A couple days before I was scheduled to leave for the first East Coast round of Supercross in Atlanta, I was told that plans had changed. I was now going to fly with Jeremy McGrath on a private plane to the Toyota AMA Arenacross Series fueled by Monster Energy Drink for a few hours while he signed autographs and did a parade lap during Opening Ceremonies. I was excited I was going to accompany The King of Supercross on another trip and make the Arenacross fans' night better than they expected with Jeremy's surprise appearance.

 Etnies Goofy vs. Regular Snowboard Contest has definite Monster flare

CORONA, Calif., (Feb. 25, 2008) – Monster Energy-backed Louie Vito has his foot on the gas as of late, scoring back-to-back-to-back wins at the USSA Grand Prix in Tamarack, Idaho, Jeep King of the Mountain at Squaw Valley (Calif.) and, this past weekend, leading the Goofy team at the annual Etnies Goofy vs. Regular Snowboard Contest at Big Bear Mountain, Calif.

Vito was the top scorer for the Goofy team in the snowstyle format contest, though they unfortunately bowed out to the Regular team. The pain of the team loss was lessened a bit by the $1,750 Vito pocketed for his effort from Etnies.

“I had a blast,” said Vito. “And made sure the goofy presence was felt all over the Big Bear hood!”

A couple of websites have info on the event. If you need more, link up to:

http://snowboardermag.com/features/news/gvr-goofy-regular-etnies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CroWesziKno

http://gvr.etniessnow.com/

Along with Vito, Monster Energy’s Zak Hale represented with the Regular team and the Dingo handled the announcing.

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it snowboards, jib, bonk, huck, jive, snowmobile distance jumping, enduro, hare scrambles, MX, road racing, supermoto, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Louie Vito sure digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.

 Etnies Goofy vs. Regular Snowboard Contest has definite Monster flare

CORONA, Calif., (Feb. 25, 2008) – Monster Energy-backed Louie Vito has his foot on the gas as of late, scoring back-to-back-to-back wins a the USSA Tamarack Grand Prix, Jeep King of the Mountain at Squaw Valley (Calif.) and, this past weekend, leading the Goofy team at the annual Etnies Goofy vs. Regular Snowboard Contest at Bear Mountain, Calif.

Vito was the top scorer for the Goofy team in the slopestyle format contest, unfortunately they bowed out to the Regular team. The pain of the team loss was lessened a bit by the $1,750 Vito pocketed for his effort from Etnies.

“I had a blast,” said Vito. “And made sure everybody around me was hot-wired on Monsters!”

A couple of websites have info on the event. If you need more, link up to:

http://snowboardermag.com/features/news/gvr-goofy-regular-etnies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CroWesziKno

http://gvr.etniessnow.com/

Along with Vito, Monster Energy’s Zack Hale represented with the Regular team and the Dingo handled the announcing.

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it snowboards, jib, bonk, huck, jive, snowmobile distance jumping, enduro, hare scrambles, MX, road racing, supermoto, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Louie Vito sure digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.

PHOENIX (Feb. 24) – The Monster Energy Funny Car team took the information and performance gains made in pre-race testing  and used it to pay dividends at the Checker Schuck’s Kragen Nationals.

The team qualified fourth with a 4.815/318.99. 

After rain washed out Friday’s qualifying, the fields were set following two Saturday runs.

“I was really confident that we would be able to capitalize on the big strides we made in testing before this event,” said Johnson. “All the crew chiefs were a little nervous after losing a whole day to rain and having only two runs to make the field, but Jimmy (Walsh, crew chief) stepped up to the plate with a competitive tune-up on the first qualifying run Saturday to get us solidly in the show.”

            The first round of eliminations was slated to be a battle of the energy drinks:  Johnson in the Monster Energy car versus Jerry Toliver in the Rockstar Funny Car.  Johnson won the round handily, driving the Monster Energy Dodge Charger to an aggressive 4.834/310.63 while Toliver was on and off the throttle trying to gain traction.

            “We were tickled pink to get that round win,” said Johnson.   “Before that run Kenny (Bernstein, team owner) told me to just think of it as any other round, but I really wanted to get that win for him, for Monster, and the team.   I guess you could call that a high energy round,” joked Johnson.

