June 2nd, 2008 - Week In Canada!!

Straight Up Racing has just completed our two weeks in British Columbia, Canada for Edge Motorsports, finishing things off in Kamloops. What a weekend it was, as all the trucks ran great all weekend long. Everything about this week was great. We left Vernon as soon as we could last week and after arriving at the Interior Savings Center we realized it was going to be a great week. The venue was next to the river with a beach and a park. We hung out and veg’ed all week, playing frisbee, catch, and doing a little swimming. I guess we had a little too much fun when one of our team mates went to jail! lol Kylie, our team dog, got busted and taken to the pound by the law. After bailing her out she was on house arrest the rest of the week.

The work week had to begin though, as Team Bigfoot had major problems from the week before. The whole back of the frame was broken and needed to be repaired to get the truck running again. This is what I love about the monster truck industry, as all the teams stick together and Straight Up Racing jumped right in to help with the repairs. After finding a shop that was nice enough to lend us a place to work, we cut, bent, hammered, and welded Bigfoot back together. ‘Foot was ready to race again.

Saturday’s show was intense, with everyone running strong all night. The wheelie contest would be see vertical sky wheelies by all trucks, but Rock Star grabbed the win after dragging the bumper across the cars. Racing would see Jurassic Attack take out Deal Breaker in the first round and Bigfoot beat Maniac in a close race. The finals would come down to Bigfoot and Rock Star who had a bye run to the finals for last week’s victory. In a photo finish the winner was called Bigfoot by a grill. Freestyle would be a disappointment for Jamie Rush as a connector on the kill radio failed and track officials would not let him compete for safety reasons. Rock Star started the night out with big sky wheelie, followed with a good cyclone and grabbed some good airtime with another reverser. Jurassic Attack and Maniac had equally good runs while Bigfoot ran into fuel problems early in his run. When it was all said and done, Rock Star was cheered to the winner’s circle by the British Columbia fans.

Sunday’s show was just as action-packed. It was a tough start for Straight Up Racing, as Rock Star ended up with a flat tire during intros. After pulling back into the pits, Don Frankish and Jamie Rush were right there to help, and Rock Star was able to make wheelie contest. Deal Breaker would see a new driver for today--Teri Olson from Savannah, MO is our newest team member. She had been out of the driver’s seat for five years now and returned behind the wheel of Deal Breaker. Teri started the wheelie contest out with two great wheelies, and it looked like the five years off didn’t affect her at all. Rock Star would have two very good sky wheelies, dragging the tailgate across the cars and falling off the side in a wheelie. Jurassic Attack, Maniac, and Bigfoot tried hard but to no avail as they didn’t stand a chance. The crowd had no problems cheering Rock Star the winner. In racing we were hoping to see the two females against each other but Rock Star defeated Kristy in Jurassic Attack in round one. Don in Maniac would then take down Teri in Deal Breaker by a half a truck. The finals would be Rock Star versus last night’s winner Bigfoot. Rock Star drove up to Bigfoot and gave him a little love tap on the side to boost the competition a little. Both trucks wanted the win bad. When the flag dropped, both trucks power wheelie’d to the cars, with Rock Star powering over the cars, staying low to take the win. Bigfoot on the other hand nailed the first car, skying the truck into a moon shot and burying the back of the frame into the last car, bending up the back of the truck for the second week in a row. Rock Star would lead off freestyle, starting the run with four very good sky wheelies, a cross-thread over the van stack, and another reverser to finish the run. Teri would be second to freestyle with some sky wheelies and some fast big air clearing the cars. The highlight came on a jump that sent the truck into an endo wheelie that she had to power out of. Jurassic Attack would have an equally hard-hitting run, but Maniac would have a great run, very tough to beat with fast passes, big air and a cyclone. Rock Star and Maniac would be featured in the cheer-off, and it was Maniac taking the win while Rock Star had to settle for second.

