NEWS & RESULTS ARCHIVES JAN 2011

Indianapolis IN 

   Lucas Oil Stadium - January 29, 2011

Photos by Krysta Sylvester

The FOURTEEN Competing Trucks; Black Stallion driven by Michael Vaters, Iron Warrior driven by Trey Myers, Grave Digger, Dragons Breath, Maximum Destruction, Air Force Afterburner, Lucas Oil Crusader, Superman, Bounty Hunter, Iron Outlaw,  Bad Habit, Rap Attack, Michigan Ice Monster and Ground Pounder.

Photo by Paul Harry

It had been several years since the team had competed in Indianapolis and Michael Vaters was glad to bring the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion back to his old stomping grounds.  Way back when in 1983.....Vaters’ drove his lifted street truck over 500 miles to a 4-Wheel Drive Jamboree in Indianapolis.  He had designed and built rear steering on the Stallion and won “Best Engineered” award.  Vaters and Myers were thrilled to meet the excited Indy fans at the huge pit party celebration before the event. 

Photo by Michael Harry

Photo by Michael Harry

The track at the Lucas Oil stadium was a standard Chicago style but had some layout problems.  The cars that were placed in the turns for the trucks to steer around were placed to far out of the racing lane which caused the trucks to have difficulty lining up for the jumps.  Luckily the problem was identified during qualifications and corrected before racing started.  

Photo by Andrew Pellegrine

Trey in Iron Warrior took out Dragon’s Breath that debuted this year by Feld Motorsports.  Ground Pounder advanced to the second round after defeating Black Stallion in a very close race finish. During round two of racing Trey Myers in Iron Warrior put up a strong fight against Maximum Destruction, but came up a few trucks lengths short and the World Finals Champion moved on into the semi-finals.  In the end the Lucas Oil Crusader won the racing competition in the Lucas Oil Stadium. 

Photo by Andrew Pellegrine

IIron Warrior Racing round 2 against Maximum Destruction;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L6sXueIcdc

Photo by Andrew Pellegrine

Photo by Michael Harry

Michael Vaters piloting the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion performed “a textbook freestyle” said one of the track officials said.  Vaters poured on the power with good throttle rhythm to keep up a fast paced run hitting all of the obstacles multiple times.   The Stallion soared over the car stacks getting big air and seemed to land effortlessly in the well designed truck.  The Black Stallion was the first truck to tackle the camper and finished it off flattening the obstacle with the last hit of his freestyle run.  The action was fantastic and the trucks that followed him had to bump it up another notch.  You can view Vaters’ freestyle just follow the link below. 

Photo by Andrew Pellegrine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY9udmvrOHc

Salisbury MD 

Wicomico Center - January 28-29, 2011

Monster trucks competing; Black Stallion driven by James Tracey, Bigfoot Bad Boy, Ragin Rebel, Black Jack and Viper.

James Tracey behind the wheel of the Black Stallion 2 won racing on Saturday afternoon and Freestyle on Saturday night.  

Toronto Ontario Canada

January 22-23, 2011 – Rogers Centre

Competing monster trucks; Black Stallion, Iron Warrior, Grave Digger, Dragon’s Breath, Maximum Destruction, Grave Digger The Legend (Legend), Iron Man Shock Therapy, Excalibur, Rap Attack, Michigan Ice Monster and Ground Pounder.

Saturday started off with a party in the pits in the afternoon lasting 3 ½ hours leading into the introductions that evening starting off the show.  The event started off Chicago style racing action with round one seeing Michael Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Ford eliminating Dragons Breath and moving on to the next round.  In the next round Vaters beat Grave Digger the Legend eliminating him from competition.  Michael Vaters moved on to the semi-finals head to head with 8-time world champion Tom Mentz in Maximum Destruction.  Vaters gave it his all behind the wheel of the Stallion but missed the checkered flag by a truck length as Max D moved on to the finals against Grave Digger and ultimately took the racing win.

Mike Vaters came out in the middle of the field of trucks and launched the Black Stallion over all the obstacles, and raised the bar of competition.  The crowd just ate up the action and after the Stallion’s exhibition the remaining drivers in the pits had to bump it up a notch to top it. 

On Sunday afternoon the track was drier and faster and so the drivers had to drive accordingly.  The Warrior was taken out in round one by Shock Therapy.  Vaters in the Stallion powered Michigan Ice Monster defeating him in round one racing.  Round two racing and Michael Vaters in the Black Stallion pouring it on hard powering around the corners and flat tracking the turns building up speed but lost to Grave Digger in a close race.

