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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact: Linda Ardehali
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Madusa
Wins 2005 Monster Jam World Finals Racing Championship
First
Woman In History Ever To Earn This Title
AURORA,
Ill. (April 19, 2005) – The 2005
Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas on March 19 will go down in history as
having opened new doors for women everywhere. In front of 37,000 fans at Sam
Boyd Stadium, Debrah Miceli, better known by her fans as Madusa, became the
first woman ever to earn the esteemed Monster Jam World Finals racing
championship. A native of
Breaking down barriers is nothing new for this femme fatale. Madusa earned
worldwide notoriety while wrestling for WWE (formerly WWF) and WCW in the ‘80s
and ‘90s. In 1999, her career as a monster truck driver began. “It’s like
a controlled accident,” says Madusa of driving monster trucks. Excelling at a
rapid rate within the sport, she became a fan favorite around the globe.
After winning the Monster Jam World Finals freestyle championship in
2004, she put all of her focus into racing for 2005.
”There's the old way of doing things, but there is also always a way to go
faster, and higher. And I found that niche. I sweetened it up if you want to
say. I tell people that I put the lipstick on Monster Jam,” said Madusa about
her win.
Considered
to be the ultimate monster truck event by the competitors and spectators, a
total of 100-plus challengers spent the entire year battling for the opportunity
to compete at the Monster Jam World Finals. Racing monster trucks that exceed
10,000 pounds and travel at speeds of up to 75 mph, Madusa aggressively piloted
her way through the brackets beating Destroyer, El Toro Loco, and King Krunch in
the semi-finals. That led her into the final round win against her mentor and
monster truck legend, Dennis Anderson in Grave Digger.
Besides gaining the adoration of fans, she has also earned the respect of fellow
competitors. “Madusa’s championship at the finals is well deserved and her
results as a monster truck driver over the past 6 years have been phenomenal,”
said Grave Digger’s Dennis Anderson. ”This Monster Jam World Finals
championship just shows that women can be as competitive as men in the sport of
monster truck racing.”
"Everything was there,” said Madusa upon accepting her trophy, “I
wanted it more than anything. Being
a woman in a man’s world, being a woman in a man’s business, I’ll tell you
one thing ladies – it isn’t easy."
Madusa has been featured on Politically
Incorrect, and Regis
& Kathy Lee. She’s also been featured in magazines such as Marie
Claire, Maxim
en Espanol, Woman’s
Own, Femme
Fatale, Rides
magazine, and Italian publication, Amica,
in addition to numerous newspaper articles and other press both in
the US and internationally.
Madusa will defend her title on March 25, 2006 at Sam Boyd Stadium in
For
more information about Madusa and Monster Jam log on to www.ushra.com.
The
United States Hot Rod Association® (USHRA) is the official sanctioning body of
Monster Jam, the world’s leading monster truck tour. With more than 250 live
performances a year, Monster Jam features marquee trucks, including Grave Digger®,
Maximum Destruction®, Madusa®, Blue Thunder®, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and
Monster Mutt®. The Thunder National series is the non-dirt monster truck tour
that runs in conjunction with Monster Jam and is sanctioned by the USHRA. For
more information on Monster Jam and Thunder Nationals, log on to www.ushra.com.
Clear Channel Entertainment, a leading
producer and marketer of live entertainment events is a subsidiary of Clear
Channel Communications (NYSE:CCU), a global leader in the out-of-home
advertising industry. Clear Channel Entertainment currently owns, operates
and/or exclusively books approximately 130 live entertainment venues, including
nearly 100 in North America and more than 30 in
approximately
32,000 events promoted and/or produced by the company, including live music
events; Broadway, West End and touring theatrical shows; family entertainment
shows; museum exhibitions, and specialized sports and motor sports events. In
addition, the company’s independently operated athlete representation
business, SFX, provides management, marketing and financial consulting services
to many of the world’s top professional athletes. Clear Channel Entertainment
operates throughout North America, Europe, and
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