Toe Jam Boat Finals
If the Smithsonian came to all of us tomorrow and asked for a competitive wakeskater to stick in one of their time capsules, we’d give them Brian Grubb, right? I mean, c’mon, is there any other rider you’d want to have in your Toe Jam office pool? (You do have a Toe Jam office pool, don’t you?) Even Brandon Thomas’ sweep last year seems to shrink in comparison when you hold it up to the amount of times Grubb has accepted an offbeat-looking piece of hardware out at the Projects (don’t quote me, but I think today was his one millionth title.) Add another one to the list, and buy a bigger trophy case, because this is only Stop #1 of this year’s four-part Toe Jam Series.
Grubb’s consistency level has become almost airtight, and if you break it down, the fact is that he has done all of these contest tricks so well for so long that the spectators hold him to an almost higher standard than the rest of the crew. Think about it from his perspective – he’s got to know that everyone there is gunning for him. That’s a lot of pressure, much more so than if he was just a great rider without any titles yet. It’s almost as if he has everything to lose by not winning, yet he keeps coming up big and doing it over and over again. Watching him do it again today, among the windy conditions that marked the afternoon final between he and Nick Taylor, should get the weight off his shoulders for good. He could retire from Toe Jam events right now and his record would probably never be broken.
But there is little chance of that, tomorrow brings the finals of the rail park, and Grubb is again one of the frontrunners to win that event as well, along with Thomas, Danny Hampson, Taylor and George Daniels. Things kick off at 9 a.m. again, and we’ll be bringing you the pics and news tomorrow night, so stay tuned.
PS – Couple birthdays today: we’d like to blow a big kiss to Scott Byerly and Reed Hansen. Also, congrats to Danny Hampson for landing the first ever wake-to-wake frontside big spin in competition. Here are your Rock Star Energy Drink results:
Qualifying Round 1
1 Kaiser, Ben USA 56.67
2 Gregory, Chase USA 46.67
Qualifying Round 2
1 Thomas, Brandon USA 78.33
2 Manzari, Matt USA 60
Qualifying Round 3
1 Cambell, Steven USA 63.33
2 Ruark, John USA 40
Qualifying Round 4
1 Grubb, Brian USA 66.67
2 Hansen, Reed USA 53.33
Qualifying Round 5
1 Taylor, Nick USA 85
2 Reed, Aaron 78.33
Qualifying Round 6
1 Daniels, George USA 45
2 Becqueriaux, Luis SPA 31.67
Qualifying Round 7
1 Basino, Phillip USA 33.33
2 Hanson, David USA 33.33
Qualifying Round 8
1 Danielo, Drew USA 80
2 Hampson, Danny 75
Quarter Finals 1
1 Taylor, Nick USA 66.67
2 Kaiser, Ben USA 40
Quarter Finals 2
1 Thomas, Brandon USA 63.33
2 Cambell, Steven USA 51.67
Quarter Finals 3
1 Daniels, George USA 60
2 Basino, Phillip USA 38.33
Quarter Finals 4
1 Grubb, Brian USA 76.67
2 Danielo, Drew USA 66.67
Semi Finals 1
1 Grubb, Brian USA 78.33
2 Daniels, George USA 60
Semi Finals 2
1 Taylor, Nick USA 88.33
2 Thomas, Brandon USA 68.33
Finals 1
1 Grubb, Brian USA 58.33
2 Taylor, Nick USA 35