Numerous changes to the Team Demolition Derby landscape occurred during all of last season and throughout the long fall and winter months that shaped the beginning of the 2010 Tournament of Destruction; everything from the teams, the cars, and most importantly, the people gave us a new look and new feel heading into the opening night on May 29. Despite all the drama, all the expectations, one thing that didn’t change was the team name and colors hoisting the hardware at the end of the night. Seek-N-Destroy shocked the Team Demo world for the second year in a row and defeated Orange Crush in the Finals of a thrilling and emotion-fueled night.

Seek-N-Destroy were not immune to the off-season shuffling as they replaced essentially 3 out of their 4 drivers from last year. Robbie Stahulak and Ron Johnson made the switch from S-N-D across the pit area to Damage, Inc., while Matt Pierce and Jason Ritacco left Stranglehold and Damage, Inc., respectively, to join S-N-D team owner Greg Mesich and returning driver Levi Turnbaugh. Several big changes without a doubt, however none larger than the dissolving of the reigning National Champion Junkyard Dogs.

Two of the sport’s biggest names, Gerritt Vanderbilt and Joe Snow, chose to take at least the 2010 season off and perhaps are contemplating retirement altogether. Ryan Bleuer and Johnny Ryan joined their former champion teammate Tom Lewis on Orange Crush and Kyle Shearer was left with a decision of where to go or whom to acquire to fill the voids on Team 3. The Junkyard Dogs name goes out as a Champion, and from the remains, Bad Company emerged with Shearer, new owner Rich Wilson, and rookie drivers Brice Martin and Nick Hartung.

Much of the off-season news was positive and the changes all for the better. However, two events in the fall and winter reminded everyone just how fragile life is. The sport lost two of its most well-known figures with the sudden death of iconic driver Steven Scarbro and the passing of Team Demo Association founder and motorsports legend, Jan Gabriel. Many of the team’s honored both men with memorial messages and decals on their cars and the night’s event was dedicated to Gabriel. The July 3rd event will also pay tribute to Scarbro.

Team Demo Association founding member Larry Decker reflected on Jan’s time with Team Demolition Derby and his love for the sport and giving the fans a show they’d never forget. Team Demo Hall of Fame members Tom Croschane and Wayne Boston also honored Gabriel by presenting a memorial plaque to Jan’s wife Teresa and daughter Amanda.

All the teams rolled out their new looks and styles for the Beauty Contest to see which team had the biggest fan support. Orange Crush’s modified limousine and giant fan following gave them the over-whelming win with Stranglehold coming in right behind. Orange Crush picked up an extra trophy and $125 from Am-Coat Painting for the win.

Last September, our final race of the year was Reckoning verse Orange Crush, and by the luck of the draw, those two would pair up in the round to start 2010! An incredible match on paper, but the intensity was cranked up ten-fold with some pre-race hostility and emotions between the two teams, both considered pre-season favorites to contend for the Championship. This first round race could play a huge role in the points by the time the Tournament reaches Round 5 in September.

For a complete list of the 2010 teams and driver’s, check out the Teams page.

Round 1 Heat 1
Bad Company vs. Seek-N-Destroy

Many questions were answered right away as to the legitimacy of Seek-N-Destroy with its new lineup, as well as for Bad Company. At the drop of the green flag, #26 Levi Turnbaugh bolted away from the pack to an early lead. Bad Company’s front car #38 Kyle Shearer stalled at the line and #37 Nick Hartung tried to help him along as the rest of the field wadded up behind them. #33 Rich Wilson successfully blocked Turnbaugh on the back stretch, but two more Seek-N-Destroy runners quickly replaced him.

