Power Nationals Trucks

(Marc)>> You're watching Powernation!

(Katie)>> Welcome to Music City Trucks and our first ever Power Nationals coming to you from the Nashville Super Speedway just outside of Nashville, in Lebanon, Tennessee. I'm Katie Osborne, and Marc and Brandon invited me along with some of the other Powernation hosts to help cover this event because really this is way more than a truck show. It's monster trucks galore with three Bigfoot trucks, four Hot Wheels monster trucks. We have a drifting exhibition, an engine bolt-on challenge, and even a monster ride truck, but first let's get started with Marc and Brandon.

(Marc)>> Well I'm down here in the car show. Well car and truck show. It's not just beautiful cars out here today. Brandon's down in the autocross and we're gonna be catching up with him in just a couple of minutes, but for now I'm gonna check out these beautiful trucks and we're gonna start with this gorgeous '56 F-100. This Ford belongs to Denny Gentry of Sparta, Tennessee. It's powered by a 351 Windsor and built C-4 transmission. The brilliant gun metal paint job was done by Todd Jones, and Todd Michael Design executed the high-end leather interior. It sits on Mustang Two suspension in the front and a four-link tied to a nine inch in the rear. What a fine example of a big fender Ford Truck. Larry Freeman out of Watertown, Tennessee, showed up with this beautiful 1991 GMC Syclone. He's into anything that's rare and fast, and this truck is definitely both of those. GM made less than 3,000 of these 4.3-liter turbo all wheel drive pickups in 1991. With an upgraded turbo and intercooler and aftermarket e-f-i, Larry's Syclone definitely lives up to its name. No vehicle here has more personality than this '65 Suburban. This is the ultimate beach cruiser. It's even got a couple of surfboards on top. I think I'm gonna jump in this thing and head to the beach. I'm just gonna let Brandon take it from here.

(Brandon)>> I'm over here at the autocross. Now autocross isn't just for cars. Trucks and s-u-vs running. We've got a bunch of C-10s and a Jimmy over here. These things are crazy, big tires, big brakes. These things are cool but I've got to check out what that is over there. I'm not even a big rig guy but this thing's awesome, Mike.

(Mike)>> Nice to meet you sir.

(Brandon)>> Thank you for bringing this out. Tell me about it.

(Mike)>> It's a 13,000-pound race truck. We do primarily half mile circle track. This truck has done road course racing, and it's done top mile speed, it has done auto crossing.

(Brandon)>> The only thing I've really got to say is can I ride along with you?

(Mike)>> You think you can hang with me?

(Brandon)>> I think so. Let's do this! [ tires squealing ]

(Brandon)>> This is awesome! [ tires squealing ] [ Music ]

(Brandon)>> Oh, that's awesome! [ tires squealing ] [ Music ] [ tires squealing ]

(Brandon)>> Well I've had my fun for the day! [ Music ] I know Marc just went to the beach in that Suburban but I'm gonna tell him when he gets back that we're building this, and I guess I've got to throw it back to Katie now.

(Katie)>> Thanks guys, and we'll hear from them a little later on, but boy oh boy do we have some trucks in the lineup today. From Hot Wheels Live we have Boneshaker, Tiger Shark, Demo Derby, and Mega Rex. Plus, Bigfoot number one. The one that started them all is here. The Bigfoot with those iconic 10 feet tall tires is awesome, as well as the modern race and exhibition truck. And the Predator ride truck is here giving fans a real monster truck experience. Coming up on Power Nationals it's the bolt-on engine challenge and some drifting. You've got to hang on for that!

(Katie)>> Welcome back to Music City Trucks at our first ever Power Nationals. Now this is way more than a truck show. This is something you've got to experience. In this case it's in the Nascar garages. Here's Pat and Frankie with the Engine Power Bolt-On Challenge.

(Frankie)>> Thanks Katie! We are geared up and we have our first two contestants of the day. We have Phil over here, and we have Chase on that side. How you guys feeling?

