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November 5th, 2007 - The first ever Monster Blog Tournament of Champions is in the books and your winners of the Driver Competition and Fan Competition are Mark Hall and Steve Parry!! The Driver Competition featured an incredible three-man race including Dan Runte, Mark Hall, and Jim Koehler, with Hall taking a huge racing win at the MLMT Nashville event to clinch the Tournament of Champions win!! The Fan Competition also featured a great finish as eight fan teams were in the running all the way until the final event this past weekend in Montreal, and it was Steve Parry's pick of Rick Raab in American Guardian that sealed the deal.
A huge thanks to all of the drivers and fans who were a part of the inaugural Tournament of Champions, and we would especially like to express our gratitude to all of the organizations who supported this contest through donation of prizes. Steve Parry will be receiving a huge package of monster truck merchandise just in time for Christmas courtesy of the organizations below. Hall Brothers Racing team will also be receiving some great prizes as well including a $100 Vinyl Images Gift Certificate, a $200 gas card, $500 Off a set of Sudden Impact Racing Tires, and 500 Custom Designed Hero Cards by the fine folks at Midland Printing! Support the folks below as thanks for their support of TheMonsterBlog.com, and maybe next year's Tournament of Champions will be even bigger! .: Thanks to the following organizations for their support of the Tournament of Champions :.
October 31st, 2007 - TheMonsterBlog.com Tournament of Champions is winding to a close with only one weekend of competition left until our winners are declared! The T.O.C. was created as our way of saying thank you to all the drivers and fans who have supported The Monster Blog over the last couple years by giving each the chance to win some great prizes. The final event is being held tomorrow night in Montreal, Quebec! - Driver Competition Down to a Two-Man Race The Driver Competition has been intense for the entire eleven weeks to date, with over fifty drivers participating in T.O.C. events. Thirty-five drivers have scored performance points, and with only one more weekend of competition left, the title fight has been narrowed to two drivers. One driver had stood above the rest for the duration of the Tournament leading into last weekend’s event in Nashville. It was no surprise to find that driver was none other than legendary Bigfoot driver Dan Runte. Starting the first weekend out at Clash of the Titans, Runte maintained his spot at the top of the heap through consistent performances including big racing wins in Salt Lake City, Dallas, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Runte even picked up a freestyle win in Memphis, giving him a total of 127.5 points. But entering last weekend right on Runte’s heels was Mark Hall and the Raminator team. Hall reached the 6-event baseline in style, winning the racing competition in Kentucky to move into second overall in the standings. Hall picked up big racing victories in Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Wildwood for an overall total of 110 points going into the Week 12 event in Nashville. Hall’s only chance to surpass Runte was to win the racing competition against a tough field of 18 of the best trucks in the country. Runte exited in the second round of racing and failed to score any T.O.C. points at the Nashville event leaving the door open for the Raminator team. Hall marched his way to the final round in Raminator, taking on Doug Noelke in Tail Gator. After a bobble early in the race, Hall came back for an incredible final round victory in Nashville, earning enough points to surpass Runte with a final total of 130 points! Now only one other driver has a chance at being the first ever Tournament of Champions winner. That driver sits in fourth place and is now in contention for the title after coming on strong late in the Tournament. That driver is Jim Koehler and his Avenger machine. Koehler scored a freestyle win early in the Tournament in Texas, but it wasn’t until Week 9 in Joliet that Avenger began making the move forward. In Joliet Koehler took the freestyle win and made it to the semi-finals in racing. In Memphis Avenger swept Saturday night, winning racing and freestyle to move into the fourth position overall in the Tournament. Koehler had to take a win in Nashville to remain in contention, and he did just that, topping the competition and walking away with the freestyle victory. Koehler now has 95 points total and a chance at the title as he will be competing in the final T.O.C. event this weekend in Montreal. Sitting at a thirty-five point deficit from leader Mark Hall, Koehler faces a tall task at Olympic Stadium Saturday night. He must win freestyle and make it to the finals in racing to earn enough points to overtake Hall and Raminator. With only one event remaining in the Tournament of Champions, Jim Koehler and the Avenger team are in control of their own destiny—they must make it to the finals in racing and win freestyle to be the Tournament of Champions winners. Mark Hall and the Raminator can now only wait, after doing their part last weekend in Nashville. Despite leading the way the entire competition, Dan Runte and the Bigfoot 4x4 team can only look ahead until next year’s T.O.C. - Fan Competition Wide Open Heading into the final event in Montreal this weekend, there are still eight fans in the running for a monster truck fan’s dream prize package! The primary contenders are the top three fans however, with fan teams Rambo Race Team, West Coast Racing, and Dan’s The Man Racing separated by a mere 16 points. Steve Parry’s Rambo Ram Team sits in first place leading Pablo Gutierrez’s West Coast Racing by a margin of only 2 points! From all accounts, the Fan Competition has been a huge success, drawing rave reviews from fans who have participated and great prizes from teams looking to give back to the fans. Best of luck to the Top 8 in this weekend’s final event! - Even More Fan Prizes Added As if the fan prize wasn’t BIG enough, three more organizations have kicked in gear for the Grand Prize! David Kranak and the gang over at MonsterTruckCollectors.com have donated a T-shirt, while Clive Featherby’s KC’s Fireworks from Australia has also gotten in on the action with a DVD and hat. Dan & Chris Patrick were also kind enough to throw in some Samson merchandise as well. - Thank You To The Sponsors The Tournament of Champions has been a hugely successful promotion and we sincerely thank everyone who has gotten involved. The sponsors who have stepped up to give back to the markets they serve included Vinyl Images, the Sudden Impact Racing Tire, and Midland Sportscards, all posting some great prizes for the winner of the Driver Competition. Lots of teams put up merchandise that will make a great Christmas present for the winner of our Fan Competition as well! Stay tuned to TheMonsterBlog.com this weekend to find out who our winners in the first ever Tournament of Champions will be, thanks to everyone who has gotten in on the fun!!