#31 Brice Martin trunked Turnbaugh, but that was not going to stop their offense. Hartung and Shearer’s cars were stalled out which made it a 4-on-2 advantage for Seek-N-Destroy. Turnbaugh cut across the middle and locked horns with Wilson in the season’s first big hit, folding the front of Wilson’s car. Hartung sprinted across the midfield and nailed #02 Matt Pierce with a perfectly timed T-bone in Turn 2 and Wilson followed up with a shot to the front quarter panel. Pierce broke free and Wilson attempted to stick with him, but was greeted with a sick head-on from Ritacco! Wilson was rocked hard and his car was finished.

All of Bad Company’s cars were dead or tied up, which left a clear path for Pierce to collect the remaining laps and take Seek-N-Destroy into the second round! A very successful first match for Seek-N-Destroy, however Bad Company was definitely hurt but mechanical problems. They have plenty of cars ready to go for July 3rd and hope to have a better outcome.

Round 1 Heat 2
Damage, Inc. Vs. Stranglehold

The Noble brothers elected to put an entire field of rookie drivers up against a stocked Damage, Inc. lineup of all veterans. It was an instant gut-check for Stranglehold, but they proved they were ready! #5 Kurt Lindemuth jumped out to a quick lead as #88 Robbie Stahulak’s car died on the line. Damage, Inc. picked up the slack with immediate defense while Stahulak got his car running. #81 Pete Millette, Jr. took over the lead and #86 Dave Swam shoved Lindemuth into the wall as he tried to play catch-up.

A lap later, #51 Freddie Knight connected on a now-running Stahulak with a solid head-on in Turn 1 and then reversed and caught the leader Millette with a glancing blow to slow him down. Lindemuth was only a lap behind, but could not fight through several jam ups initiated by #80 Ron Johnson and traffic from his team mates. #57 Mel Noble, Jr., in his first ever Team Demo race, blasted Millette with a high-speed T-bone in Turn 4 to keep his team in the hunt. Knight also pushed Stahulak off course up near the wall. Lindemuth switched from running to crusher and followed up with a quarter panel shot to Millette. #50 Bill Mcmahen raced towards his second complete lap.

Millette regained control and took the white flag in reverse, but then took a nasty shot from Lindemuth in Turn 1. Smoke erupted from the #81, but Millette was able to continue. He fought off another head-on from Lindemuth on the back stretch dodged one remaining Stranglehold car on the last turn and took the checkered! Excellent race by every single driver!

Round 1 Heat 3
Orange Crush vs. Reckoning

Without question, the two most powerful teams and the two whom were thought to be the front runner’s for this year’s championship. A match that looked great on paper was cranked up another notch when pre-race emotions ran high and some tempers flared between the two pit areas. Cooler heads were not going to prevail, at least just yet, with a showdown looming on the track.

All 8 cars screamed off the starting line and the quick lead went to #66 Ron Tyrakowski. Everyone else jammed up in Turn 1 lead by #76 Steve Gursky, Jr.’s derailment of #06 Ryan Bleuer. #7 Brian Anderson tried to break free and catch the leader, but was derailed himself when Gursky backed right into his path. #68 Johnny Ryan temporarily cut off #78 Chris McGuire in the middle of the track, however, McGuire pushed through and spun out Tyrakowski as he crossed the line. Bleuer knocked McGuire out of the way while collecting his first lap as well. Anderson was right behind him, but went too low to make the corner and slammed into the turning tire!

Bleuer, now in the lead, roared down the back stretch with incredible speed and dodged a swipe attempt by Gursky. McGuire dueled with Bleuer again and nailed a crunching head-on in Turn 4. Ryan went for high speed hit on Anderson, but only glanced off the side and went straight into the concrete wall. Gursky saw his opening and trunked Ryan hard into the wall. Bleuer made it to Lap 3 but now had Anderson only 1 turn behind him. Crush had a 3-on-2 advantage now with #79 Nick Ritter’s car stalled out and shooting flames out the stacks. Anderson had no blocker but dodged #63 Tom “Brickman” Lewis on the back stretch and was still within striking distance of Bleuer.