(Phil)>> I'm excited!

(Chase)>> A little nervous to be on t-v.

(Frankie)>> I think you guys are gonna do great. No matter what you guys are definitely gonna be the fastest time today cause you guys are our first ones, and it should be pretty simple. I don't think you're gonna have a hard time.

(Pat)>> Parts are just easy bolt-ons. Don't overtighten them. They are plastic blocks, but I think we're ready to go. Are you ready?

(Phil)>> Yep!

(Chase)>> Ready!

(Pat)>> In three, two, one, go! The challenging part, and they both attacked it right off the bat, is the exhaust manifolds.

(Frankie)>> Yeah, those are gonna be the heaviest piece, and with all the bolts in there it's a little bit tricky trying to get all the bolts lined up at once and not drop them out while you're trying to hold that manifold and get the bolts screwed in.

(Pat)>> Is this anything like you're used to working on Chase?

(Chase)>> Not even close.

(Pat)>> I'm not trying to hold you up. I'm trying to distract you.

(Frankie)>> I think you're distracting him. I think Phil's pulling away.

(Pat)>> He's already dumping fasteners on the ground over there.

(Chase)>> I've got a three year old at home. So, I'm used to Legos.

(Frankie)>> Phil make sure you remember these fasteners cause if they're out your time will not be counted.

(Phil)>> I do not want to be disqualified.

(Pat)>> Chase is slow and steady, and he's doing a great job. Although Phil has blinding speed.

(Frankie)>> Phil has blinding speed, and I think that strategy might work for him. Just kinda go for it and pick it up later.

(Pat)>> Three minutes has elapsed and Phil is already grabbing valve covers. Doing good, doing good!

(Frankie)>> If you notice the different strategies here Phil is using the ratchet kind of like a speeder while Chase is going for the actually ratcheting motion.

(Pat)>> If I did this you'd probably have to time it with a sun dial. ( )>> Come on everybody! Chase, Chase, Chase!

(Frankie)>> Don't worry about that Phil. He's trying to get you riled up. Just go ahead, keep focusing. [ Music ]

(Phil)>> Oh rats! [ Music ]

(Pat)>> Phil on to the coil packs at 8:14. This one is gonna come down to the wire. I'm standing next to the judge. So, he'll determine whether you are in or out. No pressure!

(Frankie)>> Chase has got his last coil pack installed. He's just got to go through and tighten every single bolt. Make sure he hasn's missed anything.

(Pat)>> Phil is doing a final check.

(Frankie)>> That's a good strategy. Take the time, make sure everything's right, make sure you're not missing anything cause then all that work could be for nothing.

(Pat)>> We're almost ready!

(Phil)>> Come on! Alright!

(Pat)>> And that is time, 11:54. Let's hear it for Phil.

(Frankie)>> Give him a hand!

(Phil)>> Thank you!

(Frankie)>> That was a great start for our first two contenders. Phil you're currently holding the fastest time of the day. So, you could win yourself a jacket. Chase great job too. Thanks for coming out and participating guys.

(Pat)>> And this is one of the many things happening down here at the Power Nationals.

(Katie)>> Well dang, that was a good time, and as we said at the top of the show, we have four Hot Wheels monster trucks here at Power Nationals and Joel and Tommy have more.

(Joel)>> Thanks Katie! I'm standing here with the great Bobby Holman. So how did you first get involved with Hot Wheels and establish a relationship?

(Bobby)>> Well they approached us about doing this, and it was a cool deal because they had all these toys, and they wanted to bring the toys to life. So, they sent us all these toys and said here, you guys build these. And here you go all the Hot Wheels monster truck toys have come to life.

(Joel)>> And how long have you been a driver?

(Bobby)>> I've been doing this for 38 years.

(Joel)>> And from what I understand it's a family business.

