Dennis Anderson’s Halloween R/C Monster Truck Bash

Oct 20 & 21, 2007 Poplar Branch, North Carolina

Words: Justin Haugland

Pics: John Schultz

Dennis Anderson’s Halloween R/C monster truck bash will go down as a milestone in R/C monster truck history as 184 entries from 12 states came to the world’s most famous full size monster truck shop in the world for 2 days of non stop action.

No other race in the world ties together full size motor sports personalities with their R/C counterparts as well as the No Limit R/C events at Dennis Anderson’s Digger’s Dungeon. The ICON of monster trucks, and World Champion driver of Gravedigger, Dennis Anderson literally opens up his race shop, front yard and R/C racetrack to participants and spectators for these unique events.

Monster truck fans of all ages are given the opportunity to race their scaled down versions against drivers, crew chief’s and team managers of the full size trucks.

Race side by side against the crew chief of your favorite Monster jam truck, talk about chassis design and suspension set ups with the fabricators of the full size trucks, or the ultimate dream, have Dennis Anderson announce your R/C freestyle over the sound system as hundreds of fans look on.

Event schedule: The Halloween bash started with a drivers meeting where the track layout and rules were discussed. The track was designed to be long enough to allow drivers to show off their trucks power, but still demand precision in the tight turns.

Qualifying started Saturday morning and saw some excellent runs laid down by : (add names here)

The time in between classes was broken up by monster truck trivia questions asked by Dennis himself. Literally hundreds of prizes were thrown out to the crowd.

The new Novice Electric class had 14 entries. This class caters to less experienced racers from 5-12 years of age to race with brushed electric vehicles was a huge success. These junior racers showed us all what makes R/C so intriguing and rewarding. We were all pleasantly surprised to see that these little racers didn’t simply bring their box stock trucks, but came with names like the “Ghoul Bus, Pumpkin Head and The Chrominator. The fast qualifier at 16.89 seconds was Austin Brown with his Lil’ Grave Digger E-Savage. The first Semi Final race saw Austin Brown versus Westley Whetzel’s “ Wild Child” HPI Wheelie King. Austin came out on top advancing to the finals. Dalton Whetzel’s Ghoul Bus HPI E-Savage faced off against Shane Mikula’s Chrominator HPI E-Savage in the other semi final round with Dalton taking the win recording a 18.34 second run to Shane’s DNF. In the Finals Austin Brown and Dalton Whetzel lined up. Dalton blistered the track with his HPI Ghoul Bus E-Savage recording the fastest time in the novice class over all. His 13.77 second run earned him 1^st place!

Next Up to race was the 4x4 Brushed Electric Monster Truck Class. This class was full of Traxxas E-Maxx’s and HPI E- Savages. These trucks ranged from Kyle Bollero’s brand new out of the box stock E-savage to some of the most tricked out Traxxas E-Maxx’s you will ever see by Kevin Willets. Qualifying top honors went to John Schultz of HPI Racing with his HPI E-Savage which was topped off with the debut of HPI’s brand new Grave Robber body, a perfect fit for the Halloween Themed event. The 16 truck field was whittled down to 4 after some intense racing action. The first semi final match up saw fast qualifier John Schultz versus Mike Dayton, both E-savages tore up the track with John advancing to the finals recording a 16.27 lap topping Mike 20.09 second pass. The other semi final race pitted Mr. Rip Tide himself Kevin Willets and his Rip Tide E-Maxx to face off against Gary McSweeney and his Jack-O-Lantern E-Maxx. Gary came out the victor with a 15.16 second run to head to the finals to square off with John Schultz. The Classic Traxxas versus HPI match up had the crowd buzzing as they staged there trucks on the Starting Line. As the light turned green both trucks launched off the starting line, In a close race John Schultz sailed the Grave Robber to the victory.