A lap later, the two runners were still separated by only a couple seconds and Brickman was about to make all the difference. He connected this time with a hard shot to the rear quarter panel of Anderson, spinning the #7 completely around as Bleuer took the white flag. Anderson and Gursky both took shots at knocking Bleuer out, but came up empty! Bleuer raced around the final turn and took the win! Awesome, high-powered battle! We probably haven’t seen the last encounter from these two titans of team demo.

Round 1 Heat 4
Smash, Bash & Crash vs. Mean Green Machine

Smash Bash & Crash had difficultly at the beginning of last year fielding a complete lineup of cars and drivers and unfortunately the trend continued. A pre-race accident at the team’s shop didn’t help and resulted in a few drivers’ going to the hospital instead of the track. Short-handed, Team 4 needed some backup and Reckoning was able to help out with the #74 of “Speedy” Steve Volbrecht and the #41 of Kurtis Kraehmer. Mean Green Machine on the other hand was well prepared with the Van Allen brothers of Trey, Zac and Jay along with their former Team Xtreme owner’s son, rookie driver John Clemmons. A new look for Mean Green and perhaps an escape from mediocrity that has plagued MGM for the past several years.

Right from the start, it was obvious the back-ups were not there to fool around, they were prepared to win! Volbrecht followed the #16 of Zac Van Allen and slapped him up into the wall, which allowed the only actually Team 4 car to take the lead! Kraehmer sped along the back stretch heading towards the stopped #16 and drilled him with a solid head-on that twisted the two cars together. #13 Trey Van Allen knocked Volbrecht off his brother and quickly turned around to cut across the infield and smack the leader into the wall. The #10 of Jay Van Allen was not operating at full power and missed a shot on Volbrecht as the #74 raced by. #19 John Clemmons was also dead in the water still at the start line. Trey lined up the now-leading Volbrecht and rocked him with a hard head-on, but it left the #74 nearly un-phased and the #13 completely waded up! Volbrecht pushed the stalled #10 out of the way and continued his improbable lead.

Zac Van Allen was helpless up against the Turn 1 wall as he smoked the tires and tried to rip free from Kraehmer’s car and waved to his team mates for help, but only the #13 was running and with no steering. Volbrecht was walking away with the race when suddenly the #19 roared to life and Clemmons made an excellent hit on the leader in Turn 1. But, the #74 just kept going. Clemmons spun around and eyed up Volbrecht in Turn 3. He raced across the entire length of the infield and absolutely CRUSHED Volbrecht with a huge head-on! The crowd went nuts and the Mean Green pit area was equally fired up. Problem was there were no cars left running! With everyone stalled or wadded up, the countdown was started and reached zero with the #74 in the lead giving the win to Smash, Bash & Crash! However, because they were not prepared with cars to continue on in the bracket, the Team Demo Association disqualified them from the semi-finals and awarded the spot and points to Mean Green Machine. Mean Green was going to need a bigger and better plan of attack for the next round after being out-matched by only two functional cars.

Semi-Finals
Heat 1
Seek-N-Destroy vs. Damage, Inc.

Like the saying goes: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. The swapping and exchanging of drivers is frequent amongst the team demo ranks. Many team owners are long time friends of one another and drivers across the pit area are also friends and in many cases family. It’s not uncommon for a team to try and trade-up or make changes in the off-season, or sometimes mid-season, if it betters their chances of winning. These two teams have played this game and strategy more than any other in the last year.

As we mentioned in the opening, Stahulak and Johnson were integral parts of Seek-N-Destroy’s success in 2009. Now, they reside on Damage, Inc. and one of the former men-in-yellow, Jason Ritacco, is now on Seek-N-Destroy. Plus, many may not have known that Damage, Inc. owner Dave Swan raced on Seek-N-Destroy in August 2009. Friends and former team mates off the track, but it all goes out the window on the track!