            Johnson transferred to the quarterfinals to face Cruz Pedregon. The Monster Energy car stretched the lead and won the round with a 4.908/311.41 while Pedregon struggled to gain traction.

“We’re excited to be going to the semifinals,” said Johnson.  “We had a little bit of a problem on that run, but we’re still showing big signs of improvement. 

When the green lights flashed on the Christmas tree to signal the start of the semifinal battle, Johnson and Hight were neck and neck, but Hight got the edge at the finish line.  Hight: 4.803/318.92; Johnson:  4.837/323.50.

“We gave him a run for the money,” said Johnson.  “He just nicked us at the finish line. It’s hard to be disappointed after a performance like that.  It looked like his engine was hurt, and I thought we could reel him in, but we ran out of racetrack.

“All in all we made some great progress today and a great rebound after Pomona.  This team put in a lot of hard work and the comeback here in Phoenix is a statement for the team.  This didn’t happen by accident.  It happened because Jimmy and the crew buckled down and got results. 

“Our performance here is a big confidence booster for the whole team and I think we’re going to be very competitive for the rest of the year.”

Johnson’s run to the semis contributed to a huge leap for the team to No. 7 in Funny Car point standings

Monster Energy’s Ken Block Wins The 100 Acre Wood Rally, Round Two Of The 2008 American Rally Championship.

Block’s win is his third in-a-row at the Missouri event

CORONA, Calif., (Feb. 25, 2008) –  Monster Energy’s Ken Block captured his third-straight 100 Acre Wood Rally in and around Salem, Mo., topping his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate and friendly rival, Travis Pastrana, in the 14-stage Rally America National Championship event held in snowy and ice conditions this past weekend.

Block, running a Vermont SportsCar-tuned ’07 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, took the lead of the race on the first stage and held off the charging Pastrana – winning more than half of the event’s 14 stages run on high-speed gravel that had been hardened by freezing rain and sleet in the days leading up to the event.

“These stages really require a lot of commitment; there are a lot of blind crests and high speed straights, all of which I enjoy,” said Block in a Vermont SportsCar/Subaru release.

Block nearly exited the race midway through the contest when he came down hard off a massive jump, but the Subaru Rally Team USA technicians were able to make the necessary repairs and Block continued his charge – unfazed.

With the win Monster Energy’s Block is now in 1st place overall in the 2008 Rally America National Championship point standings. His next race is April 19-20 in Olympia, Wash., for the Olympus Rally. Last  year Block finished 4th in the Olympus Rally.

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it rally, rock crawling, MX, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Ken Block digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.

39-year-old action sports icon Shaun Palmer runs the table in men’s boardercross while his Monster-backed teammates Sarah Burke, Jossi Wells, Elena Hight and Louie Vito mine gold in their respective events

CORONA, Calif., (Feb. 11, 2008) – Monster Energy’s Shaun Palmer, Sarah Burke, Jossi Wells, Elena Hight and Louie Vito all stepped up big at last weekend’s Jeep King of the Mountain Series at Squaw Valley, Calif., with Palmer winning the men’s boardercross competition, Burke dominating the women’s Freeski Pipe comp, Wells scoring an upset win in the men’s Freeski Pipe and Hight and Vito dominating the snowboard halfpipe.

“Congrats from Monster Energy headquarters to all of our athletes who competed at the Jeep King of the Mountain event at Squaw,” said John Lee, Director of Sports Marketing for Monster Energy. “We had a HUGE weekend. Shaun, Sarah, Jossi, Elena and Louie really stood out as the event’s marquee athletes and should be commended for their efforts. Way to go.”

Palmer, 39, was unstoppable on the Squaw Valley boardercross track he had major hand in designing. So much so that he literally ran the table, winning his heat races, semi and the final over fellow Monster Energy-backed athlete and fellow motocrosser, Nate Holland (2^nd).

“I said I was going to win every heat today and the final, so I kind of had to back that up,” said Palmer. “I’m not one to float my own boat, but I was good out there today.” Note: Palmer’s won both the Telluride (Colo.) and Squaw boardercross events and has a commanding lead in the overall points heading into the March 14-16 Jeep King of the Mountain finals in Sun Valley, Idaho.

