After a gut wrenching weekend at Monsters on the Beach in 2017 Bryan Wright and the Hooked team were determined to battle for the championship title in 2018. Last year’s event was plagued with mechanical issues all weekend long that kept the team out of contention. It was a major disappointment with it being a home town show and one of the team’s favorite events. They came into the weekend with their sites set on claiming the 2018 George Carpenter Cup en route to the King of the Beach honors. They were able to do just that with consistent performances throughout all four events.
Friday night started out strong despite not picking up any wins in the first event. Wright and Hooked were second place in the overall points, trailing Xtermigator by just ten points. The standings would get a shake up on Saturday afternoon as Wright piloted Hooked to strong finishes once again despite not getting the competition wins. The team would find themselves at the top of the weekend standings after two events and heading into the Saturday night event. The crew had the truck back together and ready for battle once again. This time Wright would take the freestyle win and continue to lead the standings with a five point lead over second place Hurricane Force and a thirteen point lead over teammate Stone Crusher in third.
In the final event on Sunday Wright would not be denied the King of the Beach title. After the wheelie contest and racing, Wright was well within reach of clinching the championship with an average freestyle score. There would be no playing it safe though as Wright and Hooked went ballistic with a run full of big air and wild moments. One of those wild moments came when Wright attacked the bus stack and landed sideways on the right tires and into a save. The impact would damage the rear shocks but Wright pushed on for one more jump and a donut before ending his freestyle run. The scores came in and it would be enough to clinch the points to become the 2018 King of the Beach!
Following freestyle Wright was presented the George Carpenter Cup from event organizer Bobby Mellati. The trophy in honor of the late George Carpenter, a monster truck hall of famer and creator of the event, is one of the most coveted on the circuit. It was Wright’s second time winning the title, the first was behind the wheel of the late Maxie Broaddus’ Walking Tall in 2014. An elated Wright was quick to thank his team, sponsors, team owner Steve Sims and of course all the die hard hometown fans in attendance.