(Bobby)>> It is a family business. My son Cody, he's my right hand guy. I couldn't do it without him. He drives the Boneshaker. My daughter-in-law, Taylor, she drives Demo Derby. Her dad drives Mega-Rex, and her uncle drives Race Ace.

(Joel)>> Tell us about the actual Hot Wheels Monster Truck Live Tour.

(Bobby)>> It's the coolest tour out there. I've been doing this a long time. This tour is geared towards your family. All the kids that come out there. My little tiger sharks are all over the world, and it's a cool deal to see those kids out there smiling, jumping up and down, dancing. Cater to the kids and that's what it's all about.

(Joel)>> Now tell us about the tech. How much horsepower, weight distribution, all that.

(Bobby)>> Tiger Shark weighs about 12,000 pounds. Got a 604 cubic inch big block Chevy in it, blown, alcohol injected. Most of these trucks have 540. So, we're all pretty similar. Compared to 38 years ago when I first did this it was a big ole truck that weighed 18,000 pounds. Couldn't go 20 mile an hour. These trucks, 30 inches of wheel travel, custom seats. It's nothing like it was. The young guys are spoiled. They don't get it like the old guys did.

(Joel)>> Well all that sounds like it adds up to a whole lot of fun.

(Bobby)>> It's the best job in the world.

(Joel)>> Well guys I'm gonna see if Bob will let me drive one of these bad boys, but for right now it's back to you Katie.

(Katie)>> Thanks guys, and still to come on Music City Trucks it's riding in a monster truck and drifting. [ engines revving ]

(Katie)>> We're back at the Nashville Super Speedway as our Music City Trucks special comes to you from the Power Nationals. Now at an event like this tires are clearly a big deal. Here's Jeremy in the exhibitor row with more.

(Jeremy)>> Thanks Katie! I'm down here in exhibitor row, and we're here with Johnny from Toyo Tires. We're in the Toyo Tire booth, and we run your Proxes RR on our Spec Miata. We have your Open Country RT on our mail Jeep, but there's more to Toyo than just those tires.

(Johnny)>> Yeah, we've got a wide variety of tires on display this weekend. We have a local vender, Brian Motorsports, out here with his Jeep, his Chevy Luv, and this wild Corvette behind us. Everything from the Toyo Tires' AT-3, the RT, the MT, to the high horsepower weekend track guys running the Toyo Archer Blade-R. Even the Proxes Sport, which is an all season tire for the average consumer.

(Jeremy)>> And there is drifting going on today. On a personal note, you actually have your own drift car here.

(Johnny)>> Yes, I do. I've got a 1994 Mazda RX-7 wearing the Toyo Proxes R-1-R and I love them.

(Jeremy)>> Katie there's a bunch going on in exhibitor row, and we're gonna go check it out. So, for now back to you.

(Katie)>> Thanks Jeremy. Now we've seen Bigfoot crush cars and we've checked out the monster trucks, but what would it be like to ride in one. Well Marc and Brandon have that answer.

(Marc)>> Thanks Katie! Well, I'm out here with the Predator monster truck. This thing is a monster truck in every way. It's got the full tube chassis, 66 inch tall tires. If you wanted to you could crush some cars with this thing, but that's not what this truck's for. There's one distinct difference between this truck and the rest of them. It has eight extra seats right there in the bed. This is a ride truck. So, enthusiasts can climb aboard and take a ride on a monster truck. One of those seats is for me. I'm gonna go get on. You ever ridden in one of these?

(Joel)>> No ma'am. [ engine revving ]

(Marc)>> This is pretty cool.

(Joel)>> I think if the American flag had a sound it would sound something like this.

(Marc)>> Agreed!

(Joel)>> It's good vibrations my friend! ( )>> Woo!

(Marc)>> The rear steer is kind of unsettling. It feels like you're fish tailing.