As for Holland, the two-time defending Winter X Boarder-X champ, a poor start kept him from unseeding Palmer. “It’s kind  of bitter sweet,” said Holland. “I had the worst start ever, so I started whipping the horse as hard as I could. I was bulldogging.” Holland did top Nick Baumgartner, who beat Holland in the semis, to take 2^nd in the finals.

For Burke, the top women’s ski halfpipe competitor in the world, her win at this past weekend’s the Jeep King of the Mountain comp is all part of the momentum she gained winning Winter X in Aspen a couple weeks ago. Burke’s final run was highlighted by the competition’s only 900-degree spin, couple with a 720 w/ grab for a winning score of 86.0.

“There is always a lot of pressure when I compete and I know I have to bring it every time because these women can rip,” said Burke. “Having the high scores at the beginning gave me confidence, but it doesn’t mean anything until the very end. I’m happy to get the win.”

In the men’s Freeski Pipe is was newly acquired Jossi “Joss da Boss” Wells, 17, from Wanaka, New Zealand who was the talk of his comp – going higher than anyone else and upsetting the heavily favored Simon Dumont. Said Wells: “This is exactly what I wanted to do. I’ve been thinking about it all week. I’m super stoked.” Wells’ bionic runs were highlighted by an opening 540 to 900/900, a 720 and finished with a switch 900.

Placing 3^rd in the men’s Freeski Pipe was another newly acquired athlete, Colby West from Canterbury, N.H. The 22-year-old was on the podium in Ski SuperPipe at Winter X (3^rd).

Wrapping up on Monday, Monster Enegy athletes killed it – sweeping the top spots on the podium in both men’s and women’s halfpipe. Louie Vito, fresh off a USSA Grand Prix halfpipe win the previous weekend in Idaho (Tamarack), added some blazing style to back-to-back 1080s and 900s to edge Monster’s Andy Finch in the finals. Finch, a NorCal local, went as big or bigger than Vito – and rounded out the Monster 1-2 finish with 2^nd overall.

In the women’s snowboard halfpipe it was Monster Energy’s Elena Hight, an 18-year-old from Kauai, Hawaii, who captured the top spot. Hight was on the rebound after a gnarly wreck at Winter X gave her a concussion. Her winning run featured back-to-back 720s and a 900.

For more information on the Monster Energy-sponsored Jeep King of the Mountain Series at Squaw Valley, including TV times, link to www.jeepsports.com

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it Ski & Boardercross, Monster Energy Supercross, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. All the Monster Energy athletes running the Jeep King of the Mountain series dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com

The "Jumpin' Thax Flash" story is located at http://expn.go.com/expn/story?id=3242273

 The 20-year-old Californian will take a run at history in Minnesota this weekend, creating a snowmobile jumping mark that others will shoot for

CORONA, Calif., (Feb. 12, 2008) – Monster Energy-backed Delene Dippel is about to go where no woman has gone before – about 200 feet through the air on a snowmobile.

Dippel, 20, of Sutter, Calif., is part of the highly anticipated Monster Energy/Slednecks Invasion Tour at Canterbury Park Raceway (Shakopee, Minn.) this Saturday night. Her goal is to top her personal best jump of 118 feet by using the same take-off ramp the men’s world record holder - Monster Energy’s Paul Thacker - is using in order for Dippel to create a women’s world record of some 150 to 200 feet.

“There’s no known women’s world snowmobile distance jumping record, so I’m super-stoked to be getting after it here this weekend,” said Dippel. “And with the jump I’m hoping some other women will step up and get involved.”

An all-around three sport athlete in high school, Dippel now operates heavy equipment, working for the northern California-based Grant Construction Co., operating everything from loaders to rollers and even a CAT D-9 dozer on highway construction jobs. Dippel’s also an accomplished snocross racer and recently got into racing motocross.

“We’re looking forward to Delene’s unique attempt at women’s action sports history this weekend in Minnesota,” said Monster Energy spokesperson Terri Sacks. “There’s been nothing like this done before and it very well could be the start of something big – kind of like the original Monster Energy can!”

Dippel will set the women’s world snowmobile distance jumping world record on Friday (Feb. 15, 1 p.m. at Canterbury Park) at an exclusive made-for-media event to promote Saturday’s Monster Energy/Slednecks Invasion Tour stop and Thacker’s attempt to crack the 300-foot barrier on a sled.

