Mike Vaters Jr., at the controls of Overkill Evolution, claimed a thrilling victory in the Metro by T-Mobile Halloween Monster Truck Mash after posting the best average finish in all four different skills categories on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Vaters Jr., from Hagerstown, Md., powered his ominous dark blue monster truck to top three finishes in each of the four categories, claiming a win in the Doughnuts competition. He finished second in the Three Tricks Challenge, had the third quickest time (35.24 seconds) in the Obstacle Course despite a two second penalty, and was third in the fan-favorite Freestyle event.
“This is my first time to Bristol, I’ve never been here before and wanted to come out here and show the fans what this truck would do,” said Vaters Jr. “I can’t wait to come back next year and put on another great show. I love you guys. Woooo!”
X-Termigator, driven by J.R. McNeal of Green Cove Spring, Fla., started out strong winning the Three Tricks Challenge, but broke during his Doughnuts routine and had to park it for the rest of the night.
Snake Bite, driven by Kris Kopperhead of Cobra Creek, Colo., finished second overall and was first in the Obstacle Course, completing his run in 34.42 seconds. Tailgator, driven by Doug Noelke of Union, Mo., was second finishing in 35.13 seconds.
Snake Bite also claimed the win in Freestyle, scoring a best of 14.5 points out of a possible 20 from the judges. The very cool looking Ice Cream Man machine, driven by Roy Pridgeon of Pierson, Fla., was second in Freestyle, earning a 12-point score.
One of the fan-favorite trucks during the event was Buckshot, driven by Nokesville, Va.’s Brandon Budd. He finished third overall and was spectacular in the Three Ticks Challenge, when he performed a massive wheelstand and was able to save the truck from tumbling over at the last minute. His wild Doughnuts routine, which netted him a second place finish in that category, sent the fans into a frenzy.
In the exciting Bandit Big Rig racing, Cody Slowinski, who finished last in the qualifying race, took advantage of an inverted starting order for the 15-lap main feature and pulled away from the field in his white and black No. 63 rig to take the victory in the trucks first visit to The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.
Slowinski took the checkered flag as the caution flew on the final lap when Tennessee driver Mike Morgan’s No. 88 rig went out of control when a right front tire blew and he smashed into the wall in turn two. Morgan was charging hard to the front to give the hometown fans a victory, but it wasn’t to be.
Slowinski led every lap of the main feature, but qualifying race winner Craig Kruckeberg was closing in aboard his No. 55 truck after starting in last place.
Kruckeberg finished second and was followed by Mark Noble, Darren Proffitt, Allen Boles, Jon Lisenbee and defending series champ Ricky Rude.
In the 25-lap Bandit Big Rig qualifying race, Kruckeberg held off Boles to finish first. Kruckeberg took over the lead at lap 17 and swapped it back and forth with Boles and defending series champ Rude as the laps closed down. As the huge trucks rumbled to the finish, Boles led the field out of turn two but Kruckeberg charged from the high side and passed Boles as the two took the checkered flag in a photo finish.
Halloween costume winners were awarded in three categories, best boy’s costume, best girl’s costume and best family/group costume. Girl winners included Julia, 10 from Mountain City, Tenn., as the Cereal Killer; Madison, 9 of Mt. Carmel, Tenn., as the Zombie Bride; and Brooke, 12 of Worthington, Ind., as a Scarecrow. Boy’s winners were Ryan, 5, of Johnson City, Tenn., as Alfalfa; Logan, 21 of Blountville, Tenn., as Back to the Future; and Brant and Bennett, 3 and 8 of Greeneville, Tenn., as the Grave Digger Baby. The group winners included the Pirate family of Lucas, Karen, Logan and Soren of Blountville, Tenn. as well as the Mario Brothers family of Hank, Aaron and Levi of Church Hill, Tenn.
Team FMX motocross riders also put on a high-flying show for the crowd between truck competitions.
Monster Truck Results
Monster Trucks – Three Tricks Challenge
- X-Termigator, J.R. McNeal, Green Cove Spring, Fla., 8.5 points out of 10
- Overkill Evolution, Mike Vaters Jr., Hagerstown, Md., 8
- Buckshot, Brandon Budd, Nokesville, Va., 7
- Snake Bite, Kris Kopperhead, Cobra Creek, Colo., 6
- Predator, Allen Pezo, Nashville, Tenn., 5
- Black Stallion, Mike Vaters, Hagerstown, Md., 5
- Ice Cream Man, Roy Pridgeon, Pierson, Fla., 4
- Tailgator, Doug Noelke, Union, Mo., 4
Monster Trucks – Doughnuts
- Overkill Evolution, 9 points out of 10
- Buckshot, 7.5
- Ice Cream Man, 5
- Tailgator, 4.5
- Predator, 3.5
- Snake Bite, 3.5
- Black Stallion, 2.5
- X-Termigator, broke (out of event)
Monster Trucks – Obstacle Course
- Snake Bite, 34.42 seconds
- Tailgator, 35.13
- Overkill Evolution, 35.24 (2 sec. penalty)
- Predator, 36.14
- Ice Cream Man, 37.61
- Buckshot, 43.67
- Black Stallion, broke
Monster Trucks – Freestyle
- Snake Bite, 14.5 points
- Ice Cream Man, 12
- Overkill Evolution, 10.5
- Tailgator, 10
- Predator, 10
- Black Stallion, 10
- Buckshot, 9
Bandit Big Rigs (15-lap main feature)
- 63, Cody Slowinski
- 55, Craig Kruckeberg
- 74, Mark Noble
- 27, Darren Proffitt
- 3, Allen Boles
- 7, Jon Lisenbee
- 14, Ricky Rude
- 13, Bob Mitchell
- 4, Scott Treadway
- 88, Mike Morgan, crash
Bandit Big Rigs (25-lap qualifying race)
- 55, Craig Kruckeberg
- 3, Allen Boles
- 88, Mike Morgan
- 14, Ricky Rude
- 74, Mark Noble
- 4, Scott Treadway
- 27, Darren Proffitt
- 13, Bob Mitchell
- 7, Jon Lisenbee
- 63, Cody Slowinski
BMS PR/Photo Credit Christopher Lawyer
