Closing Out January in Style
Anaheim, California-Sudden Impact Racing’s Amsoil Shock Therapy and Amsoil Excaliber closed out part two of their West Coast road trip in Anaheim for another great California show, going big in front of some excited fans on one of the sport’s larger stages. Anaheim has treated the team well in year’s past, with some winning moments and spectacular freestyles. This year would be no different.
After a solid racing effort on the long course, both Amsoil Excaliber and Amsoil Shock Therapy came ready to impress for freestyle. Kevin Koszala got things started with a solid run, taking a calculated approach at each of the obstacles on the track, including some nice air over a bus stack on the track.
“When you have a two truck team, it’s not always a good idea to go wild and take big risks on wrecking everything being so far from home,” said Koszala. “I take pride in the fact that I made my full time in freestyle and there was no breakage. That helps our team out and sets things up for Jon to do his job.”
Jon would be Jon Zimmer, Amsoil Shock Therapy’s driver and two-time World Finals competitor. He showed why Amsoil Shock Therapy is one of the top freestyle trucks in the sport with another top five finish in an awesome run. Amsoil Shock Therapy got so many hits in during his timed run that it was hard to keep track of them all; he was on a rampage! No obstacle was left untouched, there were high-speed cyclone donuts, and most of all, gigantic leaps over everything in the path of Amsoil Shock Therapy. When the run was near its end, Zimmer spun the truck into another tight donut, then emerged to loud cheers from the appreciative crowd.
“The fans are what drive me to do what I do,” said Zimmer. “With Amsoil’s support, I get to live my dream running for Sudden Impact Racing every weekend. I was happy with my run, and I’m excited to keep this thing going. I want to end up at the World Finals again!”
As the first month of the season comes to a close, Sudden Impact Racing will only get busier in heading towards that World Finals goal. Next up, Houston, Texas. Stay tuned for more!
New Orleans, Louisiana-Sudden Impact Racing’s Redcat Racing Ground Pounder and Michigan Ice Monster ran strong in the Big Easy, building on some hard-fought momentum from last week in Tampa. Both trucks came to New Orleans to be aggressive and show off for the fans, and those fans went home happy due to the effort of both Sudden Impact Racing trucks.
“This is a show that is near our old shop in New Orleans, and we have a lot of friends of the team and our owner, Brandon Lagarde, here,” said Redcat Racing Ground Pounder’s Chris Ryan. “We wanted to make sure everything went well here.”
Freestyle was here both trucks shone, as Michigan Ice Monster went out first. Chris Lagana was fresh off a solid effort from Tampa and looking to build momentum, hitting every obstacle with aggression. His run looked to be one to beat when a crooked hit on a huge bus stack tripped the truck up and sent it over on its lid. It wasn’t the ending Lagana had wanted for Ice Monster, but he kept a good attitude.
“To do well on an event this big, I wanted to be aggressive, and with all the power this new engine is making, I was able to do that,” he said. “I hate rolling the truck; it’s a mistake when we do that, but I gave it everything I had trying to save it!”
Redcat Racing Ground Pounder followed up Michigan Ice Monster with a high-energy effort that landed Ryan in the top half of the freestyle finishers, a great accomplishment on such a large stage. With 70,000 fans in the building,the pressure is very real.
“I didn’t want to let anyone sitting in those seats or those people that will see it on TV down,” said Ryan. “I wanted to hit everything and keep up good momentum. I also wanted to last my full time, and I did that.”
Ryan launched over everything on the track, eventually coming to a stop after his time expired with a flat tire but thousands of happy fans in the stands. The truck worked well sucking up all of the wild jumps, and Ryan walked away with only minor damage to fix before the next show in Fargo, North Dakota. We will keep you posted from there as well; stay tuned!
