Black Stallion Acrobatics in Parkersburg!!

June 25-26, 2010  Parkersburg WV

     West Virginia Motor Speedway was the host to this Monster Jam Summer Heat event where Michael Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion took his rivalry with Randy Brown in Grave Digger to a whole new level.  The other trucks on hand for competition were teammate Iron Warrior, Eradicator and Backdraft. 

     Friday night Mike Vaters started the show off securing the win in the wheelie contest.  The racing course was Chicago style and the combination of slick grass and no ramps proved tough. Michael Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion worked his way up through the elimination rounds to face off against Grave Digger in the semi-finals.  Mike got the jump on him from the start and it was all Black Stallion winning the semi final race. The finals should have been Black Stallion against Eradicator, but due to electrical issues on the Eradicator the officials brought Grave digger back to compete against Black Stallion in the finals. This time it would come down to one of the closest races of the weekend. Grave Digger would have his vengeance just edging out Mike Vaters.

     The freestyle portion of the show was exciting as always with lots of high flying action. Mike Vaters sent the Black Stallion on a big air assault. The van stacks on each end of the course allowed Vaters to demonstrate just how well the Black Stallion is built.  Vaters ultimately took second place for his freestyle exhibition. 

     On Saturday several thousand people attended the party in the pits with the drivers and their trucks.  Once the show got started it didn’t take long for the carnage of broken trucks to pile up in the pits which sent the team’s crew members on a frenzy to make repairs.   

     Mike Vaters got the show underway with yet again a very impressive slap wheelie that had all the fans on their feet!!!  Slap wheelies are rare because it takes the just the right combination of horsepower, throttle rhythm and driver experience to get the truck to stand back up after hitting the cars.  Mike’s years of experience gives him the edge over many other younger drivers in competition. 

     The first round of racing Grave Digger and Black Stallion met in a rematch of the Friday night Championship Race. The drivers kept pace with each other from the beginning through to the final turn of the course when Vaters hammered his truck with everything he had to pull out the win.  In his final efforts the Black Stallion ripped off his right front wheel which sent the Stallion cart wheeling down the track after crossing the finish line before the Digger truck.  Vaters first statement after climbing from the wreckage was “Did I beat him?”….and he did with spectacular flair.  Follow this link to watch this incredible finish: 

     With most of the trucks broke and unable to make it back to the racing competition the finals came down to Trey Myers in the Iron Warrior against Eradicator.  Myers in an upset grabbed top racing honors in Iron Warrior.

     With all the trucks broke and the crews working hard on repairs the officials called on Trey Myers in the Iron Warrior to go out and single-handedly put on  donut show.  Trey did not disappoint by putting on two blistering donuts, one at each end of the track so the entire crowd got a show.

     With three of the five trucks out of commission everyone wondered how the show would end when it came time for freestyle.  The incredible crew members from the race teams were able to get all five trucks repaired for the freestyle competition. With the Stallion back on all four wheels Michael Vaters took the truck for a parade lap down in front of the spectators.  Vaters then launched the all Ford powered K&N Black Stallion into some of the highest air of the evening off the concrete road barriers separating the track from the infield area. Mike showed no quarter to the truck as he pushed it to its limits demonstrating to the crowd the power and durability of the Stallion putting on a spectacular freestyle exhibition.  Mike didn’t let up until he literally drove the wheels off the Stallion once again pushing the repaired parts to their limits and losing the wheel for the second time. 

The fans in Parkersburg got a show that they will never forget.

Black Stallion’s “Biggest Air Ever at Raceway Park!!!!!”

June 19, 2010   Englishtown NJ

     The Black Stallion team returned to Raceway Park in Englishtown NJ again this year.  They go to compete a couple times each summer against some of the best trucks in the business.  Michael Vaters behind the wheel of the Black Stallion and teammate Trey Myers driving the Iron Warrior competed with Maximum Destruction, Grave Digger, Spiderman and Taz. 