“We’ll go 150 feet on Friday to set the mark, then move the ramp back on Saturday and see if we can’t hit 200 feet,” she said.

For more information on Thacker’s record attempt, link to www.slednecks.com or www.monsterenergy.com

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it snowmobile distance jumping, enduro, hare scrambles, MX, road racing, supermoto, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Delene Dippel digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.

Revised broadcast dates of the 2007 Monster Energy Motocross Nationals on Speed



Listed are the broadcast times and dates for the three remaining rounds of the '07 nationals that are to be broadcast on Speed Channel:



Riverglade 08/05/2007 (60 mins.) Sunday Afternoon 2/10/08 @ 3:00 pm NEW



Riverglade 08/05/2007 (60 mins.) Tuesday Afternoon 2/12/08 @ 3:00 pm



Sand Del Lee 08/12/2007 (60 mins.) Sunday Afternoon 2/17/08 @ 3:00 pm NEW



Sand Del Lee 08/12/2007 (60 mins.) Tuesday Overnight 2/19/08 @ 4:00 am



Sand Del Lee 08/12/2007 (60 mins.) Wednesday Overnight 2/27/08 @ 3:00 am



Walton 08/19/2007 (60 mins.) Saturday Evening 2/23/08 @ 7:00 pm NEW



Walton 08/19/2007 (60 mins.) Wednesday Overnight 2/27/08 @ 4:00 am

Hey everyone, its Thacker checking in, just heading back to AK for the 1^st time in over 2 months! Can’t wait to sleep in my own bed again.

Wow, what a crazy last couple of months.  Not sure where to even start!! 

So, X Games was insane, we will get to that in a bit. The weekends leading up to X were just as crazy. After the December 15^th freestyle qualifier in Montana I have been all over the place! Hawaii, Cali, Vegas, you name it and I have been through or at least close!

After Montana I hopped in the truck and headed to Cali where Monster was kind enough to wrap my truck and trailer. Turned out sick!! They really did an awesome job. Might be causing accidents on the hwy now! Haha

From Cali I had to fly to Great Falls Montana to announce the Impact FX Freestyle show.  Fellow Slednecks rider Sam Rogers walked away with the title at bad boy. Crazy wind but the Chris and boys put on a solid show.

My Buddy Josh Huppert was kind enough to fly out to CA and snatch up the truck and trailer and pick me up on his way through to Minneapolis . There was on X Games Freestyle spot open at Sledjam in Ironwood MI. Nate and Johhny Hengtes were kind enough to let me ride the snox track and hit the ramp so that I could start getting dialed for Speed and Style as well as the last freestyle qualifier.

I headed up to Ironwood on Friday the 11^th of Jan.  Tinger and the crew in Ironwood put together an amazing course! Some of the best landings I had seen ever. Super safe and dialed set up for sure. The qualifying rounds started at 1pm and the show went off without a hitch. I was feeling pretty good. Especially considering that my freestyle career was still less than a month old. Sundays top 4 where set and it would be me vs Hoyer and Hungerford vs Mullins. As it would turn out Hoyer won the event ( he is pretty good) Kourtney would finish 2^nd with Mullins and I rounding out the top 4. Kind of sweet though as I got my 1^st check for freestyle at my 1^st ever comp! Next stop was X Games….

So for those of you who don’t know, I had a very serious crash about a year and a half ago doing back flips in the back country. Crashed pretty bad breaking my nose, eye socket, cheek bone, right ankle , left leg, left arm, a couple ribs and tore up my face pretty bad. So knowing that I was going to have to flip again going into X was a bit of a weight on my mind. But I guess that’s what separates some of us from the rest of the populations, that ability to overcome and conquer your fears.  Lucky for me Justin Hoyer was cool enough to let me come down to his compound in WI and try my hand at flipping into the foam pit.  So less than 10 days before X Games I was trying to relearn the backflip. Nothing like last minute eh?? So Tuesday the 15^th of Jan I showed up at Hoyers to give it a shot. It was super cool having him there doing a bit of coaching and giving me some constructive criticism. It was much appreciated. The foam pit is crazy, the hardest thing to remember is that you are going to crash every time you jump. Very tough thing to get over. So the 1^st day didn’t go so well, after 8 or 10 attempts my sled wouldn’t rotate all the way around. We couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. So Hoyer jumped on my sled and took it for a rip. He came back with a big smile and proceeded to tell me that my sled was tired and  needed to be retired. That was why it wouldn’t come around. No power left in the old girl!! Luckily I had my new sled in the trailer, so after a quick swap of some parts I was able to attmpt a couple more right before dark. Sure enough the sled was my issue. The new one came around so fast that it peeled me right off it into a superman hand stander!! Crazy! The plan was to just spend one day in the pit and then get on the road to the Compound in Steamboat Springs but unfortunately the day didn’t go as well as I had hoped and I decided to try again into the foam the next day. Wed proved to be a better day. After a night to think about what I had done wrong I came out Wed morning and buttered 2 straight away into the foam pit. I asked Hoyer if he thought I was ready for the snow and he gave me the green light. So I loaded up and go on the road to CO.

