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 UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (February 2) – John Seasock will leave the dirt behind and compete on concrete in Bryce Jordan Center this weekend when he heads home to Pennsylvania to drive the Traxxas T-Maxx™ in the United States Hot Rod Association's® Thunder Nationals.
“The Thunder Nationals events are really cool,” said Seasock, who lives in Frackville, PA. “The fans get to see a lot more of the trucks than in the national shows. They have doughnut contests, wheelie contests, side-by-side racing and freestyle. It's a whole different aspect of monster truck competition.”
The absence of ramps to help the monster trucks soar over the car obstacles in Thunder Nationals events forces the drivers to slam into the cars to start their wheelies. It's like driving a pickup truck into a wall at 40mph, then balancing it on its tailgate.
Seasock, a Penn State alumnus, is looking forward to showing what the T-Maxx can do for his home fans at his old college campus. The Thunder Nationals event will feature the T-Maxx competing against such world-class monster trucks as Maximum Destruction®, Hot Wheels®, Predator®, Prowler®, and Bad News®.
“Bryce Jordan Center is a good facility and I enjoy the shows there,” Seasock said. “It's my first small show this year, which will change the way I drive. With that big engine, the truck has shown its power in the other events. I'm going to have to slow down a little bit and change my driving style. I like all the venues because each has its own special characteristic. At the big stadiums, you can get the big air and go wild. At the smaller arenas, you really see who can drive the trucks. The Bryce Jordan Center is a small venue, so you're closer to the fans and you can feed off their energy.
“It will be great racing close to home in PA. Mike (Crew Chief Mike Hoy) and I are leaving Thursday. I'm going to have plenty of friends and family at the event. It will be a good time. We're going for the world championship this year, so we're just taking it one round at a time. We'll do our best in whatever they throw at us. I'll just take every challenge and meet it head-on. Every race we run, we're going to treat it like it was our last.”
 The Thunder Nationals will feature 8pm shows Friday and Saturday. The Bryce Jordan Center gates will open at 6:30 each evening. A Party in the Pits is scheduled for 5pm to 6pm Saturday.
Tickets are available at the Bryce Jordan Ticket Center, all Ticketmaster outlets, Eisenhower Auditorium, select Uni-Marts, Penn State campus outlets, the Downtown Theatre, www.bjc.psu.edu, and Ticketmaster.com. Fans may also charge tickets by phone at 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336.
Tickets cost $16 for adults and $8 for children; $2 more on the day of each show. Advance Auto Parts locations are offering $5 discount coupons for adult tickets through Thursday.
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