Round Two of the Monster Jam Fox Sports 1 Championship Series brought the Stone Crusher Monster Truck team to a familiar stop, as they returned to Atlanta, Georgia’s Georgia Dome. After a trying weekend in Houston with mechanical troubles cutting their night short, Steve Sims and the Stone Crusher were ready to turn their luck around early in the new season. Crew Chief Tommy Powers tracked down their oil pump issues and had the Stone Crusher ready for action.The fans in Atlanta are some of the best in the country and they showed why the Georgia Dome is one of the most prestigious stops on the Monster Jam schedule with a huge turnout. Nearly 18,000 fans turned out for the Party in the Pits to meet with the drivers and see the trucks up close and personal. When showtime approached, the sellout crowd of over 60,000 people packed the Georgia Dome for a night of action.
As luck would have it for the Sims’, the random draw during the drivers meeting would put father and son against each other as Steve in Stone Crusher lined up beside Steven in Hooked. While they were only racing the clock and not each other, anytime these two hit the track at the same time you know there’s a little extra incentive to outdo the other. This time it would be dad picking up the faster time and qualifying 6th in the field to make the racing bracket. Round one wouldn’t be an easy draw as Sims would face off against last week’s round one opponent, Donald Epidendio and Titan. The two PEI built pieces were running great and had a great race, but it would be Epidendio getting the win over Sims.
With last week’s freestyle scoring determining the order for freestyle this weekend, Sims found himself in an unusual spot as the second truck out in freestyle. After watching son Steven start off a spectacular run before finding himself upside down early, Sims knew the track would be tricky and approached it accordingly. Sims put on a strong run with some good momentum, big air, and worked in a few crossthreads as well. Most importantly Sims was able to fill both the regulation and bonus time clocks for an early high score of 32. His efforts would be strong enough for 7th place in freestyle on the night.
(Photo By: Eric Stern – MonsterJam.com)
Now the team is heading south to another familiar place as they visit Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida for Round Three of the Monster Jam Fox Sports 1 Championship Series. Thanks to crew chief Tommy Powers for once again having the trucks running great this weekend as always.
(Lead Photo By: Dave DeAngelis – MonsterJam.com)