* This article was edited to show that Nick Hartung was the 2013 MVP, not Jason Ritacco*

It was snowing three days ago, which can mean only one thing: the demo season in Joliet, Illinois is less than a week away.  And with that knowledge, previews are needed!

While the 2012-2013 Team Demo Association (TDA) off-season was a relatively quiet affair, the 2013-2014 off-season has been 180 degrees from that.

Reckoning has consistently been one of the two strongest teams in the TDA along with Orange Crush.  After winning the 2011 and 2012 TDA Championship, Reckoning finished fifth last season and then disbanded in the off-season, a move that allowed The Locomotives to rise again and join the league as the new Team 7.

Four transcendent talents and sure fire Hall of Famers also retired, Ryan Bleuer, Brian Anderson, “Speedy” Steve Vollbrecht and Carl Brouwer.  And that is a lot of talent for the league to lose in just one off-season.  Coupled with Johnny Ryan’s (alleged but hopefully not final) retirement after 2012’s season, the TDA has lost a significant amount of experience and skill that they simply can’t replace.

The good news is that there are a number of younger drivers who seem on the cusp of stardom including Andrew Sherman, Kyle Shearer and Shaun Elder.

The even better news is that a lot of talent is returning, including Jason Ritacco, Zac VanAllen, Tom “Brickman” Lewis, 2013 MVP Nick Hartung, Garrit “Big Kahuna” Vanderbilt and the always entertaining Levi Turnbaugh.

What makes the 2014 season such an interesting season to ponder is that, for once, it seems as though there is parity in the league.  For the last decade, talent in the TDA has tended to congregate with other talent.  The mid-2000’s Junkyard Dogs, the early 2010’s Orange Crush and, to a lesser extent, Reckoning seemed to have a, dare I say, Stranglehold on the best drivers.   When you had Bleuer, Lewis, Ryan and Ron Tyrakowski on the track at the same time, it almost didn’t seem fair to a lot of the other teams.  That is a murderer’s row there.

This season, however, it seems as though the talent is more evenly spread out through the league.  There isn’t one team in the league that seems to be hoarding all the best drivers.  And that will be exceptionally good for the fans; parity always is.  Six out of the league’s eight teams seem to be in a position to win a night.

…Which brings me to the one thing that, unfortunately, didn’t seem to change: Seek-N-Destroy and Damage, Inc., two teams that combined to go 0 for 2013, seem to have jettisoned most (if not all) of their drivers in favor of unknowns and spare parts.  It’d be easy to make an off-handed comment about their rosters being filled with unknowns and spare parts last year, but I don’t believe that that’s true.  Alex Tucker, Kyle Thompson and Brice Martin raced with Damage, Inc. last year (along with long time veterans “Sneaky” Pete Ryan, and Dave “Repo” Swan) and showed that they are drivers who belong in the TDA.  With a few breaks here or there, it’s quite conceivable that Damage, Inc. could have won a handful of races last year.  Such was not the case though.

So let’s get this preview started!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Since the league itself hasn’t updated any rosters or team listings—we miss you, Jason Twite!—this preview is based upon the rosters that I have gleaned from talking to different drivers and people associated with the league.  In short, it’s entirely possible that these ‘teams’ I am previewing are not 100% accurate.  Email me with any corrections at chris@twentysevenandahalf.com

 

TEAM 1: MEAN GREEN MACHINE

It’s doubtful that any team changed their chemistry, makeup and ethos more than Mean Green Machine did this last off-season.

For the last several seasons, MGM has been a good-but-not-great team that has always seemed on the brink of a top finish, but never quite gotten there.  Prior to last season, the team lost MVP Ryan Decker to Reckoning.  It ultimately ended up being a bad move for both teams; MGM finished fourth and Reckoning fifth.  Putting aside bygones, Decker has returned to Mean Green Machine this year (along with Andrew Sherman).  Mean Green’s new lineup featuring Decker, Sherman, Matt “Opie” Pierce and Zac VanAllen looks supremely solid.  If Decker and VanAllen can keep a crusher or two off of Sherman, I think he has the potential to challenge for the MVP this year.  It may sound crazy now, but let me see a show of hands for those of you picked Jason Ritacco as an MVP candidate prior to 2013’s First Night.

There are no weak links in MGM’s team; their drivers all have a couple of season’s of racing under their belts and are generally smart drivers who are aware of what’s happening on the track.  They are poised to make some real noise this year.

Driver(s) to watch:

That would be Ryan Decker.  Decker was on top of the world two years ago when he won the MVP award.  Last year, he was decidedly not; finishing in fifth place for a disappointing Reckoning team.  My money’s on a rejuvenated Decker showing up again for MGM this year.  If a vintage Decker shows up at Route 66, Mean Green’s chances at winning this year will sky-rocket.

Why you should cheer for them:

• Mean Green Machine is the most ecologically friendly team in the TDA.  When they say ‘Go Green or Go Home!’, it has a double meaning given VanAllen’s place in the recycling community.

• VanAllen is one of my favorite drivers.  He is Joakim Noah on the track.  He is brash, exciting and talkative (he’s also a pretty good driver).  If I had to race against VanAllen, I would positively hate him, his unique car modifications and his demonstrative celebrations.  As it is, I’m not racing, so I enjoy the hell out of watching VanAllen both on and off the track.