4x4 Brushless Electric Monster Truck action was up next. This class was riddled with HPI E-savages and a few Kyosho Twin Forces. The over all 2^nd fastest time of the racing weekend would come out out Semi Final race 1 as once again John Schultz was on a rail with his Novak equipped Brushless E-Savage set down a smoking 12.91 pass to advance to the final round over Dave Pack and his Extreme Force Twin Force. However in the very next semi final race Dave sailed his Hobby Town Trick -E -Savage to victory over Larry Ballard and his Grave Digger Kyosho Twin Force. Even with the 18.11 second winning pass Dave would have to pick up the pace in the finals if he wanted to hang with John. Dave did just that making the final all HPI E savage final race a dandy to watch with John edging out the victory with a 14.12 second run to Dave’s 15.49

The 4x4 Pro Modified Electric Monster Truck class featured 18 entries. These trucks feature 4 link suspensions, scale chassis design and solid drive axels from the now 20 year old Tamiya Clod Buster. This combination of parts makes these machines react very similar to full size monster trucks. Setting the pace was Robbie Bunting and his Bigfoot Custom Clod Buster laying down the Top Qualifying time of 13.94 seconds.

The Semi Finals featured Robbie Buntings Austin 3:16 Custom Clod Buster facing his Bearfoot Custom clod. Bearfoot recorded a faster 16.15 second run to take the win over Austin 3:16’s 16.39. The other Semi Final match up saw Bari Musawwir set down a 16.02 second lap in his An Escalade ECD Racing replica to take out Daniel Ball and The RC Pro Racing Machine. The finals pitted Bari Musawwir from Florida against Robbie Bunting and his “Bearfoot” Custom Tamiya Clod Buster from Virginia. Bari set down a blistering 14.11 second lap to take the win over Robbie’s 17.65 second run.

As night began to fall 4x4 Nitro Small Block Monster Trucks were next to match up in the No Limit R/C single elimination Brackets. The 32 truck field was led by top qualifier Mike Hylton Jr. and his General Traxxas Revo 3.3. At 15.42 seconds. Through some great side by side racing the final 4 consisted of the Number 2,5,12, and 14 qualifiers.

The Number 2 Sam Peters with his applie named Nightmare on Any Street Traxxas T-Maxx 2.5 lined up agaist number 15 qualifier Zeek Heard and his Revo 3.3 he called The Beast. Zeek recorded the upset win with a 15.39 to Sams 20.13. The other esemi final race saw number 5 qualifier Wes Hewitt in his Bone Collector T-Maxx up against number 5 qualifier Bob “Blind Dog” Hall and his Pumpkin Dog T-Maxx. Again the slower qualifier was able to pull off the upset as Bob Hall won going away with a 15.71 second pass to Wes’s 24.48. Now on to the Final round for small block which pitted Orlando Florida’s own Zeek Heard versus Virginia’s Bob Hall. The all traxxas final would be interesting none the less. As they staged and the light went green, both drivers dropped the hammer only to have a red light false start by Zeek Heard in the right lane, but Bob in the left lane never made it off the line. It turned out Halls T- Maxx lost a Transmission. In this crazy turn of events No Limit R/C officials and Dennis Anderson himself were faced to make a tuff decision. With the North Carolina Night fully upon them the competitors and race officials came to a compromise. Since nether competitor made a legal run around the track they agreed to re-run the final race the next day. In the rematch Bob Hall was handed the win as Zeek Heard Red Lit once again. What an exciting end to a great class of racing.

The Truggy Class saw Top qualifier Mike Herndon from Florida Dominated with his Losi 8-T he called Hard Charger and his Losi Muggy. Mike raced both of his trucks into the final round by beating both Ryan Anderson and his HPI Hellfire and Eddie Wisememan in the semi finals. Mike recorded the fastest time of the weekend over all with a blazing 11.96 second lap.