The previous weekend we were in Vernon, B.C. at the Megaplex Arena with shows Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The Saturday night show started out with the wheelie contest, where Rock Star kicked things off with a great vertical wheelie that was carried across the stack of cars. Deal Breaker had a strong wheelie as did Maniac and Bigfoot, but it would be Jurassic Attack that would be in the cheer-off with Rock Star. The crowd couldn’t choose between the two, so it was announced a tie. Racing would be a new change for the Straight Up Racing team. Jurassic Attack took down Deal Breaker, but in the next race Rock Star took a huge upset win over the legendary Bigfoot. Rock Star then beat Jurassic Attack to make it to the finals against last week’s winner, Don Frankish in Maniac. Both trucks left the line great and Rock Star carried the front wheels over the cars off the line while Maniac went up in the air. Rock Star would take the victory! Freestyle would start with rock star with getting some great sky wheelies and then finishing with a reverse wheelie. Deal Breaker had a good run, as did Bigfoot and Maniac. Maniac had big air and a good cyclone, and that was enough for the crowd to give Don the win in the cheer-off with Rock Star.

Sunday afternoon saw a lot of action as we started out again with the wheelie contest, which was wild for all trucks. Rock Star started the night with a huge tailgate ripping wheelie, past vertical while Deal Breaker had a great sky wheelie, dragging the back bumper on the cars flipping one car over in the middle of the stack. Maniac would have good air and Jurassic Attack would see the roof of the arena, but it was Bigfoot taking his first ever wheelie competition win after soaring the truck high in the air, straight up and down! Bad news happened on the landing though, as the back of the truck just hit the last car, breaking the back of the frame resulting in battery, sway bar, limiting straps and kill cord failures, with the bedsides and tailgate twisted and dragging. The crowd went wild and it was a convincing although costly win for Bigfoot as he would be done for the night. Racing would see Deal Breaker fall to Maniac, while Rock Star took the win over Jurassic Attack. It would be Rock Star versus Maniac in the finals once again, and as the flag dropped and the trucks took off, it would be Rock Star seeing the finish line first once again! Freestyle started with Rock Star’s big sky wheelies and big air on the van stack, topped off with a good reverser. Deal Breaker would have a solid run, ending with a good air shot while Jurassic Attack would have great air and a few wheelies. Maniac would take the win again though, with lots of momentum, big air and another good cyclone. Check out the Video section for some footage from Vernon.

A special thank you to the staff at the Megaplex Arena who treated us great, from staying late to taking us out for drinks and dinner and letting us use their laundry service. But bad news struck Straight Up Racing and Team Bigfoot Monday morning as we discovered both trailers broken into, locks cut and ransacked, upon our return to the arena Monday morning. Unfortunately we found a lot of tools, parts and personal goods missing. The B.C. police were very good though, and they even dusted for fingerprints--now we just hope for some leads. Nothing was gone that would keep us from rocking the house in Kamloops though.

The Canada tour saw us have some bad luck, but other than getting broke into, the whole trip went great. Jamie Rush is doing good and Teri Olson may end up being a female that will give many a serious challenge. We also had time to meet up with an old sponsor, JB's Custom Colors from Kamloops, B.C. and renewed our sponsorship with them. Soon to come will be some custom air-brushed bodies for both Rock Star and Deal Breaker by the beginning of 2009. Check out their website, www.JBsCustomColors.com for a hint of what they might look like. Our next stop will be Sheridan, Wyoming for the start of Mega Promotions’ summer tour. Check back soon for more hard-hitting, Straight Up Racing action!!
 

May 23rd, 2008 - Costa Mesa!!

Last weekend the Straight Up Racing team traveled to Costa Mesa, CA for the Extreme Off-Road Expo. With an attendance of over 22,000 spectators, Rock Star and Play'n for Keeps rolled in Thursday night, tired up and went on display. Early Friday morning CBS and NBC news were there to record a news clip. The event did not start until 5pm, so we visited with our long time sponsors PRP and talked about some new products they have coming online that can be crossed over to monster trucks. They also donated to us one of there brand new decked out Kawasaki mules to use for the weekend--we can't thank them enough. We used it to carry parts, get food, cool down and just to be a part of the action.
Friday was only monster rides that where given by Hog Wild monster truck. Early in the night breakage would end the fun, so they thought. But the Straight Up Racing team came to offer help and determined it was a broken axle. With a little luck, we had an axle that would fit his truck that we had gotten along our travels that didn't fit our trucks. Monster rides where back!

