The legendary Bristol Motor Speedway has been referred to as “The Last Great Colosseum” and Saturday night Steven Sims and Hooked went into battle against seven other top level monster trucks and would emerge victorious after a valiant fight in the freestyle competition.
The team traveled from one legendary speedway to another following their recent visit to Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York the week before. After four grueling shows in New York the team re-grouped and set their sites on Bristol, coming in locked and loaded for battle. The track in Bristol features a few interesting aspects with the mostly asphalt floor of the infield at Bristol Motor Speedway, as well as a gravel base for ramps. These elements can be punishing on the trucks, but the crew was up to the challenge and arrived in Bristol with Hooked at 110% for the competition ahead. Before the event got underway Sims got the chance to meet plenty of awesome fans in Bristol along the backstretch of the speedway. One group of fans even had some visors signed by world renowned marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey and asked if Sims would sign them. “It’s not every day you get to sign your name next to Guy Harvey’s. That’s pretty cool,” said Sims.
As the sun started to set and the pit party came to an end it was time for Sims and Hooked to get down to business. The night started off with racing where Sims showed early on he would be a contender after a strong qualifying pass, despite losing power and having to re-fire after the final turn. He picked up the pace even more in round one during a bye run after his competitor suffered mechanical problems in qualifying and wouldn’t be able to make the race. The semi-finals matched Sims and Hooked against 25 year veteran and multi-time champion Dan Runte and Bigfoot. Sims wasn’t intimidated in the least and wasn’t afraid to push himself or the truck to the limit to get the win. The race was tight as Sims headed into the final turn, but the truck slid a bit wide. Sims didn’t want to give Runte the advantage and was hard on the throttle heading toward the final two jumps, but wasn’t able to get completely straight hitting the first one. The truck pitched over hard to the left, as Sims powered out of bicycling the truck. While he was able to save the truck from a potential rollover, he wasn’t able to save the race as he drifted left towards the bus stack for freestyle. With no where else to go, Sims hit the throttle once more and sailed over the bus and past the finish line. He may not have won the race but he certainly got the crowd on their feet and cheering.
Earlier in the afternoon when Steven Sims saw the freestyle order and saw Hooked listed as second out, it added a little extra motivation when it came time to freestyle. “They better be ready to bring it, because I’m going to burn it down. I want that win,” said Sims. He was true to his word as he turned in a stellar freestyle performance, jam packed with huge air, massive sky wheelies, and even rolled the truck over back onto all four’s and continued. As the dust settled and Sims emerged from the truck to salute the fans, the crowd roared with appreciation for the fantastic run. The judges put up a score of 28 which was going to be tough to knock off. With just one truck remaining, Sims’ father Steve and the Stone Crusher would be the last pair to try and steal the win away. Steve put on a spectacular run himself and managed to tie Steven’s score. The officials decided to have a crowd cheer off to split the tie and the crowd picked Steven, giving him the victory. The father and son duo shared a celebratory hug as it was clear Steve was beaming with pride over his son’s performance.
With Bristol in the books, the busy summer schedule takes the team to yet another notorious speedway as they travel to Eldora Speedway in New Weston, Ohio this weekend for two Monster Jam events. Be sure to like us on Facebook for even more info on the Hooked Monster Truck team.