At the drop of the green #26 Levi Turnbaugh jumped out to the lead with #88 Robbie Stahulak keeping pace behind. #81 Pete Millette, Jr. went for a quick hit on the leader, but missed. The diversion was enough to slow Turnbaugh and allowed Stahulak to run up the back of the #26, spin it out and claim the lead! #21 Greg Mesich took over the runner spot for Seek-N-Destroy and Turnbaugh headed the opposite direction and looked for someone to take out! He and #80 Ron Johnson collided quarter-panels right at the start/finish line. The impact spun Johnson into a perfect spot to nail #29 Jason Ritacco who was coming in for a shot on Stahulak. Only 1 lap in and it was already a 4-on-3 advantage for Seek-N-Destroy as #86 Dave Swan’s car snapped an axle and was spinning in the mud on 3 wheels!

Turnbaugh struck Johnson in Turn 3 for some payback, but Stahulak continued to lead. Millette t-boned #02 Matt Pierce on the back stretch, which gave Stahulak a clear path into Turn 3 and he looked in complete control. However, Turnbaugh laid in wait and threw his driver’s side into Millette’s car and stuck his nose out far enough to make Stahulak slow way down and drive around. That opened the door for Ritacco to slam the leader in the passenger-side quarter panel and bring the run to a stop. Turnbaugh and Ritacco spun Stahulak around, blocked him in and Mesich cruised by to take the lead! Stahulak could not break free and get turned in the right direction; his car still locked hood-first with Ritacco’s. Turnbaugh made certain Stahulak’s race was finished with a solid trunk shot to sandwich the #88 in between the red cars. Even on 3 wheels, Swan slung his car into Mesich’s path and locked the leader into his front bumper!

Mesich was stuck and Pierce, now the only car making any forward momentum, tried to take over the laps. Mesich finally broke free from Swan and remained the leader. Swan’s three-wheeler was the only yellow car left running and his efforts of spinning in circles was not going to stop the two red runners. Seek-N-Destroy completed the laps and rolled into the Finals.

Semi-Finals
Heat 2
Orange Crush vs. Mean Green Machine

Two names of high stature in the lore of Team Demolition Derby were about to collide. Orange Crush: the psychologically, physically, and visually dominating power house up against the sports most famous name, currently stocked with a lineup of Van Allen brothers whom are quickly reaching the veteran status and rookie driver John Clemmons. Underdogs in this race, Mean Green Machine was not going to be able to survive it on just their name alone and needed a MUCH better performance than their first round effort against Smash, Bash & Crash.

The race got off to an ominous start for MGM as the lead car #16 Zac Van Allen died on the line! Meanwhile, #06 Ryan Bleuer and #66 Ron Tyrakowski screamed ahead away from the pack. #13 Trey Van Allen attempted to take out one of the leaders, but spilt the gap and missed them both. He turned the wagon around and tried again this time on the front stretch but went too wide and missed them both again. Zac Van Allen got his car running and was all the way around to Turn 4 when he met a vicious head-on from #68 Johnny Ryan.

#19 John Clemmons slipped past the wreck and remained the lead car for MGM. #15 Jay Van Allen took a side-slap into the driver’s door from Tyrakowski, but the move was obviously not intentional on Tyrakowski’s part. Bleuer rounded Turn 2 and took a big hit from Trey Van Allen, who finally connected on his third chance. Much like in the first round, Trey’s car was folded up and left with little maneuverability.

A log-jam ensued in Turn 1 with Bleuer’s car stalled out and Tyrakowski trying to fight off Jay Van Allen. The opening allowed Clemmons to take over the lead! He raced by #67 Elmer Fandrey’s block attempt in Turn 3, but had to slow way down in Turn 4 to avoid Ryan and hit the turning tire. Tyrakowski had freed himself and ran right up on Clemmons and knocked him out of the way to regain the lead. Tyrakowski blasted around the track, through two more Machines and was quickly headed into lap 4.