What a nightmare drive this turned out to be. What should have taken 13 hours or so ended up taking over 24!! Snow and rain and icy roads made for really slow going. I didn’t end up getting to Steam boat until Thursday afternoon. Another day of training lost.  So Friday the 15^th it was back to work, less than a week until X and now I had been named an alternate for Freestlye so I new that I had to step up my game. Burandt and Rogers and myself rode all day Friday and I was feeling solid. The flip was definitely on my mind though. It was getting to be time to step up or pack up and head home. As the 3 of us were waiting for the landing to get groomed Chris basically helped push me over the edge. It was evening and about the same time of day where all the 1^st flips had gone down over past couple days and years.  It was time. Time to get that monkey off my back, time to get past the fact that the last time I had tried to flip to snow it almost ended me. After one straight air for timing I pulled around to the run in, I said a little prayer in my head and let er rip….. It was like everything was in slow motion. I came at the ramp and did exactly as I had done a million times in my head. The sled was around and landing just how it was supposed to work… Flip one done. Stuck. Buttered. I was stoked! So what did I do next? You guessed it.. I lined up and flipped again…. Then I lined up and flipped again! Day one of the Compound training was a huge success.

So for the next few days we just rode and rode. Trying to get in a few days what we really needed a few months to do. I flipped a few more times but it wasn’t until my Bikeman Built X Games IQ showed up on Tuesday afternoon when I really started to feel it. I only had a few runs in on my new sled when I went flip crazy. After only flipping a few times a day I banged out over 20 in a couple hours. I was so stoked and loving the new sled. Tuesday evening we all loaded up and headed to Aspen. I can’t believe how fast time flies!!

We arrived in Aspen Tuesday night and got all settle into the Condo that Monster Energy  had gotten for Chris Burandt and I.  We had a scheduled Speed and Style practice at 5pm on Wed. The course was very cool. We had 3 freestyle hits, then we ripped the uphill snox rhythm section, turned the big uphill corner into a big triple that you had to butter in order to hit the monster 120’ down hill gap. After a bit of practice I had a little issue w my carbs. Whenever I would hit a bump going uphill the sled would fall on its face and bog out. Not good when you are trying to race. The boys at Bikeman performance got it ripping though and practice went pretty good.