October 13th, 2007 - Memphis - Koehler Up To 4th!!: Jim Koehler's sweep Saturday in Memphis earned him 25 points in the TheMonsterBlog.com Tournament of Champions, moving Avenger into the fourth position overall. Dan Runte in Bigfoot picked up a total of 15 points for his freestyle win and semi-finals appearance Friday, extending his lead in the T.O.C. with only two weekends remaining. Dan Patrick vaulted into the 7th position overall after earning 20 points this weekend, while David Smith in Nitro Fish retained the #6 spot receiving 10 points for his efforts. Madusa and Brutus also picked up an additional 2.5 points each for semi-final appearances this weekend.
October 13th, 2007 - Kentucky - Hall Re-Takes 2nd!!: Mark Hall now sits second in the Tournament of Champions standings and will have a chance at taking the lead when Raminator competes at Nashville in two weeks!! Daron Basl in Nitro Hornet moved into the 10th position after scoring 15 points for his runner-up in racing, while Scott Hartsock in Gun Slinger gets on the board with 5 points for a Semi-Finals appearance. Dan Runte in Bigfoot has already reached the six-event plateau and had a chance to better one of his lower scores, but the 5 points for a Semi-Final round appearance didn't do the trick and he stands pat in the lead with 120.8 points, now only 10 points ahead of Hall. There are only three weeks left in the Tournament, and the competition is heating up!!
October 1st, 2007 - Wildwood - Hall Takes 2nd Place!!: The monster trucks returned to Wildwood this weekend for the annual Thunder on the Beach. Gary Porter in Grave Digger and Neil Elliot in Maximum Destruction got their first Tournament of Champions points this weekend, bringing home the highest point totals with 28.33 and 26.67 points respectively. Porter takes over 9th place overall, while Elliot slides into the 10th spot. However, Wildwood will likely be those drivers only T.O.C event, so they don't figure into the championship race. Mark Hall in Raminator does however, and by picking up a win in racing on Sunday, combined with a Semi-Final on Saturday, Hall brought home 10 points, moving him into 2nd overall with 80 total points. Rick Long in Bigfoot scored 6.67 points overall, while Jim Kohler in Avenger and Chris Bergeron in Brutus each picked up 1.67 points. Event Added - Joliet This Weekend!!: In other Tournament of Champions news, we have just confirmed the lineup for this week's Joliet, IL Monster Mash, and with eight trucks in the lineup, we have added the Route 66 show to the Tournament!! The lineup will feature Traxxas T-Maxx, Raminator, Sudden Impact, The Felon, Lil' Miss Dangerous, Eradicator, Avenger, and Brutus. Fans, take note, and don't forget to make your picks for both Red Bluff and Joliet!!
September 23rd, 2007 - Las Vegas - Runte Maintains Top Spot!!: In racing the best way to stay out front is to win, and Dan Runte did exactly that in Vegas Friday night!! Runte's big racing win earned him another 25 points in the Tournament, while Carl Van Horn in Traxxas T-Maxx kept pace with Runte by winning freestyle and scoring another 25 points as well. Dan Patrick in Samson moved up the charts by scoring 15 points as the racing runner-up, while Daron Basl in Nitro Hornet and Jon Zimmer in Sudden Impact each picked up 5 points as the semi-finalists. Indianapolis - Hall, Noelke Score Big Points!!: The Monster Truck Thunder Drags in Indianapolis, IN this weekend served as one half of this week's T.O.C. competition. The points were split over the four racing competitions, as freestyle is not judged at Special Events shows. Mark Hall in Raminator was the top points winner for the weekend, with two wins, a runner-up and a semi-final appearance for a total of 30 points. Doug Noelke in Tail Gator scored big in his first T.O.C. event, earning 21.25 points based on three final rounds with one victory. Geremie Dishman in Rammunition also picked up a win and three semi-finals for a total of 16.25 points. Rick Long in Bigfoot earned 6.25 points for his weekend performances, while Chris Bergeron in Spike made one semi-final appearance for 1.25 points. Mark Hall moves into a tie for third overall with his strong Indy performance, while Doug Noelke and Geremie Dishman crack the top 10.