The Biggest class of the event was the 4x4 Nitro Big Block Monster Truck class, which had 92 entries. The top qualifier was John Shultz of HPI racing. He scorched the track with a 12.84 second run with his Grave Robber Savage X 4.6SS which earned him a bye run in round 1. After 37 different side by side races we were down to the final four. In match up number one John Shultz and his HPI Savage X SS Bounty Hunter squared off against Matt Hardin’s Savage. In one of the closest races of the night John edge out Matt by getting great traction out of the last turn to record the 12.64 to 12.80 victory. The other Semi Final race featured a classic East versus west match up as Michael Crawford of California lined up against Bari Musawwir of Florida. When the light went green Michael and his Iron Outlaw Savage X 4.6 SS were handed the easy victory as Bari’s Losi LST Grave Digger Stalled out at the hit of the throttle. This made it an all HPI Savage final as John Schultz with his Bounty Hunter Savage X 4.6 and Michael Crawford in his Iron Outlaw Savage X 4.6 staged. As the light turned green Both Big Blocks came to life and in a very tight race John Shultz took the win do to a slight bobble in the last turn by Michael.

One of the most spectacular events of the event was the long jump. Racers were given one shot at driving their trucks at a 12 foot tall ramp which shot them over Gravedigger 14. This event combined the thrill of seeing your pride and joy sail through the NC sky over the most iconic image in monster trucks, with the huge payoff of winning a $4,000 HPI Baja for the longest distance. The majority of trucks jumped from 25-35 feet, but only 3 went over 40 feet. John Schultz’ brushless E-savage sailed 45 feet for a 2^nd place finish, but the man of the hour was Gravedigger shop manager Henry Cross who skied his stock HPI savage X 47’3” for the longest distance. Henry was weak in the knees and grinning from ear to ear when he accepted the reward, a tricked out HPI Baja 5B.

Freestyle was the most anticipated event of the weekend and saw 150 drivers compete for bragging rights, and the title of top freestyle driver at the home of Mr. Freestyle himself.

In the unfortunate event that they flipped over, drivers were allowed to marshal their truck one time. For many, the thrill of hearing the sound of Dennis Anderson call their freestyle performance combined with the fast paced musical sound track proved to be too much as many drivers ended their 90 second allowance early. Many pulled off incredible stunts and miraculous saves driving on 2 wheels, but to achieve a top score, drivers had to open big, negotiate several of the tracks obstacles in combination, use the entire allotted time and of course end it all with a huge finish that wowed the crowd.

3 drivers tied for 1^st place. Bob Hall, Dustin Brown and Ryan Anderson. Bob Hall’s top freestyle performance combined with winning the small block class made him the overall event champion. Bob was handsomely rewarded with an HPI Baja 5B that even included a box of extra hop ups. Dustin Brown took home a Savage X 4.6 for his spectacular stunts. Ryan Anderson was rewarded with a Tamiya Nitro Rage for some of the most spectacular stunts and saves that we have ever seen.

