Recap by Elliott Miller, www.MichiganMonsterTrucks.com

It was a wild night of action in Monroe Michigan on Friday. Avenger, Brutus, Amsoil Shock Therapy, High Maintenance, Excaliber, Spike, and Wrecking Crew invaded the Monroe County Fairgrounds for the Monster Truck Summer Throwdown produced by Midwest Monster Truck Events.

The action kicked off with Jim Koehler in Avenger taking home the wheelie contest win after going vertical and planting the wheelie bar into the dirt. Qualifying was an S Style course with Chris Bergeron and Brutus taking home top qualifying honors with a time of 30.9 seconds just ahead of Jon Zimmer in Amsoil Shock Therapy who qualified with a time of 31.00
Prior to racing, fans were treated to a special appearance interview with none other than Charlie Pauken and Mike Nickell who drove the original and recently restored Excaliber truck out onto the track joined by Chris Ryan, Excaliber’s current driver.

Racing would see Chris Bergeron in Brutus continue his winning ways in Brutus on the J Hook style course. Chris “Panda” Ryan driving Excaliber would also march through the racing bracket to meet Bergeron in the finals. Excaliber would have trouble off the starting line and wasn’t able to catch the mighty Brutus machine. Chirs Bergeron, 2010 Racing Winner in Monroe! Bergeron was pumped and ran into the grandstands high fiving and even gave away his trophy to a lucky fan.

Freestyle kicked off with High Maintenance driven by Jocelyn Perrin taking a tumble onto her lid after a few wheelies into her run much to the delight of the fans. Steve Koehler in Wrecking Crew started strong with big air and wheelies but ended with a spectacular wild rollover. Chris “Panda” Ryan had a strong run in Excaliber while Rich Hilgendorf had a short run in Spike due to motor issues. Chris Bergeron always is a favorite in Monroe as he drove the Brutus truck to a great freestyle! Jon Zimmer took to the track and the freestyle lead with a score of 26 after getting incredible air! The truck soared through the air as the crowd went crazy for Amsoil Shock Therapy! Last but not least was Jim Koehler in Avenger who put together a great run and fantastic dirt slinging vertical wheelie but in the end, it was Jon Zimmer in Amsoil Shock Therapy taking home the freestyle win. Check www.MichiganMonsterTrucks.com soon for photos and video from the event! More information on Midwest Monster Truck Events can be found on www.MidwestMonsterTruckEvents.com!

Elliott Miller
www.MichiganMonsterTrucks.com