Bikini Contest in Sturgis. Tough. Very tough.
After Vermont, the long drive to South Dakota, and four days at the
rowdiest biker rally in the world, it was time for a bit of personal time
and R&R. We headed to Cheyenne, WY to spend some time with my family
and friends for a couple days. I lived in Cheyenne for eight years
prior to working for HBR, so it is always nice to return to home for
awhile. After a day off out at the house, we set up the R/T at my
dad’s office for a hometown display, which gave me the chance to share
what I do for a living with family, friends, former co-workers, and the
people of the city in general. The display was intended to be
low-key and it was not advertised, though between a 1,000 and 1,500 people
probably showed up over the course of the day. After lunch on the
following day, it was on the road again for Travis and I; next stop, Las
Vegas! Again! Who hoo! I know, I know, this trip just
keeps on getting better.
(Left to right) Travis, me, and my best friend Mike hanging out in
Cheyenne.
Long-time monster truck promoter and official George Carpenter was hosting
a show at the Orleans Arena at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas,
and in addition to the Raminator and Rammunition race trucks, the services
of the Raminator R/T were called upon. After a great weekend of
non-dirt racing and some pretty entertaining rides, it was time to head
back east towards home. Just over three weeks after we left home for
Vermont, Travis and I set foot once again in Illinois. I didn’t stay
idle for long, however, as a Dodge dealer gig in Alton, IL with Geremie
and the famous Kokomo Cruz-In in Kokomo, IN were still on the bill for
August.
Mark and Dale showin’ the Vegas crowd how we do it in the Midwest with no
dirt.
Mark on his way to victory lane in Las Vegas.
September
The dealership gig in Fayetteville, AR and the corporate gig in Detroit,
MI that I did in September were pretty easily overshadowed by the other
two events I attended: the Hayes Mopar Meet in Commerce, GA; and the Indy
Fall Jamboree Nationals.
At the Mopar Meet, we soaked up some great Mopar heads-up and bracket
racing, exhibition runs by the Mopar Pro-Stock teams of Don Schumacher
Racing and Allen Johnson Racing, and the wild man himself, Mr. Gary Scelzi,
pilot of the DSR Hemi Oakley Dodge Nitro Funny Car. Yeah, I know,
say that five times fast. Gary is really one of the nicest guys I’ve
met in the racing industry, along with Allen Johnson and Bob Glidden, who
we also met at this event. Gary’s jittery personality and almost
bubbly personality are not acts for the TV cameras, and he is a very
sincere guy. After taking a guided tour of the Rammunition monster
truck (which impressed him more than other trucks he had seen), I took him
for a ride in the R/T. Without hindrance from passengers in the
rear, I made sure he got a good ride. Now, keep in mind that this
man became the first funny car driver to break into the 330mph range, and
has set top speed and low-ET records in a car that’s packing over 6,000HP
and runs the quarter mile in just over four and a half seconds. That
being said, you’ll find it funny to learn that he looked pretty scared
during his ride, with a handful of roll bar and a hand full of seat the
entire time. Upon emerging from the truck after his ride, he said some
hilarious things that I can’t really quote on here, though I will say he
had a great time and thanked Travis, Dale, and myself for our time.
Gary Scelzi gives his
approval of the Rammunition machine, much to Mr. Benear’s relief.
I think Gary’s OK, he thinks I’m OK….Rammunition’s OK…what more do ya
need?
Dale giving the 4500+ fans a show in Commerce.
Mark doing just the same.
Gary, calm down….seriously Gary, you’re a funny car driver, c’mon
now…don’t be scared!
The Indy Jamboree was better to us this year than any year before, until
Sunday’s monsoon, that is. The sure-fire cure for a drought is to
book a monster truck show in your town between April and October; if you
race, the rain will come. Mark capped off an illustrious season with
a final-round appearance on Friday and a final-round win on Saturday,
coupled with some great freestyles. Look for a special in the coming
months on Spike TV’s “Extreme 4x4” that focuses on Mark and Raminator, the
footage being shot at the Indy Jamboree using a number of mobile and
on-board cameras. We had won the championship again, extending
Raminator’s streak of championships that started in 2002.
Mr. Benear taking the bad black truck down through ‘er in Indy in a first
round win over T-MAXX.
A classic Bigfoot vs. Raminator duel in Indy during Saturday’s final.
