Jacksonville and Dallas-More Big Wins!
BIG WIN, GREAT WEEKEND FOR AMSOIL/SIR TEAM
Jacksonville, FL-In front of a record-setting crowd of 74,000 fans in Jacksonville, Team Amsoil Shock Therapy and Amsoil Excaliber shone the brightest. Among a field of 16 of the world’s greatest monster trucks, Carl VanHorn took the Amsoil Excaliber to the racing victory.
“I qualified low in the bracket because I caught an edge, but I didn’t make any mistakes in the first round,” said VanHorn. “We got a huge victory and it was great to have a big victory for Amsoil and Brandon Lagarde; we have a great team!”
VanHorn took the final victory of racing by pushing the truck as hard as it would go, the final jump giving him the edge for the racing victory, but also twisting Amsoil Excaliber sideways in the air. Being a veteran driver behind the wheel, VanHorn was able to power into the save and spun Amsoil Excaliber from the sidewalls of the tires onto the nose, then back to earth for a spectacular save, a fitting end to the racing portion.
“I knew that I had a huge crowd watching me, and this show was also televised for SPEED Channel, so I needed to make sure I brought that thing back to earth,” said VanHorn. “I was happy we didn’t damage Amsoil Excaliber for freestyle.”
Freestyle was where Jon Zimmer and Amsoil Shock Therapy made his statement. Zimmer drove the Amsoil-sponsored truck with incredible skill as usual, hitting every obstacle full-speed, and keeping great momentum. Amsoil Shock Therapy was well on its way to a freestyle victory when he took a final chance, attempting a cross-thread on the biggest obstacle in the track that came up just short, sending Amsoil Shock Therapy twisting into a cartwheel and ending up with the truck on its roof. All 74,000 fans were on their feet screaming their approval for Amsoil Shock Therapy.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLVxzkRIYUI
“I always go all-out, and I had the crowd behind me, as well as Amsoil,” said Zimmer. “The truck took everything I threw at it, and I could have flipped it back over and gone out and drove some more; it was still fine besides the body!”
VanHorn also had a spectacular run, filling his entire time and continuing the run even with a broken axle halfway through. Big air, donuts, and cross-threads were his staple, and both Amsoil Shock Therapy and Amsoil Excaliber finished in the top half of the freestyle field, nearly completing a weekend sweep on the biggest stage in Monster Jam.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUezdhe4yEU
This weekend, the team heads to Winnipeg. We will keep you updated on the results from there!
SIR GOES HARD IN DALLAS!
Dallas, TX-Cult Energy Activator and Redcat Racing Ground Pounder had a lot of work cut out for them after going all-out at one of Monster Jam’s biggest stadium shows of the year in Dallas, Texas at the new Cowboys Stadium. In front of a huge crowd, Cult Energy Activator and Redcat Racing Ground Pounder held their own and gained a bunch of new fans in the process.
“Sometimes things don’t go how you want them to,” said Duhon. “We were able to come away with finishes in the top half of the field, and that’s pretty satisfying. We gave it all we had and put on a great show for the fans and sponsors.”
Out of eleven trucks at the show, all eleven broke or rolled over at some point. Redcat Racing Ground Pounder, piloted by Ben Winslow, hooked an edge and rolled over during the racing portion of the show.
“I wanted to win really bad, and sometimes in racing you have to take chances,” said Winslow. “I had to take a chance to try and win in racing, but I don’t regret it. We have to go hard for all of the fans and Redcat Racing!”
That go-hard-or-go-home attitude was maintained in freestyle, where Winslow took Redcat Racing Ground Pounder to a few good hits in before a radio malfunction ended his run early. Winslow’s run in Redcat Racing Ground Pounder:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkA8iiLxULo
The advantage to having a well-maintained two-truck team is that if one truck has some bad luck, the other can make up for it. That is exactly what Cult Energy Activator did. Duhon got in some great air and wheelies before mechanical failure bit him, and still ended up in the top half of the field in freestyle for his abbreviated run in Cult Energy Activator. Duhon’s run in Cult Energy Activator:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvHT5-zte3Q
“I was happy with what we did, all things considered,” said Duhon. “Had we not been good about checking over our trucks, we would have had more problems. We still made it the longest out of most of the trucks there as far as breakage. I’m proud to be a part of the Cult team; we don’t accept not giving our best!”
Repairs are ahead for both trucks, with plenty of Cult Energy drinks to be consumed and some steam blown off with the team’s RC Ground Pounder on the side. We will bring you all the updates from next week’s event in Victoria, Texas!
