Adam Anderson goes for Rookie of the Year lead!
Surprise! A fast update this time, but some notable changes since last Friday. Monroe, Washington’s late report has given a few drivers a boost. The biggest changes have come from the MJE-Antwerp stop, where Charlie Pauken picked up 3 wins. As you know, Adam Anderson is in the hunt for the Rookie of the Year award. He needed at least 5 heat wins this week to take the lead. Did he have enough to pass Marc McDonald? Read on to find out!
Results from This Week
MOD Monroe, WA Round #14
A late report/confirmation from Monroe. Kreg Christensen took the Drag win over Frank Schettini. It was Christensen’s 6th win of the year. In the St. Louis style course, Schettini earned a high-flying come-from-behind win over homestate favorite Brad Campbell in Monster Moose.
Indeed, it was Schettini who made headlines in Round #14. He beat Jimmy Creten twice (first round of drags and first round of obstacle course), and also knocked off Linsey Weenk. The Obstacle Course win was Schettini’s first of the season, and his win in such a large field moved him up 38 spots from 116th to 78th! Despite a light schedule, Schettini has made nearly one-quarter of his final rounds this year.
SMTS Brasstown, NC
Veteran driver Bennet Clark picked up his 4th win of the year by knocking off Scott Hartsock in the finals. Clark is currently ranked 67th, while Hartsock is knocking on the door to get into the Top 20.
Fort Wayne, IN
Due to a recent roll-over, Jocelyn Perrin did not attend the Extreme Monster Truck Nationals in Fort Wayne, which limited the field to 4 trucks. But the competition was still so tight that all 4 drivers made the finals during the 3-race weekend. Isaiah Morales picked up his 2nd win of the year by defeating boss Michael Hawkins in the weekend opener. The next night, Dale Benear defeated 2005 Rookie of the Year Rick Long in Bigfoot. The weekend ended with another Isaiah Morales win, with Rick Long as runner-up again. Long is 22 – 7 in final rounds. The wins moved Morales up to 95th.
Monster Jam Europe
Adam Anderson came into Antwerp, Belgium with a chance to overtake Marc McDonald for the Rookie of the Year race. McDonald has held the position almost all year, but Anderson’s strong MJE campaign has brought him almost even with McDonald.
The weekend started with Pauken getting past Frank Krmel in the top semis to make the finals. In the bottom brackets, Dan Evans earned his first MJE win over Anderson, but could not continue due to mechanical breakage. Anderson replaced Evans in the finals, but fell to Pauken on the Thunder Nationals course.
Saturday afternoon started off bad for Anderson, as he was knocked off in the first round by John Seasock in Inferno. However, problems with Inferno put Seasock out and let Anderson continue racing. He put Fortune on the sidelines, and Charlie Pauken in Grave Digger got past Dan Evans to a repeat final. This time, Adam Anderson in Taz took the win over Digger!
Saturday evening saw a new finalist. This time, it was Anderson with a win in the first round, but breakage shortened his night. Dan Evans replaced Anderson and advanced past John Seasock for his 2nd final-round appearance. But a red-hot Charlie Pauken picked up another win in Antwerp.
To end the weekend, it was once again Anderson/Pauken in the finals. Anderson had eliminated Evans and Seasock, and Pauken got past Fortune and Krmel to met for the 7th time in Europe. Anderson held a 4-2 edge over Pauken, but Charlie was the dominate driver this weekend, as he earned his 3 win in 4 final rounds in Belgium.
Despite only 1 win in 4 events, Anderson was consistent enough to claim the top spot in the Rookie of the Year race! He improved 5 spots into 20th, and is a mere 54 points ahead of McDonald! Pauken also improved, and is now ranked 17th. Adam Anderson and Pauken are the only two drivers in the Top 20 with fewer than 10 wins.
For more MJE information and statistics, check out the WMTRL website!
In the standings . . .
Not many changes up top. A winless weekend in Fort Wayne had dropped Rick Long down to 10th. Pablo Huffaker is back up in the Top 10.
Elsewhere, Charlie Pauken (17) and Adam Anderson (20) made big improvements after successful weekends in Antwerp, Belgium on the MJE Tour.
Frank Schettini was the biggest improver, moving up 38 spots to 78th after his win and runner-up in MOD Monroe, WA. Brad Campbell’s runner-up effort in Monroe moved him up 5 spots to 45th.
Wrap Up
As if the World Championship hasn’t provided enough excitement, the Rookie of the Year race—that seemed to be a run-away back in August—is now even closer and may come down to the final weeks of the season. Anderson has the lead now, but he first-round losses could drop him back below McDonald.
Comments
Great update Bryan!!
Posted by: Ross Bonar | October 14, 2006 02:38 PM