     In racing Taz beat Grave Digger in the first set.  In the second set Black Stallion eliminated teammate Iron Warrior.  Next up Spiderman vs Maximum Destruction, Spiderman took too long in the turn and Max D raced away with the win.  In the finals the two fastest times were paired up.  Michael Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion with a time of 40.96 against Maximum Destruction.  Although Max D is the crowd favorite at Raceway Park the fans had to give credit where credit was due when Vaters drove the Stallion to a clear victory by several truck lengths.

     Monster Freestyle action was extreme as the trucks launched in the air off one car stack after another up and down the track.  Black Stallion was on a mission to double down with racing and freestyle wins.  The truck seemed to have wings as it leaped through the air off of the cars.  The crowd couldn’t believe the altitude.  The speedway announcer shouted “that’s the biggest air ever here at Raceway Park.”  Vaters’ commented in the post freestyle interview “I probably needed a pilots license for that one.”  Tom Meentz in the Maximum destruction had trouble with his rear steering as it wouldn’t re-center after turns causing the truck to drive catty wampus down the track during freestyle.  At the end of the labored freestyle Tom won the crowd over and stole the freestyle win when he drove the broken truck to its’ limits in a scorching cyclone. 

See the biggest air at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5-9CkdmvQk

Some of the members of the Black Stallion team….

Michael Thompson - Trey Myers - Denise Vaters - Michael Vaters - Matt Cody

Black Stallion launches multiple wins way up North!!!!

June 12-13, 2010 Halifax Nova Scotia

     Michael Vaters and the Black Stallion team traveled way North to Scotia Speedworld in Halifax Nova Scotia. The trucks in competition were; Black Stallion piloted by Michael Vaters, Grave Digger, Dominator, Instigator, and teammate Iron Warrior with Trey Myers behind the wheel. The weekend started off with a huge pit party Saturday morning for droves of fans who crowded down onto the front stretch of the track to get close to the trucks and get autographs from the drivers. 

     The first show of the weekend was on Saturday afternoon which got under way with the wheelie contest.  Michael Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion leaped at the competition rolling away with the first win in the wheelie contest. Vaters continued on that same note throughout the weekend winning all three wheelie competitions!

     The racing course was tailor made for Michael Vaters with his many years of experience on concrete arena floors as the Thunder National Champion with no dirt ramps leading up to the car stacks.  In addition to the rampless obstacles the course was Chicago style with extremely tight turns. Vaters designed and built the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion to maneuver as if it was on rails.   Michael Vaters in the Stallion made winning look effortless as he took the turns defeating Instigator and Grave Digger in racing rounds to take the win.  Randy Brown in Grave Digger continued to taunt Vaters in their rivalry by stealing the donut win with a scorching cyclone. 

     The final element of the show was monster destruction freestyle competition.  The all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion put on a stellar performance both fast paced and radical with big air and close saves.  Brown in the overstated black and green machine took the freestyle win from Vaters who placed in second place with a score of 23. Mike Vaters was not discouraged by the freestyle loss but invigorated with his wins in wheelies and racing and looking forward to the remaining competition of the weekend.

     Saturday nights show was a picture perfect evening at the track with the sun going down during the show cooling off the track and all the while providing enough light throughout the evening clear through to the freestyle finale.  Michael Vaters continued on his path to dominate the wheelie contest yet again this weekend.  In racing Michael Vaters had the big black all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion’s horsepower screaming as tromped through the racing rounds to the finals.  The Stallion lined up against the Instigator and took the racing win easily coming across the finish line first to victory. 

     Freestyle competition was fast and furious as each truck was put through its paces one at a time.  Vaters in the Stallion let the all FORD horsepower loose and the truck reined it all in performing the way it was designed to.  The Stallion launched over car stacks speeding on the next to jump and clear that one as well.  The truck skidded around the turns as the tires slid on the asphalt surface under the 10,000 pounds of truck and torque from the powerful FORD engine.  When the Stallion screeched to a stop and the tire smoke cleared the crowd went crazy with applause.  Randy Brown in the Grave Digger had a tough act to follow and met the challenge with his radical run.  Grave Digger edged the freestyle win away from the Black Stallion and the rivalry continues. 

