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Rockford Thunder Nationals
January 31, 2004
My first stop of the winter season landed me in the Metro Centre in Rockford, and it was COLD. The temperature was a blistering -10 degrees! This would be my second trip to Rockford, the first being back in September for the Eve of Destruction. This time around the action would be indoors for the Thunder Nationals. On the way there I managed to spill Mountain Dew all over my lens, every time I turned the camera on it would stick closed, so I had to open it manually, it didn't take away from the quality of picture that much. Lets meet the drivers!
Truck/Driver Lineup
Grave Digger --- Rod Schmidt
Demolition Man--- Frank Krmel
Rap Attack --- Dave Rappach
Devastator --- Mark Schroder
Rolling Thunder --- Jim Bendzick
I was very excited about the lineup, I've heard so much about all these drivers, especially Frank Krmel in his new truck Demolition Man. The track would be the regular Thunder Nationals setup, 5 cars in each lane, nothing extra. 4 events would be held, Wheelie, Donut, Freestyle, and Side by Side Racing.
Wheelie Contest
Devastator -- Mark just recently debuted his new paint scheme for the 2004 season in Houston, which was made specifically for the new Hot Wheels Devastator coming out.
Mark stuck the brand new Chevy body up in the air, great way to start off the show. Score: 23
Demolition Man -- This truck is actually the old Spiderman truck, I was expecting a good wheelie, this was Frank's first Thunder Nationals event in this truck. Frank got a little air but just didn't get it up far enough. Score: 17
Rolling Thunder -- I've heard lots of good things about Jim, I was hoping for a good wheelie, Jim didn't let me down. Jim edged out the first Chevy by 1 point. Score: 24
Rap Attack -- Dave Rappach has been mixing it up this season by running mostly Thunder Nationals events and a Pontiac and a couple of other shows, Dave will have a good shot at the Thunder Nationals title if he keeps it up.
Dave skied the Rap Attack machine all the way up in the air, On the way down Dave rode it all the way down the set of cars. The crowd went ballistic. Dave broke the driveshaft on the landing. Will he be back for the donut contest? You will have to wait. Score: 30
Grave Digger -- Rod Schmidt had a very tough act to follow, but you know how Rod is in the short wheel based Grave Digger. Rod walked the Digger all the way down the five set of cars. Crowd goes nuts again.
Score: 30
Both drivers came out for a crowd cheer off and Schmidt got the most applause. Who didn't see that coming.
Donut Contest
Rolling Thunder-- Jim Bendzick has been proving himself at Thunder Nationals shows and small dirt shows. Jim came out and the truck would not hook to get a great cyclone going, Jim got a few rotations in but that was all. Score: 23
Grave Digger-- Rod Schmidt is know for his wheelies, Rod came out and couldn't get the green and black machine to spin. Score: 20
Devastator-- Once again I completely blew a shot during the donut competition. Mark also couldn't get a donut going on the nasty concrete. Score: 19
Demolition Man-- Frank was the last one left and the crowd was still hungry for a good donut, Frank did not let the crowd down, he got a perfect cyclone going getting a good number of rotations in. Score: 30
Freestyle
Nothing extra for freestyle, just a race to get lined up and hit the stack and throw in a donut. After the dreadful Quad Wars the monsters were back.
Demolition Man-- The crowd was expecting some more donuts out of Krmel and they got that, Frank couldn't seem to get the truck in the air that much. Krmel pulled awesome donuts again, twice, Frank was very good with the clock. Great run. Score: 25
Rolling Thunder-- Jim Bendzick came out and got some sweet air from the far lane, so Jim stuck with it and pulled out some more great jumps in that lane. Awesome run. Score: 28
Devastator-- Mark Schroder debuted his brand new 2004 Hot Wheels paint scheme in Houston, He came out and attacked the cars right away. Mark didn't get that good of air but walked it half way down the stack of cars a couple of times. A pretty good run, but it lacked air. Score: 25
Grave Digger-- The king of walking his truck down the stack came out and did the just that. Rod's wheelies were spectacular. Rod deserved every point of the 30 the judges gave him. Score: 30
Rap Attack--
Dave got the driveshaft fixed pretty quick, he came out a little
hesitant but got right to work. The near set was letting the trucks ride all the
way down the stack, and the far lane was giving the trucks air. Dave used mostly
the far lane. Very good run for coming off of a break. Score: 28
Racing Round 1
Rolling Thunder (Bendzick) vs. Devastator (Schroder)
There was no room for error on this very short track. You snooze you lose. Another rule that I learned about at the show was that the truck that crosses first does not technically win, You have to be on the ground also. That would play a big role in the races. This race was VERY close, Bendzick just squeaked out a win.
Winner: Rolling Thunder (Bendzick)
Demolition Man (Krmel) vs. Rap Attack (Rappach)
Both trucks got out of the gate very quick, Rappach got on the ground first and won.
Winner: Rap Attack (Rappach)
Racing Round 2
Frank Krmel and Demolition man got the fast qualifier and would take on Hot Rod Schmidt in Digger who got a buy.
Grave Digger (Schmidt) vs. Demolition Man (Krmel)
These two trucks and drivers have been touring the nation together for the Monster Jam season. These two also got there trailer stolen in San Antonio. Who would win this battle? Rod got the hole shot and got on the ground first.
Winner: Grave Digger (Schmidt)
Rolling Thunder (Bendzick) vs. Rap Attack (Rappach)Who would go on to face Hot Rod Schmidt in the finals? Jim Bendzick look as though he won but Rappach got on the ground first to get the win and move on into the finals.
Finals
Grave Digger (Schmidt) vs. Rap Attack (Rappach)
These two trucks tied in the wheelie contest and Grave Digger won the cheer off due to the truck being popular. Would Dave get revenge? Schmidt got the jump and stayed low, that's what you need to win on the Thunder Nationals tour. Winner: Grave Digger (Schmidt)
As you can see in the picture Schmidt is on the ground quicker for the win. Rod came out and did a little celebration afterwards. I was already heading for the autograph session so I was kind of in a bad spot for a picture.
Overall this Thunder Nationals show was a good kickoff to the 2004 season. It was cold outside but the action inside was hot. After the success of the show I will definitely be making the trip back next year. I should be in Rockford 3 times next year to attend the events at Rockford Speedway as well.
Thanks for Reading, Andrew Pellegrine.