Fandrey and Ryan continued to provide incredible defense for their leader with shot-after-shot on the #16 and #19 on the front stretch. Tyrakowski made an entire lap while Mean Green received a beating. His driver’s door was nearly sheered off, which probably provided more motivation to get the race over with as quickly as possible. Ryan again punished the remaining Mean Green threat with a HUGE t-bone smash on Clemmons into the Turn 2 wall! Tyrakowski completed Lap 5 and grabbed the checker to put Orange Crush into the Finals!

Another incredible race that displayed a lot of the same strategy of the Damage, Inc. vs. Stranglehold match of the first round, but this match cranked the intensity and carnage up 10-fold. After Bleuer’s car was taken out, Ryan and Fandrey went into attack mode and put on a defensive clinic. Lots of positive things can be said about Mean Green as well! Much better effort and execution than their first race and they certainly held their own and made Crush sweat just a little bit. This could finally be the break-out year for the Van Allen’s and
Mean Green Machine.

Figure - 8 Race

A field of 12 amateurs, professional racers, and former Team Demo drivers lined up for the first event of the 2010 “Thrill Racer’s” Series, a $1,000-to-win 10-Lap Figure-8 race. In a new twist verse previous years, the race began with a standing-start. #75 Phil Duffin was on the pole position with former Team Demo driver #64 Johnny Klemik on his outside. When the flag dropped, they and everyone else was left eating the mud from the #17 “super bubble” of Gerritt Vanderbilt. Yes, the “Big Kahuna” was back, though not in a demo race, it was his team demo car re-modified to fit within the rules of the Figure-8 race and he was an instant favorite to win thanks to his mastery of this track.

Klemik took the inside line around the second turn and took back the lead, but was completely over-powered down the middle of the ‘X’ and Vanderbilt roared away with the lead again. The #40 wagon of Ed Mayr and #68 Doug McCarty were not far off and hoped to make a run at the leader. The back half of the field clogged up through the ‘X’ allowing McCarty to take 2nd place and inch closer to Vanderbilt. The leaders were quickly into their 3rd lap before most of the pack could complete their first. Vanderbilt continued to lap cars, but had to fight around a lot of traffic. Several drivers put together decent runs, including Duffin, #B9 Bob Hipsure, and #03 Bob Bleuer, but they could not match the speed of the #17.

In Turn 2 of Lap 5, with a sizeable lead, Vanderbilt’s car shut off! McCarty and Mayr were a half lap behind but both moved up a spot dropping Vanderbilt to third! Huge break for the rest of the field. Vanderbilt’s car re-fired, but now he was a half lap down! He stormed through the ‘X,” nearly colliding with several cars. Duffin and Vanderbilt tapped doors in the Turn 2, but no major damage done. McCarty continued to lead and opened up a ¼ lap gap in Mayr.

Vanderbilt continued to try and make up ground, pushing #92 Homer Pedersen and Hipsure out of the way. Steam and smoke poured from the #17 with only 2 laps remaining. #75 Phil Duffin was clearly the quickest car on the track at the time, but was too far back to catch McCarty. Half the field was out of the race due to breakage or over-heating.

McCarty entered lap 9 still holding a two-turn lead over Mayr and now he was only 1 turn from lapping Vanderbilt. McCarty kept his pace, wove through the dead cars and took the checkered flag! Mayr takes second and Vanderbilt managed to salvage 3rd place, but obviously was headed towards a victory until the mechanical failure. A fun race and great start to the exciting “Thrill Racer’s” division.

FINAL ROUND
Orange Crush vs. Seek-N-Destroy

Last year all the hype and high-expectations fell on the Junkyard Dogs and in the end they lived up to it and won the 2009 Championship. Also last year, everyone knew Seek-N-Destroy had talent and might contend for some victories, but they shocked a lot of non-believers when they beat JYD the first night out.