Racing : over 275 side by side races, including qualifying

Novice Electric Monster Truck

Name Truck Name Manufacture State

1^st Dalton Whetzel The Ghoul Bus HPI E-Savage Harrisonburg, VA

2^nd Austin Brown Lil’ Grave Digger HPI Wheely King Chillicothe, OH

3^rd Westly Whetzel Wild Child HPI Wheely King Harrisonburg, VA

4x4 Brushed Electric Monster Truck

Name Truck Name Manufacture Location

1^st John Schultz Grave Robber HPI E-Savage Foothill Ranch, CA

2^nd Gary McSweeney The Jack-O-Lantern Traxxas E-Maxx Chillicothe, OH

3^rd Mike Dayton E-Savage HPI E-Savage

4x4 Brushless Electric Monster Truck

Name Truck Name Manufacture Location

1^st John Schultz Grave Robber HPI E-Savage Foothill Ranch, CA

2^nd David Pack HobbyTown Trick Racer HPI E-Savage/Trick Richmond, VA

3^rd David Pack Extreme Force Kyosho Twin Force/Trick Richmond, VA

4x4 Pro Modified Electric Monster Truck

Name Truck Name Manufacture Location

1^st Bari Musawwir “An Escalade” Tamiya Clod Buster /ECD Melbourne, FL

2^nd Robbie Bunting BearFoot Tamiya Clod Buster Custom Richmond,VA

3^rd Robbie Bunting Austin 3:16 Tamiya Clod Buster Custom Richmond,VA

4x4 Small Block Nitro Monster Truck

Name Truck Name Manufacture Location

1^st Bob Hall Pumpkin Dog Traxxas T-Maxx Linville, VA

2^nd Zeek Heard The Beast Traxxas Revo 3.3 Orlando, FL

3^rd Sam Peters Xtreme Scream Traxxas T-Maxx Roanoke, VA

4x4 Big Block Nitro Monster Truck

Name Truck Name Manufacture Location

1^st John Schultz Bounty Hunter HPI Savage X 4.6ss Foothill Ranch, CA

2^nd Michael Crawford Iron Outlaw HPI Savage X 4.6ss Bakersfield, CA

3^rd Matt Hardin Savage HPI Savage X 4.6 Chillicothe, OH

4x4 Big Block Truggy

Name Truck Name Manufacture Location

1^st Mike Herndon Muggy Team Losi Muggy Orlando, FL

2^nd Mike Herndon Hard Charger Team Losi 8T Orlando, FL

3^rd Ryan Anderson HellFire HPI HellFire Poplar Branch, NC

Long Jump over Grave Digger #14

Name Truck Name Distance Manufacture Location

1^st Henry Cross Black Magic 47’3” HPI Savage X 4.6 Currituck, NC

2^nd John Schultz Grave Robber 45’7” HPI E-Savage Foothill Ranch, CA

3^rd Matt Hardin LST2 41’3” Team Losi LST2 Chillicothe, OH

Freestyle

3 way tie for 1^st (27 Points)

Bob Hall T-Maxx Linville, VA Dustin Brown Savage X 4.6 Poplar Branch, NC

Ryan Anderson Savage X 4.6 Poplar Branch, NC

4x4 Small Block Truck Pulling

Name Truck Name Distance Manufacture Location

1^st JD Kelly Wild Thang Full Pull @ 46lbs. Traxxas Revo Oviedo, FL

4x4 Big Block Truck Pulling

101 Pound Pull Off

Name Truck Name Distance Manufacture Location

1^st Steve Tash Ford Thunder 28’9” Team Losi LST Orlando, FL

2^nd Zeek Heard Grave Digger 25’1” Team Losi LST Orlando, FL

3^rd Gary Talley Pastrana 199 6’7” Team Losi LST2 Oviedo, FL

Show and Shine

Name Truck Name Manufacture Location

1^st Mike Herndon The Hulk Team Losi LST Orlando, FL

2^nd Dave Pack Grave Digger Replica Trick Racing Richmond, VA

3^rd Matt Hardin Kong Savage Custom HPI Savage Chillicothe, OH

The fact that 184 entries from 12 states came to an event on a non holiday weekend, just a few weekend before the holiday’s proves that the monster truck spirit is alive and well!!

The No Limit R/C team has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they promotes and runs some of the best events period.

Many, 1^st time entrants and spectators who drove many miles, anticipated that Dennis and the whole slew of drivers that participated would simply show up, wave to the fans and sign a few autographs only to depart early. Not so, Dennis and his entire family were at trackside from sun up to well after sun down. Mr. Monster Truck himself spent his days at the event talking to fans, taking pictures, racing, and providing race by race commentary. It is very rare indeed to encounter an individual with so much raw talent, charisma, and a genuine passion to please his fans. The synergistic combination of his personality and expert race promotion and production of the No Limit team makes this one of the best events in R/C history.