One Crazy Summer Rolls On!

By Frank Krmel
Jul 27, 2010

Well, well. Since I last left you, I have been lucky enough to experience some pretty awesome things. The crazy part is none of them involved driving a monster truck!! That, for me is really weird. For the last four or five summers, I have been crazy busy running all over Europe as a part of the Monster Jam Europe tour. This year, Copenhagen, Denmark would be my only stop. Now, anyone that knows me knows how much I love driving Monster Trucks, so the time out of the seat has taken some adjustment, but I have managed to find things to keep me busy for sure. Everything from video games, surprise visits from some friends, and a great few weekends of Unlimited Hydroplane racing with friends and family. 

As many of you know, the new Monster Jam Video game is just months away from being released (November 9th). I can’t tell you how excited all of the Monster Jam Drivers are about this. So this leads me to the first of many great things so far this summer. I get a call out of nowhere asking me “hey, we’re coming to town, is your couch and floor open? “. Not a "hello", or a "hey whats up". I shouldn’t have been surprised, since it was Ryan Anderson letting me know he and his brother Adam were going to come for a visit. If any of you have had a chance to meet Adam or Ryan, you know it is nonstop laughs the minute they walk in the door. So before you know it the Anderson brothers are on my porch ready to be entertained. What was even better was we were all asked to test out a very early version of the new Monster Jam video game!!!!! Let me tell you, you won’t be disappointed in this newest version. Myself, Adam, Ryan and some Monster Jam event staff took part in a very productive test with the great people at Activision to go over some of the finer points of the trucks and games. We laughed and had a great time getting a feel for it.

 

But once were done with that, I knew it was going to take a lot to keep Adam and Ryan entertained. So, I figured what is the best thing to do on a beautiful summer afternoon? Run a Radio Controlled boat!!!! So that’s what the plan was…………..until a spectacular thunderstorm decided to roll through, so we decided a night of old monster truck videos on YouTube, and watching movies would have to do. But we now knew the mission at hand was to get the boat on the water, and the next day we were determined to get that done. We were also going to bbq and throw some bags with some friends of mine, so we had a full day of greatness ahead. It was off to a pond right down the street from my house. Everyone had a job. Adam was going to launch the boat, Ryan had the duty of hold the retrieval device (fishing pole with a foam Air Force mini football on the end of the line) just in case the boat flipped, or shut down out in the middle of the pond. I was going to be the driver, and my buddy Andrew had his camera on hand and who took the photo below. Once we got the boat running, I asked Adam and Ryan if they wanted to take it around for a few laps, they answered “no way dude, no way”. Adam added “that thing is way to nice, I don’t want to crash it”. Once the run was complete, we were all laughing about the speed and the craziness of the boat. (For all you R/C gurus out there boat is a brushless electric hydroplane running on two li-po batteries. It goes approximately 50mph) that was only the beginning of the fun for us though, it was then off to a friend of mine’s house for a bbq and some bags. My buddy Jim has been building bag sets for people, so we decided we might as well test them out. Ryan is a seasoned bag toss player, on the other had you have Adam who had never played once. It made for some spectacular laughing and many stoppages in the game due to the fact we were all making fun of each other throwing styles. I do have to say, by about mid game, Adam had it figured out and was right on the money……..our game would get cut short due to lack of daylight. It was probably a good thing, due to the large amount of burgers, brats, hot dogs and corn on the cob that was cooking away on the grill. Needless to say a great time was had by all for the few days of greatness I was able to share with Adam and Ryan.

 

 

Last summer and as recent as this past winter; you have heard me mention my friends Jeff Bernard and Mike Kelly. They are friends of mine from out west near Seattle, Washington. They make their way to my events whenever I am within a few hundred miles, so in the summer when their racing season is going on, I try to return the favor, heading to great race sites in Madison, Indiana, and in my hometown of Detroit, Michigan. It’s kind of funny, Jeff actually grew up in Harrison Township, Michigan and moved there during his High School years, so he is Michigan native also, and it just proves what a small world it can be.

Madison, Indiana is a town rich with Hydroplane racing history. Not only do they put on a great race, they actually own a boat that competes on the circuit. Owned by 12,004 citizens of the city of Madison, Ind., 2010 is the Miss Madison Racing team’s 50th consecutive year. Under the sponsorship of Oh Boy! Oberto meat products (Kent, Wash.) for ten years, Miss Madison Racing plays host each year to the Madison Regatta. It really is a great time, and has been on my calendar for the past three summers. Madison is also great, because this is where my buddy Jeff claimed his first Unlimited Hydroplane race victory driving the U-5 Formulaboats.com in 2008, so there are definitely a lot of great memories there for sure!

Just like Monster Jam, the Hydroplane drivers do a lot off the track to help local charities and fans. The Boneyard Grill in Madison played host to a great event where all the drivers worked as waiters to earn tips for the local Boys and Girls Club in Madison, I dropped in a photo of Jeff hard at work!!

 

 

Jeff had some tough luck with some mechanical issues, and Mike managed a second place finish in the second Formulaboats.com entry, the U-7 Graham Trucking! Even though Jeff had his problems, he was quick to help his friend and teammate, and help Mike as his spotter for the Championship race in Madison. On top of all the great racing, I was able to meet the newest little Blue Thunder fan out there, and future hydroplane racer, Mike’s 1 yr. old son, Carson! Carson and I had many discussions about monster trucks, hydroplane and the proper way to throw toys out of a play-pen!

 

 

After a great 4th of July in Madison, it was back to Detroit for the biggest prize in all of Hydroplane racing. The Gold Cup. For Jeff and Mike and all of the Hydroplane drivers and Teams, this event is the equivalent of the NGK Monster Jam World Finals. It is the event EVERYONE wants to win, and get their name on the legendary trophy. For me it was win/win. Not only did I get to see Jeff and Mike race, I also got to spend time with friends and family. Anytime you can tie things together like that it is just great. Mike and Jeff battled all weekend in the qualifying races and both ended up earning spots in the Gold Cup Final race. Mike came in 3rd, and Jeff 5th. I really can’t thank Mike, Jeff, Team Manager Mark Hooten, Owner Ted Porter and everyone on the U-5/U-7 crew. They really are great people and made me feel right at home. I’m already looking forward to next year!! 

*Photos courtesy of James Crisp, Nicole Taite, and Julie Hooten

 

So that has been is my summer up until now, and it’s only the end of July. I’d say there is still a lot more yet to come. Who knows, I might even get to drive a Monster Truck here sometime soon……………but you’ll have to stay tuned for that! Oh, next up, the annual Monsters on Mainstreet BBQ, this time in Jacksonville, Florida for this year’s winner Kelli Cobb. Then it’s off to the legendary Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit August 20,21 2010, with the big Built Ford Tough Blue Thunder, for a few days of autographs, and meeting Monster Jam fans in Blue Thunder’s, and my backyard!!! Hope to see you there!