Saturday shows ran at 11, 1, and 4. In the first show the people would see sky wheelies, slap wheelies and a huge air shot by Play'n for Keeps that landed on the rear bumper crushing it and breaking a tie rod bolt. The second show would have more sky wheelies and slap wheelies with one seeing Rock Star with the rear tires way up in the air as he had to lock the brakes up to keep from hitting the fence. The crowd also saw more big air shots by both trucks. For the third round, drivers Tony Canedo and Bill Payne talked with crew members Neal Weaver and James on what to do to make the third show even better. Bill started out with Rock Star, doing some bumper dragging sky wheelies, sideways jumps, crossed-up jumps, and a slap wheelie. Then Tony in Play'n for Keeps came out and did big air after big air. Finally, to spice things up, Rock Star fired back up and started following Play'n for Keeps in monster truck train action. As one truck landed, the other truck was already in the air. As Play'n for Keeps went one direction, Rock Star was going the other. Twice the trucks. Twice the noise. Twice the excitement. The crowd went ballistic, and afterward Tony and Bill gave away free autographed pictures and shirts thanks to PRP. Monster rides ran all day in between shows.
Saturday night was Straight Up Racing and WGAS fun night. After the show we decided to go to Dromo One indoor cart racing for a little "rubbing is racing". After a lot of bumping, pit maneuvers, t-bones and brake checks. It would be Bill Payne taking the trophy with Neal Weaver, John Borba and his son-in-law John right behind. James pasley and Tony canedo ran hard but got black flagged for aggressive driving--well, they where the ones that got caught anyway!

Sunday the Straight Up Racing team was all moving slow as there was some soreness from the night before. But the beautiful So-Cal heat had us moving and ready for our 11pm and 4pm shows without a problem. The first show would see a huge crowd cheering on the sky wheelies and big air jumps, but it was the second show people really went crazy about. Again Rock Star and Play'n for Keeps freestyle'd together. Hit after hit, both trucks were running strong, with more slap wheelies by both trucks, sky wheelies, and big air with Rock Star's last jump being a signature reverser resulting in damage as, on his take off, only one side of the truck hit the cars. Upon the landing Rock Star went from being on one tire to two tires back to one tire, almost had four but no, back to one tire before finally coming to rest on all four. Tony Canedo drove to Rock Star and gave it a little love tap before backing to the fence and hitting the cars wide open with enough air to clear Rock Star! Not a silent person in the crowd as the Straight Up Racing team rocked Costa Mesa, CA.
Straight Up Racing really wants to thank PRP for donating there side-by-side for the week and for everything else they have done for us--all of our seats, limiting straps, and now seat belts and apparel bags are sponsored by the great people at Performance Racing Products.
Next week the Straight Up Racing team splits as Rock Star and Deal Breaker are off to Vernon, B.C. for Edge Motorsports, while Play'n for Keeps gets ready for Ukiah, CA June 6th. Stay tuned to www.StraightUpRacing.com for more!!

May 5th, 2008 - Yuba City!!

On Saturday night AMP Live Events brought the Monster Truck Thunder Slam to Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds in Yuba City, CA. Rock Star’s tailgate ripping wheelies, Play’n 4 Keeps huge air, and Natural High’s amazing cyclones left the crowd undecided as to who was the winner. Rookie driver Neal Weaver in Deal Breaker did not win over the crowd’s vote but tried a little of everything and did a great job learning the truck.

The afternoon started out with the Straight Up Racing team rolling in big and bright. Trailers were back to back with all three trucks tired up, cleaned and in position in front of the haulers for sponsor pictures. It was decided that the pit party would indeed be in the pits and as the gates opened, kids and adults came in by the dozens. Tony Canedo in Play’n 4 Keeps was busy signing autographs while kids were sitting in his truck. He kept his youngest daughter Brianna busy as well, handing out free pictures to be autographed while kids anxiously waited for their turn to sit in the truck. Next in line was Bill Payne in Rock Star approaching the kids in a different way with a little bit of monster truck trivia. While kids waited to climb up into the seat of Rock Star, Bill would ask them one by one trivia questions about monster trucks in order to get hero cards signed. Neal Weaver in Deal Breaker got to live the dream of millions, being in front of fans that want to be him.

