Quad Wars were a blast!!!

[400grl]

We "raced" in the Quad Wars in Tucson for ClearChannel over the weekend - and I can't tell you how much fun it was!!!! Jason and I and 8 other local racers raced 3 shows - Friday, Sat and Sunday during the Monster Truck Jam.

Nic Granlund was great to work with - he's been doing Quad Wars for a long time and knows all the things that get the crowd wound up and rowdy, and that's the best part!! The ClearChannel Crew was awesome - I think all of us riders truly felt to be in important part of the show - the truck driver's were pretty cool, too! I got to meet Pablo (Gravedigger's BEST driver!) and several other drivers during the weekend......seemd to be really nice guys!

We all got to ride alot - there was some fun bumping and rubbing going on, they made me win a heat race, so I had to get interviewed.......:eek2: :o ....the little girls LOVED that a girl won....then the next heat race we made it so I was in the lead and Nic bumped me off the track in the corner just before the finish...(I was the HOME team, he was the NEVADA team!)....so that really got the crowd going.....and from there it was just alot of each team egging the other on......all in good fun, of course!!!

The track was alot of fun, too - we had a really fun double, a single, some "S" turns.....a long sweeper......we all aired up our tires for some serious sliding......!!:macho

We all did autographs during the pit party....and then me and a few more of my team did autographs again after the show Saturday night - they gave people a chance to go up and do autographs Saturday night and Sunday, so that was cool. I got to sit next to the truck drivers and watch all the little kids get all googly-eyed at their favorite monster truck guys!!! :) And they loved the quads.......!

So, anyway.......we got to keep our jerseys and everyone got paid to just go out and have fun - you can't get much better than that! :) Plus, hanging out before and after the shows with everyone was great, too.

Jason and I are definately in if we get asked to do it again!! :) Can't wait!

[400grl]

Here we are lined up for one of the heat races.......this was Friday night, I believe.

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20031.jpg

[400grl]

Here we are going around one of the markers......we all were getting pretty good at sliding into and out of corners by the end of the weekend......

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20035.jpg

[400grl]

GraveDigger doing it's thing!!

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20042.jpg

[400grl]

I think we were seeing who could slide out the farthest!! LOL!!

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20050.jpg

[400grl]

I got a little too sideways here and was just waiting for someone to t-bone me!! They were just too nice....... ;)

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20057.jpg

[400grl]

This is a good shot of Saturday night's completely sold out crowd....not only did they sell out, but they also turned away over 1000 walk-ups that night......they bought tickets for Sunday!

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20145.jpg

[400grl]

Our fearless team captains....Jack Bednar (Home team!) and Nic Granlund (Nevada team!) - hanging out between races.....

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20092.jpg

[400grl]

Here we are waiting for the doors to open for the Pit Party......and autograph signing.......

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20101.jpg

[400grl]

People started coming in as soon as the doors opened......it was a rainy day, and the lighting indoors was kind of dark.....

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20107.jpg

[400grl]

More pit party pics......our "home" team!

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20110.jpg

[400grl]

Some donut action.......

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20125.jpg

[400grl]

Some double action........(I think that's me in the air)

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20137.jpg

[400grl]

This is just before Nic "takes me out" in the corner.......

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20150.jpg

[knelson]

ahh nic grunland I have done the quad wars for the last couple of years and It is fun.They must make their rounds b/c I rode with him in yakama, Wa but it is a fun time we also had a girl that was on a banshee so nic said to let her win so we did and the crowd really dug that when she took her helmet off.

When I first rolled up on a friday evening nic had a stock yfz and a huge pile of aftermarket boxes of stuff. By the time we had to actually race(about 3 hours) he had changed out every thing except the frame and motor,lt front end,swinger,steering stem,bumpers,axles, etc It was pretty cool watching him then after the race we just got wasted and went out to the clubs. Deffinately worth doing and oh yea getting paid isn't that bad either

[400grl]

All of us riders watching the show......just before our next race....