Just a little muddy on Sunday in Indy…no big deal, just a few
puddles…(photo by Amanda Weldy)
October
Aside from the silly stories I could write a book about, October was a
pretty laid-back month, consisting of Dodge dealer events in Richmond, IN;
Renovo, PA; Washington, NJ; Sussex, NJ; and Hanover, MA. Those,
combined with corporate events in Kokomo, IN and Trenton, MI made sure
that the R/T and I had our hands full. Each of the above events
featured the R/T, so if seat time I wanted, then seat time I received.
November
I suppose if you asked Yoda, he would say “Yes, an interesting month
November was,” and he would be correct. A return to Longview, TX for
another R/T gig and a car crush/ ride truck gig in Nashville, IL comprised
of my dealership schedule for the month.
While the rest of the crew was in Indy at the RCA Dome Thunder Drags,
Darrell Wagner and I were living it up at Lowe's Motor Speedway in
Charlotte, NC for a Freightliner employee appreciation event. A
thrilling ride around the speedway’s massive oval in a Dodge Charger SRT-8
(160mph, to be exact) and an equally impressive ride in a
built-to-the-hilt Sterling/Freightliner Pikes Peak Challenge semi tractor
around the go-kart road course (yep, go kart track) helped make the
weekend one to remember. We did our fair share of memory making for
folks as well…over 700 of them in about five hours rode the R/T.
From there, it was on home to enjoy some time with family and friends for
Thanksgiving.
“WHOOOOAAAAAAAAAAA!” - Darrell Wagner
December
December is over already! You’re kidding me! Ahhhhg!
Yes, I’m afraid it is so. My favorite month of the year has come and
gone, once again. December 2nd I turned 21, and spent most of that
day driving the R/T semi to Maysville, KY for a one-day gig with the R/T.
I’ve never been to Siberia, but I’m pretty sure that Maysville was almost
as cold as the Kamchatka Peninsula the day we were there. Despite
the low temps, the big 528ci Hemi mill in the riding-ist ride truck of all
worked just fine, and to my surprise a couple hundred people came out for
the event over the course of the day. Collegiate basketball must be
big down there, as the noise from the R/T wasn’t loud enough to distract
the sales staff from enjoying a UK game. Not much about basketball
excites me, but these folks thrived on it.
With the Raminator and Rammunition graphics changing late in 2005, the
entire month of December was taken up with trips to and from Competition
Graphics in Detroit to get the rigs re-done to reflect the new graphics
schemes on the race trucks. It is a logistical nightmare to get all
of the rigs stripped down, cleaned, sent to the body shop if needed,
ferried to Detroit, re-wrapped, then swapped out for the next one.
My hat is off to Tim for orchestrating this ordeal that most normal men
would mess up.
December also means the annual MTRA weekend, but since Ross did an
outstanding job writing his coverage of the event, and seeing how I
already wrote one for the MTRA’s National Monster newsletter, I’ll let you
read Ross’ coverage of the event in the Coverages section.
The holidays are always fun, as you can really kick back and let your hair
down, so to speak. Since I don’t have hair to let down, that’s why I
say “so to speak”. Ha ha. After a really really ( I mean
really) laid back Christmas with Amanda at our home in Rantoul, we headed
to Ft. Wayne, IN the day before New Years Eve for the 50th Annual USAC
Midget Rumble in Ft. Wayne. Tony Stewart and his #2 “Munchkin” car
dominated the Friday night race, lapping all positions except for second.
Amanda and I were joined by her father and two of his friends, and I must
confess, it was pretty odd to be at a race and do nothing but watch it!
I went back to the hotel with clean hands and clean clothes on….I thought
I had defied physics or something.
Tony Stewart in USAC midget action at the Ft. Wayne race.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A SHORT VIDEO OF TONY STEWART
RACING IN FT. WAYNE, IN!! (3.7MB)
And with that, 2005 came to a close, and as 2006 rolled in, my eyes came
to a close too as I had spent way too much time playing cards with
Darrell, his wife, and Amanda on New Year’s Eve. A fun, simple, and
relaxing way to end such a hectic (yet fun) year.
Heading down the road to 2006.…
Epilogue
I hope that 2006 will be as fruitful and entertaining as 2005 was. I
guess you could say that '05 set the bar pretty high, but if my friends,
family, and teammates have anything to say about it, 2006 will be at least
as much fun. I look forward to the coming year not just on track and
on the road, but here on the Blog too. While I’m not a superstar
driver for a cagey veteran from the good ‘ole days, I seem to wind up in
some interesting places with some interesting people doing some
interesting things, and I truly enjoy being able to share them with all of
you. Thanks to those of you who have written to me, and I hope to
hear from more of you. Hope 2006 is a great year for all of you, and
thanks for reading. Now, off to Colorado Springs!
- KD
Email KD and let him know what you
thought!!
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