     Mike Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion continued his wheelie winning streak first off in Sunday afternoon’s show taking the third win of the weekend. Mike put the big Ford horse powered motor to work taking out the competition round by round in racing.  Vaters defeated Dominator in round one, defeated Instigator in the semi-finals and went on to double down wins by tromping the black and green machine in the racing finals. 

     The Black Stallion came out onto the track soaring over car stacks and bouncing the front of the monster up to hit another obstacle.  Vaters crisscrossed over the cars front ways and sideways.  The fans didn’t know in which direction to watch as the truck seemed to be everywhere.  When the monster FORD powered truck came to a stop the fans roared their approval.  Vaters with an unrelenting competitive nature drove the Stallion to the front of the Grave Digger bumping it nose to nose.  He wanted to get under Randy Brown’s skin carrying on their rivalry of previous competitions.  It was an unspoken challenge from one driver to another calling him out to try to top his freestyle run.  After several long drawn out minutes both trucks squared off against each other Vaters backed the powerful Stallion away from the Digger and allowed him to pass to start his freestyle run.  Randy Brown surely incited to the limit met the challenge and laid down the most radical freestyle performance of the weekend earning him the freestyle win.  In the end the fans were the real winners of the rivalry that continues between the Black Stallion and Grave Digger. 

View Black Stallion’s freestyle at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGsHxskUXH8

     Both the Kamikaze and Psycho jet powered 4-wheelers demonstrated their raw jet engine power at each of the events at Scotia Speedworld this weekend. 

Get a peek at the Jet War action at: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzYyWsI-5bI

Video & Photos courtesy of Dwayne Harvie

Black Stallion Wins Fans in Debut at Speedway 95

June 3-5, 2010 Bangor ME

     Michael Vaters and the Black Stallion team made their first ever appearance at Speedway 95 in Bangor Maine and after meeting the enthusiastic fans hope to return to compete for them again.  The trucks in attendance were Grave Digger, Michael Vaters in the Black Stallion, Iron Warrior driven by Trey Myers, Instigator, and Dominator. The stands were filled to capacity for all 4 shows with people sitting through downpours of rain under their umbrellas to see the trucks compete. 

     The rain held off for the first show on Thursday evening which started off with the wheelie contest.  Trey behind the wheel of the Iron Warrior was first up to take the leap across the fresh line of cars and a wet track from rain earlier in the day.  Trey launched the Warrior into the air and seemed to be going in slow motion as the crowd held their collective breaths before landing again.  Each truck seemed to get even more altitude than the one before.  Michael Vaters piloting the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion was on a mission to show off his driving skills and win over as many new fans as possible.  Vaters shot the Stallion up over the line of crushed cars and skyward as the truck went vertical into the air.  The fans went crazy with applause but the judges only gave him a score of 20.  Instigator won the wheelie contest with a score of 24.

     The racing portion of the show was all Mike and the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion as he easily defeated Dominator in round one, teammate Iron Warrior in the semi finals, and took the win by two truck lengths over Grave Digger in the finals. The muddy course didn’t show any challenge for the 28 year veteran in Black Stallion. The victory set the stage for Michael Vaters to attempt doubling down victories for the night.

     After watching the other trucks struggle with the mud, Mike launched the Black Stallion high into the air time and time again during freestyle to everyone’s amazement. Vaters threaded the Stallion back and forth across the junk cars putting major air under the truck.  Randy Brown in Grave Digger watched on and felt the pressure to raise the bar to obtain the freestyle win.  Brown was unable to maneuver the difficult track conditions and barrel rolled the Digger down the track.  The Grave Digger driver walked away without injury but lost the freestyle win to Vaters.  Michael Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion double downed with wins in both racing and freestyle for his first competition at Speedway 95 in Bangor ME. 