Show time began with tailgate dragging wheelies over the cars by Rock Star. Bill Payne carried wheelies past the cars, onto the dirt and kept it going ripping off the tailgate and bed sides of Rock Star, which he then turned around and crushed. Jump after jump Rock Star had the crowd pumped with a great first truck out performance. Deal Breaker started out slow but picked up the pace with some crossed up jumps over the cars and a cyclone that ended with a tire blowing in the third round. Neal Weaver had a good run for his second time driving the truck. He will be a hard hitter soon to come. Play’n 4 Keeps started out huge with big air one after another. Then problems occurred for Tony Canedo as breakage occurred in the front pinions. This wasn’t a big deal for Tony as he was able to come back and had even bigger air in the third round. Play’n 4 Keeps wasn’t done yet with a small wheelie and plans of one last jump backing into the pits to get a good run at the van stack. His plans cam to a halt as officials saw the front brake line was ripped off with the caliper hanging with it. Officials had to use the RII for safety reasons.

“The truck felt great,” said Tony. “Not having a lot of body roll anymore, along with the difference in the feel of the landing may turn into a bad thing--I’m so used to having hard landings that every jump I made, I felt like I was floating!! I have to say thank you to Dependable Heating & Air as their support allowed us to make a huge change in that truck!”

Natural High had a very strong run with slap wheelies, big air and fast rotating cyclones. All in all it was a great show for the Straight Up Racing team. We are making some changes to the trucks this week and will be ready to run in Victorville, CA Saturday May 10 and Costa Mesa, CA on Sunday May 11. Stay tuned to www.StraightUpRacing.com for photos from the Yuba City Monster Truck Thunder Slam!!

April 25th, 2008 - Team Update!!

We are gearing up for the start of the summer season. Test and tune for the new Play'n 4 Keeps will be May 3rd in Yuba City, CA where all three trucks will be performing. We will have to have our things together for the third weekend where we will start out with a show at 1:00 pm in Costa Mesa, CA.  Following that show, we will tire down and load up to drive 89 miles for a show at 7:00 pm in Victorville, CA.  After the show in Victorville, we will head back to Costa Mesa for a Sunday show.  We want to say thank you to our sponsor PRP who provide our seats and all of our limiting straps. We will be meeting up with them for some displays in Costa Mesa.  Stay tuned for updates from our eventful weekend in Costa Mesa!!

April 18th, 2008 - Lebanon & Vegas!!

The Straight Up Racing team has a month off and all of the trucks are in the shop getting some TLC. Deal Breaker will be display April 12th for one of our new sponsor's, Weaver Trucking. Rock Star is in the shop getting body work as usual and the small spare motor is coming out while a big nasty motor is going in thanks to AD Performance, another newcomer to the Straight Up Racing team. Playn' 4 Keeps is getting a transplant as the 15 years old suspention is getting cut out and all new Combs shocks are going in. That was a huge thanks to our 2008 title sponsor Dependable Heating & Air Conditioning.

What have we been up to since the last update? Rock Star and Deal Breaker traveled to the small town of Lebanon, MO for an event inside the local civic center. Three shows in two days, with good friend Devin Jones of Barbarian filling in behind the wheel of Deal Breaker. Deal Breaker also debuted an updated paint scheme, attempting to make the truck fit more along the lines of the NASCAR inspired monster truck theme. The Straight Up team swept the weekend's freestyle, with Bill taking both Saturday wins in Rock Star (including one that ended upside down) and Devin take the Friday night win in Deal Breaker. Devin also got a wheelie contest win, while Bill even managed to get a racing and donut contest victory!

Photo By Eric Stern, www.MonsterJamOnline.com

From there, Bill headed back out west, stopping in Las Vegas to check out the Monster Jam World Finals. The World Finals Pit Party typically includes tens of trucks on display only, and when Bill arrived he spoke with Live Nation officials who were kind enough to allow Deal Breaker to join the Pit Party. The fans loved the car-bodied monster, and Deal Breaker definitely made a splash at the Pit Party. Afterwords, Bill sat back and enjoyed an amazing show that he does not plan to miss next year!  A big thanks from Straight Up Racing to Live Nation for allowing the team to be a very small part of the sport's biggest event. Who knows, maybe you'll even see Straight Up at a Monster Jam or two next year!!