San Antonio TX – Alamo Dome - January 15-16, 2011

Grave Digger, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT), Air Force Afterburner, Grave Digger The Legend (GD Legend), Iron Man, Monster Mutt, King Krunch, El Matador, Destroyer, Raminator, Rammunition, Bounty Hunter, Stone Crusher, Bad Habit, Maverick, Black Stallion Driven by Mike Vaters, Iron Warrior driven by Trey Myers, Gunslinger, Instigator, Second Grave Digger, Maximum Destruction

     The show in San Antonio at the Alamo Dome was incredible with 22 trucks performing. The Black Stallion and Iron Warrior were selected to be part of the “Atlanta Four” a surprise package for San Antonio of 4 trucks that weren’t announced until the show started. This is to be remembered as the largest show on tour other than the World Finals in Las Vegas. The racecourse was different with high-banked turns that had never been tried before. 

     When the racing started the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion eliminated Gunslinger after he was penalized for going out of bounds.  Monster Mutt was penalized as well for not keeping it on the racecourse and Trey in the Warrior advanced as well.  Unfortunately Vaters and Myers were taken out in the next round of racing. 

     Black Stallion was selected to go first out of the 16 trucks competing in freestyle.  It’s always tough to go out first but Vaters powered the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion through its paces with high flying jumps and a fast paced run setting the bar high.  Vaters placed in the top half of the freestyle competition results.  Air Force Afterburner doubled down and won both racing and freestyle on Saturday night.

Black Stallion freestyle Saturday night......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTrUi8JOMRQ

     Sunday afternoon the stands were full of monster truck fans.  Again the tough banked track had the drivers struggling to keep the 10,000 pound trucks on the course. The Stallion and Warrior was again taken out of the racing competition. 

     For the second day in the Alamo Dome, Vaters in the Stallion made good use of the unique obstacles that the new banked course created.  After a grand finale freestyle performance with Maximum Destruction and Grave Digger the fans all went home satisfied with their monster fix. 

Black Stallion freestyle January 16.......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSpkFvPTp_w

Photos by Kenny Lau

Cincinnati OH – Cincinnati Gardens – Jan 15-16, 2011

     Driver Jimmy Tracey and crew traveled to Cincinnati for their second show of the year.  The trucks competing at the Gardens were; Bigfoot Bad Boy, Illuminator which is Jay Snyder’s new truck, and Screamin’ Demon.

     There wasn’t any racing just “Big Air” Wheelie and Freestyle.  Saturday night Jimmy took the all Ford Powered Black Stallion to the final showdown for all 3 competitions in a face off against Big Foot.  Although a lot of people in the crowd agreed that the Black Stallion won the wheelie competition after bouncing off the cars on the tailgate, it was given to Big Foot.  The fans packed the arena on Saturday night to see the trucks’ heated competition.  The results came in consistently with Tracey taking second in the competitions.

Photos by Paul Harry

Manchester NH – Verizon Wireless Arena – January 7-8, 2011

     Competing trucks; Grave Digger The Legend, Iron Man, Thrasher, Michigan Ice Monster, Ground Pounder and the Black Stallion driven by James Tracey.

     The first weekend gremlins not only hit the Stallion team….Friday night started off with Grave Digger The Legend taking the wheelie win. Iron Man won his racing round but rolled and couldn’t come back out for semi-finals.  Michigan Ice Monster couldn’t get his truck to fire off the line which gave Digger the win by default.  Thrasher was able to take the win from Ground Pounder in the finals of racing.

     Rookie Tracey put the Black Stallion through its’ paces for his first weekend out in the truck trying to get a feel for the truck.  His attempt at the donut competition caused some mechanical failure that would have the team thrashing at the shop to prepare for the next weekends event. 

Desmoine IA - Wells Fargo Arena – January 7-8, 2011

     Competing Trucks; Black Stallion driven by Mike Vaters, Trey Myers behind the wheel of the Iron Warrior, El Toro Loco, Grave Digger, Stone Crusher and Desperado.

     The show Friday night kicked off the 2011 season for Michael Vaters and the Black Stallion racing team.  Michael Vaters had made tons of changes and updates to the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion and used the wheelie competition to feel the truck out and wasted no time launching the truck vertical nearly clearing the cars straight up and down on the first wheelie.  The freshened up Ford power plant added a few more horses and the wheelie reflected it!!! As Mike launched the truck into the second wheelie he was sure he’d win the competition, but the Stone Crusher took the win

     Racing was up next and the track was Chicago style.  Trey Myers in Iron Warrior took on Stone Crusher and was edged out by about 2 truck lengths after Trey took the last turn a little wide.   After a bye run in round one Vaters took out Stone Crusher in the semifinals. This paired Black Stallion against Grave Digger. With each round of racing the track seemed to get faster and faster. From the green light start the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion had the win. The truck was running good and on a mission.

     In freestyle Trey in the Iron Warrior was the second to go out, and laid down a solid performance hitting the race lanes from both directions, and getting big air off the “Stockholm Stack” which produces an 8-foot high jump.  Vaters brought the Black Stallion out getting good speed and big air off the multiple obstacles.  The Stallions efforts produced a great show but not the win.  The win went to Stone Crusher.