.: Thanks to the following organizations for their support of the Tournament of Champions :.
September 9th, 2007 - The Monster Truck Thunder Drags in Phoenix, AZ was Week 5's featured event in the Tournament of Champions and Dan Runte in Bigfoot has regained the lead after picking up the big racing win!! Maniac was given the freestyle nod from Special Events, and that win combined with a Semi-Final showing in racing has vaulted Don Frankish all the way to 5th overall!! Mark Hall received 15 points for his runner-up in racing bumping him back to 4th, while Geremie Dishman scored 5 points for a Semi Final appearance in his first T.O.C. event. The T.O.C. takes a week off next weekend, but comes back in full force with three events in Week 7!!
.: Thanks to the following organizations for their support of the Tournament of Champions :.
September 3rd, 2007 - The Monster Trucks Showdown in Tijuana was the featured event in Week Four of the Tournament of Champions and the strong performance of Bounty Hunter has vaulted Jimmy Creten into the lead!! Creten took runner-up in racing and the freestyle victory earning 40 points, giving him a total of 77.5 overall to second place Dan Runte's 62.5. Rick Swanson climbed the charts to 5th overall after earning 25 points for his racing victory, while Russ Steely & Iron Outlaw and Mikael Christensen & Kaptain Insano each picked up 5 points as the two semi-finalists. In the Fan Competition, H-D Monster Racing and West Coast Racing are tied for the lead with 152.5 points a piece as the Tournament of Champions is nearly a third of the way complete.
August 19th, 2007 - Carl Van Horn in Traxxas T-Maxx was this weekend's top points earner, bringing home 30 points for his freestyle win and semi-final round appearance. This vaults CVH to second in the overall standings. Dan Runte now leads the standings by 12.5 points after earning 15 points for his runner-up finish in racing. Mark Hall in Raminator now sits tied for third place after picking up 25 points for the racing win. Dawn Creten in Scarlet Bandit is now on the board also, earning 5 points for her semi-final round appearance. All other Charlotte competitors received one participation point. Check out the points page for full standings. Fans get ready to make your picks for the weekend as we have Dallas, TX and Monroe, WA on the schedule!
August 16th, 2007 - The Tournament of Champions enters Week #2 with the Back to School Monster Truck Bash in Charlotte, NC this weekend!! It will be a great event, and we will be on hand to cover it. Watch for all the results and Tournament standings Sunday night!
August 15th, 2007 - The Monroe, WA Monster Madness event on August 23rd-24th has been added to the Tournament of Champions schedule! Bigfoot, Bounty Hunter, Iron Outlaw, Natural High, Obsession, Monster Moose, Dragon Slayer, Kaptain Insano, and Martial Law will race and freestyle both nights.
August 12th, 2007 - Night two of the Maverik Clash of the Titans saw Dan Runte retain the the lead in TheMonsterBlog.com 2007 Tournament of Champions by the slimmest of margins over Pablo Huffaker in Grave Digger!! Pablo picked up 25 points for his racing and freestyle wins, while Dan received 2.5 points for his Semi-Final appearance, giving him 27.5 total for the weekend. David Smith put King Krunch on the board, receiving 7.5 points for his runner-up showing, and Paul Jensen also picked up 2.5 points as the other Semi-Finalist. Head on over to our Tournament of Champions page for more information!!
August 11th, 2007 - Night one of the Maverik Clash of the Titans saw the first points scored in TheMonsterBlog.com 2007 Tournament of Champions!! Dan Runte is the current leader, scoring 12.5 points for his big victory. Keith Sturgeon receives 7.5 points as the runner-up, and the Basl brothers get 2.5 points a piece for being the Semi-Finalists. Night Two of the Clash of the Titans is tomorrow as the Tournament of Champions continues.
August 5th, 2007
- This Saturday will
mark the two-year anniversary of TheMonsterBlog.com and to
celebrate, we have come up with a fantastic promotion as our way of showing our appreciation
to the drivers & teams who put on the shows we all love and the fans whose
dedication to the sport make it all possible!! That
promotion is TheMonsterBlog.com 2007 Tournament of Champions. |
All content copyright TheMonsterBlog.com 2007.