The trucks will be back in action May 3rd in Yuba City, CA for a Monster Truck Thunder Slam event where all three trucks will appear. Then May 16th its down to Victorville, CA, and the next day all three will be 70 miles away at the WGAS Costa Mesa show. From there, the team splits as Rock Star and Deal Breaker go to Canada for the first time to run with Don Frankish and Kristy Edge for Edge Motorsports. The first stop is in Vernon, British Columbia on the 24th, then Kamloops on the 31st. Playn' 4 Keeps will stay in California for some displays for the new sponsors. We will meet again as the team arives in Del Mar, CA for WGAS, as we have 5 days straight of two shows a day with eight thousand people per show!!  And after that grueling week, Rock Star and Deal Breaker continue on the WGAS tour up to McMinnville, OR for the Turkey Rama Extreme Motorsports Spectacular.

March 20th, 2008 - First Quarter Recap!!

The Straight Up Racing team started the 2008 season off strong on the MEGA Promotions Tour in Kearney, NE!!  It was there that Bill Payne's new custom-built Deal Breaker monster truck debuted to a great response.  Bill started the weekend by taking the freestyle win in Rock Star Friday night, but when the truck went down with breakage in racing on Saturday, Bill slipped behind the wheel of Deal Breaker for freestyle.  In a great performance, Bill rocked the Buffalo County Expo with donuts, huge wheelstands, and ended his run on the roof!!  First weekend out with the new truck, and it already had its first rollover. But the run did keep Bill's undefeated streak in freestyle alive on the MEGA Monster Truck Tour, dating back to last summer.

Next up on the schedule was Cape Girardeau, MO.  With good friend Devin Jones of the Barbarian monster truck filling in behind the wheel of Deal Breaker, the Straight Up Racing team was even tougher to beat in freestyle.  Bill would take home wins both night to keep the streak alive.

Ardmore, OK is where the streak would finally come to an end as Geremie Dishman in Raminator managed to split with Bill for the weekend freestyle title. But the team was back to its winning ways in Green Bay, WI for Super T Events as Bill put on two nights of spectacular performances in Rock Star to kick off the month of February.

Back to MEGA in Starkville, MS where Bill was once again forced to share the freestyle victories with Dishman and Raminator.  But the next weekend in Enid, OK, Bill raised his game, freestyling both Rock Star and Deal Breaker in jaw-dropping performances to take the weekend sweep.

From there Bill was back on the road from Oklahoma to California in a day, all to take part in the annual Riverside County Fair for WGAS Motorsports in Indio. Tony Canedo with Playin' 4 Keeps was already there for a show on Friday where he took second place behind Nasty Boy. Canedo also displayed Saturday and Sunday at the fair, signing autographs and doing promotional give-aways. Then Monday night, we all teamed up and put on a fast paced show with only monsters, two rounds each. Bill put on one of the more unique freestyles most fans have probably ever seen, as after starting his run with a reverser, Rock Star's transmission stuck in reverse!  Bill is not the type to end a freestyle after one hit, so he proceeded to turn in an entire freestyle run, all in reverse!!  Needless to say, the crowd loved it.

Since the Indio event back in mid-February, Bill has taken some time off to work on the trucks.  The team is back on the road this weekend in Lebanon, MO for Indoor Monster Madness at the Cowan Civic Center.  Devin Jones will once again be behind the wheel of Deal Breaker, and the team is ready to take on Larry Quick and Ghost Ryder.  Deal Breaker will be debuting a new paint scheme, so be watching for photos of that!!

Tony however, competed in the Monster Truck Thunder Slam event at the Santa Maria Fairpark in California March 15th against Natural High, Jurassic Attack, and Maniac. He did really well, definitely getting the biggest air of the night in Playin' 4 Keeps.

You can see video clips from many of our 2008 events in the Video section, so be sure to check that out. We're still working on finishing a few areas of the site, so keep checking back!!