Thursday the 24^th was our big day. It was very exciting to be part of a new and revolutionary event at X Games. To take and put Racing and Freestyle together was a great idea and I think people were stoked with the final result for sure. We had another solid Practice in the am and I was really feeling it. I was comfortable enough now to start taking my hands off the bars when I was flipping.  Well at least one! Not bad for only a couple days of practice though. We had one final 5pm practice before the event started at 6pm. This was a live, cameras rolling full pressure practice. They wanted us to line up in our pairs and do a run for timing just to make sure the coarse was layed out and fair for both riders. I was basically going to treat this practice just like my real run. This is how it was supposed to go, 1^st hit flip, 2^nd hit one handed flip and then a superman seat grab for the 3^rd snow gap. Then I was going to give it hell on the Snox track as I was paired up with Heath Frisby, arguably the best freestyle snowmobilier in the world. I had to beat him on the Snox to even have a shot at advancing. So they gae us the green flag for our practice run and I turned onto the run in with flip in my head. What I didn’t could on was the piece of silicone that had wedged itself in my carburetor… So as I went off the ramp to flip nothing happened. It was almost like someone shut off the sled. I knew immediately that something was wrong and to get away. I threw the sled away and fell from 30 feet to land on my feet on the safety deck. I rolled down the landing and popped up unharmed but my sled was a yard sale. Bars, hood, tunnel all badly bent and broken. I couldn’t believe it. I saw my X Games chances dimming rapidly. I hoped on what was left of my sled and limped it to the pits. Not sure what we were going to do. I had less than an hour before the final. Not good. When I got back to the pits fellow Sledneck Team rider Alexander Norgard was there offering up his own personal sled. So my mechanic  Jay Bitney and Eric and the Bikman crew got to work switching out plastics, bars, ski’s and the whole nine yards to try and get me out there for a bit of practice. Jamie Little tracked me down and we did a little interview all adding to the drama of what was transpiring. They boys got the sled done and I fired it up hoping to get a few laps of practice on a sled I had never ridden.  Everything was different about Alex’s sled. Gearing, clutching, suspension, even the seat was different.  I got on coarse and made one lap of straight airs before Joe Duncan shut it down..  I was less than stoked. Now I was going to have to do my run on a sled I had not done any tricks on. But hey, if it was easy everyone would do it right??!!

So it was time. The camera’s were rolling, live ESPN. Frisby and I were lined up and the flag dropped. I turned my sled toward the ramp and did what I needed to. I flipped a sled that I had never flipped and barely rode on ESPN! Ha! But what people didn’t see is that my feet came out of the stirrups and I almost did a super man flip! Haha. I managed to catch them on the seat before I floated totally away from the sled.  Unfortunalty it got me a bit off for the rest of my run. I tricked the rest of the hits and ended up winning the race by a solid 4 or 5 seconds but it just wasn’t enough o beat Frisby’s solid tricks. But man what a ride!! My hat goes off to Levi, Sam and Joe for they medaling efforts. Those boys represented well for sure. I was bummed that I didn’t get to ride my own sled for the final. I think I could have given Heath a run for his money with my planned run but I can’t be too disappointed considering the time frame at which I have been a freestyle rider…a month?? Seriously…

Kourtney Hungorford was the 1^st alternate for Freestyle so I figured I would practice and just enjoy the rest of Winter X Games  12. Well that just wasn’t to be.  I had a solid practice on Sat evening flipping so much that I was actually getting to where I could speed up and slow down my rotations so I didn’t need to hit any gas or break. I think that will be the trick for doing variations (already in the works…) But even after practice on Sat everyone was looking dialed and I didn’t think I was going to have a shot at getting in. Sun morning proved to be a different story. We had a 9am to 11am practice with the elimination round coming at 12:45. I rode a bit in the am but mostly wanted to stay out of the way of the 10 guys that were in the afternoon show. But man was there some crazy bad crashes. Bodin and Norgard both had bad get offs and there was whispers of them not riding. Sure enough less than 15 minutes before the elimination round Joe Duncan banged on the Slednecks trailer door and gave me the nod. Alexander was at the hospital and I was in. It was sure a good thing that my buddies Josh and Jay had pounded out my tunnel and had my sled ride able or I would have been watching from the sidelines. So here we go again! This was a lot less pressure for me. I am getting to be a solid freestyle guy but I am not quite to the level of the Burandt’s and Frisby’s for sure. So I was just going to go out and have some fun and do my best.  And of course the wind was picking up and me and the wind don’t get along so well. Haha! My 1^st run went well. I flipped and supermaned my way around the 5 hit coarse and actually scored pretty darn good. I sat in 4^th for a bit but it just wasn’t meant to be. I ended up finishing 7^th I believe but for being 7^th out if the best rider’s in the world after only a month or so of being a freestyler….well, I will definitely take that!

Overall X was a great experience. Got some really good TV coverage that hopefully my sponsors are stoked on. It was a little disappointing as well but I suppose it will just make me hungrier for next year. So now I am on a plane back to AK for a week. Stopped in LA and caught Anaheim 3. Man those guys are fast. I will be home for a week or so before I head back to MN. Yes, that’s right it’s time to break the distance record again. This time we are going really big. I want to play where the bike guys are playing. Definitely possible. Should be a blast. So don’t forget to check out slednecks.com and monsterenergy.com for more details on upcoming events. Coming soon also is paulthacker11.com.