(Joel)>> Tap him on the should and see if he'll take us to the grocery store real quick. I need to make a beer run. She's been drinking since 9 a-m. Nothing's gonna scare her.

(Marc)>> It's only 8:30 though.

(Joel)>> I know, 9 a-m yesterday.

(Marc)>> Any thoughts?

(Janna)>> It was awesome!

(Joel)>> I'm gonna need a cigarette now and I don't even smoke.

(Marc)>> That was pretty good! That was awesome! Well, I've driven a monster truck. Never ridden in the back of one. I've got to tell you, that was kind of a unique experience. It was a lot of fun, but it turns out I'm not the only monster truck enthusiast here. Just happens to be one little guy that let's just say reminds me of myself when I was younger. Clearly one of the biggest draws here at Power Nationals is Bigfoot, and we've got a huge Bigfoot fan here, Trip. So, you've got your little toy there and getting everybody to sign it. What do you think of being able to see a Bigfoot monster truck up close and personal?

(Trip)>> I never thought I'd be able to see it.

(Marc)>> So obviously getting up close and personal, this is kinda cool. What would you think if we let you get up inside and sit in that driver's seat of this truck right here?

(Trip)>> I'd crank it up and take off!

(Marc)>> We better hide the keys, but we're gonna let Trip get up here and sit down and see if he likes it in the driver's seat.

(Trip)>> This is really good! I like being in the driver's seat of this truck.

(Marc)>> You do realize this is the very first monster truck ever built right?

(Trip)>> Yep, I do! I love Bigfoot. [ Music ]

(Marc)>> Enough said.

(Katie)>> Up next, it's the Carcass drifting exhibition.

(Katie)>> Welcome back to the Music City Trucks' special coverage of the first ever Power Nationals, and as we said, this has been way more than a car and truck show. It's actually been a chance for the Powernation team to meet our viewers and share our projects, both current and future, in person. One of those cars is with Jimmy in the Nissan exhibit.

(Jimmy)>> That's right Katie. I'm standing next to the Carcass 280-Z, and Jeremy and I have not started working on it yet, but we do have some big plans. Right now it's very stock appearing but we want to take a little bit of inspiration from the brand new "Zs", two of which are sitting right next to our car. And so, from Nissan we have Paul, who's gonna talk about the brand new Zs and tell us what we can look forward to when it comes out on the market.

(Paul)>> I just want to say thanks for bringing us out. Today we brought out two of the brand new 2023 model Nissan Zs. This is our new sports car. 400 horsepower, 3.0-liter twin turbo V-6. We've got two performance models out here, both in a six speed and a nine speed automatic transmission, and we've even got our new Nismo Street Exhaust available on the Z as well. So be sure to check it out.

(Jimmy)>> That's gonna be so awesome. I can't wait for these cars to come out. Maybe we can even take a ride or test drive one, but otherwise we can't wait to get started on our 280-Z. So, Katie back to you.

(Katie)>> The new "Z", now that's pretty awesome, and I just love how the guys are gonna celebrate the heritage of the "Z" and their '78 project. Now I also know that we've teased you long enough. So, it's time now to send it over to the Carcass drifting exhibition and the battle of Tennessee. Here's Jeremy and Jimmy.

(Jeremy)>> Thanks Katie! We're down here at the start of what is the drifting competition between East 10 Drift and The Slyde Factory and let me tell you the competition is pretty intense so far.

(Jimmy)>> And I've seen live drifting a few times. I think this is your first time, but before today neither of us have ever been in a drift car, and it's one of the most ridiculous things you can experience as a passenger.

(Jeremy)>> And I get pretty car sick, but I actually managed to hang on to my lunch for the most part.

(Jimmy)>> Alright!

(Jeremy)>> I think we're ready.