Now, with a lineup of guys who’ve never raced together besides this night, Seek-N-Destroy looked to do the unexpected yet again. Orange Crush, on the other hand, has done exactly what was expected; use their speed, power, and experience to win races. Brute force versus a more tactical, smooth approach? A styles’ clashing showdown that could loom very large in the point’s race by the middle or end of the season.

Seek-N-Destroy’s lineup remained the same, while Orange Crush opted to sit #68 Johnny Ryan and, in another interesting move, positioned usual-crusher #63 Tom Lewis in the lead spot. Turnbaugh was up front for Seek-N-Destroy. The crowd rose to its feet as the green dropped and instantly the field was shaken up! Brickman shoved Turnbaugh up into the wall and opened the lead to Bleuer. Bleuer raced around Turn 1 and was met with a stiff shot from Ritacco. Tyrakowski looked to take Ritacco out, but came up empty and slammed head-first into the concrete!

Seek-N-Destroy recovered well even though Bleuer was out in front. Ritacco raced down the front stretch and eyed up Bleuer in Turn 4 and connected into the #06’s front corner. Both Pierce and Mesich were on the run and passed Bleuer as he tried to push away from Ritacco. Turnbaugh slammed into the passenger side of Bleuer, but spun him right up into Mesich, knocking him off course. Lewis was right behind Bleuer also picking up laps in a running role he has not used since back on the Killer Bees in 2007. Bleuer and Tyrakowski were not moving in Turn 1, which left it a 3-on-2 advantage for Seek-N-Destroy. Ritacco’s car was also defused after his collision with Bleuer.

Fandrey sped down the back stretch and teed off on Pierce with a huge head-on! Pierce managed to shove past Fandrey, but not before Lewis roared past them both and into the lead for Orange Crush! It was a drag race down the back stretch of Lap 2 and flames began shooting from the carburetor on the #63. Pierce was closing fast, but in an incredible maneuver, Lewis intentionally spun his car completely around, dodging the oncoming attack from Turnbaugh and nearly blocking Pierce at the same time. However, the block missed and Pierce was back in the lead.

He headed towards Lap 3 but was greeted with another sick head-on blast from Fandrey! Sparks and metal flew everywhere, but neither car would quit! Pierce pushed through to remain the in lead with the front end nearly folded straight up. Tyrakowski re-fired in Turn 1 and stopped Pierce’s run, which allowed Lewis to close in and take back the lead. But then his car quit and the flames out the hood grew much larger. In a gusty move and one of pure determination, Lewis began swatting, pounding and blowing on the flames to try and get them to go out! Incredible!

Meanwhile, Turnbaugh was left nearly alone on the track and tried to assume the running position. He was 2 laps behind and was not about to get any favors from Orange Crush. Fandrey drilled Turnbaugh head-on in nearly the exact same spot as the one where he just hit Pierce! Huge crash with a shower of sparks generated from the frame-on-metal contact of the folded up cars. Fandrey’s third and ultimately biggest hit toasted his car, but Turnbaugh amazingly brushed off the impact and continued to run!

Route 66 Raceway’s fire crew shot water onto Lewis’ car in an attempt to extinguish the engine fire. Mesich was nearly forgotten about in all the chaos and was suddenly in the lead on Lap 3. But, he too was experiencing engine problems as the plume of smoke grew larger and more intense out from under the hood, nearly blinding his vision around the track.

The fire in the #63 was out and Lewis was back on the war path looking to swing the momentum back to Orange Crush but he was all alone! Turnbaugh raced across the infield and blocked Lewis’ first attempt on the leader as Mesich took the white flag. However, Lewis reversed into Mesich’s path and caused the leader to miss the Turn 1 tire! Lewis perhaps recognized what he helped accomplished and immediately turned his attention to laps! He raced down the back stretch and around Turns 3 and 4 looking to complete his 3rd lap. Turnbaugh’s steering was nearly shot, but he had enough control left to lineup a head-on block to again stop Lewis. The #63 was still too strong and Lewis reverse and drove right around the #26 and into Lap 4. The on-track scoreboard incorrectly posted the #63 as the leader which led to massive confusion among the fans and teams as to who the leader actually was.

