After all the calamity on Saturday night, fans were anticipating one incredible show for Sunday at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
The championship came down to the top two drivers on the summer tour, Dan Runte in Bigfoot and Mark Hall in Raminator. But, each driver had mountains to overcome. For Hall, he needed a completely perfect afternoon to have a chance at winning the title. For Runte, making the call was the name of the game.
His wreck on Saturday night tore up his Bigfoot truck. A broken sway bar end, flat tire, and cracked roll cage all needed to be fixed for Sunday's race. Not to mention the repairs that needed done to the body.
But, the team got the job done. The truck was fixed to race, and both drivers, along with eight others, were ready to compete in the final event of the 2011 Jamboree season.
Runte and Hall both won their first round match-ups. Hall's teammate, Mat Dishman, also advanced in Rammuntion as well as rookie Derrick Anson in Heavy Hitter. But, as the brackets were looked at, it came down to one race between No. 1 and No. 2 on the season.
The first race of the semi-finals would be Hall versus Runte. The winner of the race would in essence be the champion of the series. Runte had a lead of 120 points, so in order for Hall to take the title, Runte would have to lose to him and then Hall would have to win the final. But, the important part of the race was lane choice, and Runte had it, as he opted for the left lane, which started with the wide corner.
Both trucks left the line even, with Hall gaining the edge in the first turn due to the tight corner. Runte stayed about a truck-length behind over the big jump and the rhythm section, and then cut the final corner tight and kept the rear of the truck sliding.
Runte and Hall kept their foot in the gas on the final stretch, each leaping over the final jump to the finish line. But, when the trucks landed, it was the blue Ford of Runte taking the win, and in doing so clinched the 2011 General Tire Monster Truck Thunder Drags championship. It was the first time in 11 years that a truck not from Hall Brothers Racing took the title.
Just to make sure the fans knew who the champion was, Runte went on to win the final over Heavy Hitter, putting a stamp on a very successful summer campaign for the Bigfoot team.
The Bigfoot team then got the truck ready to run for freestyle, and Runte was able to put on a great run that culminated with a signature Bigfoot wheelie down the front straightaway in front of the grandstands.
After having the title slip away last season, Runte put yet another milestone on his 20-plus year career with the Bigfoot team. It is not only Runte's first championship with Special Events since 1996, but it is quite possibly the final championship for Runte driving his current Bigfoot chassis.
The Bigfoot team has been hard at work for most of the spring and summer on a brand new truck for Runte, Bigfoot 18. The chassis is all new to the team as it was built by Concussion Motorsports.
Getting the new truck prepared is taking longer than usual as the truck gets put aside when Runte, or any of his teammates, needs to return home for repairs.
This weekend is another setback in that process as Runte's truck will return to the shop for a new body, and repairs to the roll cage. The team said following Sunday's action that there's a chance that the top of the cage will be cut off and all new tubing will be put in it's place.
At least when Runte returns to the shop in Hazelwood, Missouri, he is returning with something he wanted when the season began...a championship.
Author Note: I would like to personally thank a few folks from the Indy Jamboree. First, the staff at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, because this was the first event since the tragedy weeks ago when the main stage collapsed. The remains of the stage, as well as some of Sugarland's equipment is still there as nothing has been moved. It was hard for them to do this event as they had to make changes to some events, and the entire track layout, to coinside with the ongoing investigation.
I next want to thank both the Hall Brothers and Team Bigfoot for all their great comments and notes given during the weekend on the track, the racing, as well as what they expected for the event. Especially following Saturday night's wreck, both teams were very open about what happened.
Last, but most importantly, I want to thank the entire team at TheMonsterBlog.com. They asked me to come on board as a columnist, and graciously added me to their list for this event. I learned a lot, and helped with photos and video all weekend long. Ross Bonar, Chris Parish, Colby Marshall, Paul Harry and everyone at TMB welcomed me in graciously and were happy to assist in any way they could with it being my first time working with them.
Thank you all for making this Jamboree the best experience I've ever had at a monster truck show.
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