The 2010 Grand National Championships are in the books!

Pocatello, ID – Saturday night, April 17, the stars were out and the gloves came off in the final event for Checkered Flag Productions’ 2010 Grand National Championship.  With 5 drivers contending for the tour championship the stakes were high as was the excitement level.  A sold out crowd of 11,800 saw one of the most electric shows in Checkered Flag Productions history, and one of the greatest motorsporting events ever in the state of Idaho.

To go along with the championship event itself, Checkered Flag Productions teamed up with the local Make A Wish Foundation to put together 2 Wish Events in 2 days as well.  Mitchell Taylor, 4 years old, from Pocatello, had a pizza party at his home with family, friends and the Bigfoot Bad Boy monster truck and driver Larry Swim on Thursday, April 15.  Jackson Koger, 5, also from Pocatello came to the ISU Holt Arena on Friday, April 16, for a meet and greet with the Bounty Hunter monster truck and driver Darren Migues.  Jackson was also treated to the ride of a lifetime when he got to ride around the parking lot with Darren in the Bounty Hunter.

On Saturday however, the pre-event festivities were done and a strictly business atmosphere fell on the ISU Holt Arena and all of the drivers in attendance.  The track was worked and prepared for 2 long and grueling days and was looking great and ready for action.  Following a very well attended, 2-hour Pit Party featuring an autograph session with all of the drivers and stuntman The Crusher, 2 monster ride trucks, and our own Miss Monster Truck Girls: Amber Ale and Luana Lynn – the floor was cleared to prepare for the opening ceremony and the National Anthem which was sung by 4 man quartet Sound Scape – who gave a rousing performance.

The first event on tap for the evening was the Wheelie Contest which also served as qualifying for the racing match up.  Each truck took to the floor one at a time, for 1 wheelie attempt which was scored by 6 judges on a 1-10 scale.  Several trucks came out and had great wheelies and slap wheelies, including Idaho’s own BJ Johnson who had a terrific slap wheelie in Jurassic Attack for a score of 48 which tied for 2nd with Bigfoot Bad Boy.  Donald Epidendio the driver of California Kid managed to “walk” his truck across the floor on the back tires for a 44 and 4th place finish, but none of these wheelies were enough to get the win.  In what might be referenced as a backflip attempt, Bill Payne in Rock Star came out and took on the van stack sideways and launched the truck upwards and sideways coming down on the truck’s side and eventually rolling over.  The judges scored it a 58 out of 60 and no other effort could match that performance.

Final Wheelie Standings:

Rock Star – 58
Bigfoot Bad Boy – 48 (won tiebreaker)
Jurassic Attack – 48
California Kid – 44
Equalizer – 40
Bounty Hunter 38
Maniac – 30
Hot Tamale – 24
Barbarian – 20

Up next for the night’s event was Monster Truck racing.  8 trucks went to battle on a “Chicago Style” oval racing course that spanned the entire floor and allowed the trucks to use their big power.  Larry Swim and the Bigfoot Bad Boy had a surprising loss in round 1 against Devin Jones Barbarian, but came through the double elimination style event to end up in the final round against Darren Migues and Bounty Hunter.  The trucks lined up on opposite sides of the arena and mashed the gas when the light turned green.  The two trucks ran neck and neck for the entire race, but Swim managed to edge out Migues and Bigfoot took home the racing title.  Migues took 2nd in racing, Jones’ Barbarian took 3rd and Isaiah Morales’ Hot Tamale took 4th in racing. Coming in 5th was Mike Hawkins Equalizer, with Jurassic Attack in 6th, Rock Star in 7th, and California Kid in 8th.

Following some quick track prep it was time for the crowd favorite Freestyle event.  Don Frankish in Maniac and Isaiah Morales in Hot Tamale were the first two trucks on the floor.  Frankish filled 90 seconds with a fast paced run and some nice air, and Morales got some big air over the school bus double, much to the crowds delight.  Bounty Hunter came out in the 3rd spot, and ran for over 3 minutes with some monster air over the school bus double, as well as some nice donuts and big air off the car and van stacks.  Migues was rewarded by the judges with a score of 58, one that would be tough to beat.

After performances from California Kid, Equalizer and Barbarian the spot light fell on Bill Payne and Rock Star.  While Payne had a short run, he had the most electric moments of the night including a huge jump which caused the truck to roll over and land on all 4 wheels, which was then followed by yet another backflip attempt in between the school buses.  The crowd went absolutely crazy and Payne was rewarded with a perfect 60 by the judges.  That put him in first and left only 2 trucks to run.

The next truck on the floor was Larry Swim and the Bigfoot Bad Boy, Swim came out with strong momentum and big air including a huge jump over the school buses, but as he was flooring it over one of the racing lanes the truck shut down.  The problem was diagnosed as a blown engine and Swim’s run was over early resulting in a low score.  Last onto the floor was local hot shoe BJ Johnson who piloted Jurassic Attack to a strong 90 second run that included some nice air and another well executed slap wheelie.  The run was not enough to knock Payne out of the top spot however, and Bill Payne was declared the freestyle winner.

Final Freestyle Standings:

Rock Star – 60
Bounty Hunter – 57
Barbarian – 56
Hot Tamale – 54
Equalizer – 50
California Kid – 41
Jurassic Attack – 39
Maniac – 36
Bigfoot Bad Boy – 29

After some points calculating and tallying, the Tour Championship ceremony was ready.  Bringing home 5th place, was Darren Migues in Bounty Hunter.  In 4th was Hot Tamale driven by Isaiah Morales.  3rd place was taken by Devin Jones and Barbarian.  Then it came down to the final 2.  Despite his strong showing in wheelie and freestyle, Bill Payne did not score enough points to jump over Larry Swim and Bigfoot.  For the 2nd year in a row Rock Star was the runner-up to Grand National Champion “Leadfoot” Larry Swim and the Bigfoot Bad Boy.  Larry’s strong lead going into Pocatello, and his win in racing clinched his 2nd straight title.

Congratulations to Team Bigfoot and to Larry Swim on another outstanding season. Swim managed to win nearly 50% of the events he entered, and his strong domination of racing allowed him to lock up another championship. With an unprecedented back-to-back championship effort, we can only imagine what Swim and Bigfoot will have cooked up for the next Winter Nationals tour!

Some video highlights from the event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GQh_kLLisc