Mesich’s car was getting worse by the second and he was now only 1 lap ahead of the #63 as Lewis made the pass in Turn 1. Mesich pushed his melting machine to the limit down the back stretch, but Lewis’ Thunderbird looked to be at full strength. They were door-to-door into Turn 3 when Mesich spun out! Remember, Mesich missed Turn 1 which left Lewis only 2 turns away from taking the lead!

Oil smoke began shooting from the stacks on the #63 as Lewis rounded Turn 4 now only a front stretch away from taking the lead. Out of now where, Turnbaugh came through yet again and blocked Lewis! The hit snapped off the steering column on the #26! Lewis tried to do exactly what he did before and reversed the car to drive around. In a shocking turn of events, the #63 came to a dead stop! The engine revved very high, but Lewis could not find a forward gear!

Turnbaugh again was the only car running on the track and he tried to make laps, but was only relying on the wall to help steer the car. Mesich’s engine was completely on fire at this point and he bailed out of the car, leaving the fate of the race out of his hands. Turnbaugh made it one and a half laps before becoming pinned on the wall. He struggled to make any forward progress and was further knocked off track by Tyrakowski who managed to shove the #26 across the infield towards the finish line. If Tyrakowski could have found a steady forward gear, or Bleuer or Lewis could've re-fired, they would have had a free ride to victory! But, that was not to be the case! All eight cars were cooked!

The 10-second countdown was started and when it hit zero, confusion was still running wild over which team actually won! TDA officials immediately got together to discuss the race and, within a minute of the countdown ending, officially and correctly declared Seek-N-Destroy the winner!

Orange Crush drivers wanted an explanation, and they like everyone deserved one after that wild, back-and-forth battle. The fact is that the #63 of Tom Lewis died out in Turn 4 of Lap 4 and the #21 of Greg Mesich had already completed 4 legal laps before missing the Turn 1 tire of Lap 5. The white flag flew for Mesich, it never did for Lewis and the result is a checkered flag for Seek-N-Destroy!

During Greg Mesich’s interview he did not focus on his team’s performance tonight and instead dedicated the team’s win to their fallen friend and teammate Steven Scarbro. Mesich idolized Scarbro’s driving ability his whole career and turned to him to try and win the July 2009 event when Robbie Stahulak was injured. Mesich also acknowledged he was really wired racing former teammates Ron Johnson and Robbie Stahulak on Damage, Inc. “I have all the respect in the world for them guys,” said Mesich.

Indeed, the word “respect” can be used to describe many elements and storylines from this first night of the 2010 Team Demolition Derby Tournament of Destruction. Seek-N-Destroy instantly gained more respect as a legit contender, Orange Crush showed their power is certainly one to respect and be weary of, Stranglehold, Mean Green Machine and Damage Inc definitely improved the level of respect their opponents will have to show if matched up along side them this year. Finally, well all pay respects to one of the sport’s all-time legends, the late Steven Scarbro and the man who helped take Team Demolition Derby to the next level and who's influences will continue to drive the series, the late Jan Gabriel.

Make sure to check out all the additional photos from this event on the individual Team’s pages and of course see it all play out in the highlight video or full DVD version. The best place to experience the Team Demolition Derby phenomenon is LIVE at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, IL! The race for the National Championship is underway and will undoubtedly shape up into another wild chase to the finish!

Additional hardware was handed out at the end of the night to #63 Tom "Brickman" Lewis, the first recipient of the TeamDemo.com Most Valuable Player Award as voted upon during the event by the TDA's media production staff. A new MVP will be awarded every event to a driver that goes above and beyond, makes the biggest impacts, and clearly shows they are the most valuable to their team and the entire series on that night. Congrats to Brickman!