 

TEAM 2: SEEK-N-DESTROY

Seek-N-Destroy is in the midst of an historic run of losing.  They finished 0-5 in 2013, which came on the heels of a 1-5 2012 and 1-5 2011.  However, it’s actually worse than that.  In their last 15 races, Seek-N-Destroy is 1-14.  That one win came against Mean Green Machine Second Night of 2012.  They are presently owners of an 0-9 streak (that will extend to 0-10 if they lose in the first round, First Night).  This streak broke Smash, Bash & Crash’s record for most losses in a row in recent TDA history.

Bad luck has certainly doggedly followed Seek-N-Destroy—most notably, owner Greg Mesich’s shop was burgled last year; they also did not race fellow 0-fer Damage, Inc. last year—but that doesn’t show up in the win/loss column.

2014 marks Mesich’s 30th year in racing and he deserves to be commended for this remarkable achievement.  I just don’t think there are going to be many other accomplishments for Seek-N-Destroy this year.

The problem with Seek-N-Destroy is the roster turnover that they have had.  Since 2009, they’ve churned through anywhere from 4-10 new drivers every season.  At this point, they’ve basically run out of drivers to use.  Everyone either has A) gotten a better offer somewhere else, or B) raced for the team previously.  In 2012, they were so desperate for a driver that they literally picked a guy out of the stands and sent him out to race for them.  That is not the way you win, well, anything.

From what I’ve been told, Seek-N-Destroy has attracted a talented, long-time driver from Sycamore or some other racetrack who is interested in getting involved in the TDA.*  If this is true, it marks the first bit of good luck they’ve had in a while.  As far as I know, the Seek-N-Destroy roster is comprised of Mesich, this new guy and two other dudes.  Or possibly three other dudes if Mesich doesn’t take the track.

* I do apologize about the ‘Preview by Gossip’ nature of this article.  However, without any rosters or bios available anywhere, it’s this or nothing.

Driver(s) to watch:

That would be the two (or possibly three) guys filling out the non-Mesich/Sycamore Veteran Seek-N-Destroy roster.  No, I mean literally.  I have no idea who these guys are.  We should definitely watch for them so we know.

Why you should cheer for them:

• Seek-N-Destroy is truly the lovable underdog.  Mesich is one of the nicest guys in the league and truly has endured a string of bad luck.  It’d be a heart-warming story to see Seek-N-Destroy in the finals a time or two this year.

• It is Mesich’s 30th year racing.  He had been a part of some outstanding teams during that time, most recently the 2009 version of Seek-N-Destroy that finished second.

 

TEAM 3: THE JUNKYARD DOGS

The Junkyard Dogs have had a rough go of it the last couple of years.  They are basically Murphy’s Law in action; if it can go wrong, it has gone wrong.  Despite a roster of excellent drivers, they haven’t finished any better than third.  Drivers have had tires simply fall off, axles break at inopportune times and, most memorably, they once lost a race by 18 inches, when Gerritt “Big Kahuna” Vanderbilt ended up a Smurf’s hair shy of the finish line and was unable to restart his car.

They finally began to turn their luck around last year, but just couldn’t get passed Real Steel, losing to them three times on the season.  Interesting stat of the day: JYD had four losses in 2013, three of them were to Real Steel (the other was to Orange Crush).

2014 marks a legitimate opportunity for the Dogs to continue turning things around.  Yes, they lost all world driver, Ryan Bleuer, to retirement, but they regained Kyle Shearer and still have Vanderbilt, a runner who is second to none.  With Reckoning out of the picture and Orange Crush absent Brouwer, JYD is in a position to really clean the boards… providing that they can finally get by Real Steel.

Driver(s) to watch:

That would be Mike Leodoro.  Leodoro is in an interesting and enviably position.  He is a TDA rookie—you may remember him from literally crashing the rookie race two years ago in the middle of the race—who is going to be Junkyard Dogs’ second runner… behind Gerritt “Big Kahuna” Vanderbilt.  This is like being Cal Ripken’s backup, Vince Coleman’s designated pinch runner or Charles Oakley’s muscle.*  Vanderbilt is the preeminent runner in the league now that Bleuer, Steve Gursky Jr., Robbie Stahulak and Brouwer have all retired and Leodoro should excel in his secondary role.  I guarantee you that no one will elicit the crowd to ask, “Who the hell is that?” more than one Mike Leodoro.  Pancakes has finally been freed.

* What do you mean I need to update my sports references?

Why you should cheer for them:

• Kyle Shearer is all that is right with demolition derby.  He goes fast and he hits hard.  Crashing into things is so ingrained into his DNA, it’s hard for him to see cars on the track and not plow into them, even if he’s forced to run laps.  Shearer delivered one of the best hits of the last couple years when he hit Reckoning’s Brian Anderson against the front straightaway wall with such force, his bumper became implanted in the side of Anderson’s car.

• JYD has a pedigree that is second to none.  They are the NY Yankees of the TDA.  The list of Junkyard Dogs with Hall of Fame resumes is lengthy and established.