(Barry)>> Let's go have some fun! [ engine revving ] [ Music ] [ engine revving ] [ Music ]

(Jimmy)>> I'm in the car with Louis Garza from East 10 Drift, and right now on this first run he is the lead car with Barry following him. With Louis being in the lead position he will be judged based on his speed throughout the run, how much angle, and how smooth he is through the turns. There's also an art factor taken into account that basically describes how exciting the run is overall. [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> And I'm riding with Barry Clapp from Slyde Factory, and we're in the chase car. Barry's judged on the same criteria as the lead car but has some added factors, like his proximity to the lead car. Plus, he needs to mirror exactly what Louis is doing as close as possible. [ engine revving ] [ Music ] [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> There it is! [ engine revving ]

(Jeremy)>> Once the first run is over the cars get flipped around. That means we're in the front and Jimmy and Louis have to mirror what we're doing, and at the end the judges pick a winner based on both runs. [ engine revving ] [ Music ] [ engine revving ] [ Music ] [ engine revving ]

(Barry)>> Well done!

(Jeremy)>> That's as much fun as you can have on four wheels, I think.

(Louis)>> That was alright!

(Jimmy)>> That's freaky!

(Louis)>> Yeah, you get anxiety a little bit.

(Jeremy)>> We had such and intense time when we were sitting in the cars, and what you couldn't see because we had our helmets on, is we were grinning from ear to ear.

(Jimmy)>> Things like this make our job truly awesome. So back to you Katie!

(Katie)>> As much as I know you want to go back out there it is time to take care of a little business. The final scores are in. So, let's return to Jeremy and Jimmy, and the trophy presentation.

(Jimmy)>> Alright guys, the day was a hell of a day. You guys put on an amazing show. We've got you guys from East Tennessee Drift and from Slyde Factory, and they put on this entire event. So, thank you guys for coming out, bringing all of your cars. Let's give them a big round of applause. [ crowd clapping ]

(Jeremy)>> Now we do have some weather rolling in. So, we're gonna kinda get at this really fast. Now the two cars that ended up in the final were both cars from East Tennessee Drift, and the winner that's gonna go home with the trophy for the Battle of Tennessee is Tyler! [ crowd clapping ]

(Jeremy)>> It's heavy right?

(Tyler)>> Very heavy!

(Jeremy)>> You can set it down, that's fine. Now Tyler you're driving a E-36 BMW. Louis you've got a Corvette. Really when it comes down to it it's got to be a lot on driver, not necessarily the car, right?

(Louis)>> Definitely, for sure.

(Jeremy)>> Thank you guys for coming out. We all had a great time. You guys put on a heck of a show. We do have weather rolling in. So, we're gonna let you go, but from the Power Nationals thank you guys for coming on out. We will see you next year. Slyde Factory, maybe you can bring that home next year.

(Barry)>> Yes sir, we will certainly try. ( )>> We will! We absolutely will!

(Jeremy)>> East Tennessee guys, why don't you guys all come on out here cause this really goes to you guys. Now pick it up! We'll see you guys next year.

(Katie)>> Well that was a good time. Thanks to the drivers, Slyde Factory, and East 10 Drift. And as we say goodbye check out the cars and trucks taking their courtesy laps on the speedway's tri-oval. [ engines revving ]

(Katie)>> And who was leading the pack? The original number one Bigfoot. And who was inside? Yep, that's Marc and Brandon. Any final words guys?

(Marc)>> Well any time I can ride in Bigfoot, especially Bigfoot One, it's been a good day.

(Brandon)>> I love this truck. Power Nationals turned out pretty dang good.

(Marc)>> And anywhere Bigfoot shows up it's gonna be a good time. Special thanks to Mike and the rest of the Bigfoot crew for coming out.

(Mike)>> Pleasure being out here.

(Marc)>> Back to you Katie.

(Katie)>> I know they've both been in it before, but that's like bucket list material, right? A big thanks to Nashville Super Speedway for partnering with us as well as Summit Racing, EBC Brakes, Nissan, and Toyo Tires. I'm Katie Osborne, thanks so much for watching.