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20157.jpg

[400grl]

The crowd freaked when Jason and Jack got stuck on each other's quads and they started a little shoving match between the two teams......I was in front, and looked back at the next corner and EVERYONE else was over in that corner!!! It was so funny, Nic pulled Jack's jersey over his head and the track officials were swarming all over......they redflagged the race and we started all over again after this.



http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20160.jpg

[400grl]

And here we go again!!! :)

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20168.jpg

[knelson]

yea it sounds like it is the same game plan as we did nic went to pull the shirt over a riders head in our race but soon realized it was the girl

[400grl]

Here's one more of me...trying not to sound like an idiot in front of a million people......lol!! :)

http://www.wellerville.com/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson/images/Clear%20Channel%20Quad%20Wars%20Tucson%20143.

[400grl]

Originally posted by knelson
yea it sounds like it is the same game plan as we did nic went to pull the shirt over a riders head in our race but soon realized it was the girl

oh!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! That's pretty funny........that would have gotten the crowd into it!! LOL!!!

[knelson]

yea it was funny he realized it b/f he got her shirt up then the officials grabbed him and she took off on his bike and finished the race

[400grl]

HAHAHAHA!! That's great!!!! LOL!!!

Yeah, we all went out both nights and got back in pretty late....good thing the shows don't start till later!!! LOL!!!! ;)

We had great riders, too - I think if everyone's on the same page, and everyone is there to make sure the fans get their money's worth, then it makes for a really good time. It was so cool to talk to the kids afterwards and see how much they liked everything.....that was the best part! :)

[geogeorge]

I did the wars for three years in arow in ST. Louis. that was like 7 years ago and nic is still at it. It was the funnest time I had on a quad. We would run each other into the walls and start fights. I remimber one time we had the crowed so fired up one guy jump out of the stands and was going to kick my butt for cheeting cuz I ran over the cruched cars to put a pass on nic.

I wish they would bring the wars back to St. Louis with the trucks. They have been doing a differnt race when they come here.

[BlueZ440]

so they were Staged right??:o that's how they are here in Idaho..:grr:

[montycarlo]

From the pics it looked like a good show and it sure sounds like quite a trip! I bet its an experience you're not likely to forget 400grl! I'd like to catch an edition of that show sometime.....


:cool:

[400grl]

Originally posted by BlueZ440
so they were Staged right??:o that's how they are here in Idaho..:grr:

Of course they were staged!! It's a show!! ;) That's why it's so much fun.......all the pressure is off, the only thing you have to worry about is having fun, and making it look real! :)

[wolf91]

The St. Louis round now has RACES, not a show. My son done the mini quads at Evansville and Indy this year and they wanted the kids to just put on a "show". We were there to race and put on a real show.
Only the kids didn't get squat. Not a trophy, shirt, hat, sticker or so much as a thank you.
The quad wars are ok if you're not a racer, and are an actor wanna be. Nothing personal to those of you who do it, I just don't get into the whole WWF on quads thing. If they would actually let you race, it would be better than the trucks and they're not going to let that happen.

[400grl]

Yeah, I know alot of people have that opinion....I used to too, but now that I've done it, and seen how much the kids love it (and the adults)......and how much fun it was to do something completely different than racing......I don't think that anymore. And I'm pretty sure everyone who ran this past weekend are still serious racers (you have to know how to handle your quad to do the things we were doing - no beginner could do that without getting hurt) - especially since every one of them but me are Pro's.......stop taking life so seriously and just have fun with it. ;)

[BlueZ440]

400grl..did you have to wreck? :(

[400grl]

No....no one had to wreck......we were allowed to bump and rub if we wanted......I got a few good rubs in.....and then Jason got a good one in on me (some boyfriend, huh? ;)....no one wants to hurt their quads. We have too much money in them!

[BlueZ440]

LOL..that's good..I'm glad yall had fun.. Our Monster truck show is this coming up weekend but I'm not sure if they are having Quads..Long story I guess..:confused:

[86350x]

That looks like it would have been alot of fun. You deffinantly stand out in that crowd, even with your helmet on.

Now your going to have even more net coverage:p

[QuadJunkies]

400grl
Glad to hear to had a good time!! Thats what its all about.ir should be about .. Good to hear you had Nic down there ;)