Demo Derby Wins Weekend in Round 3 of Hot Wheels Live

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 21, 2019

It’s the third weekend of January, and already after two rounds of intense action and close competition, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live was not letting up.  Round three was already on the docket.

This time, it was a trip down near the Gulf of Mexico as the tour made their way to Jackson, Mississippi, and the Mississippi Coliseum.  Although the town is the namesake of a very popular song from Johnny and June Carter Cash, the teams that were rolling in hotter than a pepper sprout were Derick Anson in the Demo Derby Cadillac and Darron Schnell with the Bigfoot Raptor.

Meanwhile, hoping to get their first wins on the season were the father-son team of Bobby and Cody Holman, again at the wheel of Tiger Shark and Bone Shaker.  But, the surprising teams that were taking more wins as the events progressed were Schnell’s teammate, Christian Norman in the Hot Wheels Racer 1, and Steven Snellen piloting V8 Bomber.

These six teams got an earlier start for the weekend because the three-show round began on Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon.

The Crash Zone pit party drew in an enormous crowd just as was anticipated, and once the concrete floor was cleared, it was time to get to business with wheelies.  Normally it has been Schnell and Anson being the dominant ones in this category, but to start the weekend it was Norman that stood his Bigfoot chassis, draped in the white Hot Wheels colors, to the sky on both hits on the cars.  The new flag he was running on the back of the truck seemed to bury into the cars with each hit, and it was enough for the fans to vote him as the inaugural winner on the weekend.

After a bit of a cool down period to give the fans a chance to interact and be part of the show, engines were ready to scream on the concrete as it was time for the donut contest.

Every truck decided to light the tires, but for some reason the classic V8 Bomber with the shorter wheelbase was hooking up and smoking rubber.  Snellen has found a groove with the truck, one that he doesn’t seem to mind having, as he captured his first win of the weekend.

Now it was time for the latest addition to the Hot Wheels Tour, a new but familiar competition to fans that have attended the Monster Nationals in years past.  Rather than sky the trucks to the roof, this was all about distance.  It was time for the long jump competition, where the landing point of the rear tires determined the winner.

Schnell has plenty of experience with such competitions, and his chassis is set up to soar, but his braking technique was able to bring the nose of the truck down and soar the Bigfoot machine the farthest, earning him his first victory on the night.

After intermission, in between freestyle motocross and a Megasaurus appearance, it was time to really get down to business in racing, as the field was closer than ever in competition.

Yet after everything, two familiar foes made it to the finals.  Anson vs. Schnell, a rivalry that has become the main attraction through the first two weeks of action.  This time, it was Schnell making his way across the line first, giving him another racing win on the season and the lead in the Titan Cup standings, with only freestyle left to go.

In order to possibly keep Schnell from winning the Cup, the focus had to come to Snellen and Norman to pick up the win, meaning a tie-breaker rule would need to be implemented.  But, the truck making the most noise was the Cadillac with graffiti tires.  Anson once again put on a clinic, pushing his machine to the limit.  His freestyle win capped off an excellent night, but the win also meant that Schnell was the overall event champion, as he held up the big trophy in the autograph line.

FRIDAY RESULTS:

• Wheelie Competition:  Christian Norman, Hot Wheels Racer 1
• Donut Competition:  Steven Snellen, V8 Bomber
• Long Jump:  Darron Schnell, Bigfoot
• Racing Finals:  Darron Schnell, Bigfoot, def. Derick Anson, Demo Derby
• Freestyle:  Derick Anson, Demo Derby
• Titan Cup Champion:  Darron Schnell, Bigfoot

 

The unique setup of having the two-show day on Saturday was something new for the Hot Wheels tour, but not something unfamiliar to the teams.  The Crash Zone was reset for the early event, and once again all teams were happy to welcome their fans for an early performance to satisfy the Mississippi faithful.

Ironically, the show began with a case of deja vu, because with the first two competitions, it had familiar results from the previous night.

Norman once again stood the Hot Wheels Racer 1 Raptor on the wheelie bar for the wheelie victory, then Snellen smoked his three-week old EcoWork tires for another donut victory.

But after that, one truck and one driver decided to dominate the night.