     Saturday afternoon the pits were packed with anxious monster truck fans getting their autographs and photos with their favorite drivers in the pit party.  When the track was cleared the monster wheelie competition was first up.  Trey came out and raised the bar behind the wheel of the Warrior launching the truck vertical.  Mike with Black Stallion was set to make sure Stone Crusher didn’t get the win and aggressively attacked the cars with both hits, but yet again it was Stone Crushers weekend to dominate in wheelies.

     In the semi-finals of racing Vaters was paired up against teammate Myers.  It was a showdown between the two Ford Racing power plants. The racing was a surprising upset with Iron Warrior moving into the finals after Black Stallion had steering issues in the turns.  The Warriors luck didn’t hold true in the finals as he lost to Grave Digger by a half a truck length.  The mechanical problems were getting started for the Black Stallion team that would continue to haunt them the rest of the weekend.  Due to ongoing mechanical problems Trey cut the Warriors freestyle short so as not to cause more damage. 

     When the “gitty up” call came for the Stallion the “first weekend gremlins” wouldn’t be saved off this time.  Vaters had starter problems and was unable to get the truck started in the allotted time.   The team headed up to autographs hoping to get both trucks back to 100% just hours away from the evening show.

     Saturday night the Black Stallion was set to go, but the hard decision was made to pull the Iron Warrior out of the evening show to keep from destroying the damaged parts on the truck any further. With the pressure on… veteran Mike Vaters stepped up to make up for the absence of his teammate pushing the Black Stallion even a little harder.

     Mike took on Grave Digger in round one and was coming out of the final turn when the gremlins hit full force shutting the Black Stallion down. After a mad thrash in the pits trying to get the truck refired Mike brought the Black Stallion out to Freestyle. The crowd in the Wells Fargo got to see why the veteran Mike Vaters has made it so long in the business, as he took a truck that was not at full capacity, and still thrilled the fans!! The Stallion lost just barely to Grave Digger.

     Powering monster trucks through the paces of competition and pushing their mechanical limits to the breaking point balanced with putting on the best show possible for the spectators is a delicate balancing act.  Vaters has been able to sustain his team for the past 29 years by doing just that.  The Black Stallion team was ready to do just that the next weekend in San Antonio TX.

Photos by Julie Lee

The Black Stallion Team….. from 2010 into 2011

     Looking back on 2010 we were concerned about ticket sales and booking shows because of the downturn in the economy, but 2010 was our busiest year ever and we have the fans to thank.  If it wasn’t for the fans spending there hard earned money on tickets and our sponsors’ support we wouldn’t be out here doing what we love.  We had a good year with great competition results and minimal breakage to the trucks.  We have so much faith in the future and growth of this motorsport that we reinvested in the team and are bringing out a third truck this year. 

     We have expanded our team to include a third truck and at this time we are running it as a second Black Stallion in the first quarter racing season.  The driver of the second Black Stallion is our long time friend James Tracey.  He has been helping us out with the trucks since he was a teenager.  He is a great mechanic and has racing experience in the form of drag racing at the local tracks.  We have some great ideas for a more permanent identity for the truck but they are still in the planning phase.  In preparation for bringing a third truck into competition we had to completely over-haul one of our toter homes which took a great deal of time along with getting the new truck race ready.  This is the first year the team will be going in different directions to different venues and it is a challenge I think we are all ready for.  This is great for our sponsor as it increases the number of spectators that will see their logo.  

     The 2011 first quarter season has started off .......check out our 2011 Schedule to see where we will be. 

     The first quarter schedule for Mike in the Black Stallion and Trey in the Iron Warrior is different this year as we usually don’t go that far west with the trucks.  They are excited to compete in front of their fans in those areas. 

     The first weekend out was really hard on us we had expensive mechanical problems on all three trucks.  This is not uncommon as the trucks are completely torn down and all the parts are gone through and replaced as needed in the down season of November and December.  It often takes a show or two to break everything in and work out the bugs of the new parts.  That first weekend out was one of our biggest challenges as a team getting everything repaired and race ready for the next weekend.  The whole team deserves credit, they all worked day and night to get the trucks ready to go out and then the first weekend out ended up requiring time consuming repairs and they all pitched in again to get everything back together. The Black Stallion team who works at the shop and on the road as pit crew are all great guys and put in the extra effort with little or no pay just for the love of the sport; Michael Thompson, Matt Cody, Jimmy Tracey, Jeff Dickinson, Andrew Moats, Cory Newcomer, Rich Wright, Jimmy Tracey JR and Ronnie Schildtknecht. 

     James’ team in Black Stallion 2 was able to return to the home shop and make the needed repairs but Trey and Mike in Black Stallion and Iron Warrior geographically couldn’t make it back to the shop.  The great thing about monster truck racing is the good relationship between the competitors.  They were able to stay out and borrow another drivers shop to make the needed repairs.  The team really pulled together and we were able to get all the repairs completed and back out for the next weekends show.