Until next time, keep ripping…

PT11

Lawrence (Yamaha of Troy) puts Monster Energy on top of the podium for the second-straight week with a much-deserved win at Angel Stadium

CORONA, Calif., (Feb. 4, 2008) –  Monster Energy-backed Jason Lawrence (Yamaha of Troy) continued to reign on the Supercross Lites class, this past weekend living up to the billing of being the fastest racer at Anaheim’s (Calif.) Angel Stadium in putting together a masterful race – start to finish – and winning Round Five of the

2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship.

Lawrence, who’s clocked some of the fastest lap times in the previous two Anaheim installments, pulled the start he needed and took command of the race on the first lap, then led the contest wire-to-wire for his second-straight Lites class victory.

“All eyes are on Jason Lawrence and he’s shining right now,” said Monster Energy Supercross announcer Jim Holley.

With the winning effort Lawrence cut a massive slice out of Ryan Dungey’s overall lead in the Lites class, closing the gap from 34 points after Anaheim 2 to a mere eight points (96-88) heading into San Diego this weekend – Lawrence’s hometown race.

“It’ll be nice to chill at home, play some Guitar Hero II, fall asleep on the couch get up a half hour before I’ve gotta race,”

said Lawrence of the San Diego round.

Kidding aside, Lawrence has been on it. His second career win came on a track that no one can call a fluke due to mud or rain-shortened main event. His hard-nosed trainer Ryan Hughes has him pointed in the right direction and Lawrence shows no sign of letting up. After the San Diego round he’s got Houston (Feb. 16) before the long break until the final Supercross Western Lites Region round in Seattle (April 26).

“Three rounds to make up eight points. It’s gonna be tight,” said Lawrence.

Next up for Monster Energy Supercross is the San Diego round at Qualcomm Stadium (Feb. 9).

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it Monster Energy Supercross, MX, MotoGP, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground- breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Jason Lawrence digs ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.

Austin Stroupe’s 2nd and Brett Metcalfe’s 3rd in best Monster Energy Supercross finish of the 2008 season for the Monster/PC/Kawi team

CORONA, Calif., (Feb. 4, 2008) – Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Austin Stroupe pulled the Lites class’ monster holeshot on his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki KX250F, which put him up front and into a position when he could capture a 2nd place podium position at Anaheim

3 – his second podium finish of 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, season.

Stroupe, who moved up to 5th place overall in the Lites class standings – just six points off the overall podium – earned a cool $1,000 from Progressive Insurance for his holeshot effort.

“I’ve been sick all week but was still able to progress,” said Stroupe. “Things have been tough and I’m not where I want to be (regarding the overall points chase), but it’s getting better. Owe it all to my team.”

In hot pursuit of the overall podium from the start was Stroupe’s Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki teammate, Brett Metcalfe. The Aussie tracked down, caught and passed Honda’s Billy Laninovich and Yamaha’s Kyle Cunningham (on lap five of 15) to secure 3rd place – a position he’s hold through the checkers.

“This is definitely a big help, my second 3rd place finish this year,”

said Metcalfe. “I’m just trying to be consistent, chip away at the title chase.”

Metcalfe had to run through a portion of the pack early to get to the podium. The conditions were difficult, but Metcalfe would prevail. “It was fun. I ate about a pound of sand, but I’m stoked with my performance,” he said. With the effort Metcalfe now stands alone in 4th place overall in the Western Lites points chase, just two points off the overall podium.

Next up for the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki team is Round Six of 2008 Monster Energy Supercross at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium (Feb. 9).

Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MX, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days.

Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Stroupe, Metcalfe, Villopoto and Jesseman dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com .

Thacker’s heading back to Minnesota’s Canterbury Park – the scene of his successful 2007 record jump – in hopes of eclipsing the magic 300- foot barrier

Monster Energy Kawasaki Tabs Travis Preston to Complete 2008 Supercross Season



Irvine, Calif. (February 1, 2008) - Monster Energy Kawasaki announced today that Travis Preston will finish out the 2008 Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM Championship season on a factory Kawasaki KX450F. Preston joins the team as James Stewart recovers from a knee injury.

Jump to be held in Shakopee, MN at Canterbury Park