Up first, Anson launched the Demo Derby machine like a Hail Mary pass from Aaron Rodgers, soaring farther than his competition, and giving him the long jump win on the afternoon.  He then followed it up by taking yet another racing victory on the season, taking the win away from Schnell in the process.

All that was left was freestyle to guarantee the Titan Cup was heading back home to Kentucky.

He would not only do that, but he did so with authority.  The graffiti covered tires, shallow cut to get the maximum amount of grip on the concrete floor, allowed Anson to keep speed, but also hook up on the floor despite the trucks prior to his run laying down rubber.  The cars and the lone van were hit with speed and authority.  The crowd made it clear that Anson was the man of the afternoon.  Anson took three of five events, and that meant he earned an enormous trophy to show off for the crowd.

SATURDAY MATINEE RESULTS:

• Wheelie Competition:  Christian Norman, Hot Wheels Racer 1
• Donut Competition:  Steven Snellen, V8 Bomber
• Long Jump:  Derick Anson, Demo Derby
• Racing Finals:  Derick Anson, Demo Derby, def. Darron Schnell, Bigfoot
• Freestyle:  Derick Anson, Demo Derby
• Titan Cup Champion:  Derick Anson, Demo Derby

 

A two-show day for the tour meant that for the night cap, due to the amount of time needed to swap out the crushed metal with some fresh iron, no Crash Zone would occur.  Only a four-hour gap between finish and start, despite the lack of a pit party, still drew in the fans for another packed Coliseum.

The advantage to having the final show be on a Saturday night:  teams and drivers can hang it all out knowing they have six days to get everything ready for the next show.

So, every driver had a green light to go full-tilt and do whatever it took to win the weekend and let the fans remember exactly what they did to close out a spectacular weekend.

Norman’s way to make fans remember his name…sweep one complete competition.  For three straight events, it was the Hot Wheels Racer 1 beast that stood up to the wheelie bar with each hit, and the fans elected he as the wheelie champion.  A clean sweep for the second-year driver from the Foot operation.

The Foot camp decided to keep the momentum going as it was Schnell that found the right spot to settle down the classic-looking Bigfoot for the donut contest.  He then laid on the loud pedal and smoked the Firestone tires like he was in the water box at the U.S. Nationals.  Schnell took home the donut win, ending the run of familiar winners from the previous two shows.

But, Anson was ready to make a repeat as well, as he then launched Demo Derby to a long jump victory, his second on the weekend, then made his way to the finals, looking to make another sweep of the show.

However, his teammate decided to make a bit of a change in that idea.

Snellen has been getting better at the racing aspect since the first show, as his reaction time has gotten better, and better with each show.  This time, with his teammate in the opposite lane, he found the grip and launched to the finish line for just his second racing victory on the season.  With four competitions in the book, the freestyle aspect for the final show would ultimately decide the winner.  Four different drivers had wins on the night, meaning whomever was determined to be the freestyle champion was taking home the Titan Cup.

It came down to the final trucks, but it was the one with paint on the sidewalls that made the biggest impact.

Anson was not to be denied on this night, making it a clean sweep of Titan Cups on the day, and showing that he was intent on taking home a championship at season’s end.

SATURDAY EVENING RESULTS:

• Wheelie Competition:  Christian Norman, Hot Wheels Racer 1
• Donut Competition:  Darron Schnell, Bigfoot
• Long Jump:  Derick Anson, Demo Derby
• Racing Finals:  Steven Snellen, V8 Bomber, def. Derick Anson, Demo Derby
• Freestyle:  Derick Anson, Demo Derby
• Titan Cup Champion:  Derick Anson, Demo Derby

 

There are still no breaks in the competition because the final weekend of January is yet another round of competition for these beasts.

On January 26 and 27, these machines go to a familiar venue for monster truck competition, as they have hosted the Monster Nationals for several seasons.  Many of these drivers have actually been here before, and are familiar with the floor and what it can do.  Plus, the fans are extremely passionate, so each show will be packed.

It’s a trip north to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and the Sears Centre Arena for another three-show weekend, one that is back to a double event on Saturday and a single matinee on Sunday, with a Crash Zone before each afternoon show.

Visit Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live online to get your tickets for Hoffman Estates, and any other show that is coming close to your area.