New Brunswick recap, by Doud Denance
Posted by doug | Filed under Live Blog
Monster Spectacular 2010 New Brunswick update
By Doug de Nance
Three cities – three shows – in three days. Could it be a three-peat for the defending Monster Spectacular champion?
The challenge began in Saint John, New Brunswick on the Canadian east coast leg of the 2010 Monster Spectacular tour. Fans thronged to the VIP Pit Party to meet all the stars including FMX riders. Sport Bike Stunt riders and ATV Quad warriors. But ultimately the fans were there early to meet the man.
To be the man you must beat the man – Jimmy Creten and Bounty Hunter, the defending Monster Spectacular Points Champion. Everyone in the stands knew it. And so did the highly competitive slate of monster truck drivers waiting for their shot at the man – and the points.
Jay McPherson was brought in as the driver of Iron Outlaw specifically because he held the fastest time trial time in Monster Spectacular history. Last year Jay Mac posted a 1.97 over a five car stack on concrete. Now the fastest time title holder would take on the racing master – none other than his boss on the 2 Extreme racing team.
John Zimmer is the 2009 Rising Star Award winner and the 2010 Big Air Champion in Amsoil shock Therapy. But he’d more that rising into the sky to beat Jimmy Creten. He’d need to be first over the car stack every time.
Excalibur is a storied truck from the 1980’s. The big Chevy Silverado had the original graphics restored just for this occasion. And a hired gun driver with the same experience level as the truck name itself. John Kilinger couldn’t resist the chance to do battle with the man – and just possibly live up to his nick name, “The Killer”.
The scene was set in Saint John. First up was the Wheelie Competition – and the first win for Creten. Was this to be the pattern for Bounty Hunter all weekend? If Monster Truck Racing was an indication, Creten was on a roll, blasting through the brackets to take the win.
The shock and frustration was thick in the air as the tour moved to Moncton. Jay Mac settled into the mechanics of Iron Outlaw and spent the time before show time secretly tweaking the 1800 horsepower at his disposal to see if he could get 1801. Zimmer’s typical Texas-style smile was gone and he glowered at Bounty Hunter, and then sat visualizing his racing strategy. The Killer looked like he just might make his name a reality, his dark eyes flashing like a lit powder keg.
In order to reset the brackets, it was to be a Monster Spectacular fans dream come true. Time trials would have to be run – with the record holder in the house. The Topeka, Kansas native climbed into Iron Outlaw to watch for the green light. Maybe he was over anxious, maybe it was too much adrenaline, but like Casey’s famous turn at bat, Jay Mac failed to break the 2 second barrier.
But that 2 second barrier would be broken, and the time trial record tied that night. John Zimmer is as competitive as they come. He was smarting from the loss the night previously and decided to lick his wounds by trying to put a licking on the Monster Spectacular time trial record. He managed to lay down a 1.97, tying Jay Mac’s record time.
But Zimmer pushed Amsoil Shock Therapy so hard that the monster sat crippled at the end of the cars, blocking Creten’s time trial lane. Zimmer struggled with the truck, eventually enlisting the track officials to help. The time ticked by as Creten sat in Bounty strapped into his seat with a five point harness ratcheted so tight he could barely breathe. And he sat, and sat and sat as Zimmer worked on his truck.
Then it dawned on the fans that maybe Zimmer was stalling to make Creten lose his edge as he waited in Bounty Hunter. Zimmer is a very clever driver and he knew that his record tying time trial time would give him the pick of the brackets and the lane choice. It was never revealed if that was Zimmer’s strategy, for just as the question was being posed, Amsoil Shock Therapy was cleared from the track.
Creten eased Bounty to the car stack, then abruptly roared the engine and slammed the front tires down on the lead car. He wanted the best possible trajectory for this time trial. But did the wait take the edge off the defending champion?
Creten waited for the light to go green and shot off the line like the devil himself was chasing Bounty Hunter. The monster crossed the stack barely clearing the tops of the cars. It looked like a very fast time. But the official time had to be checked on all official’s watches as it was unbelievable. The fans believed as they screamed out their approval. Creten had just set the new Monster Spectacular time trial record with 1.75 seconds.
The tour rolled on through the maritime province to Bathurst for a Sunday matinee. While the times were fast in the time trial, Creten could not duplicate the feat from the night before, posting a 1.98 with Bounty Hunter as the fast time.
Creten did duplicate his winning ways in Wheelie competition, tossing t-shirts to the crowd after the cheer off. And he did get back to his winning ways on the race track, defeating his teammate Jay Mac in Iron Outlaw for the win.
But the ultimate winners are the fans. They win with safety, as Bounty picked up extra time in Freestyle when fans unwittingly stepped below the safety holds and Bounty Hunter was stopped with the remote ignition interrupter radio to allow the fans to be escorted to their seats. And they win with the excitement of Freestyle as Bounty Hunter used the time to deliver the biggest air of the weekend, a cyclone donut and a bicycle style landing on the driver side wheels out of a sky wheelie.
Just like Jimmy Creten, you can be a winner too. Just check the schedule on monsterspectacular.com to find out when you can attend a Monster Spectacular show.
