NTNT Season 2 RACE 1-East Coast Monster Jam 2003
Welcome back to NTNT! At long last, NTNT returns for a second season of racing guaranteed to outdo the fans' expectations. The historic East Coast Monster Jam track is the traditional first stop on the tour, and it definitely didn't disappoint. The attendance record was SHATTERED at this event; with the previous record being 18 trucks in attendance, an amazing TWENTY-SEVEN (27) TRUCKS showed up to do battle. It was a historic night indeed, but more on that later. Let's meet our field of trucks:
-Robby Haught (Skitso 5)
-Robby Haught (subbing for Corey Davis, Reptoid)
-Bill Haught (Maximum Destruction)
-Johnel Everett (Blue Thunder)
-Johnel Everett (subbing for Mike Alston, Team Meents)
-Josh Rhodes (Half Breed 3 2004)
-Harrison Widelitz (Hammer 3)
-Landon Harrison (Mechanical Stimulation)
-Robbie Milburn (Rare Breed)
-Robbie Milburn (subbing for Eddie Carmichael, Bigfoot 10)
-Jeremy Murphy (Python)
-Josh Coleman (Titanic)
-James Hannon (Lost Soul III)
-Scott Bergman (BackDraft)
-Alex Weber (Savage [Weber])
-Jon Lenhardt (Savage [Lenhardt])
-Kevin Kaffenberger (Grave Digger 20th Anny.)
-Eric Thiele (Sesame Street Live)
-Juan Perez (Black Bear Foot)
-Kyle Carr (Sudden Impact 2003)
-Brandon Perles (American Dream)
-Jeremy Waring (Bounty Hunter 2003)
-MadMax (Gun Slinger '04)
-Matt Stewart (Nevermore)
-Jason Lloyd (Black Stallion 20th Anniversary)
-Josh McClung (Dragon Warrior 1) *unable to race due to mechanical difficulties*
-Mathew Williams (Monster Patrol) *unable to race due to mechanical difficulties*
RACING:
Tonight was Josh Rhodes' retirement night. The winner of both the Overall and Freestyle points championships last season, Josh had a lot of emotions and thoughts going through him tonight, and he wished all the drivers best of luck the rest of the season..."but tonight," he said, "freestyle is gonna be mine!" Would Rhodes be able to live up to that statement in Half Breed 3? We'll find out later, but for now we have racing to settle. The course was the same as last time around at East Coast, only this time the drivers ended similar to a J-hook instead of the normal St. Louis finish. The qualifying didn't hold too many surprises, as we see here:
Landon Harrison and new teammate Harrison Widelitz hadn't even finished the paintjobs on their team trucks, but the parts that mattered obviously performed well, taking them to 1 and 2 in the qualifying grid. The only under truck under 19 seconds was Robby Haught's Skitso 5, with NTNT rookie Jeremy Waring looking very fast as well. After qualifying the trucks refueled and headed for their first round matchups...
ROUND 1 HIGHLIGHTS
Racing got rolling quickly, with Robby and Bill Haught once again facing each other in the first round. Robby took the win, but Bill wouldn't give up, working his way through the fast loser bracket by taking two impressive victories, one over Jason Lloyd in Black Stallion and one against Matt Stewart and Nevermore:
Jeremy Murphy's Python took a first round win over James Hannon's Lost Soul III. Other first round winners included Kyle Carr and Sudden Impact, Harrison Widelitz, Landon Harrison, Josh Rhodes, Robbie Milburn, Robbie Milburn (subbing for Eddie Carmichael), Max, Robby Haught (subbing for ChillyDog), and Johnel Everett's Blue Thunder, among others.
ROUND 2 HIGHLIGHTS
Bill Haught would match up with Robby Haught again and another close race ensued, but Bill missed the final set of cars and Robby took the win. The close racing continued with perhaps the most heatedly contested finish of the night--after Jeremy Waring's Bounty Hunter and Harrison Widelitz's Hammer 3 faced off, Hammer was called the winner. Jeremy hopped out of the truck and demanded to view the replay, and sure enough he saw this:
Jeremy would gain a significant amount of points on the night just for getting as far as he did, but he accepts nothing more than a win and though he was disappointed he lost, he congratulated Harry and headed back to the pits to refuel and prepare for freestyle. Slick continued his smooth running by taking out Josh Rhodes and Half Breed 3:
Robby would win against Max's Gun Slinger after Max poled heading into the last turn, and Robbie Milburn helped out fellow XFA teammate Eddie Carmichael by driving Bigfoot 10 into the final four...
SEMI-FINALS HIGHLIGHTS
VS.
Harrison Widelitz had obviously not lost a step after taking out the hottest new rookie on the tour in Jeremy Waring, but he met another challenge in Robby Haught. Harry took the win when Robby slid wide in the final turn and moved on to the finals. He would have to wait to see who he'd face though, the Bigfoot 10 Ford with Robbie Milburn behind the wheel, or his teammate, Landon Harrison, and the Mechanical Stimulation Chevy:
VS.
Landon grabbed the hole shot and never looked back through two VERY smooth turns for the victory. That set up a Chevy vs. Chevy, teammate vs. teammate battle for NTNT's season opener! After 27 trucks it all comes down to the final two for the biggest event in history!
FINALS
Landon's last race was a win at Brampton City Monster Jam 2002 last season, and he wanted to continue the tear he was on there tonight. For Harry, it was his return to racing from the old days of ProDRO, and he wanted to see if he could get the old magic back in a new version of his Hammer truck line. All the makings of a great final were there-nearly identical trucks and driving styles, and a great track. The trucks staged...
...and Slick pulls a slight hole shot off the line! Slick is your leader through the first turn, but heading into the final one they're dead even! It's gonna be close! Landon stays smooth and Harry misses a shift...
...and it's Landon Harrison crossing the finish line first in Mechanical Stimulation! Slick is your Racing winner!!! Congratulations to Slick and teammate Harry on a great final decided by just a truck on the long course.
CLICK HERE to download a full video of the final race between Mechanical Stimulation and Hammer 3!
We're not done yet; it's a good thing the track's big because 27 trucks are ready to roar onto the track and tear everything on it up in...FREESTLYE!