     The sold out standing room only crowd on Friday night was thrilled to see beautiful weather all day long as they anticipated witnessing the top monster trucks in the country competing against each other.  Grave Digger and his team worked late into the night to make the needed repairs to the truck so it would be ready.  After the crash and loss the night before Randy Brown entered into competition with the purpose to redeem the black and green’s reputation in victory. 

     Grave Digger would sweep the wins on Friday night but it was not from a lack of effort by Michael Vaters in the Black Stallion. In round one racing Trey Myers in Iron Warrior was edged out by Dominator after the Warrior got crooked off the first jump on the tricky track.  Black Stallion lost by inches to Instigator in the semi-finals. 

     Vaters’ behind the wheel of the Stallion drove a fast paced freestyle run with long jumps that seemed to go on forever and put gravity defying vertical air under the truck.  Brown in the Digger was on a roll and was on a mission and put the truck through its paces giving the spectators in Bangor a show they will not soon forget.  Grave Digger took all three wins; wheelie, racing and freestyle Thursday night. 

     After working long into the night repairing damaged rear axle parts on the Iron Warrior and despite a huge rain storm on Saturday morning the Black Stallion team was ready to get the show started.  The track was a sloppy mess and would make for a difficult course for the drivers and an exciting show for the fans.   

     Mike Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Black stallion made all the other trucks work a little harder to keep up to the pace.  Vaters pulled an almost vertical wheelie and the only other truck that could match him was Instigator who edged the Stallion out and took the wheelie win. 

     Vaters took out teammate Myers behind the wheel of the Warrior in the first round of racing.  Michael Vaters in the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion eliminated the black and green crowd favorite in the semi-finals.  Vaters let out all that big Ford power in the finals but was beat by Instigator in a photo finish.   

     Trey Myers in the Iron Warrior was out first for freestyle and laid down a fast paced high flying run setting the bar pretty high for the rest of the lineup.  Mike Vaters behind the wheel of the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion stepped it up a couple more notches with his run speeding towards the obstacles launching skyward and sliding the truck around and going back to do it time and again.  Brown in the Grave Digger answered the challenge laid out by Vaters and pulled some impressive cyclone donuts that had the crowd on their feet and earned him the freestyle win. 

     It’s all about the party on Saturday night…right…and the crowd was ready to see some monster action.  The threatening rain didn’t dampen the fans spirit but just in case the format of the show was changed to a “rain format.” This schedule is designed to eliminate the filler entertainment resulting in a faster paced more concentrated show of monster truck action to get the show in before the rain starts. 

     Mike Vaters stood the all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion nearly on the tailgate as he took his first wheelie win of the weekend with a score of 23.   The left over mud on the track from the rain earlier in the day kept the racing fairly close as all of the drivers had a hard time keeping the monsters straight and on course.  Michael Vaters had a clear advantage with his many years of experience behind the wheel of the big bad black FORD.  The Stallion seemed to handle the slick difficult track effortlessly.  Vaters dominated in racing beating out each truck that he was lined up with as the truck seemed to get faster with each pass!  The all Ford Powered K&N Black Stallion raced its’ way into the finals and beat Grave Digger to take the racing win along with the wheelie win from earlier in the night. 

     The muddy conditions and poor light finally caught up with the show as freestyle was definitely a slower pace than any of the other shows. The drivers toned the action down a bit to be safer since visibility was definitely at a minimum. Michael Vaters and the Black Stallion had some of the best air of the night skating the truck around on the muddy track effortlessly.  Vaters had to stop the freestyle run short like the other drivers before him because mud covered the windshield and visibility was zero.  Grave Digger was able to pull off the freestyle win with a mud chucking cyclone donut that turned the black & green machine to a mud colored machine.

     The weekend ended up bringing Michael Vaters and the Black Stallion many new fans as he swept wins throughout the weekend taking on his favorite rival Grave Digger.  The weekend at Speedway 95 was exciting for the Black Stallion team and they look forward to going back next year.